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Here comes No Obligation, the second full-length release from THE LINDA LINDAS further advances their unironic, joyful, and exciting trajectory of mashing up L.A. punk with alt-rock, garage rock, power pop, new wave, rock en español. No Obligation was written and recorded by the band during spring breaks, winter breaks, and long weekends (Lucia and Eloise are still in high school, Mila just finished middle school, and Bela is patiently waiting for them to get done with it already) and was produced by Carlos de la Garza (Paramore, Best Coast, Bleached). Known for their incredible musicianship and live performances, the band who has shared stages with and opened for Paramore, Japanese Breakfast, Jawbreaker, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, are about to embark on a massive two-month tour across America with Green Day. Look for headlining shows at small clubs in between-including a sold-out gig at the famously DIY Gilman Street in Berkeley. The new album, No Obligation, is out on October 11 . No Obligations. No expectations. No limits for THE LINDA LINDAS.

Hawksmoor’s new album ‘Oneironautic’ on Soul Jazz Records follows on from last year’s critically acclaimed ‘Telepathic Heights’, as well as a re-release of his album ‘Saturnalia’ on the Library of the Occult label earlier this year.
James McKeown, AKA Hawksmoor, continues his fascination with the sounds and sensibilities of 70s/80s German electronic groups – think early CLUSTER, HARMONIA, CAN, NEU!, HANS-JOACHIM ROEDELIUS and MICHAEL ROTHER.
On this new album ‘Oneironautic’, he successfully combines these pulsating ripples of Germanic electronica with a number of decidedly English references: the soaring, hypnotic and pastoral qualities of BRIAN ENO, circa ‘Another Green World’; the long, sustained lines of ROBERT FRIPP’S FRIPPERTONICS; and the poetic feel of early DURUTTI COLUMN.
McKeown combines all of these elements while also remaining with one foot firmly in the British melodic hauntological modular synth aesthetic of hauntology – Ghost Box, Mount Vernon Arts Lab, Focus Group et al.
Once again using strictly modular synths, electronic drum rhythms, and guitars, Hawksmoor has created an electronic landscaped music world that is both new and old, immediately identifiable and yet utterly unique.

Brian Jackson dives into the world of Alfonso Lovo

Legendary musician Brian Jackson, known for his pioneering work in neo-soul and modern hip hop, has lent his extraordinary talents to retouch two tracks from Alfonso Lovo's remarkable album "Terremoto Richter 6:25 Managua.”

As one-half of the influential duo Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, Brian began his career at an early age, having recorded nine albums by his 27th birthday. He is widely celebrated as a musical innovator, with New Yorker Magazine recently hailing him as “a musical pioneer” in a 2022 article.

Alfonso Noel Lovo, moved by the devastating earthquake that struck Managua on December 23, 1972, recorded his first album in New Orleans the following year. "Terremoto Richter 6:25 Managua" stands as a testament to resilience and artistic fusion, featuring a stunning blend of psychedelic rock, mazurka, jazz, Louisiana blues, and African folk.

First time on vinyl for David Sylvian’s 29-track career-spanning compilation from 2000.
Features key songs from Japan and Rain Tree Crow, as well as David’s Virgin Records solo years.
Also includes key collaborations with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Robert Fripp and Alesini & Andreoni.
Alongside the remixes of “Ghosts” and “Bamboo Houses”, the album features tracks such as the beautiful ‘Ride’ from the ‘Secrets of the Beehive’ sessions, two dobro pieces written with Bill Frizell and “Cover Me with Flowers” from the ‘Dead Bees On A Cake’ sessions, plus the classic “Some Kind of Fool’ taken from Japan’s sessions for ‘Gentleman Take Polaroids’.

Hugo Race (Dirtmusic, Fatalists, ex-Bad Seeds) and Michelangelo Russo (True Spirit), fuse rock, blues, ambient and electronic sounds on their raw, compelling new album "100 Years".
In 2017, the duo released John Lee Hooker's World Today (Glitterhouse/Gusstaff Records), a tribute to the blues legend's delta blues legacy reinvented in a swirling mix of analog grit and deep trance pulses.

100 Years showcases the duo's sonic chemistry against Race's stark songwriting. Inspired by the raw majesty of early blues recordings, the album was recorded in two days in a non-stop live Hugo Race & Michelangelo Russo - 100 Years session. Amplified harmonica, open-tuned guitars, smoky vocals and primal foot beat walk us through a landscape of dreamlike devastation, a hypnotic wall of sound suspended in time and space celebrating endurance and redemption, hand-made from ancient roots. "Tradition does not mean passing the ashes, but the fire."

100 Years. Recorded November 1 & 2, 2023.
Engineered by Andrew 'Idge' Hehir at Soundpark Studios, Melbourne.
Mastered by Giovanni Versari at La Maesta, Milano.
Published by Peermusic.

PRESS about former album:
Rock'n'Roll Monuments, Greece:
"Race and Russo's pioneering electronic atmospheres give the historical Blues something you never imagined possible."

Rolling Stone, Germany: 'Dark Eros and transcendental blues…'
Musikreviews.de, Germany: "A psychedelic ghost blues of a profound sort, a mature, sensitive interpretation of the music and lyrics of John Lee Hooker. (Race and Russo) have blown us away in slow motion, economically instrumented and with painfully beautiful intensity. "

Q, London: "A darkly singular experience then, and one of the best records (Race) has ever made..."

The Music, Australia: "A collection of bluesy, brooding songs from a talented singer-songwriter with three decades of musicianship under his belt."

Eclipsed, Germany: "Hypnotic rhythms and haunting guitars, this album tingles under your skin..."
Focus Kultur, Germany: "No one else makes music like this, and that in itself is an achievement..."

Rock and Folk, Paris: 'This traveler without borders advances through a menacing atmosphere of no-wave electro-acoustics. Here is the spirit, and he does not forget
the body and the soul ... '
Tom Tom Rock, Italy: "An almost epic attack, worthy of the soundtrack of an apocalyptic post-nuclear catastrophe film… a talking blues of the third millennium, filtered by years of psychedelia and industrial music - and the Berlin years of Hugo Race can certainly be felt - hypnotic and dark, but precisely for this reason enveloping and fascinating. A record in which the music of the legendary bluesman is completely transfigured, without, however, the fidelity to his "spirit" and his "message" being questioned in the slightest. In short, JLH is alive and fighting with us, if we find the strength to follow him."

Hugo Race (Dirtmusic, Fatalists, ex-Bad Seeds) and Michelangelo Russo (True Spirit), fuse rock, blues, ambient and electronic sounds on their raw, compelling new album "100 Years".
In 2017, the duo released John Lee Hooker's World Today (Glitterhouse/Gusstaff Records), a tribute to the blues legend's delta blues legacy reinvented in a swirling mix of analog grit and deep trance pulses.

100 Years showcases the duo's sonic chemistry against Race's stark songwriting. Inspired by the raw majesty of early blues recordings, the album was recorded in two days in a non-stop live Hugo Race & Michelangelo Russo - 100 Years session. Amplified harmonica, open-tuned guitars, smoky vocals and primal foot beat walk us through a landscape of dreamlike devastation, a hypnotic wall of sound suspended in time and space celebrating endurance and redemption, hand-made from ancient roots. "Tradition does not mean passing the ashes, but the fire."

100 Years. Recorded November 1 & 2, 2023.
Engineered by Andrew 'Idge' Hehir at Soundpark Studios, Melbourne.
Mastered by Giovanni Versari at La Maesta, Milano.
Published by Peermusic.

PRESS about former album:
Rock'n'Roll Monuments, Greece:
"Race and Russo's pioneering electronic atmospheres give the historical Blues something you never imagined possible."

Rolling Stone, Germany: 'Dark Eros and transcendental blues…'
Musikreviews.de, Germany: "A psychedelic ghost blues of a profound sort, a mature, sensitive interpretation of the music and lyrics of John Lee Hooker. (Race and Russo) have blown us away in slow motion, economically instrumented and with painfully beautiful intensity. "

Q, London: "A darkly singular experience then, and one of the best records (Race) has ever made..."

The Music, Australia: "A collection of bluesy, brooding songs from a talented singer-songwriter with three decades of musicianship under his belt."

Eclipsed, Germany: "Hypnotic rhythms and haunting guitars, this album tingles under your skin..."
Focus Kultur, Germany: "No one else makes music like this, and that in itself is an achievement..."

Rock and Folk, Paris: 'This traveler without borders advances through a menacing atmosphere of no-wave electro-acoustics. Here is the spirit, and he does not forget
the body and the soul ... '
Tom Tom Rock, Italy: "An almost epic attack, worthy of the soundtrack of an apocalyptic post-nuclear catastrophe film… a talking blues of the third millennium, filtered by years of psychedelia and industrial music - and the Berlin years of Hugo Race can certainly be felt - hypnotic and dark, but precisely for this reason enveloping and fascinating. A record in which the music of the legendary bluesman is completely transfigured, without, however, the fidelity to his "spirit" and his "message" being questioned in the slightest. In short, JLH is alive and fighting with us, if we find the strength to follow him."

Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water, the self-titled debut from the duo of trumpeter Will Evans and guitarist, synthesist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Theo Trump, arrives like a vault revelation. It feels like a decades-old yet newly unearthed masterwork of gorgeous ambient improvisation, the sort of thing scholars live to research and shepherd into deluxe reissue.

The patient, crystalline chords that swell and resonate like a series of confessions; the textured brass murmurs that suggest a ’60s or ’70s Fire Music master at their most poignant. Provocative found-sound experiments threading arcane religious recordings through dystopian soundscapes. Ear-shattering free-noise tumult. Where and when did this music come from? Who are these voices?

As it turns out, Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water springs from an engrossing human story, though it isn’t necessarily the one you’d expect. This work of stunning maturity is in fact an entrance by two little-known explorers in their early 20s, who grew up together in Virginia, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It documents one of those perfect, sparkling moments in post-adolescence when big decisions and responsibilities are right around the corner, but for a spell, two young artists are able to create among the comforts and nostalgia of their shared past.

It also represents a reunion of sorts, as Evans and Trump connected as toddlers, became inseparable as boys, then pursued independent lives and creative paths as young adults. “Theo is my oldest friend,” Evans says, “and I feel like that’s what this band is — us meeting right in the middle of our interests.”

Now, having conjured this magic, they’ve detached once again: Evans, whose other works include the indie/avant-jazz unit Angelica X, is currently based in New York City. Trump recently moved to England, where he’d participated in his family’s theatre company, to go to school and further his solo ambient project. “This album didn’t start out as something super ambitious,” Evans explains. “It was more just an excuse to spend time together again and make music.”

***

In conversation, Evans and Trump are a delight, especially for cynics who might think that Gen-Z is only capable of doomscrolling. They come across as kindly young intellectuals who grew up using the internet as it was intended, for exposure to ideas and art across genres and generations. Trump points to indie-folk and the oracular post-rock of late Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis and Gastr del Sol. Pressed for his guitar heroes, he cites Bill Orcutt, Mary Halvorson and Marc Ribot, and mentions his devotion to alt-country. Heyday electro-industrial stuff like Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails also meant a lot to him.

Evans is equally intrepid, though his background has a greater jazz focus. Ambrose Akinmusire, among today’s most thoughtfully commanding trumpeters, is a favorite. As for the soulful murmur he offers throughout Forgetting You, Pharoah Sanders’ wistful and lyrical contributions to Floating Points’ work is a touchstone.

The two grew up down the street from each other in the northern Piedmont town of Batesville, Virginia. Their families were friends, holidays were celebrated together and they became the most loyal of pals. As children they had a pretend band.

Then life unfolded, they attended different schools and their paths diverged. Evans discovered John Coltrane and became a jazz obsessive, as Trump found punk and hardcore and later began making ambient music. As a dedicated jazz trumpeter, Evans studied formally and widely; Trump was an autodidact, teaching himself guitar and absorbing synthesis and production techniques. The late teens and very early 20s brought moves away from home and back to home, as well as plenty of listening and learning. The Covid pandemic meant an opportunity to reconnect on long walks. Through it all, together and apart, they remained reverent of each other.

By early 2023, they found themselves living again among the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the evening, after giving trumpet lessons in Charlottesville, Evans would make the eerily beautiful trek “over the mountain” to Trump’s home in Staunton, Virginia. They’d talk and eat and begin to improvise, deep into the night. Evans played trumpet and sometimes drums. (Given the wee-hours recording schedule, the neighbors didn’t appreciate the latter.) Trump plugged a rickety, junk-store Telecaster-style guitar into a cheap solid-state amp and explored open tunings; he also layered on lap steel, electric bass, synths and electronics.

They locked in and relished each other’s gifts. In Trump, those include patience and intentionality and sonic decision-making; for Evans, a distinctive trumpet sound that both musicians think of as a singer’s voice. “Will’s playing is so thoughtful and well placed,” Trump says. “My goal from a producer’s mindset is that the trumpet will occupy the space that vocals would take.”

Often, they got lost in the best way. “The thing I look for most when I’m playing is that feeling of disappearing into what you’re doing,” Evans says. “Usually when that happens, the music is good.”

By the same token, they didn’t pursue free improvisation as an ethic, or as a pure process. Their goal was something closer to spontaneous composition. “We were trying to make good songs,” Evans says simply. Later, Trump did brilliant post-production work, expanding a modest setup into an enthralling soundworld. Under his judicious editorship, music that was wholly improvised sounds at times like a carefully composed new-music commission.

The results speak for themselves. “A Happy Death” summons up a swath of American desolation through the viewfinder of Wim Wenders. “Flesh of Lost Summers” and “Partings” are highlights from an essential ECM LP that never was. “A Collapse of Horses” infuses those seminal post-rock influences with the plod of doom metal or slowcore. The album’s final track, “The Mountains Are a Dream That Calls to Me,” was in fact the first thing the duo recorded, as an evocation of those twilit drives across the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Looking back at what we chose to name the songs,” Evans says, “and some of the sounds and how they make me feel, there is an air of impermanence and loss to this album.”

“I’m excited for everything that’s to come,” he adds, “but I recently thought, ‘Damn — that’s not going to happen again.’ It was a privilege for us to have that time together.”

Drei Jahre nach dem fesselnden Long Player Debüt ,Highly Refined Pirates" stellte die hochgradig stylische Seattler Indie Pop Band MINUS THE BEAR ihren mit beachtlichen Störimpulsen durchsetzten Prog Pop auf ihrem zweiten selbstmörderischem Album ,Menos El Oso" zur Schau. Die Jungs legten hierfür selbst ihre Hände an die Regler und übernahmen die Aufnahmen und Produktion gleich mit. Pendelnd zwischen verschiedensten Stilen, welche von '70s Prog Rockern (YES, RUSH) '80s Prototypen Punks (FUGAZI) bis hin zu '90s Art Rock Mind Fucks wie JAWBOX und JOAN OF ARC reichen, berufen sich MINUS THE BEAR auf eine moderne Liebesaffäre zwischen treibenden Tanz Rhythmen und höchst abgefahrenem Collegerock. Abgemischt wurde das Ganze vom Bandmitglied und angesehenen Studio Freak Matt Bayles (u.a.THE BLOOD BROTHERS, MASTODON, ISIS, PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES). Auf dem Album finden sich so illustre Gäste wie Judah Nagler & Josh Staples (THE VELVET TEEN), Michael Richardson (THE NEW TRUST) und HEATHER DUBY.

Co-founder and ever-present member of The Chesterfields, Simon Chesterfield's first solo album "Simon Chesterfield" features the results of a year long project re-imagining six of his own compositons as an orchestral performance. Co-produced by Ben Scott Turner, Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey) and Simon Chesterfield, the album was orchestrated by Charles Harrison. An imaginative video of lead track "Something" available on Youtube will accompany this release.

An ensemble of Wessex musicians were gathered together for this project, several of whom have now signed up for some Simon Chesterfield live adventures, including a launch party for the album on Friday 11th October at the wonderful Lyric Theatre in Bridport, Dorset. The players are: Joe Atkinson, Matt Barge, Jenny Bliss, Simon Chesterfield, Rob Ellis, Charles Harrison, Emma Kingston, Seiko Nemoto, Nick Squires, Helen Stickland, James Thornton, and Ben Scott Turner.

Once billed as "Europe's First Lady of Jazz," Rita Reys was a legend overseas during the second half of the 20th century, and certainly one of the top European jazz singers. Jazz Pictures at an Exhibition showcases a 1961 concert featuring Rita with the Pim Jacobs Trio (also including Pim's brother Ruud on bass), plus drum legend Kenny Clarke. This was the only time ever Reys and Clarke recorded together.

Multi-instrumentalist and synth wizard Paul White readies his third album for R&S Records, offering up a cinematic journey on ‘Peace In Chaos’ that captures the current mood with its shadowy electronic prowess. With an unabashed love of 80s synth music and film scores, the South London based producer presents an album of perhaps his most pop leaning tracks yet, following on from 2018’s ‘Rejuvenate’ and 2014’s ‘Shaker Notes’. Across eleven tracks, White delves into a world of esoteric electronic pop, as waves of melodic synths wash over towering drum patterns and majestic bass, with White adding his own enigmatic vocals to many of the productions.

Recorded at British Grove and Abbey Road studios, Daphne Guinness’s fourth
album, Sleep, is unlike anything Guinness has produced before. Contemplative, self-
reflective, and personal, it represents her most beguiling body of work to-date; a
sleek sophisticated experience enhanced by an array of esoteric creative touches,
complementing its dancefloor rush.

Mixed by Ricky Damian, known for his work with Lady Gaga, Adele, Georgia Smith,
Dua Lipa, her creative connections include long standing collaborator Malcolm
Doherty and Tony Visconti (who scored the album’s strings).

The album’s scale is further amplified by collaborators, including Guy Pratt (Madonna, Michael Jackson) and Rob Shirakbari (Burt Bacharach, Dionne Warwick), plus a 34-piece string section.

The scope of her associations extends far beyond the core album. Daphne collaborated with Nick Knight of SHOWStudio for the video to early single ‘Hip Neck Spine’, and with the iconic filmmaker and photographer, David LaChapelle for the current single ‘Volcano’.

…Into a Real Thing is the first record David Porter produced by himself, and it sounds like an important checkpoint in the invention of progressive R&B as a genre, an album that bent the space-time continuum around R&B and willed it into something new altogether. It’s in conversation with Isaac Hayes’ own output of the era — Hot Buttered Soul especially — but where Hayes blew up the R&B form by throwing a bomb into it, helping create funk in the process, Porter worked more firmly in R&B’s space to build something new from within. …Into a Real Thing is a six-song powerhouse that manages to cram an 11-minute cover of a garage rock hit by the guy who’d later write Hulk Hogan’s entrance song alongside gut-bucket ballads with intricate string arrangements, and metaphorical tracks that compare grocery delivery to lovemaking. Its 33 minutes feel more like a fever dream than most other collections of 33 minutes.

Bevor sie eine richtige Band wurden, begannen Greenleaf als loses Kollektiv von Freunden, die von den 70er Jahren inspirierten Hard Rock und Proto-Metal spielten. Unter der Leitung des Gitarristen Tommi Holappa, Mitbegründer der europäischen Desert-Rock-Band Dozer, spielten in den verschiedenen Konfigurationen von Greenleaf Mitglieder von Lowrider, Truckfighters, Demon Cleaner, Dozer und anderen mit. Und trotz der wechselnden Besetzung schafften sie es, über 14 Jahre hinweg mehrere Alben mit hochkarätigem Riff-Rock in ihrer ursprünglichen, unstrukturierten Form zu veröffentlichen.

Zur Feier seines 10-jährigen Jubiläums veröffentlicht der in Island lebende australische Komponist Ben Frost auf Mute eine limitierte rote Vinyl-Edition seines Studioalbums 'A U R O R A'.

Die limitierte Vinyl-Edition enthält ein alternatives Artwork und einen exklusiven Download seines mitreißenden Live-Auftritts von 2014 im Berliner Berghain.

'A U R O R A', das in den vergangenen Jahren nichts von seiner eindringlichen Kraft eingebüßt hat, wurde von allen Seiten gelobt und stand auf den Listen der Alben des Jahres von NPR, Rolling Stone, Clash, Crack, FACT, Stereogum und anderen.

Das von Frost zusammen mit Greg Fox (ex-Liturgy), Shahzad Ismaily und Thor Harris (ex-Swans) eingespielte und größtenteils im Osten der DR Kongo geschriebene Album verzichtet gänzlich auf Gitarre, Klavier, Streichinstrumente und natürliche hölzerne Intimität und bietet eine trotzige synthetische Welt aus wild geformten Klängen und galaktischen Interferenzen, stampfenden Fellen und reinem Metall.

Frost ist bekannt für seine bahnbrechenden Beiträge zu Komposition, Produktion, Klangkunst und Regie in den letzten 15 Jahren. Dazu gehören Soundtracks für Film- und Fernsehserien wie Fortitude, Raised by Wolves und die Netflix-Serien Dark und 1899 sowie Opernkreationen wie The Wasp Factory und The Murder of Halit Yozgat (die am Royal Opera House in London und an der Staatsoper Hannover aufgeführt wurden). Im Jahr 2024 veröffentlichte er sein erstes Studioalbum seit sechs Jahren mit dem Titel 'Scope Neglect', ein experimentelles, genreveränderndes Album, das aus Frosts Bewunderung für den Metal geschmiedet wurde, wobei er sich bewusst von dessen konventionellen Attributen entfernte.

This Limited 2 LP set covers all the original versions of songs that inspired the Rolling Stones on their album, “Blue & Lonesome”, along with 27 remastered originals from England’s Newest Hit Makers in the early sixties. You can hear The Stones' versions of Muddy Waters' "I Just Want To Make Love To You" and Slim Harpo's "I'm A King Bee" appeared on England's Newest Hit Makers, Chuck Berry's "Come On" on their debut single, Dale Hawkins' Susie Q" on 12 X 5, Marvin Gaye's "Hitch Hike" on Out of Our Heads and Howlin' Wolf's "Little Red Rooster" on their second no. 1 single. Howlin’ Wolf’s “Little Baby” (‘Stripped’ 1995). There’s Allen Toussaint’s “Fortune Teller” (‘Got Live If You Want It’ 1966), Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” (‘Love You Live’ 1977), The Coasters’ “Poison Ivy” (‘No Stone Unturned’ 1970) and the closing track on the album is “You Better Move On” from southern soul singer Arthur Alexander (‘December’s Children’). The blues as chosen by five young (blues)-rockers from London.

This vibrant and soulful album is a tribute to the German composer Kurt Weill who was born in 1900. The accomplished and award-winning singer, lyricist, arranger and composer Lina Nyberg has assembled a Scandinavian all-star band that interprets her music and arrangements with grace and commitment. Together they create unique versions of Weill's works as well as the new ones. With inspiration from Lenya and Fitzgerald as well as Toneff and Faithfull, Lina takes these hundred-year-old immortal songs on a new journey.

Nach seinem erfolgreichen Coveralbum UNLEARNED (2013) erscheint mit dem neuen Longplayer A SMALL CONDUIT OF GREAT AFFAIRS jetzt endlich eine Zugabe. Wieder hat Scott Matthew eine breite Auswahl seiner persönlichen Lieblingslieder adaptiert. Hits und weniger bekannte Songs aus den verschiedensten Genres hat er dafür in seiner typisch akustischen Instrumentierung neu aufgenommen und mit seiner ergreifenden Stimme vertont. Darunter finden sich unter anderem "All The Lovers" von Kylie Minogue und "Live It Up" von Mental As Anything.

Austin, TX legends, The Sword, welcome in the Twelfth vinyl release in the Live at LEVITATION series. On June 27, 2024, the band announced they would reunite for a one-off concert on November 3 at the 2024 edition of LEVITATION in Austin. In celebration of this reunion, we pulled from the archive and this limited live release showcases the bands appearance at the festival with their 2015 and 2021 performances. These recordings are now immortalized on beautiful limited colored vinyl. "With the band originating in the great city of Austin, a city that's proven to be a nucleus for a wide range of distinct and eclectic musical acts, it only felt natural to be included on the Levitation roster in 2015 and again in 2021, adding our own flavor to its diverse landscape. What an honor it has been to be included at such a cool festival. We've had two memorable sets so far, playing alongside some truly amazing bands. When we began entertaining the thought of returning to the stage after a two year hiatus, playing a reunion set at Levitation became the only appropriate solution, to play in front of the fans in Austin Texas, where it all began. We're very excited! Being asked to be part of the "Live at Levitation" LP series is also a great honor. The tracks we selected from each performance, at Carson Creek Ranch and Empire Garage, captured a special energy and enthusiasm that only Levitation could provide. It truly means a lot to share these memories with everyone and be included in this series!" - The Sword LEVITATION and the LIVE AT LEVITATION Vinyl Series The first Austin Psych Fest was held in March 2008, and expanded to a 3 day event the following year. The event quickly developed into an international destination for psychedelic rock fans, with lineups spanning the fringes of indie rock, from up-and-comers to vintage legends, and capped off with headline performances from co-founders The Black Angels, along with Tame Impala, The Flaming Lips, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees (in various forms) and many more. LEVITATION helped spark a movement, inspiring the creation of similar events across the globe and a burgeoning psych scene that would soon ignite. The series captures key moments in psychedelic rock history, and live music in Austin, Texas, pressed on beautiful limited edition colorful vinyl pressings - each an eye popping visual representation of the music contained within. The artists and sets showcased on Live at LEVITATION have been chosen from over a decade of recordings at the world-renowned event, and document key artists in the scene performing for a crowd of their peers and fans who gather at LEVITATION annually from all over the world.

"SUNSHINE is my Appalachian trail album. It’s the collection of songs I wrote after walking 1500 miles in 123 days, and all that unraveled as a result. The biggest change in my life, after living outside for 4 months, is that I haven’t lived anywhere since. I’ve been nomadic for three years now and this album is the result of that.

Single #1 Orbit
There are many things that have changed about my life since I wrote my last album, and one of those has been falling in love. I wrote Orbit after falling in love with my partner Milla. I was awe-struck, dumb founded, blinded by the light, however you want to call it. I could not believe my luck, and I wanted to write a song about it. I wanted the song to race fast like a heartbeat, and to get up in your face like feelings. The music video is about finding harmony with all the different parts of yourself.
For fans of Johnathon Richmond, Daywave, Paul Cherry, Beach Fossils

For Crown of Thorns, the dynamic, ground-breaking follow-up to 2021’s Royal Destroyer, The Crown made distinctly different creative choices to ensure that the LP’s 10 songs would stand as a unique collection. “For me, Cobra Speed Venom and Royal Destroyer are like siblings,” says guitarist Marko Tervonen. And while Royal Destroyer was termed a “a ridiculously catchy album,” The Crown wanted to “make sure that we would take a step forward, get a bit more out of the comfort zone on Crown of Thorns.” It's very few bands who have a revered and established career—The Crown celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2020 their first eight years spent as Crown of Thorns—yet up the ante continually. With 2018’s Cobra Speed Venom the band reached the same lofty heights as their 2002 landmark release, Crowned in Terror. And with the barbaric Royal Destroyer, and now, 2024’s powerful and unique Crown of Thorns, the metal vets rage with a rekindled fire and ferocity while honoring their roots.

It has now been four years since our return to earth in "2020 back to earth". There we had found a cold and inhospitable place, humanity was inexorably channeled on the path to extinction. We therefore decided to flee immediately in search of another planet where we could dwell.
We therefore came to New Babylon, a planet inhabited by humanoids but also by monstrous and ravenous creatures. There are "giants" that march about raising immense clouds of dust, stealing and plundering everything from people. Giants much like our corporations, they know no defeat and have no weaknesses, at least apparent ones.
There are old warriors like jarek who wait for war to feel like heroes, to feel alive. They find their dimension within the battle, where the line between hero and assassin magically blurs.
There are pyramids erected by men who think they are gods and turn the things life gives them into weapons and death, changing their use and meaning. Little men who think themselves omnipotent, burying knowledge of how life works under piles of lies.
We find a myriad of slaves, surrendered to live in huge troughs. They toil at nothing and find meaning in nothing. They prefer a convenient lie to an inconvenient truth.
In short, we realize that we have arrived in a world very much like earth. We are aliens but in a certain way we feel at home. We want to know, to understand, to evolve. We don't recognize ourselves in this deceived humanity, we don't give in, we believe. Nature, life is wonderful but when one thing loses its usefulness life gently explains to it that it is time to make room for something else. This existence has already explained to the dinosaurs.
Kayleth continue their journey, never stopping because who seeks will find itself.

"New Babylon ranks next to Space Muffin as Kayleth’s best album for me and one that contains some of their best grooves of their career to date." - Outlaws Of The Sun
"Sit down and really take in We Are Aliens as it’s a joy to listen to, but are the aliens we think exist, just like us? Let Kayleth take you on their journey of discovery." - The Sleeping Shaman
"On this album the Italian five manage to translate heroism into wild and wonderful sounds, often sounding even more like a grungier, metal version of Monster Magnet, mixed with mix a definitive love for Kyuss, Orange Goblin and a prog rock outfit like Riverside." - Stoner Hive
"It’s a call to arms for the dreamers and the rebels, a reminder that no matter how dark the journey, there is always light to be found. This album is a must-listen for anyone into psych stoner rock!" - Witching Buzz
"New Babylon is a triumph. It’s an album that demands to be listened to in full, each track a journey through heavy riffs and cosmic themes." - Iron Backstage
"Listening to a piece like 'New Babylon's Wall,' you can appreciate the richness and sonic fertility of the group, with beautiful melodies enriched by the right amount of electronics, starting from a psych conception of the stoner sound, and there is no lack of prog elements, all with beautiful melodies. As mentioned earlier, a sci-fi band in both approach and essence." - InYourEyesEzine
"KAYLETH doesn't reinvent anything, but they absolutely crush it by the rules!" - Rock'N Force
"Stoner rock has rarely sounded as original, diverse and intoxicating as it does here!

Lee Ranaldo and Rob Menard have been friends and collaborators for years and this split cassette release on Important Records' Cassauna label amplifies their unique musical personalities and sonic compatibility. Both artists contributed over 30 minutes of music making this a pair of mini-albums on one tape.

Ranaldo plays Farfisa, electric guitar, tres, marimba, bass and bells, taking the listener on a lyrical, hazy, ride full of life, time and echoing riff shimmer. Massive vibes from author, artist, Sonic Youth gtr slinger.

Rob Menard (Ascension Sound), delivers a mini-album of washed out, minimal lo-fi astral guitar and feedback drones. Menard founded the 20 Guitar Circular Wall Of Angelic Sound and practices vibrational frequency healing.

Arriving on transparent blue vinyl, the fourth installation of Figure’s Hardspace series brings six new re-interpretations of Len Faki’s favorites via his Hardspace alias.

Starting with a true classic, the gem that is Josh Wink’s Sixth Sense picks up on the original’s tight plastic groove and creates some serious low end rumble.
A less obvious choice, Aoki Takamasa’s minimalist dub from Japan, gets a complete makeover in the Hardspace edit, using driving percussion to morph the pensive blueprint into an upbeat peaktime slammer.
One of the most iconic basslines of the last decade, DJ Yoav B’s Energize is a standout on its own but paired with the relentless groove of the high-energy Hardspace remix it unlocks new levels of rave potential.
Huxley’s Weapon 3 was maybe one of the darkest tunes ever released on the otherwise house-centric catalogue of UK label Aus, which Len Faki already played back when it was first released. The Hardspace Mix merges a feeling explosive force with the originals sultry ambiance, catapulting the track back onto today’s dancefloors.
Colourful, dubby synth stabs are what keeps the momentum on peak time roller Funktion by French producer Tuttle, which in its Hardspace version packs even more heat, as Faki employs his signature claps and tunes up the original’s enervating siren sound, squeezing out every last drop of energy.
Originally released in the 90ies, Mike Parker’s Shakuhachi Two is as techno as it gets. Only now sounding even more powerful and dynamic, as the Harspace Mix keeps all of the original goodness while stacking additional propulsive percussion for a sweaty floor workout.

OH TELEPHONE haben ihren Ursprung in den tiefen Tälern des Glarnerlands, wo sie dank dem Veka Club bestens sozialisiert und resistent gemacht wurden gegen jegliche Mainstreameinflüsse. Bookingagenturen schiessen nur so um sich mit Bands mit Psych in der Bezeichnung welche gerne die nächsten Oh-Sees wären und dabei ihren Sound grausig radiotauglich modellieren. OH TELEPHONE hingegen sind "the real shit", Garage-Psych wie er momentan von keiner Band besser gespielt wird. Ihre Schreie wirken nie berechnet sondern wie ein spontaner Ausbruch der Leidenschaft, ihre Gitarren durchlöchern jedes Trommelfell und wenn am Boden so einige Effektgeräte rumstehen wird nicht Shoegaze sondern Steptanz betrieben. Nun haben die beiden Masterminds hinter ihren früheren Bands SHOUTIN' MOE und THE OUTTA MIND ihren Wohnwagen nach Bern gebracht und dort die perfekte Mischung ihrer beiden früheren Bands gezüchtet, zusammen mit Gael am druckvollen Post-Punk Bass und dem kalifornischen Import Timothy U. am effizienten Schlagzeug. Für diese Aufnahmen auf dem Album sind sie ins Tiefe Süd Frankreich gefahren um mitLo Spider in sein Swamp lands Studio (the Monsters, the Spits, Scanners, the Lullies etc) dieses album einzuspielen den schluss fix hatt dann noch Jim Diamond dazu gegeben (The Dirtbombs, Electric Six, The White Stripes, The Sonics, The Devils) Aufgepasst! Abfeiern! (wicked wiggler)

Weißes Vinyl, limitiert auf 300 Exemplare. Unwiederbringlich dem Credo ,born too late" verfallen, loten Traum in ihrer Musik die technischen Grenzen des Zeitreisens neu aus und kreieren dabei einen naiven Gegenentwurf zum Hier und Jetzt in oszillierendem Technicolor. Der Sound des Trios entfacht Reminiszenzen an die Ursprünge von Psychedelia, Acid Rock und Glam, getragen von einem eskapistischen Tunnelblick auf längst vergangene Dekaden des bewusstseinserweiternden Hedonismus. Die ersten Aufnahmen der Band weckten prompt das Interesse des kalifornischen, in Los Angeles ansässigen Psychedelic-Connaisseur-Labels Hypnotic Bridge, welches Anfang 2024 zwei Traum-Songs auf 7" Vinyl veröffentlichte und dazu schrieb: ,Traum präsentieren eine Ode an den mystischen Rausch eines Technicolor-Traums. Aufgeladen durch Vintage-Tape Echos und Ausbrüche von Fuzz-Gitarren, sind ihre Songs dazu gemacht, sich tief in die Doppelhelix-Matrix von mehrfach gespiegelten Gedankenströmen zu winden." Das renomierte englische Musikmagazin ,Shindig!" schrieb dazu: ,Das Debütalbum der drei deutschen Musiker von Traum lässt keinen Zweifel daran, wo ihr Herz schlägt. (...) Der Gesang ist verträumt und distanziert, die Gitarren schlängelnd und kurvenreich." und zog zahlreiche Vergleiche zu obskuren Vertretern des Psychedelic-Pop der späten 1960er Jahre in Großbritannien wie Fire, Tintern Abbey, The Smoke, u.ä. Im Frühjahr 2024 begab sich die Band erneut ins eigene Studio um vier weitere Stücke aufzunehmen, die von Frontmann Helen Lichter komplett analog abgemischt wurden und mit ihrem puristisch verträumten Sound nahtlos an die Erstveröffentlichung anschließen.

SCANDAL ist eine Street-Punk-Band aus dem Süden Londons, Großbritannien, die 1998 gegründet wurde und ihre Wurzeln in der rumänischen Punkszene hat. SCANDAL wurde schnell zu einer der gefeiertsten Bands des rumänischen Undergrounds, bekannt für ihre Arbeiterklassen-Hymnen und energiegeladenen Live-Shows. Ihre mitsingbaren Refrains, die sich oft um das Punk-Leben, das Trinken und die Kameradschaft drehten, wurden legendär, und die berüchtigte Anti-Polizei-Hymne ,Patrula Suge Pula" wurde zum Schlachtruf für ihre Fans (und die Unterdrückung durch die Regierung und die Bullen). Nach einer sechsjährigen Pause gingen SCANDAL 2016 nach Großbritannien und fanden mit drei der ursprünglichen Mitglieder wieder zusammen. Dort wurden sie schnell in der Szene groß, mit vielen Festivalauftritten (wie Undercover , Obscene Extreme in der Tschechischen Republik, Exit Festival in Serbien oder Rebellion/ Blackpool) sowie der *5 Seconds To Riot Euro-Tour*. Nach mehreren Underground-Veröffentlichungen und ihrem ausverkauften Debüt ,On the Roll" (2018) wurde Sunny Bastards Records auf Scandal aufmerksam und veröffentlichte 4 Songs auf der ,A handful of Punk & Oi Vol.2" Compilation. Nun ist die Zeit reif für ihr neues Album: *Some Still Dance* enthält 14 Tracks, davon 10 Songs auf Englisch und vier auf Rumänisch, darunter vier neu gemasterte ältere Favoriten und der legendären ,Patrula"-Song. Das Album behandelt eine Reihe von Themen, vom Comeback der Band in ,It's A Scandal" über Überwindung von Depressionen in ,Never Give Up" bis hin zu toxischen Freundschaften in ,The End". Der Titelsong ,Some Still Dance" ist eine Hommage an den Punk-Rock und die Freunde, die ihnen durch die Jahre hindurch treu geblieben sind. Erwartet SSongs, die vom Feiern und Spaß haben bis hin zu sozialen Themen wie reichen. Das Album wurde in den Perry Vale Studios in London aufgenommen und ist dem geliebten Produzenten von ,Scandal", Pat Collier (Gründer/Bassist The Vibrators, Produzent für u.a. The Jesus and Mary Chain, X-Ray Spex, Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys, UK Subs und Primal Scream), gewidmet, der leider im Sommer 2024 verstorben ist. Schwarzes und mehrfarbiges Vinyl!

SCANDAL ist eine Street-Punk-Band aus dem Süden Londons, Großbritannien, die 1998 gegründet wurde und ihre Wurzeln in der rumänischen Punkszene hat. SCANDAL wurde schnell zu einer der gefeiertsten Bands des rumänischen Undergrounds, bekannt für ihre Arbeiterklassen-Hymnen und energiegeladenen Live-Shows. Ihre mitsingbaren Refrains, die sich oft um das Punk-Leben, das Trinken und die Kameradschaft drehten, wurden legendär, und die berüchtigte Anti-Polizei-Hymne ,Patrula Suge Pula" wurde zum Schlachtruf für ihre Fans (und die Unterdrückung durch die Regierung und die Bullen). Nach einer sechsjährigen Pause gingen SCANDAL 2016 nach Großbritannien und fanden mit drei der ursprünglichen Mitglieder wieder zusammen. Dort wurden sie schnell in der Szene groß, mit vielen Festivalauftritten (wie Undercover , Obscene Extreme in der Tschechischen Republik, Exit Festival in Serbien oder Rebellion/ Blackpool) sowie der *5 Seconds To Riot Euro-Tour*. Nach mehreren Underground-Veröffentlichungen und ihrem ausverkauften Debüt ,On the Roll" (2018) wurde Sunny Bastards Records auf Scandal aufmerksam und veröffentlichte 4 Songs auf der ,A handful of Punk & Oi Vol.2" Compilation. Nun ist die Zeit reif für ihr neues Album: *Some Still Dance* enthält 14 Tracks, davon 10 Songs auf Englisch und vier auf Rumänisch, darunter vier neu gemasterte ältere Favoriten und der legendären ,Patrula"-Song. Das Album behandelt eine Reihe von Themen, vom Comeback der Band in ,It's A Scandal" über Überwindung von Depressionen in ,Never Give Up" bis hin zu toxischen Freundschaften in ,The End". Der Titelsong ,Some Still Dance" ist eine Hommage an den Punk-Rock und die Freunde, die ihnen durch die Jahre hindurch treu geblieben sind. Erwartet SSongs, die vom Feiern und Spaß haben bis hin zu sozialen Themen wie reichen. Das Album wurde in den Perry Vale Studios in London aufgenommen und ist dem geliebten Produzenten von ,Scandal", Pat Collier (Gründer/Bassist The Vibrators, Produzent für u.a. The Jesus and Mary Chain, X-Ray Spex, Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys, UK Subs und Primal Scream), gewidmet, der leider im Sommer 2024 verstorben ist. Schwarzes und mehrfarbiges Vinyl!

SCANDAL ist eine Street-Punk-Band aus dem Süden Londons, Großbritannien, die 1998 gegründet wurde und ihre Wurzeln in der rumänischen Punkszene hat. SCANDAL wurde schnell zu einer der gefeiertsten Bands des rumänischen Undergrounds, bekannt für ihre Arbeiterklassen-Hymnen und energiegeladenen Live-Shows. Ihre mitsingbaren Refrains, die sich oft um das Punk-Leben, das Trinken und die Kameradschaft drehten, wurden legendär, und die berüchtigte Anti-Polizei-Hymne ,Patrula Suge Pula" wurde zum Schlachtruf für ihre Fans (und die Unterdrückung durch die Regierung und die Bullen). Nach einer sechsjährigen Pause gingen SCANDAL 2016 nach Großbritannien und fanden mit drei der ursprünglichen Mitglieder wieder zusammen. Dort wurden sie schnell in der Szene groß, mit vielen Festivalauftritten (wie Undercover , Obscene Extreme in der Tschechischen Republik, Exit Festival in Serbien oder Rebellion/ Blackpool) sowie der *5 Seconds To Riot Euro-Tour*. Nach mehreren Underground-Veröffentlichungen und ihrem ausverkauften Debüt ,On the Roll" (2018) wurde Sunny Bastards Records auf Scandal aufmerksam und veröffentlichte 4 Songs auf der ,A handful of Punk & Oi Vol.2" Compilation. Nun ist die Zeit reif für ihr neues Album: *Some Still Dance* enthält 14 Tracks, davon 10 Songs auf Englisch und vier auf Rumänisch, darunter vier neu gemasterte ältere Favoriten und der legendären ,Patrula"-Song. Das Album behandelt eine Reihe von Themen, vom Comeback der Band in ,It's A Scandal" über Überwindung von Depressionen in ,Never Give Up" bis hin zu toxischen Freundschaften in ,The End". Der Titelsong ,Some Still Dance" ist eine Hommage an den Punk-Rock und die Freunde, die ihnen durch die Jahre hindurch treu geblieben sind. Erwartet SSongs, die vom Feiern und Spaß haben bis hin zu sozialen Themen wie reichen. Das Album wurde in den Perry Vale Studios in London aufgenommen und ist dem geliebten Produzenten von ,Scandal", Pat Collier (Gründer/Bassist The Vibrators, Produzent für u.a. The Jesus and Mary Chain, X-Ray Spex, Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys, UK Subs und Primal Scream), gewidmet, der leider im Sommer 2024 verstorben ist. Schwarzes und mehrfarbiges Vinyl!

Spiral In A Straight Line ist das sechste Studioalbum der beliebten Post-Hardcore-Band Touché Amoré.
Produziert von Ross Robinson (Korn, Glassjaw, Slipknot) und mit Features von Lou Barlow und Julien
Baker.
Leadsänger Jeremy Bolm sagt, dies sei eine „Platte über Vorwärtsbewegung, während alles um einen herum
destabilisiert wird.“

Spiral In A Straight Line ist das sechste Studioalbum der beliebten Post-Hardcore-Band Touché Amoré.
Produziert von Ross Robinson (Korn, Glassjaw, Slipknot) und mit Features von Lou Barlow und Julien
Baker.
Leadsänger Jeremy Bolm sagt, dies sei eine „Platte über Vorwärtsbewegung, während alles um einen herum
destabilisiert wird.“

Zur Feier des 35. Jahrestages von Chris Isaaks bahnbrechendem Album ”Heart Shaped World” erscheint
nun eine 12” Reissue. Sein drittes Studioalbum, das im Sommer 1989 veröffentlicht wurde, enthält seinen
Durchbruchshit ”Wicked Game”, der auf Platz 6 der Billboard Hot 100 landete. Lee Chesnut, Musikdirektor
bei WAPW in Atlanta, spielte den Song zwei Wochen lang wiederholt, nachdem er eine Version auf dem
Soundtrack zu David Lynchs Film ”Wild at Heart” von 1990 gehört hatte.

Paul Heaton will release a brand new solo album ‘The Mighty Several’ on 11th October featuring new single ‘Fish ‘n’ Chip Supper’ (out now). Produced by legendary producer Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds and recorded at Blueprint Studios in Salford, ‘The Mighty Several’ features 12 new original songs, performed by Paul and his band + a number of special guest singers including Heaton’s regular live vocalist Rianne Downey as well as Yvonne Shelton and Danny Muldoon (all of whom are pictured on the album sleeve alongside Paul). Heaton has also announced a huge November/December UK tour including shows at Leeds First Direct Arena, Glasgow OVO Hydro, Liverpool M&S Bank Arena & Nottingham Motorpoint Arena ending in London with a show at the famous Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith. Special guests on all dates will be The Zutons

"The BBC Collection’ is an all-encompassing collection of the many recorded performances of Rory Gallagher at the BBC. Featuring eighteen CDs worth of radio concerts and sessions from 1971 to 1986, roughly 75% of this material has not been officially released before. Also included is two Blu Ray discs of BBC TV concerts and studio performances from 1973 to 1984, all of which has not been officially released previously.
Amassed from the BBC archives and Rory Gallagher’s own transcription discs and off-air cassette recordings, the boxset spans 16 years of his career (1971-1986), taking in highlights such as the 1977 dual television and radio broadcast Sight & Sound concert, Rory’s headlining set at the Reading Festival in 1980 to the emotional ‘At Midnight’ concert live from the Ulster Hall in Belfast, 1984.
A ‘best of’ from this collection will be available on 2CD and 3LP, titled “The Best of Rory Gallagher at the BBC”
These releases celebrate the importance of the artist Rory Gallagher, who was possibly the most recorded musician of the 1970s by the BBC.
“(‘Tore Down’) That was the first song I ever heard played…It’s a BBC recording of Rory Gallagher playing at the Paris Theatre in London in July 1972. And I was in the audience, aged 15, and those opening bars were enough to make me realise that this was something I wanted to do again and again… ‘Tore Down’ was my introduction to live, loud, amplified blues and when Gallagher had finished, my 15-year-old self could not contain his excitement. He ran down to the front to shake Rory’s hand…When the BBC did eventually broadcast the concert, I taped it by leaning the microphone from my clunky cassette recorder against the speaker of our old transistor radio and I listened to that tape over and over again” Nick Hornby, Author"

Born from of a relentless global tour schedule, Samara Joy took her touring band, made up of other rising young jazz musicians, into the legendary Van Gelder Studios (the venerable studio from which A Love Supreme and so many of the great catalog records from Impulse and Blue Note were recorded) in February of 2024. Recorded across three days, Samara and her musicians were able to capture an incredible snapshot of who she is today and the promise of tomorrow. It’s a collection of standards, as well as one original and some of her first forays into lyric writing and features her singular voice, alongside arrangements and playing from this tight knit young group. The recording is this story of the community she’s created with a new generation of young players and serves as a studio rendering that delivers on the promise of the live show so many fans have seen them perform over the last year.

Jason Kolàr (Stroom) returns to Dauw on this collaboration with Japanese musician Fumitake Tamura (Leaving Records). 'Ōki-sa' documents the duo's encounters during Kolàr's Japan tour in September 2023.

Fumitake Tamura and Jason Kolàr met in Tokyo during Kolàr’s Japanese tour in September 2023. Sharing a mutual admiration for their previous works, they decided to meet at Soundbar Patrol in Sangenjaya for a series of improvisational sessions.

The album contains a chronological sequence of ideas recorded on those summer afternoons, seamlessly connected by raw textures, lo-fi synths, and abstract beat-filled sound collages.

The title Ōki-sa was Kolàr's idea, a phonetic form of the Japanese word for 'size.' Fumitake found the Japanese phonetics of macrons and hyphens, which are not usually used in Japan, so visually interesting that they were adopted for the title.

Language communication is always subject to misreading and misunderstanding, even between speakers who share a mother tongue. Communication using sounds, which have no clear meaning, is even more prone to misreading and misunderstanding than language. Acknowledging this, they engaged in an intuitive process, with no prior discussion about references or guidelines, freely exchanging ideas and allowing the music to evolve organically.

This record aims to capture a three-day intersection of language and musical miscommunication, while also reflecting personal bonding and human connection.

2000 pressed. First time on vinyl for the gorgeous 'Late December', with a second LP featuring rare recordings from her Live Acoustic LA tour in 2006, the package includes new liner notes and a download of the studio album and live show. An album that's broader than Broadway, a panoramic view of life, love and loss filled with drama and theatricality. Plus a live set that's heart-on-sleeve time, bringing together songs from Lone Justice, plus covers of the traditional country anthem 'The World Is Not My Home', Richard Thompson's 'Has He Got A Friend For Me' and three songs that show the bittersweet beauty of her brother Bryan MacLean's song writing. In total, it's Kurt Weill, Springsteen, it's the million-selling global hit 'A Good Heart' delivered by the songwriter herself in all its Phil Spector-like baroque beauty.

Psychedelic jazz album by harpist Dorothy Ashby with lots of Eastern and African influences. Most of the tracks are really mellow and laidback with instruments such as the harp, koto, vibes... Sweet!!

London-based label Dancing With Strangers is back, after a brief hiatus, with the third edition being served up by none other than head honcho Oliver Moon.

On his third solo outing as an artist, Moon delivers two solid tracks in the shape of ‘Downstream' and ‘Drifting’. Both of which exercise his signature raw take on production and showcase an ability to carry a consistent groove whilst weaving deep, dreamy sounds into classy percussive work.

Dancing With Strangers Co-founder Agile Kind returns on remix duties to tackle ‘Downstream’ and does so wonderfully. Following the lead baseline, he layers lush pads around crisp skippy drum programming and lands on pure euphoria.

Last but certainly not least, the inimitable Carl Finlow (2020 Vision) rounds off the EP with a stellar electro remix of ‘Drifting’. Leading with a thick, growling bass and fusing cinematic synth work with playful acid stabs, Finlow captures the essence of the original. The end result is a beautifully emotive track entwined with stunning melodic elements destined for the dancefloor.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the reissue of one of Brooklyn’s most sought after “holy grail” soul records, YIA Talent Hunt Winners. Youth in Action, Inc. (YIA) was formed in 1963 when the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council received a grant to develop a youth services program in the Bedford-Stuyvesant community. It was originally organized to identify and address the social problems that were leading to the high crime rate in Bed-Stuy. Recently the Smithsonian Museum of African American History released an archive of footage filmed by a community activist, which shows the real-world effects of the group’s efforts: young people engaged in sports, the arts, and other activities to better themselves and their world. The appearances by Jackie and Bobby Kennedy point to the group's relationship to the Great Society programs of President Lyndon B. Johnson. What there is no mention of in either the NMAAHC’s collection of YIA materials nor in the Brooklyn Public Library’s also extensive collection is this talent show and the record that came to be because of it.
Local vocal groups chose tunes to cover from the era (1964 - 1968) ranging from The Rascals to The Intruders, from The O’Jays to Billy Stewart. All of these groups were backed by a local act called The Thrillers Band. The winners of the talent contest were then invited into the studio to record their versions which would be pressed up on this record and given away to local radio and TV stations. The hope of the whole thing was that this would help the young groups get discovered by producers and record labels and start their professional music careers. The intro to the album is Reverend Horace Tyler congratulating the winners and asking them “to just remember, when you reach the top and become our big stars of tomorrow, don’t forget YIA”.
What this album may lack in fidelity and production it more than makes up for in charm. The engineers at the recording sessions pump in pre recorded applause and screaming to give the it the feel of the day of the contest while the young groups sing their hearts out, clearly giving their all. From today’s perspective, soul music fans will lose it over the choices of covers on this record and the killer, raw, innocent performances of them by these local Brooklyn groups. The Channels 4, Carla & The Carlettes, The United Souls, Sharon Seabrook & The Starlettes, and The Destinations all won that day and got to take place in this record. It makes you wonder, and even pine for the performances of the groups who didn’t make the cut, even if just to find out what tunes they covered, or better yet, were their original songs written by some of them for this contest?
It is with great pleasure that we make this available to the public again. This is a truly rare record, and an awesome piece of New York History.