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2024 repress

Music From Memory is excited to announce a special compilation that they’ve been working on for some time now; MFM053 – VA – Heisei No Oto – Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996). Compiled by long-time friends of the label, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, Heisei No Oto delves into a world of music released almost exclusively on CD and brings together a fascinating selection of discoveries from a little known and overlooked part of Japan’s musical history.

The last ten or so years have seen a global wave of interest in Japanese music encompassing ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records from the 1980s, some of which is increasingly considered the most innovative and visionary music of that time. Although some music from this period, in the form of ‘City Pop’ or ‘rare groove’ records, had been coveted by collectors and DJs for a number of years, most Japanese music from the time was little known outside and often even within Japan.

Sometime around the mid 2000s, two Osaka record store owners, Eiji Taniguchi of Revelation Time and Norio Sato of Rare Groove, along with a handful of deep Japanese diggers such as Chee Shimizu of Organic Music records in Tokyo, began to explore beyond the typical ‘grooves’ or ‘breaks’. Much like their counterparts in Europe and the US, they began delving into home-grown ambient, jazz, new wave and pop records, discovering visionary music, often driven by synthesizers or drum computers, that broke beyond the typical confines of their genres.

Spending tireless hours in local record stores and embarking on digging trips across the country, Eiji Taniguchi and Norio Sato, much like Chee Shimizu, have been at the forefront of unearthing and introducing many of the very Japanese records now loved and sought after around the world. Yet as YouTube algorithms and vinyl reissues would transport such music into the global consciousness and demand and therefore scarcity intensified for such records, so Eiji and Norio have recently begun to turn their attention to CDs.

The title of the compilation Heisei No Oto refers to the sound of the Heisei era, which began in 1989 and corresponds to the reign of Emperor Akihito until his abdication in 2019. Marking the culmination of one of the most rapid economic growths in Japanese history, 1989 also coincided with the music industry’s final shift away from vinyl in favour of CDs. And, although compact discs were first introduced seven years earlier it wasn’t until late into the ‘80s that, beyond dance music labels, CDs became the exclusive format for major and independent labels in Japan and throughout the world.

This however didn’t signal the end of the innovation in Japan. Many of those same musicians who have become known for their work in the ‘80s would continue to produce outstanding music well into the mid ‘90s, as greater innovation and advances in musical equipment allowed Japanese musicians and producers to refine and explore new sounds. While musicians such as the seminal Haruomi Hosono, whose productions feature on a number of tracks, would continue to push the boundaries of these new technologies, these technological advances also meant less established musicians were able to make use of increasingly affordable but state-of-the-art equipment.

Including music by Haruomi Hosono as well as Yasuaki Shimizu, Toshifumi Hinata and Ichiko Hashimoto who have become known and loved around the world in recent years, Hesei No Oto also features Japanese pop star Yosui Inoue, producers Jun Sato and Keisuke Kikuchi in aaddition to less established artists from the contemporary, jazz, new wave, pop and dance music scenes. Bringing together a selection of tracks that seem to define these specific genres and in fact move fluidly between a number of them, the music on the compilation is again underscored by experimentations with synthesizers and drum computers though with something of a gentle Pop sensibility. Reimagined here then under the encompassing term ‘Left-field Pop’, this is an exciting chapter in Japanese musical history that has only just begun to be fully explored.

VA - Heisei No Oto - Japanese Left-field Pop From The CD Age (1989-1996) is a 2xLP/2xCD that includes liner notes by Chee Shimizu and artwork by Hagihara Takuya and is released on February 28th.

Black/White Split Colour Vinyl. Recorded in a little bedroom studio out in Durham, North Carolina, Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn's debut LP as Sylvan Esso arrived in 2014 at the juncture of pop and experimental. Even now, years later, the LP remains an urgent and fitting introduction to a push-and-pull that would go on to inform the duo's sound - a thoughtful headiness that also wants you to get out on the dance floor. A blend of analog and digital, Meath and Sanborn were two unexpected puzzle pieces fitting together with singular ease, producing a ten-track LP that was both minimalist and shimmering, with dark undulations rippling beneath the synthy-surface and crystalline quality of Meath's voice. Before all of the international touring and festival headlining and critical acclaim and Grammy nominations, Sylvan Esso was just a shot-in-the dark of musical chemistry gone right. The original album bio for the self-titled presciently sets the stage for the thesis that has gone on to guide Meath and Sanborn's writing since then: "a collection of vivid addictions concerning suffering and love, darkness and deliverance" arriving as "a necessary pop balm, an album stuffed with songs that don't suffer the longstanding complications of that term." And so, even as the band continues to evolve and becomes amorphous, there's still that argument about what pop can be at its core. This is just the beginning of that conversation captured on tape. In honor of the record's ten year anniversary, North Carolina-based indie label Psychic Hotline will release a deluxe reissue, complete with previously unreleased material. Featuring essential singles "Coffee", "Hey Mami," and "H.S.K.T.", the expanded edition also includes remixes from J Rocc, Rick Wade, Helado Negro, Dntel, and more. The deluxe 2LP package sports an all-over foil inversion of the original album's iconic foil "SE" logo.

Burnski's Constant Black kicks with yet more robust tech house for considered dance floors. This one comes from the ever-present underground stalwart Diego Krause and he opens with 'Bound', a perfectly driving and deep cut with slinky drums and smart vocals that are brought to life with sci-fi synth effects. 'Munro' is brilliantly lithe and elegant, with wispy synth motifs peeling off a super smooth and slinky groove. 'Phantom' ups the pace with a little more tech house urgency but still plenty of deftly designed cosmic pads. 'Flux' shuts down with kinetic, tightly coiled drum funk and popping neon colours. Great work all around from Krause.

London-based Lewi Boome brings his class to this new release on Well Street, strictly limited to just 100 copies so you better act fast! 'Dust Devil' opens with a deft touch - the pinging synth lines and airy drum loops suspending you in a tripped-out world of futurism. That cerebral style continues through the lithe and elegant, dubbed-out rhythms of 'Etched Alive' and the more unsettling moods of jungle-techno cut 'Tumble', complete with distant bird calls and humid pads. 'Deep Sheer' rounds out with a little more low-end grit as the fourth and final cut on a superb EP.

Since the inception of Anxious in 2016, the band has always acted with purpose. This may seem like a simple premise, but for five kids still in high school at the time, it's quite an accomplishment. Early songs were packaged in limited run demo tapes with accompanying zines and hand-dyed t-shirts. Weekends were filled with regional runs of shows outside of their Fairfield, Connecticut homebase. With this amount of effort it's no wonder that within a few years of graduation, Anxious has built a solid foundation for their debut album to flourish upon.On Little Green House, Anxious explores what it feels like to enter adulthood in unflinching detail. The Connecticut band unpacks struggles, joys, and hard-earned realizations in a way that makes them feel wise beyond their years. Anthemic songs like lead single "In April" and guaranteed sing-along "Growing Up Song" thread the often difficult melodic-hardcore needle in a way that feels both nostalgic for the emo renaissance of yesteryear and precisely built for the current moment of genre defiant pioneering.

In a joint venture with Weird Vacation, fmd is pleased to announced the long overdue reissue of the classic Plush debut album, More You Becomes You. Originally released in 1998, More You Becomes You was revered upon release and has been remastered from the original tapes by Jason Hillier with new Digital and DL masters created by Bob Weston who also recut new lacquers for the vinyl reissue. Described by Uncut magazine as “One of the most charismatic and eccentric pop craftsmen of the past twenty years”, Liam Hayes has been making critically acclaimed records since the 90’s. His first single “Three-Quarters Blind Eyes b/w Found a Little Baby” released under the moniker Plush, was cited by the NME as being “..one of those rare records - and incredibly rare debuts - that instantly seems a classic..” Although he emerged from the Chicago indie-rock scene, Hayes is often compared with artists such as Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson, Laura Nyro and Harry Nilsson. Like some of the best folk-pop or soft soul from the 1960’s and 1970’s there is a timeless quality to his music. Re-release of debut album More You Becomes You is remastered from the original analogue tapes by Jason Hillier and recut for vinyl by Bob Weston, who also remastered the CD and Streaming formats. A deluxe 12 page full size booklet comes with the LP version (which also comes packaged as close to the original as possible, with a printed outer envelope/bag) and a 20 page booklet comes with the CD version put together by Liam and Jason Harvey, with Sleeve Notes by John Mulvey.

Der Soundtrack zur Apple TV+ Originalserie "Masters Of The Air" ist ein epischer und innovativer Score des EMMY®-preisgekrönten Komponisten Blake Neely. Die ausführenden Produzenten der Serie sind Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks und Gary Goetzman (siehe auch "Band Of Brothers" und "The Pacific"), zur herausragenden Besetzung gehören unter anderem die Oscar-Nominierten Austin Butler und Barry Keoghan. Im Mittelpunkt von "Masters Of The Air" steht die Darstellung des psychologischen und emotionalen Preises, den junge Männer zahlten, die dabei halfen, den Schrecken des Dritten Reiches zu zerstören.

An exciting new collaboration between New Mastersounds Hammond organist and Madrid based guitarist Lucas De Mulder plus drummer Luke Flowers (Cinematic Orchestra). Recorded at Joe's home studio on his cherished C3 Hammond (where The New Mastersounds' latest album "Old School" was recorded Galáctico will delight vintage jazz-funk fans with nods to Jimmy Mcgriff, Dr Lonnie Smith,George Benson etc etc. Joe and Lucas worked together on Lucas's album "Feel the spirit" in 2019 on Color Red label based in Denver.
The trio will be launching the record at the Saint Paul Soul Jazz festival in the south of France on 7th July and continue to play a series of other fgigs through-out the summer
The album starts with the frenetic James Brown groove of Double Take - a catch jazz guitar head that builds moving up in key to a frenetic hammond solo punctuated by The Haggis Horns.
Track 2 is the Meters-esque "Hey!" The only English language vocal track on the record and at that only one word
Next up is "El Gato" featuring Sam Bell on Congas and Atholl Ransome and Malcolm Strachan from the Haggis Horns a latin four to the floor vibe with solos traded throughout
Guinnee Drop is a swaggering funk jam with Luke Flowers funk drums breaks a feature
The only cover on the album is Sixto Rodriguez' Sugarman - Lucas and Joe were both inspired by his story and loved the song so much it had to go on the album with a mellow instrumental twist
The title track "Galáctico" is has funky soundtrack tune - the horns are back and take the track out with some blistering solos
"Retiro" inspired by the park near Lucas's pad in Madrid is a laid back boogaloo vibe and has Sam Bell on Congas and an upright piano solo from Tatton
"Dame Lo Que Tienes" - The first single from Joe Tatton's second album "Give me what you got!"- led by a funky guitar riff followed by a cutting hammond melody - a little "Meters, Booker T, The Crusaders "!
"Moonbow" a hypnotic slower tune with a nod to Khurangbin
The final track on the album is "Lost on You" A Breezy George Benson nod along
Out on vinyl, CD and digital on 5th July !

Dieser Tage erscheint das Ted Kessler Buch "To Ease My Troubled Mind: Die autorisierte unautorisierte Geschichte von Billy Childish". Als die Idee für das Buch die Idee für das Buch aufkam, wollte Billy ein prägnantes Doppelalbum zusammenstellen, das die 47 Jahre seines musikalischen Schaffens zusammenfasst. Dies ist das Ergebnis. Mein Name ist William Ivy Loveday, alias Steve Hamper, alias Guy Hamper, alias Jack Ketch, alias Billy Childish. Ich wurde in Medway, Kent, geboren, wo ich immer noch lebe. Ich verließ die Schule 1976, als ich 16 war. Da ich keinen Schulabschluss hatte, wurde ich von der Kunstschule abgelehnt und ging in der Werft von Chatham als Steinmetzlehrling arbeiten. Später schaffte ich es, aufgrund meiner Bilder in einen Malkurs an der St. Martin's School of Art aufgenommen zu werden. Ich, Bruce, Big Russ und Little Russ gründeten 1977 The Pop Rivets und machten unsere ersten Aufnahmen. Unsere Inspiration war Punkrock, TV21 und The Swinging Blue Jeans. Ich lernte Gitarre zu spielen und arbeitete 1979 vier Wochen lang im Oakwood Mental Hospital als Pförtner, dann gründeten ich, Mick und Bertie The Milkshakes. Unsere Inspirationen waren Link Wray, die Beatles-Live-at-the-Star-Club-LP, der Song "Gotta Get the First Plane Home" von den Kinks und unser Hass auf die New Romantics-Szene. Dann wurde ich von der St. Martin's School of Art verwiesen, weil ich etwas geschrieben hatte, das als "die schlimmste Art von Toilettenwand-Humor" bezeichnet wurde. Ich verprügelte meinen Vater, als er aus dem Gefängnis kam, wo er wegen Drogenschmuggels gesessen hatte. Wir haben uns bei The Milkshakes nie selbst bezahlt und das ganze Geld in die Herstellung unserer eigenen Platten gesteckt. Ich bewahrte das Geld auf einem Bankkonto unter dem Namen Kurt Schwitters auf. Ich lebte 12 Jahre lang von der Sozialhilfe. Im Jahr 1985 gründeten wir Thee Mighty Caesars. Unsere Inspiration waren Bo Diddley und The Troggs. Ich wurde Mitglied von Greenpeace. 1989 gründeten Bruce und ich Thee Headcoats. Unsere Inspiration waren Son House und Downliners Sect. 1999 gründeten ich, Wolf und Johnny Barker The Buff Medways. Unsere Inspiration war Jimi Hendrix in Beatle-Stiefeln und The Who, bevor Roger Daltry anfing, die Vorhänge seiner Oma zu tragen. Etwa 2008 gründeten Julie und ich The Musicians of the British Empire. Daraus wurde dann CTMF. Daraus wurden dann die Chatham Singers. Unsere Inspiration basierte auf uns selbst. Als Nächstes war es an der Zeit, dass Neil und ich die Spartan Dreggs gründeten, inspiriert von Homer und A. E. Housman. Andere Gruppen entstanden und zerfielen - damit niemand wusste, wer wir waren oder warum. Im Jahr 2019 entstand The William Loveday Intention - inspiriert von Hollis Brown und den Mississippi Sheiks. Das Guy Hamper Trio tauchte noch einmal auf, zusammen mit Jamie an der Hammond. Einige dieser Gruppen sind geblieben, viele haben sich zu fernen Ufern mit scharfen, versteckten Felsen aufgemacht. Hauptsächlich male ich und schreibe Gedichte und Romane. Zusammen mit der Musik, die ich spiele, ist nichts, was ich tue, jemals besonders modisch gewesen, aber genau darum geht es auch. Schon 1977 haben wir gerne Nein gesagt. Dann, als der Punk sich in New Romantic verwandelte, fielen wir in den frühen Rock 'n' Roll und den Blues zurück. Bei The Milkshakes sagte man uns, dass wir zu viele LPs veröffentlichten und damit kommerziellen Selbstmord begingen, also brachten wir an einem Tag vier verschiedene LPs heraus. Ab und zu kommt jemand Berühmtes vorbei und ein kleiner Krümel rollt über den Tisch und spritzt in unsere lauwarme Suppe. Ein anderes Mal eifern uns Unbekannte nach und erweisen sich nur als besser. Ich liebe Pop, aber keine Popstars. Ich interessiere mich nur für Klang und Farbe und das in einem kleinen Maßstab zu sein. Ich verstecke mich nicht hinter Lautstärke und Off-Stage-Mixing. Ich brauche keine Show zu spielen, weil ich lieber daheimsitze und eine Tasse Tee trinke. Meine Arbeit gehört nach unten, zum Instinkt und zum Elementaren, und ist nahe am Boden. Ich glaube an selbstgemachte Musik, selbstgemachte Kunst und selbstgemachtes Kochen. Die Musik war über die Jahre hinweg ein lohnendes Hobby. Ich habe viele gute Freunde getroffen und mit ihnen gearbeitet, und Gott hat mich vor dem Ruhm bewahrt. Ich möchte die Straßenbahn und das Pferd zurückbringen.

My Dinosaur Life is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Mark Hoppus (bassist Blink-182), the album was released on January 19, 2010, by Columbia Records. The album's theme largely centers on growing older; its lyricism, written by Pierre, concerns such subjects as relationships, drug abuse, and procrastination. Musically, the album retains the band's sound with less of an emphasis on the Moog synthesizer. Drummer Tony Thaxton broke his arm prior to recording, which led the band to use a drum machine on early recordings. The album's music is inspired by post-hardcore music; Pierre cited Archers of Loaf, Fugazi, and Dinosaur Jr. as inspirations for the album's sound. Their only major-label release, My Dinosaur Life was well received by music critics. The album represented their highest peak position in the U.S., charting at #15 on the Billboard 200. My Dinosaur Life is available as a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on purple & red marbled vinyl and includes a printed innersleeve.

Recorded in 1956 for producer Tom Wilson’s Boston-based label Transition Records, Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill presented trumpeter Donald Byrd in a relaxed and intimate quartet setting with Doug Watkins on bass along with Boston area musicians Ray Santisi on piano and Jim Zitano on drums. This mono Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe tip-on jacket with a booklet.

Limitierte Pink-Vinyl-Auflage des 2022er Samplers der irischen Garage-Noise-Shooting-Stars SPRINTS mit 10 Tracks ihrer Frühphase, darunter der Debütsingle "The Cheek" und dem Fanfavoriten "Manifesto" aus der gleichnamigen EP. "The Back Catalogue" markiert das Ende eines Kapitels und den Beginn des nächsten. Es zeichnet den Aufstieg der Band von der Gründung 2019 bis heute nach und nimmt die Zuhörer mit auf eine Reise durch die Höhen und Tiefen von Hochgefühl und Angst. Angetrieben von Erfahrung, schwierigem politischem Klima und sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Unsicherheit ist ihre Musik ehrlich, oft politisch aufgeladen und authentisch.

"Direct heir to the fusions of Maloya rhythms from Réunion Island, like Alain Peters, Danyel Waro, René Lacaille... Bonbon Vodou is the sweet and sour confectionery concocted by Oriane Lacaille and JereM Boucris. Bathed in the sweetness of clear voices and carried by a devastating groove, Bonbon Vodou distills joy and propagates a trance wave.

Bonbon Vodou renews in French and Reunion Creole the melodic-fantastic marriage of grouple (couple group) Areski B./B. Fountain.

On her unique mini-drums, Oriane makes bodies shake to the pulsations of the Island of Meeting. JereM, with his oil can body guitar and North African reminiscences, hybridizes these rhythms of heady melodies.

The creoleness of Bonbon Vodou is expressed in a bonfire, which summons Brassens in choir as well as the explosive ternary of the Indian Ocean. To make this fire crackle a little more, the duo joins in a fantasized “side band”: the Piment Piment, three captivating musicians for an enhanced Bonbon Vodou formula. Roland Seilhes: the pied-noir blanc-bec at the hips (sax, clarinets and flute) Juliette Minvielle: the aerial wildness of Béarn (string drum, keyboards and percussion) Yann-Lou Bertrand: Panam ivory (bass, flute, trumpet, percussion)

Bonbon Vodou as a quintet explores even more deeply maloya and the mosaic of swaying and telluric rhythms gleaned from the four cardinal points.

If the duo adopted the Creole spelling of AFRODIZIAK it is because it extends the very real dream of their African roots.

Singing about the beauty of crossbreeding and the harshness of metic life.

The quest for hidden treasure, the lives of migrations and island lives are imbued with it.

“Bonbon Vodou sides with the practices of enchantment” Vinciane Despret "

* The title Afrodisiak quotes “We love life as much as possible” by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish

Transcendental outernational funk and psychedelic jazz from mystery L.A.- based collective Sun Atlas

2nd edition with alternative sleeve and label design.

Little is known about Sun Atlas. The group members are hidden behind masks and costumes to keep their identities secret and to put the focus entirely on the music and oneness. A sense of community and universal spirit as an alternative to idolization and individualism is heavily reflected in their eclectic musical style.

The sound of Sun Atlas is mystical and cosmopolitan, combining afrobeat, cinematic soul, spiritual & ethio jazz with space sounds, hiphop-breaks and a garage funk vibe.

Their cryptic first 45 single "The Mystic Parade" b/w "Grand Theft" sold out immediately after release and has often been mistaken for either "lost" hiphop samples, 70s habibi funk or another project in disguise from the inner circles of the Mocambo, Big Crown or Daptonefamilies (which it is not).

Return To The Spirit picks up where Sun Atlas' first single leftoff, with everyone wondering where the journey might lead. With the door to a colourful universe opened, the full-length format gives time & space for further exploration.

I have a lot of beats lying around that I keep meaning to use for something. File under "Beats to Use". I thought I'd put them together on a little beat tape.

In my folders, my beats have random names like "BEATS 114 S_Z - 82" so in needing to give these ones names and in homage to "Special Herbs" I have named them all after drugs. Broadly these beats are pretty menacing, and have a big electronic influence.

I thought they sat well together and alongside the vocal feature from Jam Baxter. Some beat tapes are full of vocal samples or play continuously. I wanted this one to hark back to some of the beat albums of the late 90s that were meant for beat juggling with, cutting or rapping over. So here we are.

"Finally!" The Aquabats'! long-awaited 8th studio album set to debut on June 21, 2024! Featuring the talents of The MC Bat Commander, Crash McLarson, Jimmy the Robot, Ricky Fitness, Eaglebones Falconhawk, Chainsaw The Prince of Karate, Catboy, and Gorney,
'Finally!' is a 17-track extravaganza and love letter to their worldwide fans.

Wie Reckoning ist auch Dead Set ein Live-Album, das
während der ausgedehnten Aufenthalte der Dead's in San
Francisco und New York im Herbst 1980 aufgenommen
wurde. Es wurde auf analogem 32-Spur-Band
aufgezeichnet und klingt so großartig wie damals im
Warfield und in der Radio City Music Hall, als die Musik
live gespielt wurde. Gefüllt mit zahllosen Grateful
Dead-Klassikern, von denen die meisten noch nie auf
einem Live-Album der Band erschienen sind, darunter
neuere Songs wie "Feel Like A Stranger" und "Little Red
Rooster", Klassiker der 1970er Jahre wie "Samson and
Delilah", "Fire On The Mountain", "Franklin's Tower" und
"Passenger" sowie ein Trio von American Beauty-Songs
aus dem Jahr 1970, "Candyman", "Friend Of The Devil"
und "Brokedown Palace".
- David Lemieux, Grateful Dead Legacy Manager und
Audioarchivar

Self-described as “expansive, harmonious folk-rock”, Luke Edwards states, “Pie Town is the next step down the Heartland trail for us - it’s a collection of songs about my experiences over the past few years addressing the reticence to “grow up” and all the bulls**t that comes with that loss of innocence. Recorded here in Seattle, it reflects our most expansive and explorative instrumentation. I’m excited for this album, stay young my friends.”