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Top-Livealbum des ehemaligen The Stranglers-Frontmanns Hugh Cornwell, das auf den UK-Touren nach seinem 10. Soloalbum "Moments Of Madness" (2022) aufgenommen wurde. Als Hofdichter der Punk-Ära zeichnete er für die denkwürdigsten Songs der Stranglers verantwortlich, samt des Überhits "Golden Brown", dessen vielfältige Textdeutungen eine Meisterklasse des Songwritings sind. Das Doppelalbum enthält Livesongs aus allen Epochen, darunter Stranglers-Klassiker wie "Skin Deep", "Always The Sun" & "Strange Little Girl", die 2CD kommt mit 4 weiteren Bonustracks, darunter "Nice'n'Sleazy" & "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)".

Mit der neuen Doppel-LP 'Long Distance Love - A Sweet Relief Tribute to Lowell George' hat Sweet Relief, die Organisation, die alle Arten von Berufsmusikern und Beschäftigten der Musikindustrie finanziell unterstützt, die mit körperlichen oder geistigen Problemen, Behinderungen oder altersbedingten Problemen zu kämpfen haben, ein Juwel vorgelegt.

Lowell George war der Gitarrenvirtuose, Sänger und Songschreiber von Little Feat. In dieser Sammlung von 25 Liedern interpretieren und spielen Künstler wie Elvis Costello, Ben Harper und Dave Alvin seinen vielfältigen Katalog. Der in Hollywood, Kalifornien, geborene George war Mitglied von Frank Zappas Mothers of Inventions, bevor er diese Band verließ und mit Bill Payne Little Feat gründete. Lowell gehörte der Band 7 Jahre lang bis zu seinem Tod an und veröffentlichte in dieser Zeit acht Alben. Obwohl George 1979 starb, lebt sein Vermächtnis durch dieses Album weiter.

King Tubby the Dub Master, who's output was as prolific as it is sought after, and who's presence is surely missed. We would like to take you on another dub excursion. This time through some essential cuts made for the Producer / DJ Tappa Zukie. King Tubby always added something a little special to the tracks he worked on. Producers would often bring their already recorded tracks to his home studio at 18 Drummlie Avenue in the Kingston district of Waterhouse. The backing tracks which were laid at various other studios around Kingston. Like Channel 1and Randy's Studio 17, would then be voiced/Re-voiced at King Tubby's. Tubby and his team which included Prince Jammy and Philip Smart would be left to create the version cut.

Having listened to the track it would be striped back to the bone of bass and drums and rebuilt. Sprinkling his magic over the track by dropping the bass in and out, adding echo and emphasising various elements of the song. In some cases, dubbing the cut into something unrecognisable from its original sound.

The tracks would be aired on Tubby's Hometown Hi-Fi Sound System. Which acted much like a pre-release for the record to gauge the crowd’s reaction, before the tracks would be unleased on the public. We think we have sourced another fine collection of Tubby Cuts see also King Tubby's Lost Treasures JR001, comprising of work with Mr Tappa Zukie. Lost cuts to some of his own tracks like 'First Street Rock', alongside productions he undertook with the great Prince Allah, Junior Ross and the Spears. Also, the much-overlooked vocal group Knowledge. Some great rhythms, some great tracks, worked over by the greatest dub mixer of them all. Hope you enjoy the set as much as we have compiling it...

Respect Jah Floyd.

Everybody Needs A Hero ist das zweite Studioalbum der in Dublin geborenen Orla Gartland, das über ihr eigenes Label New Friends erscheint.
Everybody Needs A Hero erforscht, wie Gartland sich durch die Strömungen einer Langzeitbeziehung wandelt und herausfindet, wie sie in einer
postfeministischen Welt ihren Platz einnehmen kann. Während des gesamten Albums erforscht Orla die Idee eines „Helden“: jemand, zu dem man
aufschaut, jemand, der uns vor uns selbst rettet, jemand, den wir benutzen, um uns von unserem eigenen Schattenselbst abzulenken. Als Zeugnis
ihres künstlerischen Wachstums, ihres wachsenden Selbstbewusstseins und ihres stolzen Gefühls der Unabhängigkeit ist dieses Album der jüngste
Meilenstein auf der Reise dieses Selfmade-Talents.
Mit einer Viertelmilliarde Streams in ihrer Karriere, ausverkauften Tourneen und Festivalauftritten bei Glastonbury und Latitude; bis hin zu ihrem
Debütalbum „Woman On The Internet“, das die UK & Irish Top 10 erreichte, ist Orla bereit, mutig in das nächste Kapitel ihrer Karriere einzutreten.

RAT BOY have recorded in Los Angeles with T im Armstrong of Rancid, played festivals as far afield as Japan and China, and toured North America with The Interrupters. Yet for all those globe-trotting adventures, there"s no place you know quite as well as home. That"s the central topic that R AT BOY explore on their upcoming third album "SUBURBIA CALLING", which will be released on October 4th via Hellcat. "SUBURBIA CALLING" sees RAT BOY exploring stories from their roots in Essex. It"s the land of wheeler -dealers and dodgy geezers, and home to nosey neighbours, rowdy clubs and Joey Essex. For readers outside of the UK, it"s the land of Blur, Depeche Mode and The Prodigy: a place not so far outside of east London, but in other ways it"s a world away. And it"s not only an immense font of inspiration for RAT BOY, but the place where ever ything happens for them.. Just outside of Chelmsford sits a converted barn where the band can jump in and be creative whenever the mood takes them - a HQ that is a recording studio, a rehearsal space, an art studio, a storage space and a hangout spot all-in-one. Frontman Jordan Cardy says, "I wanted to sing about Essex. Essex is where we live and when you"ve grown up somewhere you notice things about it. There"s so much to draw on. Essex is really close to London but it"s different in a lot of ways. We"ve got a lot of freedom here, we built a place where we can record and rehearse and hang out, somewhere you wouldn"t be able to have in London." RAT BOY - completed by Liam Haygarth (bass), Harr y Todd (guitar) and Noah Booth (dr ums) - approached the making of the al - bum in unorthodox fashion. They recorded a home demo and a live performance of each song, which were then sent to producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur) to edit together like a tapestry puzzle.

RAT BOY have recorded in Los Angeles with T im Armstrong of Rancid, played festivals as far afield as Japan and China, and toured North America with The Interrupters. Yet for all those globe-trotting adventures, there"s no place you know quite as well as home. That"s the central topic that R AT BOY explore on their upcoming third album "SUBURBIA CALLING", which will be released on October 4th via Hellcat. "SUBURBIA CALLING" sees RAT BOY exploring stories from their roots in Essex. It"s the land of wheeler -dealers and dodgy geezers, and home to nosey neighbours, rowdy clubs and Joey Essex. For readers outside of the UK, it"s the land of Blur, Depeche Mode and The Prodigy: a place not so far outside of east London, but in other ways it"s a world away. And it"s not only an immense font of inspiration for RAT BOY, but the place where ever ything happens for them.. Just outside of Chelmsford sits a converted barn where the band can jump in and be creative whenever the mood takes them - a HQ that is a recording studio, a rehearsal space, an art studio, a storage space and a hangout spot all-in-one. Frontman Jordan Cardy says, "I wanted to sing about Essex. Essex is where we live and when you"ve grown up somewhere you notice things about it. There"s so much to draw on. Essex is really close to London but it"s different in a lot of ways. We"ve got a lot of freedom here, we built a place where we can record and rehearse and hang out, somewhere you wouldn"t be able to have in London." RAT BOY - completed by Liam Haygarth (bass), Harr y Todd (guitar) and Noah Booth (dr ums) - approached the making of the al - bum in unorthodox fashion. They recorded a home demo and a live performance of each song, which were then sent to producer Stephen Street (The Smiths, Blur) to edit together like a tapestry puzzle.

Red & Yellow Splatter Vinyl. Dan Reeder is a multi-faceted artist, recently championed by boygenius. He is Oh Boy Records longest signed artist, and was personally signed by the legendary John Prine himself. Reeder is releasing a collection of songs titled,Smithereens, an eclectic mix of songs, many recorded and played on gear he built. A true DIY maestro, Dan seamlessly assumes the roles of producer, mixer, mastering engineer, and visual artist, imbuing every facet of his artistry with his distinct touch. His musical stylings often draw comparisons to the likes of Blaze Foley, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and Ween.

Everybody Needs A Hero ist das zweite Studioalbum der in Dublin geborenen Orla Gartland, das über ihr eigenes Label New Friends erscheint.
Everybody Needs A Hero erforscht, wie Gartland sich durch die Strömungen einer Langzeitbeziehung wandelt und herausfindet, wie sie in einer
postfeministischen Welt ihren Platz einnehmen kann. Während des gesamten Albums erforscht Orla die Idee eines „Helden“: jemand, zu dem man
aufschaut, jemand, der uns vor uns selbst rettet, jemand, den wir benutzen, um uns von unserem eigenen Schattenselbst abzulenken. Als Zeugnis
ihres künstlerischen Wachstums, ihres wachsenden Selbstbewusstseins und ihres stolzen Gefühls der Unabhängigkeit ist dieses Album der jüngste
Meilenstein auf der Reise dieses Selfmade-Talents.
Mit einer Viertelmilliarde Streams in ihrer Karriere, ausverkauften Tourneen und Festivalauftritten bei Glastonbury und Latitude; bis hin zu ihrem
Debütalbum „Woman On The Internet“, das die UK & Irish Top 10 erreichte, ist Orla bereit, mutig in das nächste Kapitel ihrer Karriere einzutreten.

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip’s Memory Music, it’s the band’s first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip’s Memory Music, it’s the band’s first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.

Dan Snaith's latest album, "Honey," marks an intriguing new phase for Caribou. Over more than two decades Dan Snaith has had many guises. After putting every ounce of himself into Our Love and Suddenly, for his sixth Caribou album Snaith now pulls himself away a little in search of music that isn’t about any one person and is available to everybody. Huge dancefloor tracks twinkle, shimmer and surprise in a way only Snaith’s productions can but with a freshness that defines an artist who is too excited by music- making to ever truly settle into any one sound.

Dan Snaith's latest album, "Honey," marks an intriguing new phase for Caribou. Over more than two decades Dan Snaith has had many guises. After putting every ounce of himself into Our Love and Suddenly, for his sixth Caribou album Snaith now pulls himself away a little in search of music that isn’t about any one person and is available to everybody. Huge dancefloor tracks twinkle, shimmer and surprise in a way only Snaith’s productions can but with a freshness that defines an artist who is too excited by music- making to ever truly settle into any one sound.

Cloudy Baby Blue Vinyl. with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip's Memory Music, it's the band's first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open. It's an intensely self-reflective record for vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, an uprooting and examination of the supports on which a life is built. Preemptive grief, wrestling with god and faith, familial responsibility, familial mortality_these are the things Simmons was carrying while writing this material. They're also things he was trying, for better and worse, to avoid_ hence the record's title. with you in spirit feels like the work of songwriters reaching new heights, exploring new depths. Sometimes, the record itself feels like a band grappling with its own avoidance, its own mortality, and deciding to face these things the only way they know how. Balance and Composure are with us in spirit, yes, but in the flesh, too, for now.

Entdeckt nach den Funk Vinyls nun die schönsten Stimmen des Soul in dieser erstaunlichen Doppel-Vinyl neu.

Cindy is to release a new six song EP called Swan Lake on 4th October via Tough Love. The title isn't a nod to the folktale or ballet in any real way, but to the fact that it all has ended up in the collective imagination as an object, vaguely recognizable, a little suggestive, and mostly blank. Karina Gill, Cindy's songwriter, likes to make use of that kind of resonance to connect sound and experience. The six songs on this EP continue the stripped-down habits of previous Cindy releases, while adding a few departures and left-turns. Cindy likes to work at the essentials and the elements here say exactly what's needed. In other ways, these songs present a soft filigree that's unusual for their recordings. Oli Lipton (Now, Violent Change) on guitar and Will Smith (Now) on bass play counterpoint melodies to Gill's structures. Staizsh Rodrigues (Children Maybe Later, Almond Joy, Peace Frog) sings vocal harmonies that both offset and deepen Gill's voice and delivery. There are playful drums by Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Sad Eyed Beatniks) and coolly elaborate guitar lines from Stanley Martinez (Famous Mammals, Violent Change, Non Plus Temps). Gill's songs strike this balance too: almost nonchalant reporting tied up in unexpected knots. A ride in an elevator connects up with questions about peace and/or the nature of things; the title track wonders about associative thinking and associative feeling; The Bell is an account of one of those times when everything makes sense but you can't explain it; and there's the scene of a party viewed with admiration for how friends can love each other. As Gill herself says: "People have told me that they can't quite identify my influences. Me neither. The foundational layers of music of the past and my past have been metabolized like breakfast and turned into more me, sorry to say. But I experience the music of people I'm connected with and it impacts me in the moment. There's the music I'm around - April Magazine, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Violent Change, Katsy Pline, collaborating with Mike on Flowertown - that I can feel a direct line from. Then there's music that is being made far away but feels close, like Lewsberg, specifically, for this EP. "

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip's Memory Music, it's the band's first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.It's an intensely self-reflective record for vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, an uprooting and examination of the supports on which a life is built. Preemptive grief, wrestling with god and faith, familial responsibility, familial mortality_these are the things Simmons was carrying while writing this material. They're also things he was trying, for better and worse, to avoid_hence the record's title.with you in spirit feels like the work of songwriters reaching new heights, exploring new depths. Sometimes, the record itself feels like a band grappling with its own avoidance, its own mortality, and deciding to face these things the only way they know how. Balance and Composure are with us in spirit, yes, but in the flesh, too, for now.

Alle Brenton Wood-Klassiker auf einem Album! Mit Hits wie ”The Oogum Boogum Song”, ”Gimme Little
Sign”, ”Baby You Got It” und vielen mehr, wurde das Album Brenton Wood’s 18 Best ursprünglich 1992
veröffentlicht und dient als Schaufenster für Woods geschmeidigen, sicheren Vortrag, der seinen Platz als
einer der besten Soulsänger seiner Generation zementierte. Diese Pressung markiert das Vinyl-Debüt des
Albums.

Amputechture Beneath the technical flash, the fury, the fearless creative brinkmanship of the first two Mars Volta albums lay a potent seam of the blues, an existential vexation that powered every twist and turn of Omar and Cedric’s imaginations. That mournful vibe would come to the surface of the group’s third full-length Amputechture, a simmering/blistering set that was unquestionably the group’s darkest yet. There was no overarching theme here, no interlinking concept binding the songs together, though Cedric concedes that, lyrically, the album was influenced “by a lot of stuff I was going through, a really bad break-up and a lot of other crazy stuff, and trying to put that feeling into the record.” But Amputechture – its name another of the late Jeremy Michael Ward’s invented words – was no downbeat bummer. Opener Vicarious Atonement might’ve been a deliciously gloomy, slow-burning thing, capturing Cedric in delirious duet with Omar’s swooning guitar lines, accompanied by squalling saxophone by Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales and dream-frequency fuckery by the group’s new sonic manipulator, former At The Drive- In member Paul Hinojos. But second track Tetragrammaton swiftly set pulses racing, an epic-in-miniature and containing more ideas within its 16 minutes than most bands manage over an entire career, its proggy, complex guitar figures tessellating in infinite configurations and converging as if conforming to mathematical formulae from another reality. The raw material Amputechture was hewn from started life on the road. Omar now travelled with his own mobile recording studio – a little Neve ten-channel tape recorder and an array of microphones – and was able to work on new ideas on tourbuses, in hotel rooms and during soundcheck (and, occasionally, after the show was done). After touring for Frances The Mute was complete, Omar relocated to Amsterdam, staying with his photographer friend Danielle Van Ark and her partner, Nils Post. It’s here that he demoed Amputechture, flying in engineer Jon DeBaun, drummer Jon Theodore and his brother, Chino, to work on these raw sketches. He later returned to Los Angeles, where the album was finally recorded. Omar ceded guitar duties to his dear friend and kindred spirit John Frusciante, instead assuming the role of musical director. “I wanted to hear the sound of the band,” he says. “I thought, I’ll be able to sit at the console, feel the air of the speakers moving, the unified sound of everything, and not feel distant from it. It was fun, but it was also challenging.” Part of Omar’s new method was to teach the musicians their parts only moments before the tapes rolled. “To keep things fresh, and to keep everyone on edge,” he says, before chuckling. “No, not on edge – on their toes. Amputechture would prove The Mars Volta’s most diverse set yet, drawing into the group’s tornado of influences moments of fiery jazz spirituality and esoteric folk introspection, finding space for passages of devastating subtlety and also their most fierce and full-on moments to date. The aforementioned Vicarious Atonement found its meditative mood echoed by Asilos Magdalena, an intimate, acoustic piece that invoked traditional Latin folk music, as Cedric sang in Spanish a sorrowful tale of a lost soul’s quest for sanctuary within a Magdalen Asylum, a refuge set up by the Catholic church for “fallen women”. The shadowy, sinister closer El Ciervo Vulnerado, meanwhile, tapped into the darker side of spiritual jazz to further explore the album’s themes of redemption and religious myth and magick. Elsewhere, the interplay between guitar and clarinet on Viscera Eyes created complex, unsettling counter-melodies, while the coiling, ornate Meccamputechture – Cedric’s wild fusion of sacred texts, occultism and dystopian science fiction – proved a great showcase for Ikey Owens’ swarming, infernal organ runs, in concert with Frusciante’s arcane guitar-play. But it was Day Of The Baphomets that would prove Amputechture’s most ambitious and most defining epic. Cedric’s lyrics tore into the hypocrisy of religious cant and myths of sin and punishment. “I wanted to make a song that was like the movie The Believers, where this cabal stole kids and did some occult shit with them,” he explains. “But I wanted it to be like, ‘What if the people you hire to do jobs you don’t wanna do rise up one day and then pull some shit like that?’ Like it was the guerrilla warfare, them taking over – wouldn’t that be some fucked up shit? And the music just lent itself to that – the big intro, the bass solo, and all of the ruckus that occurs.” That ruckus was some of the most thrilling Mars Volta music yet, as Omar directed his musicians to rumble through fiery modes of wild tribal groove, ransack-the-palaces riot- rock and supreme progressive experimentalism. Amputechture, then, is the sound of The Mars Volta in imperial mode: fearless, insatiable, unstoppable.

The 180g vinyl is available in two colors: Classic Black and a Limited Burgundy Edition, with the outer cover hand-colored and numbered (100 copies) by Moo Latte himself.

Mellomaniac, the seventh full-length album by Moo Latte, is different. These 28 compositions, written and recorded in 2021/22, were initially created for Moo's personal use, serving as a life soundtrack during many weeks and months spent away from home while touring with the band. Most of the tracks were recorded in hotel rooms and even backstage areas, fully embracing the lo-fi mindset and philsophy. Comparing to his previous works, this one holds a special significance and it's the most personal of them all.

What's Mellomaniac? The wordplay combines "melomania"—defined as an excessive and abnormal attraction to music—with the "mello" vibe that reflects both Moo Latte's personality and the nature of the music itself. The album leans toward a mellow sound, designed more for an intimate, individual listening experience where each spin of the record leads to new discoveries.

Why is this album different? Each of these pieces was created without any predetermined goal, which is why the tracklist is so eclectic—much like Moo Latte's palette of inspirations. These influences stretch back to when he was just four years old, singing in front of others for the first time or listening to his sister practice the violin. These early memories and instincts are blended with more deliberate musical choices, refined over two decades of music education. Each song is dedicated to a person, place, or situation that shaped him both as a musician and as an individual, reflecting the journey he has been on so far.

After six previous albums rooted in beat-making culture, this is the first one that is 95% drumless and free from sampling of any kind. Although the stories in these songs are told without words, Moo Latte incorporates his voice alongside a wide array of instruments, using it more expressively than ever before. The album's sonic quality is both raw and lush. The grit comes from the way it was recorded, using gear and microphones that, while not top-tier, were simply what was available. Everything was mixed in Moo Latte's bedroom and mastered on analog tape, resulting in a personal, intimate, and dynamic listening experience.

The 180g vinyl is available in two colors: Classic Black and a Limited Burgundy Edition, with the outer cover hand-colored and numbered (100 copies) by Moo Latte himself.

Mellomaniac, the seventh full-length album by Moo Latte, is different. These 28 compositions, written and recorded in 2021/22, were initially created for Moo's personal use, serving as a life soundtrack during many weeks and months spent away from home while touring with the band. Most of the tracks were recorded in hotel rooms and even backstage areas, fully embracing the lo-fi mindset and philsophy. Comparing to his previous works, this one holds a special significance and it's the most personal of them all.

What's Mellomaniac? The wordplay combines "melomania"—defined as an excessive and abnormal attraction to music—with the "mello" vibe that reflects both Moo Latte's personality and the nature of the music itself. The album leans toward a mellow sound, designed more for an intimate, individual listening experience where each spin of the record leads to new discoveries.

Why is this album different? Each of these pieces was created without any predetermined goal, which is why the tracklist is so eclectic—much like Moo Latte's palette of inspirations. These influences stretch back to when he was just four years old, singing in front of others for the first time or listening to his sister practice the violin. These early memories and instincts are blended with more deliberate musical choices, refined over two decades of music education. Each song is dedicated to a person, place, or situation that shaped him both as a musician and as an individual, reflecting the journey he has been on so far.

After six previous albums rooted in beat-making culture, this is the first one that is 95% drumless and free from sampling of any kind. Although the stories in these songs are told without words, Moo Latte incorporates his voice alongside a wide array of instruments, using it more expressively than ever before. The album's sonic quality is both raw and lush. The grit comes from the way it was recorded, using gear and microphones that, while not top-tier, were simply what was available. Everything was mixed in Moo Latte's bedroom and mastered on analog tape, resulting in a personal, intimate, and dynamic listening experience.

The year 1996 saw the release of Arab Strap’s first single, “The First Big Weekend,” and debut album The Week Never Starts Round Here. Into an underground rock milieu preoccupied at the time with slo-core, math rock, and all things Pet Sounds, the duo of Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat couldn’t have sounded more alien.

In many ways, The Week Never Starts Round Here bears all the marks of a debut: it’s raw, unguarded, and crammed with ideas. It also firmly establishes the particular set-up that would define Arab Strap’s sound over the course of eleven years, with Middleton handling the music while Moffat provides the vocals and lyrics. Even this division of labor—more common to rap music than to the shoegazers and increasingly ubiquitous “collectives” of indie rock—seemed to defy expectations.

The sound of Arab Strap is a distinct brand of existential miserablism. Middleton’s cleverly arranged foundation of nocturnal guitars and rudimentary drum machines provides a canvas for Moffat to relay, in a thick Scottish dialect, his many sloshed, candid confessions. Long before artists like Mike Skinner chronicled the picaresque days of lads getting pissed and getting laid, Arab Strap’s vivid tales of lovers, lager and shame were being broadcast on college stations everywhere.

The Week Never Starts Round Here is an album full of drugged-up kisses and dried up egos; it chronicles the conquests and knockbacks of weekends that last forever, and it does so unapologetically, poetically, and profanely. Indie rock would never be the same.

On 4 October 2024 Universal Music Recordings and Decca Records are making Jamaican/British jazz saxophonist Joe Harriott’s album ‘Movement’ available again for the first time since it was released in 1964. Long sought after by collectors and connoisseurs, original copies now sell for upwards of £1,000.

This new edition was mastered at Abbey Road using high definition 24bit/192kHz audio files, copied directly from the original stereo analogue master tapes (previously only the mono version has been on vinyl). Images of those tapes are included in the package alongside new sleeve notes written by noted author, compiler and documentary maker Tony Higgins, who also acts as Executive Producer for Decca’s ‘British Jazz Explosion’ series.

Recorded in 1963, ‘Movement’ was released as part of the Lansdowne Series, overseen by the influential Denis Preston, one of the UK’s first independent record producers, and engineered by Adrian Kerridge. Of the nine tracks, seven are Harriott originals, whilst the other two were written by another pioneer of British Jazz, Michael Garrick. Playing alongside Joe were bassist Coleridge Goode (b. 1914 Jamaica, d. 2015 London), drummer Bobby Orr (b. Scotland 1928, d. 2020), pianist Pat Smythe (b. Scotland 1923, d. 1983), and trumpet/flugelhorn player Ellsworth ‘Shake’ Keane (b. St. Vincent 1927, d. 1997).

Born in Jamaica in 1928, Joseph Arthurlin Harriott was a pupil at the Alpha Boys School (alma mater to Harold McNair, Dizzy Reece, and a myriad of Ska greats). He arrived in Britain in the early ’50s, initially touring with the Ozzie Da Costa Band, followed by a brief spell with the Ronnie Scott Big Band, and sessions backing the likes of George Chisholm, and Lita Roza.

By the mid ’50s Joe was a big enough draw to release records under his own name, and whilst these early recordings conform to the then popular bop style, the following decade would see him release albums whose titles chart his development; ‘Free Form’ in 1960, and ‘Abstract’ in 1963.

‘Movement’ is a testament to Joe Harriott’s visionary approach to jazz. It blends structure with freedom, tradition with innovation, and individual expression with collective creativity. His development of free-form jazz represents a significant contribution to the genre, paralleling yet distinct from the work of Ornette Coleman and other American free jazz artists. It is an essential listen, not only for fans of British jazz, but jazz fans in general.

It is perhaps best summed up by the epitaph that now adorns Joe’s gravestone; “Parker? There’s them over here can play a few aces too.”

Cindy is to release a new six song EP called Swan Lake on 4th October via Tough Love. The title isn’t a nod to the folktale or ballet in any real way, but to the fact that it all has ended up in the collective imagination as an object, vaguely recognizable, a little suggestive, and mostly blank. Karina Gill, Cindy’s songwriter, likes to make use of that kind of resonance to connect sound and experience. The six songs on this EP continue the stripped-down habits of previous Cindy releases, while adding a few departures and left-turns. Cindy likes to work at the essentials and the elements here say exactly what’s needed. In other ways, these songs present a soft filigree that’s unusual for their recordings. Oli Lipton (Now, Violent Change) on guitar and Will Smith (Now) on bass play counterpoint melodies to Gill’s structures. Staizsh Rodrigues (Children Maybe Later, Almond Joy, Peace Frog) sings vocal harmonies that both offset and deepen Gill’s voice and delivery. There are playful drums by Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Sad Eyed Beatniks) and coolly elaborate guitar lines from Stanley Martinez (Famous Mammals, Violent Change, Non Plus Temps). Gill’s songs strike this balance too: almost nonchalant reporting tied up in unexpected knots. A ride in an elevator connects up with questions about peace and/or the nature of things; the title track wonders about associative thinking and associative feeling; The Bell is an account of one of those times when everything makes sense but you can’t explain it; and there’s the scene of a party viewed with admiration for how friends can love each other. As Gill herself says: "People have told me that they can’t quite identify my influences. Me neither. The foundational layers of music of the past and my past have been metabolized like breakfast and turned into more me, sorry to say. But I experience the music of people I’m connected with and it impacts me in the moment. There’s the music I’m around – April Magazine, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Violent Change, Katsy Pline, collaborating with Mike on Flowertown – that I can feel a direct line from. Then there’s music that is being made far away but feels close, like Lewsberg, specifically, for this EP. " CINDY – UK Tour Dates: Oct 31st WOE is 6 @ Walthamstow Trades Hall, London w/ Cuneiform Tabs & Bobby Would. Nov 1st Coventry, UK Just Dropped In Records, 2 Halifax, UK The Grayston Unity, 4 York, UK The Fulford Arms, 5 Gateshead, UK The Central Bar, 6 Glasgow, UK The Glad Café, 7 Manchester, UK Rat & Pigeon, 8 Cambridge, UK NCI Centre.

Sasu Ripatti presents the fourth volume in his "Dancefloor Classics" series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Dancefloor Classics”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

I’ve been slowly writing these sort of dance music pieces and finally curated them together for a conceptual release. I like to create music for a dancefloor that exists only in my imagination and doesn’t try to suck up to the standardized reality.

2) Your vinyl format is 10” which is quite special (as opposed to LP / 12”). Why did you choose it?

It’s my favourite format, absolutely. The size is perfect, and you can make it sound really good @ 45 rpm. And you still can make great artwork.

3) You seem interested in sampling/repurposing, what does it mean to you as an artist to approach something already existing from a new angle? How does the source material inform you about the approach to take?

I guess i could flip it around and just say I’ve outgrown synths or electronic sounds to a great extend, and having gotten rid off all my synths already good while ago I’ve used samples as my main source material a lot. It’s obvious on this series that i’ve sampled existing music, but I also sample instruments and things in the studio and resample my own library that I have built over the years, it’s quite large. To me the end result matters, not so much how I get there. Once I have something on my keyboard and play around, it’s all an instrument, though with sampling other music it becomes a really interesting and complex one as you’re possibly playing rhythm, but also harmonic content and maybe hooks or whatever, all at once.
I never sample premeditadedly, like listening to records and looking for that mindblowing 3 sec part. I just throw the cards in the air and see what lands where, just full intuition and hopefully zero mind involved, playing tons of stuff, trying things, just recording hours of stuff. Then comes the interesting part to listen to hours of mostly crazy stuff and finding that mindblowing 3 sec part.

4) What is your relationship with the dancefloor (conceptually and/or in experiences / as a performer)?

Very complicated. I have never really felt comfortable on a dancefloor but have always wanted to. There’s something in club music, in theory, that really speaks to me. It has never really materialized for me – speaking mainly from a performer’s point of view who goes to check on a dancefloor for a moment after a concert. I never have DJ’d or felt much interest towards it. But again, I love the idea and concept of DJing. As well as producing music for imaginary DJs. Lately, as in the past 10+ years, I haven’t even performed in any sort of club spaces. So my relationship to the dancefloor is quite removed and reduced, but there’s quite a bit of passion and interest left.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork & photography by Marc Hohmann.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

Sasu Ripatti presents the fifth and last volume in his "Dancefloor Classics" series. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

--

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.
He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?
He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.
”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”
New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.
She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”
”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

Tahiti 80, the cult French group, is back with a tenth album entitled Hello Hello.

Since their formation in Rouen in the 90s, Tahiti 80 have built a substantial discography, collaborating with artists such as Cornelius, Tore Johansson, Adam Schlesinger and Richard Swift. The indie pop quintet offers us today twelve irresistible and captivating songs on a solar tenth album. With its welcoming title, Hello Hello presents itself as a desire to merge the spontaneity of live performances with the chemistry of a band working in the studio. Xavier Boyer, lead singer and songwriter, explains: “We felt a slight frustration with our previous album, Here With You, released in 2022. The pandemic had forced us to record separately at home. When we realized our new demos were going in this live direction, we looked for the perfect place to capture that spirit."

It is at the Paraphernalia studio, located in the French countryside, that the members of Tahiti 80, including in addition to the singer, Pedro Resende, Médéric Gontier, Raphaël Léger and Hadrien Grange, perfected their musical interactions for ten days during the summer 2023. Integrated very early in the process, Stéphane Laporte, aka Domotic, brought his distinctive experimental touch to the arrangements and production. The vocals and additional synthesizers were then finalized between Paris, Rouen and Montpellier in the fall

The twelve songs that make up Hello Hello form a homogeneous suite, highlighting the creativity, diversity and maturity of a group which has just celebrated twenty-five years of career. Opening the album, “Every Little Thing” subtly mixes shoegaze guitars and synth pop. It’s also one of the rare Tahiti 80 tracks that keeps the same chords from start to finish. The singer confides: “It was an exercise in minimalism, with the constraint of finding varied vocal melodies revolving around the same chords. Singing the line ‘I Love Every Little Thing About Us’ made me realize that it could also be about us as a group.” The title song also plays the simplicity card with Boyer’s unique timbre, complemented by a drum machine passed through a tape echo and a catchy recorder theme – proof that years of practice of this instrument in French schools was not in vain!

The other distinctive trend is Brazilian: “Lose My Head”, “Soft Echo” or “Poison Flower” each display tropicalist attributes: swaying rhythms, rounded bass, soft guitars, all enhanced by a reverberated sound treatment. “From Caetano Veloso to Tim Bernardes, there is a unique way,” notes the vocalist, “of linking rhythm and melody that has always inspired us.”

However, the Tahiti 80 touch is not being put aside. “About Us”, sung by guitarist Médéric Gontier who can also be heard on “1+1” and “Anyway”, marks a return to the roots of indie pop. An impression confirmed by the hit “Vertigo” and its signature all in major sevenths supported by the elastic groove of bassist Pedro Resende. The song which sounds like a quick return trip between late 70s California and Tokyo City Pop, will find its place after “Crush!” and “Heartbeat” in the Rouennais’ songbook. Xavier Boyer concludes: “ if we manage to surprise ourselves, it will also work for the listener. but when you reach the tenth album, you must also manage to renew ourselves without denying ourselves what we did previously.”

With their innovative and unique approach to indie pop, their timeless melodies and their sophisticated productions, Tahiti 80 has never ceased to resonate with fans around the world. Their latest collection, Hello Hello, should easily consolidate their status as a singular group and esteemed personalities on the international music scene.

Little Elements neues Album Trippy Moon ist ein akustischer Trip zwischen Alpen und karibischem Strand
Die Innsbrucker Produzentin, Singer-Songwriterin und Multi-Instrumentalistin Lisa Aumaier alias Little Element lässt auf ihrem zweiten Studioalbum Trippy Moon Genre-Grenzen verschmelzen und erschafft dabei psychedelisch angehauchte Sound-Welten zwischen Trip-Hop, Indie-Pop und ihrer charakteristischen Mischung aus Neo-Psychedelia, Dub und World Music-Einflüssen. Ganz nebenbei produziert und komponiert die authentische Multiinstrumentalistin auch noch alles selbst - mal am Meer, mal im eigenen Studio in den Tiroler Bergen.

The Decades Collected compilations are part of the Collected compilation series, which is a collaboration between Universal Music and Music On Vinyl. The compilations bring together the biggest names of each decade, combined with forgotten hits and less discovered gems, giving the listener an experience of listening to their favourite tunes while uncovering new musical grounds at the same time.

"Distant Call" ist im Gegensatz zu "Spell Blanket" eine Sammlung früher Demos von Songs, die später als fertige Produktionen auf den Alben "Haha Sound", "Tender Buttons" und "The Future Crayon" erscheinen sollten. Das Album enthält außerdem zwei Songs, die James nach Trishs Tod entdeckte: "Come Back To Me" und "Please Call To Book". Diese waren ihre Antwort auf das "Let's Write A Song"-Projekt von Broadcast aus dem Jahr 2006, bei dem Fans gebeten wurden, Songtexte auf einer Postkarte einzusenden, die dann in einen fertigen Song eingearbeitet wurden. "Distant Call" schließt die Tür zu Broadcast und wird die letzte Veröffentlichung der Band sein.

UK-Indierock-Koryphäen Maxïmo Park kündigen ihr achtes Studioalbum 'Stream Of Life' an, das am 27. September über Lower Third erscheinen wird. Auf dem Weg zu 'Stream Of Life' hat sich die Band aus Newcastle erneut mit Ben Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective) zusammengetan, dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten des Vorgänger-Albums 'Nature Always Wins' aus dem Jahr 2021.

Die Band befindet sich in der vielleicht nachdenklichsten Phase, in der sie je war. Leadsänger Paul Smith, dessen Stil sich vermutlich als Literatur-Pop beschreiben lässt, hat den Titel des Albums einer Kurzgeschichte der ukrainischstämmigen brasilianischen Schriftstellerin Clarice Lispector entnommen, inspiriert von ihrem Bewusstseinsstrom und der Art und Weise, wie sie zum Nachdenken über die inneren Mechanismen der Menschen anregt. Sie wirft die Frage auf, warum wir die Dinge tun, die wir tun, selbst wenn sie für Außenstehende kontraintuitiv erscheinen. Jedes Individuum hat einen inneren Fluss - einen Strom des Lebens.

UK-Indierock-Koryphäen Maxïmo Park kündigen ihr achtes Studioalbum 'Stream Of Life' an, das am 27. September über Lower Third erscheinen wird. Auf dem Weg zu 'Stream Of Life' hat sich die Band aus Newcastle erneut mit Ben Allen (Gnarls Barkley, Animal Collective) zusammengetan, dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten des Vorgänger-Albums 'Nature Always Wins' aus dem Jahr 2021.

Die Band befindet sich in der vielleicht nachdenklichsten Phase, in der sie je war. Leadsänger Paul Smith, dessen Stil sich vermutlich als Literatur-Pop beschreiben lässt, hat den Titel des Albums einer Kurzgeschichte der ukrainischstämmigen brasilianischen Schriftstellerin Clarice Lispector entnommen, inspiriert von ihrem Bewusstseinsstrom und der Art und Weise, wie sie zum Nachdenken über die inneren Mechanismen der Menschen anregt. Sie wirft die Frage auf, warum wir die Dinge tun, die wir tun, selbst wenn sie für Außenstehende kontraintuitiv erscheinen. Jedes Individuum hat einen inneren Fluss - einen Strom des Lebens.

From Cape Town to Cairo, and now to fans, stages and screens around the world, PJ Morton shares his newest album, fully made in the motherland. Cape Town to Cairo is a collection of songs that he created in 30 days throughout 4 countries in Africa — South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt. Described as the best trip of his life, this transformative journey began as just the seed of an idea last fall, but instantly grew into his most sonically-sprawling and immediately-inspired record to date. With no music, lyrics or preconceptions, he stepped foot onto the continent with two thoughts: a wild dream to write and record his next LP in less than a month, and a mission to immerse himself in as many different cultures, stories and communities as he could.

Surrounded by featured collaborators like Fireboy DML, Mádé Kuti, Asa, Ndabo Zulu, and Soweto Spiritual Singers, as well as additional producers including P.Priime and The Cavemen., his own live band and local musicians, PJ Morton used music as his common language. Always his greatest way of communicating, he expressed his feelings and experiences of Africa through songs he and others were forming together on the spot, side-by-side in different studios, cities and towns for the very first time. None of the tracks were written before he arrived or after he left, and the arrangements showcase both the countries’ native genres as well as the innate, stylistic instincts that have made Morton a 5x GRAMMY-winner and 20x GRAMMY-nominee, whether it be his soul, R&B and gospel roots, or the pop prowess he has further honed as a member of Maroon 5.

“When you’ve been in music as long as I have, you’re constantly looking for inspiration,” says PJ Morton. “And you’re looking for the things that made you want to do it in the first place. I’ve made albums every type of way you can think, so I wanted to try something I hadn’t done before. As a Black American who had never been to South or West Africa, I knew there was something there waiting for me. So I put a little pressure on myself to make a full record in a month, but I also said, ‘If I’m gonna go to Africa, I want to see Africa.’ We made music, but we also formed connections. We made new friends, and this is just the start.”

ESSENCE adds, "This trip is not just a physical move, it's a spiritual return…The soul of Africa pulses through every note he plays and every word he sings,” and VIBE adds that “the multi-faceted artist is fully embracing a new phase in his life.” Cape Town to Cairo marks PJ Morton’s first album since 2022’s Watch The Sun, which featured collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Nas, JoJo, Wale, Jill Scott, Alex Isley and more. Since then, Morton has become the first Black composer to write an original song for a Disney attraction, having just finished making the music for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, opening on June 28th, 2024 at Disney World and Fall 2024 at Disneyland. He also won his latest GRAMMY earlier this year, worked with Samara Joy on “Why I’m Here” for Regina King’s Netflix film Shirley, and landed a cover of his song “Don’t Let Go” as the soundtrack to Apple’s iPhone 15 commercial.

PJ Morton recently returned from headlining his debut shows in Asia, New Zealand and Australia, and announced an extensive Cape Town to Cairo Tour for North America summer and fall 2024. Following iconic performances at New Orleans Jazz Fest, The Kennedy Center, Roots Picnic and Newport Jazz Fest, Morton will embark on a run of more than 25 dates across the country, including New York City’s Beacon Theatre, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, and dozens of others.

On the heels of his headline tour and Maroon 5’s Las Vegas residency, PJ Morton will publish a life-spanning new book titled Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. The memoir sees him recounting and reflecting upon a trailblazing path that continues to defy expectations and straddle the tensions of music and faith, race and culture, expression and identity. As the son of two pastors and gospel artists, Morton grew up grounded by the sound of the Church, but soon found himself drawn to R&B, pop and soul, writing songs that the industry, his family and community struggled to understand. In the face of mounting pressure, rejection and constant miscategorization, he committed himself to a steadfast path of independence: making music on his own terms, launching his own record label, joining one of the biggest bands in the world while staying true to his New Orleans roots. The risks he took paid off, and through his transformation from preacher's kid to the busiest man in showbiz – performing everywhere from his local congregation to the Super Bowl, collaborating with everyone from his father to Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Jon Batiste and Lil Wayne – he hopes to encourage readers and listeners to overcome obstacles as they seek their dreams.

Speckled Dragon Egg Color Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

Der ehemalige Wild Beast Sänger Hayden Thorpe legt sein drittes Soloalbum vor

Text: Hayden Thorpe hat sein drittes Soloalbum für den 27.September angekündigt. "Ness" ist inspiriert von Orford Ness in Suffolk, einem ehemaligen Militärstandort für die Entwicklung von Waffen während beider Weltkriege und des Kalten Krieges. Das 1993 vom National Trust erworbene und der Verwilderung überlassene Gebiet ist bis heute ein Ort des Paradoxen, des Geheimnisses und der ständigen Entwicklung. Thorpe's "Ness" ist eine Ode an Orford Ness, an den physischen Ort und an das Buch, das ihn inspiriert hat. Mit Wort und Bild haben der britische Bestseller-Autor Robert Macfarlane und Stanley Donwood darin einen kleinen modernen Mythos geschaffen. Teils Novelle, teils Prosagedicht, teils Mysterienspiel - in "Ness" vereinen sich ihre Fähigkeiten zu einer verblüffenden, beunruhigenden Wirkung und Thorpe erweckt die Lieder darin zum Leben. Nachdem sich Thorpe und Macfarlane auf dem Kendal Mountain Literature Festival kennengelernt und dann zusammengearbeitet hatten, entstand die Idee, dass Thorpe ein Album aus Macfarlanes Prosa machen sollte. Sein Exemplar des Buches ist nun mit schwarzer Tinte bedeckt, die Wörter, Zeilen und Sätze bedeckt, um „das Lied darunter zu enthüllen“. Das Video zur ersten Single "They" bei dem Hayden Thorpe und Andy King Regie führten und das in Orford Ness gefilmt wurde, dient als Einführung in "Ness": die Kiesgrube, das Buch und das Album. In den ersten anderthalb Minuten des Videos spricht Thorpe Macfarlanes Worte und bittet uns: „Listen. Hört jetzt zu. Hört auf Ness. Seid still und hört zu, ja? Hört wirklich zu."


[b] a2. WTF Is That?

"Spell Shock" ist die fulminante Rückkehr der Satanic Speed Metal-Beschwörer und Provokateure aus Portland, BEWITCHER. Im Verlauf eines Jahrzehnts, während dessen sie musikalische Dunkelheit manifestiert und die von Motörhead und Venom gelegten Grundlagen mutwillig mißbrauchten, haben BEWITCHER bewiesen, dass sie zu Recht zu den meistbeachteten Bands des Undergrounds gehören und mit Bands wie Cavalera, Municipal Waste und Creeping Death (um nur einige zu nennen) den Asphalt aufgewühlt haben. Auf "Spell Shock" geht das Trio nicht nur bei Tracks wie dem bombastischen Opener "Starfire Maelstrom" zurück zum Gaspedal, sondern schwelgt auch im Rock mit "Out Against the Law" oder wird beim elegischen "We Die In Dust" liturgisch. Diesmal haben BEWITCHER niemand Geringeren als den legendären Gitarristen, Songwriter und Metal-Punk-Fanatiker Lars Frederiksen (Rancid, Old Firm Casuals) engagiert, um ihr Hell-and-Back-Chaos zu beschwören, und das Ergebnis ist absolut unheilig. Selten klangen Hellfire so gut. "Spell Shock" ist erhältlich als: Standard CD Jewelcase, schwarze 180g LP im Klappcover, Digitales Album.

Two seminal 12" mixes of a pair of enormous tracks from Surface. Housed in the super-rare and - until now - French-only picture sleeve of the eternal "Falling In Love", we've backed that classic with Be With's favourite deconstructed mix of the swirling electronic soul / synth-driven slow jam "Happy". These sought-after versions have never been paired on the same record before. This fresh Be With edition ensures these legendary tracks now sound, looks and feel as sensational as they deserve to. You know what to do...

American post-disco/R&B trio Surface were a New Jersey vocal group made up of Bernard Jackson, David Townsend and David Conley. The majesty of boogie ballad "Falling In Love" was their first single, released in 1983 on Salsoul Records. The mellow magic of this track is loved the world over; it's a feel-good smooth boogie jam that's forever coveted. The slick, crystal clear beat, the legendary minimoog bassline, the melody, Karen Copeland's superb vocal, the great flute solo (referenced on the cover) all of it is literally perfect and beautifully encapsulates that mid 80s international club vibe. This here is the original Shep Pettibone mix in its entirety - it's the only one you really need.

Flip for the legendary "Love Mix" of 1987 hit single “Happy". You all know the original. At least, you *should* all know it. But the "Love Mix" is a deconstructed, boldly produced mix which is the one the heads have turned to for so long. Yet, in our opinion, its hypnotic groove has flown under the radar for too many years. This killer remix begins with Jackson's spine-tingling isolated vocal, cleverly subverting expectations by actually delivering the first words of the original's second verse "You must be Heaven sent...Sent into my life...And I compliment you baby...Baby" before a heavy 808 drum kicks hard with echoey handclaps. It's super sparse and a dubbed out slow-mo boogie banger like no other. The synth bass, atmospheric synth pads and synthesized flute glide in and out with effortless style and the whole thing is a wonder to behold.

It's a slow jam, for sure, but crafted in the straight up funk tradition, using the digital tools of the day and this sparser than sparse version almost sounds like a precursor to UK Street Soul. A unique combination of undeniable funk, electro beats and an earnest, youthful tenor; it should be slamming out of every jeep forevermore.

Simon Francis remastered the original audio for both tracks and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" well and truly slaps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after treasure finds a home in many more collections, this and every year. Simply flawless.

Oxblood & Gold Vinyl. Light In The Attic präsentiert in Zusammenarbeit mit Laurie Anderson und dem Lou Reed Archive die erste offizielle Anthologie von Lou Reeds Arbeiten für Pickwick Records 1964-1965. "Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964-65"enthält Raritäten, Kultklassiker (The Primitives' "The Ostrich") und bisher unveröffentlichtes Material (The Beachnuts' "Sad, Lonely Orphan Boy") und ist eine Zusammenstellung von Popsongs aus Reeds Feder, die er Mitte der 60er Jahre als angestellter Songwriter für das längst untergegangene Label Pickwick Records schrieb. Die Zusammenstellung ist der neueste Teil der Lou Reed Archive Serie und folgt auf Lou Reeds "Words & Music, May 1965" (2022) und die Wiederveröffentlichung von "Hudson River Wind Meditations" (2023). Als eine der originellsten und innovativsten Persönlichkeiten der Musikgeschichte erlangte Reed (1942-2013) zunächst als Mitbegründer und Frontmann der einflussreichen Band Velvet Underground Anerkennung. Im Laufe seiner fünf Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere brachte der zweifache Rock & Roll Hall of Famer seine einzigartige Vision in eine eklektische Bandbreite musikalischer Unternehmungen ein, darunter epochale Alben wie "Transformer" (1972) und wild experimentelle Werke wie der avantgardistische Noise-Klassiker "Metal Machine Music" (1975). Doch bevor er sich als Sänger, Songschreiber, Musiker und Dichter etablierte, begann Reed als interner Songschreiber (und gelegentlicher Session-Gitarrist/Sänger) bei Pickwick Records, einem Label, das sich auf Sound-ähnliche Aufnahmen spezialisierte, die die großen Pop-Hits der damaligen Zeit nachahmten. Von Garage-Rock und Girl-Group-Pop bis hin zu Blue-Eyed-Soul und Teenie-Idol-Balladen bietet Reeds Schaffen für Pickwick einen faszinierenden frühen Einblick in sein sich ständig weiterentwickelndes und wahrhaft grenzenloses künstlerisches Schaffen, das vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Mastering-Ingenieur John Baldwin restauriert und remastered wurde. Sowohl die 2xLP- als auch die CD-Editionen enthalten ausführliche Booklets mit ungesehenen Fotos, Linernotes von Richie Unterberger (renommierter Musikjournalist und Autor von "White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground day-by-day") und ein Essay von Lenny Kaye (dem legendären Gitarristen, Mitbegründer der Patti Smith Group, Autor, Produzent und Kurator der bahnbrechenden Garage-Rock-Anthologie "Nuggets"). Die Doppel-LP-Verpackung wurde von dem mehrfach mit dem GRAMMYr ausgezeichneten Künstler Masaki Koike gestaltet. Eine spezielle farbige Vinyl-Edition wird auf "Oxblood"-Wachs (A/B-Seite) und "Gold"-Wachs (C/D-Seite) gepresst.

Light In The Attic präsentiert in Zusammenarbeit mit Laurie Anderson und dem Lou Reed Archive die erste offizielle Anthologie von Lou Reeds Arbeiten für Pickwick Records 1964-1965. "Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed At Pickwick Records 1964-65"enthält Raritäten, Kultklassiker (The Primitives' "The Ostrich") und bisher unveröffentlichtes Material (The Beachnuts' "Sad, Lonely Orphan Boy") und ist eine Zusammenstellung von Popsongs aus Reeds Feder, die er Mitte der 60er Jahre als angestellter Songwriter für das längst untergegangene Label Pickwick Records schrieb. Die Zusammenstellung ist der neueste Teil der Lou Reed Archive Serie und folgt auf Lou Reeds "Words & Music, May 1965" (2022) und die Wiederveröffentlichung von "Hudson River Wind Meditations" (2023). Als eine der originellsten und innovativsten Persönlichkeiten der Musikgeschichte erlangte Reed (1942-2013) zunächst als Mitbegründer und Frontmann der einflussreichen Band Velvet Underground Anerkennung. Im Laufe seiner fünf Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere brachte der zweifache Rock & Roll Hall of Famer seine einzigartige Vision in eine eklektische Bandbreite musikalischer Unternehmungen ein, darunter epochale Alben wie "Transformer" (1972) und wild experimentelle Werke wie der avantgardistische Noise-Klassiker "Metal Machine Music" (1975). Doch bevor er sich als Sänger, Songschreiber, Musiker und Dichter etablierte, begann Reed als interner Songschreiber (und gelegentlicher Session-Gitarrist/Sänger) bei Pickwick Records, einem Label, das sich auf Sound-ähnliche Aufnahmen spezialisierte, die die großen Pop-Hits der damaligen Zeit nachahmten. Von Garage-Rock und Girl-Group-Pop bis hin zu Blue-Eyed-Soul und Teenie-Idol-Balladen bietet Reeds Schaffen für Pickwick einen faszinierenden frühen Einblick in sein sich ständig weiterentwickelndes und wahrhaft grenzenloses künstlerisches Schaffen, das vom GRAMMYr-nominierten Mastering-Ingenieur John Baldwin restauriert und remastered wurde. Sowohl die 2xLP- als auch die CD-Editionen enthalten ausführliche Booklets mit ungesehenen Fotos, Linernotes von Richie Unterberger (renommierter Musikjournalist und Autor von "White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground day-by-day") und ein Essay von Lenny Kaye (dem legendären Gitarristen, Mitbegründer der Patti Smith Group, Autor, Produzent und Kurator der bahnbrechenden Garage-Rock-Anthologie "Nuggets"). Die Doppel-LP-Verpackung wurde von dem mehrfach mit dem GRAMMYr ausgezeichneten Künstler Masaki Koike gestaltet.