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DJ Support from Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, GW Harrison, DJ Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’Attis, Mousse T, SMan, Huxley, KC Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, TCTS, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche

Toolroom’s leading lady ESSEL returns to the label with a brand new killer vinyl 2 tracker. First up is her recent smash ‘Rave Is The Weapon’ with fellow female powerhouse and talented DJ, producer and vocalist, Alex Mills. Alex Mills is on an incredible journey! She had a UK top 40 hit last year with ‘Million Dollar Bill’ and as a talented vocalist boasts writing credits on records with the likes of Camelphat, Solardo and Ferreck Dawn. When these 2 are in the same room together, the energy that exudes from them is on another level! Their genuine friendship and thirst for fun is clearly visable and this spills into the record in a massive way. This BANGS! A peak-time tech houser in a similar vein to ESSEL’s Beatport chart topping tracks ‘Sweat’, and ‘Lennon’ with a lyric that will be screamed on dance floors and at festivals for the foreseeable future… ‘RAVE is the weapon!’ On the flipside is her late 2023 Toolroom single ‘The Edge’ that already sits on an impressive 4m streams and almost 40 Radio 1 plays. She has received a huge amount of radio support over the past few years which was rewarded with a DJ booking at Radio 1’s ‘Big Weekend’ back in May alongside the world’s leading artists. As far as the record is concerned… This is a real EARWORM! A stripped back, fun record with insanely catchy vocals and one that will please radio DJs, and club DJs alike.

Countless radio plays on Radio 1 from Danny Howard, Sarah Storie, Pete Tong Other notable radio plays – Kiss FM, Toolroom Radio, Sirius XM, Data Transmission Radio, Radio 1 Dance Anthems, Radio 1 Party Anthems, Rinse FM, Select Radio, Tomorrowland Radio

Expanding upon his critically acclaimed MAX comedy special of the same name, John Early’s long-awaited first comedy album Now More Than Ever features four brand new cover songs from John Early and The Lemon Squares, along with an exclusive, album-only set from Early’s beloved alter ego, Vicky with a ‘V.’ In the album's oddly stirring climax, Early delivers a sermon on the emptiness of millennial culture, pleading to the Brooklyn crowd, “We have to get serious! Before it’s too late! And our gravestones read: Because Cancer.” Now More Than Ever is Early’s sincere and abundant offering back to the culture of thoughtful critique, heartfelt music, and infectious joy, firmly cementing his place as the godfather of millennial alt-comedy.

"Springing from Osaka, Japan’s cultural center and historical heart, comes HYPER GAL, a two-piece band consisting of visual artist Koharu Ishida on vocals and noise artist Kurumi Kadoya on drums.

The minimalist duo make maximum impact - stripping music down beyond the bare essentials, to create shimmering, no wave pop from blast beat drums, glittery keyboard loops and ethereal bubblegum vocals - laced with velvet and firecrackers.

On “After Image” HYPER GAL hold fast to their limited palette, but expand their reach. Working with a canvas larger than ever before, the band fearlessly alternate bold, avant-garde strokes with intimate, deliberate gestures. The result is a new world awash in a sea of endless possibilities - only visible with closed eyes and open ears.

“There's something almost vapor-wave-adjacent about the glorious racket riled up by this pair. The effect of repetition throughout, the way the beat slips in and out of time, is hypnotic” - THE WIRE

“Blends elements of noise, no wave, pop and blistering punk to create something remarkable and new… Endlessly inventive and challenging” - MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

“These royalty of no-wave-pop don't blink and their delivery is absolute. An exhilarating, total experience” - NOISE-FI

""Indescribable, just listen to it for yourself. And don't take any stimulants beforehand, you could end up in the emergency room"" – OX FANZINE

“It looks like noise, but there is too much color. Pop, but unsellable. Their music goes beyond barriers, genres and boundaries, as if a virus had been injected into a video game bringing delirious ruin to a perfect world” – SODA POP

“Intensely good. A beautiful challenge, a noise, relentless, not an onslaught, always inviting, like they want to pull you in rather than chase you away. Actually, this is joyous” - THE ORGAN"

Almost exactly one year after their debut album on Sdban Ultra (2023), the pan-European trio KAU continues their energetic trip with a double single release. This release, packed with intricate synthesizer arrangements, rapid drum patterns, and deep resonant basslines, is once again focused on capturing and translating their infectious live sound to tape.

Fully playing off their energetic band dynamics, the trio draws on elements of jazztronica, combined with familiar jam sounds from acts such as Yussef Dayes and corto.alto, transitioning into a groove atmosphere reminiscent of Flying Lotus. Imagine the fusion of British jazz with the innovative, vibrant 'Brussels sound'-that's where KAU sits.

"Kaugummi" (chewing gum) is the latest original track produced by the trio. The idea evolved by combining a 'dub' bassline with an intricate drum pattern. The melody is reminiscent of the EP's other side, "Mad Kau," as it uses similar unapologetic, richly diverse, and grooving elements. Both tracks culminate in highly energetic moments distinguished by aggressive arpeggiators and synths.

"Mad Kau" is a present-day remake of their previous 2022 release "Mad Max." It's a true representation of how the track is played by the trio on stage, with its iconic melody as the heartbeat of the song. It evokes moments of madness both within the musicians and the listener, hence the title.

Back in circulation after over a decade, Jahtari's seminal "Jahtarian Dubbers Vol. 1 EP" receives the long-awaited reissue treatment, reviving the raw, 8-bit-infused dub vibes that defined a new era of digital roots music.

Originally released in 2008 and quickly disappearing into dub obscurity, this heavyweight 12" returns with four essential cuts that perfectly encapsulate the Jahtari sound—where chiptune meets the echo chamber.

The EP kicks off with Blaze Dem's "Roots Defender", a hypnotic concotion of deep basslines and eerie samples from a Swedish cult ritual, setting a heavy tone right from the start. disrupt's cinematic "Kozure Okami" follows, channeling Black Ark vibes through 8-bit synth explorations.

On the flip, John Frum delivers the hauntingly beautiful "January Dub", while Rootah's slomo slammer "Holy Mount Part 2" closes the EP with Lynchian, echo-soaked vibrations that linger long after the needle lifts.

Timeless tracks, mastered by CGB-1 at D&M in Berlin for maximum impact. Pivotal piece of Dub music!

Mit King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2 präsentiert Denzel Curry eine Fortsetzung des Projekts und bringt den Sound zurück, der seine Karriere begründete. Während der erste Teil von King Of The Mischievous South aus der Perspektive seiner Raven Miyagi-Persönlichkeit entstand, einem Namen, den ihm
der Gründer des Raider Klan, SpaceGhostPurrp, gegeben hat, ist Curry in Volume 2 in seiner Big UltraPersönlichkeit zu hören - eine erweiterte Version von Raven Miyagi, die prahlerisch ist und in dem Erfolg schwelgt, den Curry in den letzten zehn Jahren seiner Karriere hatte. King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2 zu machen, war schon seit einiger Zeit ein Ziel von Curry, obwohl seine ersten Versuche, dies zu tun, letztendlich in andere Projekte übergingen, nämlich sein Album Imperial von 2016 und 13LOOD 1N + 13LOOD OUT von 2020. Erst als er aufhörte, sich zu sehr um Volume 2 zu bemühen, entstanden die Songs von selbst.

Der Sound des Projekts ist eine Hommage an das große musikalische Erbe des Südens und enthält alte und neue Größen der Region sowie andere, deren Stil dem musikalischen Erbe des Südens verpflichtet ist. Nach all den weltfremden Abenteuern, auf die Denzel die Hörer/innen im Laufe seiner letzten konzeptionellen Alben mitgenommen hat, dient dieses Projekt als Schaufenster für den Spaß, die Spontaneität und die technische Meisterschaft, die ihn im Laufe des letzten Jahrzehnts zu einem der gefragtesten Talente
im Rap gemacht haben.

With her new single release "Uh-Ah Song" the Ghanaian Frafra Soul singer Florence Adooni announces her debut album "Fo Yelle" on Philophon.

A lot has happened since the release of her first single "Mam Pe'ela Su'ure" in 2021. While this release was a pure studio project, Florence Adooni is now an eight-member live formation, made up of young talents from the highlife scene of Kumasi. The group has already considerable credentials: In 2023, they toured Europe twice and thrilled their audiences at festivals such as Roskilde, Down The Rabbit Hole and Überjazz. And this year, with the debut "Fo Yelle" under the belt, Florence and her group embarking on a 50+ concert summer tour through Europe, from Sweden to Portugal to UK and at festivals like FMM Sines, Xajazz, Africa Oye, Fusion, End of The Road.

The title track "Uh-Ah Song" is based on a rhythm typical of Kumasi and shines with its playful and cheerful character. Florence remembers the process of creating the piece: "When my producer Max Weissenfeldt came to me to play me on the piano an idea for a new piece, my daughter, who had just been born, began to sing in rhythm ah-ah-ah, with all joy in her face ever imaginable, while Max was playing. Max turned around and answered her with uh-uh-uh, to which she replied again with ah-ah-ah. We laughed so much and decided to make it a piece that would capture that very moment of joy we just had experienced. That's why it's somehow a children's song".

"Otoma Da Naba" (The Creator Has Done Well) has a sequencer bass line from a Roland TB-303 as its foundation. While Florence holds her verse in a kind of Ethiopian pentatonic scale, in the pre-chorus she switches to a sweetly swinging heptatonic motif, with a typical highlife guitar in the background creating the atmosphere. In the chorus, the singing then changes in that unique choir style, which is the trademark of Frafra music.

The international debut album "Fo Yelle" will be released on Philophon this summer.

Solomun & CASSIM remix two of the track rake from Radio Slave’s Venti album released earlier this year

Diynamic boss and Ibiza titan Solomun remixes Radio Slave ‘The Lunatics’ on Rekids, following the original’s inclusion in Matt Edwards’ acclaimed ‘Venti’ album in May. The original, a rework itself, reimagined the 1981 Fun Boy Three track ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum’, with Edwards’ ode to the band’s late lead vocalist and The Specials frontman Terry Hall winning support from Saoirse, Erol Alkan, Jennifer Cardini, Laurent Garnier, Paul Woolford, and Honey Dijon.
Solomun’s remix of ‘The Lunatics’ is sparkling aural nostalgia executed with total joy. Crisp 80s drums, Stranger Things-esque Jupiter 8 synth swells, the vocoded titular vocal, and a gloriously rich sliding bassline combine to drag the listener back to 1983 in the best possible way. As the track builds, rousing guitars join the ensemble, completing what is a hypnotic, melodic trip to the 80s via what’s set to be a 2024 anthem.

CASSIMM’s remix of Radio Slave vs Audion’s ‘Mouth To Mouth’ continues the story of Matthew Dear’s classic, which Radio Slave revived and reinvented as part of his 2024 LP, ‘Venti’.
Radio Slave’s hi-NRG disco cover of Audion’s minimal/maximal 2006 and era-defining anthem has dominated dancefloors since it emerged as a single in late 2023, with the likes of Erol Alkan, Job Jobse, Sean Johnston, Jennifer Cardini and Eats Everything continuing to play it today and the latter awarding it an Essential New Tune whilst sitting in for Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1.
Now, recent Rekids alum CASSIMM continues his huge run of form with a chunky, main-room house interpretation that shows just why his recent release, ‘House of Moves,’ won DJ support from the likes of Tong, Arielle Free, Paul Woolford, Honey Dijon, and Jennifer Loveless.
CASSIMS’s remix of Radio Slave vs Audion quickly follows Lindstrom and Solomun’s remixes of the ‘Venti’ LP’s tracks, which have seen support from the likes of Ivan Smagghe, Chloé Caillet, Nightmares On Wax, and more.

The mighty U Roy is the originator, the man who put the DJ phenomenon on the map and made it an artform. From Kingston Jamaica to the corners of all the Dancefloors, Clubs and Sound Systems across the world. U Roy (B. Ewart Beckford, 1942, Kingston, Jamaica) began his musical career spinning records for Doctor Dickies Sound System way back in 1961. The mid sixties saw him working for Sir George The Atomic before moving in 1967 to the man who best shaped his sound King Tubby on his Home Town HI - FI. Tubbys work in the dub field, dropping out vocals on his versions for the Sound Systems allowed U Roy to voice over these spaces adding to the excitment of the Dance!!!

U Roy moved into the recording arena firstly cutting two disc's for Producer Lee Perry 'Earths Rightful Ruler' and 'OK Corral' and then following this with 'Dynamic Fashion Way' and 'Riot' for Producer Keith Hudson. Producer Duke Reid seeing the protential in this new found form brought U Roy to his Treasure Isle Studios to voice over his back catalogue of Rocksteady Hits. His first three releases for Duke Reid 'Wake The Town', 'Rule The Nation' and 'Wear You To The Ball' held the Top 3 positions for 12 weeks in early 1970's.

We have compiled some of U Roy's best loved cuts from his mid 70's period when all were still looking at him for guidence.  The opening cut Call On Me sees him working over Delroy Wilson's 'Got To Be There'.  You Never Get Away gets U Roy answering Delroy Wison's 'Keep On Rocking'. Johnny Clarke's 'Time Gonna Tell' with rootsy bassline turns into Every Knee Shall Bow. Cornell Campbell the Gorgon himself gets his 'Check Mr Morgon' turned into Gorgon Wise. Johnny Clarke's Hold On gets reworked. Jeff Barnes 'Blowing In The Wind' tuned into Number 1 and alongside King of The Road which sees Lennox Brown blow his saxophone over the instrumental 'In The Swing of Things', was one of U Roys first releases. Linval Thompson's 'Let Jah Arise' is versioned to Joyful Locks. I Originate which lends us to the title of this compilation, says it as it is, a classic built over Dave Barker's 'Shocks of Mighty'. Linval Thompson again provides the backbone with his Cool Down Your Temper cut for U Roys version. The mighty Burning Spear's Creation Rebel although providing our next track, it is Johnny Clarke's version that gets worked over. Leo Graham's 'Birds of A Feather' turns into Stick Together. Soul Syndicates instrumental 'Goliath' grows into Riot. A big hit for Max Romeo Wet Dream sounds great under U Roy's new rendition.

Two extra tracks for the CD release of this album sees the great voice of Slim Smith on his 'Let's Stick Together' becomes ‘Ain’t To Proud To Beg’ and Cornell Campbell's 'Stand Firm' works with
U Roy to sign us off with ‘I Shall Not Remove’.  A fine collection i hope you agree to the Daddy of all DJ's who in his own words ''I Originate, so you must appreciate, while the others got to imitate'' says it all really……

Mutant, in partnership with WaterTower Music, are proud to present the premiere physical media release of Tom Holkenborg’s explosive score to George Miller’s latest wasteland epic FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA. Tom Holkenborg’s collaborations with the legendary George Miller Mad Max: Fury Road, Three Thousand Years of Longing have produced some of the most unique and powerful film music of the last decade. With FURIOSA, he takes the sonic landscape he created with the last film and shifts into higher gear. The loudest revving-engine of a score you’ve ever heard, absolutely pulsating with ferocity and white-knuckle tension.

"My collaboration with the incredible George Miller began over a decade ago with our work on Mad Max: Fury Road, a project that marked a pivotal moment in my career as a film composer." says Holkenborg. "Returning to this world to score the odyssey of Furiosa, an epic tale of survival, resilience and revenge has been just as eye-opening and gratifying. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is a testament to the vision of a singular film maker, whose pursuit of excellence always inspires me to push my creative limits."

Pressed on 2x 140 gram eco vinyl, with liner notes by composer Tom Holkenborg and housed in a tri-fold sleeve designed by Mutant co-founder Mo Shafeek.

`Think Differently' is the debut LP by the duo of Callahan & Witscher. Jeff Witscher has been one of the most daring voices in underground American music for two decades, highlighted by releases on Pan and NNA Tapes. Jack Callahan's focused, uncompromising approach to sound caught the attention of both Demdike Stare's DDS label and Swiss composer Jürg Frey, who took Callahan on as his first composition student. Fans of their individual work might expect opacity, disruption, or rhythmic irregularity from their collaboration, but `Think Differently' sounds like a pitbull in a convertible, a sand-kicking beach party, the dopamine hit you get from 311 or Smash Mouth. It's a punchy, crunchy, highly infectious record. How did Callahan & Witscher cut the path from the ghostly margins of avant garde musics to the gutters of post-grunge American hard rock? In the words of Callahan, "at some point, you start to need a stronger drug." The most potent characteristic of this stronger drug is the guitar. And not just any guitar, but a sassy, contagious, blithe guitar. Its presence is a drastic shift for two guys who've combined to make dozens of records over the years, not a single one of which has a recognizable guitar sound on it. Alongside the cool breezes and hyperactive fretwork of Callahan's guitar playing, the songs are backboned by strutting, groove-happy vocals: all bark, all bite. Every song is a careful collage, light but dense, ornate with gang choruses, soulful femme vocals, autotune and whisper scratches. This accumulation almost manages to hide the record's potent undertow of dread. `Think Differently' unfolds carefully, a slow-motion demolition that reveals the anxiety of second guessing, the exhaustion of tour, creative bankruptcy, willful misunderstanding, the pain of caring. Setting this lyrical cynicism against such sonic glee isn't a spoonful of sugar, it isn't a bait-and-switch, it isn't a prank. After all, the dumb bliss of Sugar Ray's "Fly" shades a song about Mark McGrath's mom dying. "All Star" is about climate change. Most Sublime lyrics are a bummer. But there's still room for a raised beer, for a dumb grin. Like these ancestors, Callahan & Witscher aim at maximum uplift, at sounds that warm and dazzle like a sped-up sunrise. In spite of overdraft fees, in spite of bad art, in spite of self-doubt.

Black Truffle is thrilled to present a Song for two Mothers / Occam IX the first ever solo release from Laetitia Sonami. Born in France in 1957, Sonami studied with Éliane Radigue in Paris before moving to California in 1978 to study electronic music at Mills College, going on to make important innovations in the field of live electronics interfaces and multi-media performance. Sonami is perhaps most closely associated with one of her inventions, the Lady’s Glove, an arm-length tailored glove fitted with movement sensors allowing the performer fluidly to control digital sound parameters and processing, as well as motors, lights and video playback. Having performed with the Lady’s Glove for 25 years, Sonami retired it in 2016, turning her attention to the interface/instrument heard and pictured here, the Spring Sprye.

In Sonami’s own description, “The Spring Spyre is composed of three thin springs that are attached to reverb tank pickups, mounted on a metal ring. The audio generated when the springs are touched, rubbed or struck is analyzed in Max/MSP. The extracted features are then used to train machine learning models in Wekinator and Rapidmax and control the audio synthesis in real time. We never actually hear the springs.” After decades of aversion to documenting her work on recordings, a Song for two Mothers / Occam IX treats listeners to two side-long performances with the Spring Spyre: the very first piece developed for the instrument and the most recent, the two contrasting remarkably in sound palette, energy and form. A Song for two Mothers (2023) spins an intricate web of rippling synthetic burbles, rapid sweeps and fizzing textures. Performed in real time with the sensitive and partly uncontrollable Spring Sprye ("a bit tyrannical," Sonami calls it), the music is delicate yet chaotic. Abrupt gestures hover against a backdrop of silence, "devoid of spatial or temporal direction". After several minutes, the sound-world becomes metallic and percussive, tapping and ticking in pointillistic flurries before a wavering harmonic cloud emerges, sprinkled with resonant drips and pops.


Occam IX is a radically different proposition. At the outset of Sonami’s exploration of the Spring Sprye, she asked her former teacher Éliane Radigue to compose a piece for it—and her: like all of Radigue’s work since she ceased working with analogue electronics at the beginning of the 21st century, Occam IX is written not only for an instrument but also for a particular performer. These scores are developed verbally, through meetings and conversations between performer and composer; each is grounded in an image (usually kept from listeners, to avoid influencing their experience); all magnify the subtlest acoustic phenomena and require great commitment and patience from the performer. Sonami’s is one of the few Occam pieces to make use of electronics, bringing it closer to Radigue’s famous longform pieces for ARP 2500. Beginning from a rumbling low tone, the listener is gradually immersed in slowly lapping waves of synthetic tones, eventually thinning out into delicate bell-like pings against a background of white noise, reminiscent of one of the most beautiful sections of Kyema from the Trilogie de la Morte.


Accompanied by notes from Sonami, her longtime collaborator Paul DeMarinis, and Radigue, and illustrated with scores, photographs and images of the Spring Spyre, a Song for two Mothers / Occam IX is an essential document celebrating an under-recognised pioneer of electronic music and performance.

Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records are proud to present to you the 2nd LP from TOMOYUKI TRIO (Tomoyuki Aoki, Mike Vest & Dave Sneddon) following their debut LP ‘Mars’ on the esteemed Riot Season Record Label. Tomoyuki Aoki is the founding member and lead guitarist of the legendary Tokyo Psych Monsters UP-TIGHT. Of all the Japanese psych-rock groups that emerged in the late nineties and early noughties, Up-Tight are the most reverent, the most directly plugged into the source, from their name (Velvet Underground) with knowing referential song titles like “Sweet Sister” to their extended heavy, dark black clad acid fried one chord psych melters -- we're talking bands like Fushitsusha, White Heaven, Kousokuya, Shizuka, and the grandaddies of 'em all, the deservedly-legendary, Les Rallizes Denudes. Shitsuren If anything has got an even heavier, dronier edge than what we heard on the last one. Super fuzzed guitars, sad ballads, grinding distorto epics and numbed, narcotic rhythms. This is one to play at maximum volume so that you can soak up its molten magik as over 2 sides of Shitsuren’s grueling guitar hypnotics you uncover the darker side of the ensembles personality to find them digging deep to drag the audience with them into the shadows of stoner psyche. If you can picture Okhami No Jikan, Asahito Nanjo. Musica Transonic & Toho Sara then you’re close to the outrageous levels of psychedelic excess captured here, a riotous concoction of ferociously brooding, locked down heavy bearing intensity of fierce/brutal speaker battering in the red levels.

After years of visiting graveyards, combing through haunted houses, and pursuing (heh heh) dead ends, we finally tracked down the rights to the legendary Frankie Stein and His Ghouls series! Why did we risk life, limb, and livelihood to find these records? Well, first of all, long-time Real Goners know we LOVE these campy ‘60s takes on horror rock—witness our previous macabre moves into the Zacherle, Munsters and Groovie Goolies franchises. But there’s something extra special about these Frankie Stein and His Ghouls records. You wouldn’t think that Halloween records released by a subsidiary (Power Records) of a children’s specialty label (Peter Pan Records) would be so…er…visceral, but these records are definitely the most out there of their kind. And there might be a reason for that…you see, it has been revealed that the Power label enlisted the aid of some very, very interesting musicians for some of its projects. For instance, the imprint’s 1966 album Batman and Robin by The Sensational Guitars of Dan and Dale was actually produced by Tom Wilson of Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground, and Mothers of Invention fame—and the band was made up free jazz legend Sun Ra and members of The Blues Project! Which has led to all sorts of speculation about who Frankie Stein and His Ghouls actually were; among the names bandied about are guitarist Duane Eddy, jazz saxophonist Max Greger, and, yes, Sun Ra and the Blues Project again. At any rate, prepare yourself for frenetic rock-and-twist workouts punctuated by deranged howls and shattering sound effects. And with a back story like this, it’s no wonder original copies of these albums sell for downright horrifying prices…here come the last two for a truly fiendish finale!

This is the quartet's second LP, recorded in 1971, and contains mostly Peruvian songs with a strong Cuban flavor where Pancho Acosta’s electric guitar reaches vertiginous heights and is combined with outstanding conga and timbales playing. Extremely rare and hard to find in its original issue, this is the first-time reissue. Remastered from the original tapes. The guitarist Francisco "Pancho" Acosta Angeles (1946) played a significant role in spreading love for Cuban rhythms across Peru, those sunshine beats breaking through the cloudiness that hangs over Lima most of the year, as the city bears a closer resemblance weather wise to London than to Havana. In 1967, after making a name for himself with his six-stringed skill, he made his vinyl debut with Compay Quinto. Shortly after Pancho left Company Quinto, he joined Los Kintos. When Los Kintos disbanded, Pancho Acosta swiftly moved on to his next project for MAG: the Cuarteto Yemayá, formed by tumba drummer and singer Miguel Montoya, bassist Máximo Pecho and timba drummer José Luis Fiallega, all under Pancho's direction and arrangements. The quartet's debut album, "Ecos del Trio Matamoros", was a tribute to the Cuban trio of the title and comprised cover versions as well as a couple of their own songs. This is the quartet's second LP, recorded between July and August 1971. "El Tic Tac" contains mostly Peruvian songs. The foreign versions on the album include the classic 'Compay Gallo', written by Miguel Matamoros; 'Toribio carambola' and 'El Tic Tac', from the repertoire of the Cuban Trio Servando Diaz; and 'Sandunguéate', best known in Celia Cruz’s version. ‘Oye Mi Son' and 'Oye Mi Guitarra' were composed by the album's lead vocalist, Miguel Montoya. Percussionist Jorge Mariazza (Los Pachas, Manzanita y su Conjunto) co-wrote 'Descarga Yemayá' with Pancho, which features outstanding conga and timbales playing. Pancho also composed tracks on his own: 'Me Voy a Monsefú', 'Mi Provinciana', 'Yo Me Voy de Aquí' and 'Flaca y Fea', the latter
with a Beatle-like intro where his Japanese electric guitar reaches vertiginous heights (he never used sound effects in his recordings). Cuarteto Yemayá released one more album for MAG. In 1973 Los Kintos reformed, with the addition of the bass, percussionist and guitarist from Cuarteto Yemayá. Pancho Acosta has continued his career as a composer and arranger to this day

Los Angeles-based ASHRR are back on 2020 Vision ahead of a new album and this time serve up their own superb version of The Romantics's 1983 hit 'Talking in Your Sleep.' In their hands, it becomes a club-ready sound with a vocal you may recognise as it featured in the Mad Max episode of Stranger Things. Add in some DFA-inspired punk funk vibes and with all the instruments reapplied while new layers of bass and synth are added and you have one fantastic new version. Balearic don Fernando steps up for two remixes, first stripping things back to a deep house sound and then bringing some dub disco vibes to the fore.

Ambient Maximalism in Synths, Strings, Harps, and Horns. A sonic excursion, taking inspiration from public parks across the globe, Big Majestic features Kronos Quartet soaring above desert vistas on West Coast Sky Forever, Shabaka Hutchings' kaleidoscopic shakuhachi and tenor saxophone meditations on Spiritual Sun and Primrose Hill, James McVinnie performing an electrifying synth organ epic on Blue Sky | Mirrored Glass, and the otherworldly voice of Lisel beckoning the listener into the unknown.

American Pulitzer Prize winning composer and sound artist Ellen Reid is set to release ‘Big Majestic,’ an album of music written for her acclaimed GPS-enabled work of public art, Ellen Reid SOUNDWALK, that reimagines urban parks as interactive soundscapes. The album features performances by the Kronos Quartet and Shabaka Hutchings. SOUNDWALK premiered in New York's Central Park, and continues to expand to urban parkland around the world, including Los Angeles' Griffith Park, London's Regent's Park & Primrose Hill, and Tokyo's Ueno Park. The project has already been featured on NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the LA Times.

"Even God Has A Sense Of Humor" is the long-awaited follow up album to Maxo's critically acclaimed 2019 release Lil Big Man. Across the 14-tracks, Even God Has A Sense Of Humor pays tribute to the mercurial nature of life and includes features from Liv.e, keiyaA, LastNameDavid, and Melanie Charles along with the previously released singles "Free!," produced by Dev Morrison and "48," produced by Madlib and featuring Pink Siifu. The FADER recently sat down with Maxo to discuss the album, which they described as having "a defiant glow, like a bronze statue still standing after an intense tornado."

Born Maxamillian Allen, Even God Has A Sense Of Humor finds Maxo earnest, full-hearted, and lyrically agile. His delivery punches as he poetically unpacks the trials and blessings that have marked the last three years since Lil Big Man, his stirring and meditative debut album. “Life is always gonna be life-ing,” Maxo says, speaking to the spiritual lessons that inspired this new project and an album process that has revealed to him the many ways in which he’s divinely protected.

The album’s striking cover features three casted sculptures of Maxo by legendary NYC-based artist artist John Ahearn, photographed by the rapper’s friend Steven Traylor. The image both preceded the music and set the tone for the record’s overall aura. Experiencing the casting process—which required long periods of stillness for form, and breathwork to avoid claustrophobia—became a metaphor about ego death for Maxo. “I had to go to a space where I was just not there,” he says. As the molding was poured over his body and the voices of those in the room became distant, Maxo’s inner world came into focus. “By the time it hardened, it seemed like the sculpture had risen to be 20 feet above where it was first— almost like it grew tall,” he explains. EGHASOH, in its aural ebbs and flows, honest questioning, profound revelations, and elegant verse, is Maxo standing spiritually tall following a period of challenges with family and friends.

Maxo’s writing process has always been rooted in imagery, observation, and capturing moments. Growing up in Southern California, Maxo spent a lot of time combing through old family photo albums, some of whose contents have become the artwork for prior releases. But his fascination with visual memento is less about nostalgia or remembering, and more about exploring concepts of growth, healing, and cycles. His artistry is intentional and deeply sensitive: “If I’m not feeling it, I’m not gonna record.” While his past records openly grappled with emotional turbulence, anger and depression, EGHASOH is Maxo’s acceptance stage: “I can't really judge nothing. I can't sit up and be mad at shit because everything is, everything is kind of coexisting,” he says.

Musically, EGHASOH is an impressive evolution from Maxo’s earlier, unornamented lo-fi projects. With an emphasis on jazzy instrumentalism and soothing, intricate vocals from both the artist and featured chanteueses Liv.e, Melanie Charles, and keiyaA, EGHASOH is a welcome and beautifully complex sonic effort. Its contributors include a range of musicians: Pink Siifu, LastNameDavid, Madlib, GrayMatter, Karriem Riggins, Beat Butcha, Lance Skiiiwalker, and more. The album was executive produced by Mount Kimbie’s Dom Maker.

“Nobody talks about the fact that we’re changing as we get older... Everybody just acts like you supposed to know,” Maxo says on album standout, “Face of Stone”. It's moody bassline meets a cinematic accordion melody that paradoxically both broods and uplifts—a fitting production choice that mirrors the song’s story. “I’m seeing how this world is chipping you and withering your bones,” Maxo says. “I’m talking about myself, talking about my bro. But it’s never nothing you gonna do that’s a one stop shop in this life. You gotta keep staying diligent and consistent.” For Maxo, Even God Has a Sense of Humor is nothing more than another moment on the timeline of his offerings of self-expression as an artist—one whose sole intention is to, in his words, develop as a human being and heal.

Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices’ Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard’s vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative comet that in just two years included the “classic line-up” trilogy of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars and countless singles that crammed endless hooks in their grooves. In the intervening space, Tonics And Twisted Chasers has taken on a mythic status. It’s arguably Pollard’s strangest, gnarliest, most enlightened record and also the fans first chance to see the stitches that bind his galaxy of songs. It’s like peering at the caliber inside a watch, responsible for making the whole enterprise tick. This nineteen-song collaboration with guitarist Tobin Sprout could be interpreted as spontaneous sketches, late-night improvisations, ideas that blossomed later in the timeline (“Knock ’Em Flyin’” and “Key Losers”), but as with anything in Pollard’s orbit, its intention is clear when heard as a cohesive whole. The Pollard tenet that “less is more” is on full display here. The songs rarely creep past ninety seconds and coalesce much like Pollard’s collage-styled visual art. Arena anthems in miniature (“158 Years Of Beautiful Sex”) bash up against eerie piano laments (“Universal Nurse Finger”) without any time to breathe, acoustic lullabies that sound like a Midwestern summer’s twilight (“Look It’s Baseball”) segue into monochromatic post-rock (“Maxwell Jump”). The euphoric joy and obtuse melancholy in Pollard’s voice is so palpable on the album’s standout, “Dayton, Ohio 19 Something & 5” (which has since become a live staple), that it’s impossible to find a more autobiographical yarn in his catalog. The album’s closest analog is 1993’s Vampire On Titus, as it contains that album’s prickly, dark and shimmering obfuscation that only reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Tonics And Twisted Chasers maintains the lore because the melodies are so strong. Using a primitive drum machine, Radio Shack effects, minimal instrumentation and the DIY spirit that guided them in the first place, Pollard and Sprout constructed a masterpiece of pop that could only come from a basement in north Dayton, Ohio. Anyone in that hallowed era who happened upon it, kept it as a secret.

Originally released in 1996 as a limited fan-club pressing for Rockathon, Guided By Voices’ Tonics And Twisted Chasers has always existed as an anomaly in Robert Pollard’s vast discography. In many ways, the album serves as the tail of a creative comet that in just two years included the “classic line-up” trilogy of Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under the Bushes, Under the Stars and countless singles that crammed endless hooks in their grooves. In the intervening space, Tonics And Twisted Chasers has taken on a mythic status. It’s arguably Pollard’s strangest, gnarliest, most enlightened record and also the fans first chance to see the stitches that bind his galaxy of songs. It’s like peering at the caliber inside a watch, responsible for making the whole enterprise tick. This nineteen-song collaboration with guitarist Tobin Sprout could be interpreted as spontaneous sketches, late-night improvisations, ideas that blossomed later in the timeline (“Knock ’Em Flyin’” and “Key Losers”), but as with anything in Pollard’s orbit, its intention is clear when heard as a cohesive whole. The Pollard tenet that “less is more” is on full display here. The songs rarely creep past ninety seconds and coalesce much like Pollard’s collage-styled visual art. Arena anthems in miniature (“158 Years Of Beautiful Sex”) bash up against eerie piano laments (“Universal Nurse Finger”) without any time to breathe, acoustic lullabies that sound like a Midwestern summer’s twilight (“Look It’s Baseball”) segue into monochromatic post-rock (“Maxwell Jump”). The euphoric joy and obtuse melancholy in Pollard’s voice is so palpable on the album’s standout, “Dayton, Ohio 19 Something & 5” (which has since become a live staple), that it’s impossible to find a more autobiographical yarn in his catalog. The album’s closest analog is 1993’s Vampire On Titus, as it contains that album’s prickly, dark and shimmering obfuscation that only reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Tonics And Twisted Chasers maintains the lore because the melodies are so strong. Using a primitive drum machine, Radio Shack effects, minimal instrumentation and the DIY spirit that guided them in the first place, Pollard and Sprout constructed a masterpiece of pop that could only come from a basement in north Dayton, Ohio. Anyone in that hallowed era who happened upon it, kept it as a secret.

Kompakt is proud to announce, finally, a reissue of the first, self-titled GAS album. Originally released on electronica imprint Mille Plateaux back in 1996, it’s been unavailable in its original form ever since – the version of GAS included in 2008’s Nah Und Fern box featured several different tracks. Here, however, GAS is restored in all its glory, the debut full-length from Wolfgang Voigt’s most enigmatic, quixotic project.

There had, of course, been signs of what was to come. Back in 1995, Voigt essayed the first GAS release, a slender, yet remarkable four-track EP, Modern. Its centre label featured a reduced symbol – an overhead or lamp light, switched on, its glow radiating outwards in four bold black lines – a perfect representation of the tight, stylised ambient electronic pop contained on that 12”. A few curious compilation tracks were floating around, too, for Mille Plateaux’s Modulation & Transformation and Electric Ladyland series. If you were attentive enough, you could tell something was up.

But nothing quite prepared us for the languorous, effervescing loops and regular-like-clockwork beats that Voigt folded together on GAS. Its six long tracks, all untitled, neither begin nor end but hazily fade into earshot, vibrate majestically in your cochlea for fifteen-or-so minutes – some a bit shorter, some longer – and then meander away, reading the mise-en-scène for the next example of Voigt’s drift and dream logic to unfold. The material is referential in the most distant way, and you can sense only the most evanescent of ghostly presences, haunting these six compositions.

GAS feels, also, like a more pliable hint at what’s to come, as the GAS concept really solidified on its successor, 1997’s Zauberberg, and reach its apotheosis on Königsforst and Pop. Those three albums share a very similar palette – blurred, hazy samples, often of classical music, stacked and cross-thatched across a muted 4/4 thud. GAS, then, is an outlier of sorts: it’s more expansive in its remit, lighter in its mood, perhaps more fleet of foot. This, of course, is part of its charm.

In clearing space for Voigt, by preparing the terrain, GAS sits both at the edge of the forest, and at the verge of an expansive, wide-eyed future; one where GAS would become truly eternal.

Text by Jonathan Dale

Kompakt ist stolz, endlich eine Neuauflage des ersten, selbstbetitelten GAS-Albums ankündigen zu können. Ursprünglich im Jahr 1996 auf dem Electronica-Label Mille Plateaux veröffentlicht, ist es seitdem nicht mehr in seiner ursprünglichen Form erhältlich – die gleichnamige Version von GAS, die 2008 in der Nah Und Fern Box enthalten war, enthielt verschiedene andere Titel. Nun liegt das 3er Album in seinem naturbelassenen Originalzustand wieder vor.

Bereits 1995 zeichnete sich mit der Maxi GAS - Modern auf Profan, sowie einigen Kompilation-Beiträgen auf Modulation & Transformation und Electric Ladyland auf Mille Plateaux dieser frühe, weltentrückte, rätselhafte GAS Sound ab, der sich erst in den sechs scheinbar endlosen, majestätisch-sprudelnden Tracks des Albums voll entfaltete. Die Musik ist von ätherischer Leichtigkeit, in der wie aus einer anderen Sphäre abstrakte Referenzen aus weiter Ferne nur andeutungsweise herüberzuwehen scheinen.

Dieser frühe, eher sphärisch-leichte, gleich einer sonnendurchfluteten (Wald-)Lichtung anmutende GAS Sound, stellt gewissermaßen den Ausgangspunkt der audiovisuellen „Welt“-Reise in den düster-romantischen Acid-Wald dar, in den sich GAS ab 1997 mit den Alben Zauberberg, Königsforst, Oktember und ab 2000 mit Pop an anderer Stelle wieder hinaus und in seine ganz eigene Ewigkeit begeben hat.

BBsitters Club is a rock band based in Chicago that features Doug Kaplan and Charlie Olvera on guitar and vocals, Max Allison on bass, and Paul Birhanu on drums. As the label’s de-facto in-haus band, BBsitters Club satisfies Hausu Mountain co-founders Allison and Kaplan’s urge to remain connected to the rock and roll music they grew up loving and playing — far across the spectrum from the experimental electronics featured on the lion’s share of HausMo releases.

A solid four years after the one-two-punch releases of BBsitters Club & Party, the band’s 2020 debut studio album, and Joel’s Pick’s Vol. 1, the first volume in a series of audience-recorded live takes from shows around Chicago, we find the BBs reviving the Joel’s Pick’s series with Vol. 2. Charged with the energy of a close-knit group of friends willing to follow along with each other’s most outlandish ideas both in composition and live performance, JPV2 offers us a bewildering yet always tongue-in-cheek palette of ideas cherry-picked and mashed together into amalgams that both embrace “rock traditions” and defy them with a cherubic grin.

BBsitters Club’s amorphous compositions land somewhere between the world’s most baked prog band and a jamband that’s never content to lapse into wheel-spinning complacency. On JPV2, BBsitters Club cartwheel between eras and styles of rock music with abandon — a TV stuck flipping channels after your dad falls asleep with one leg on the remote. We encounter the elliptical dueling guitars and autumnal atmospheres of midwest emo / math rock, the gregarious stomp of electrified country rock, blues rock that has melted from ingesting one too many hallucinogens, and fried Devo-style art punk that breaches into the realms of ska before melting into free-form noise rock flecked with the bizarro imitative instrument tones of Kaplan’s MIDI guitar.

Assistert Sjølmord (translation - Assisted Suicide) release their debut 7 track 7” EP, after an outstanding demo in 2021. Thirty seconds in to 'Klimabombe' and we reach maximum velocity and there's no let up. The intensity and feral nature of their sound is laid bare with a sharp production and guitar tone that is both clean and harsh at the same time. The vocals rage and are totally ferocious and are in a similar vein to Chitose from The Comes. It looks, sounds and feels like a classic Norwegian hardcore single from the 80’s and released on X-Port Plater (home of Svart Framtid, Stengte Dører, Bannlyst etc) mixed with the classic UK82 push and shove proto hardcore sound of The Mau Mau’s

Reggae Charmers is the 1970 album by Lloyd Charmers, born Lloyd Tyrell. His career spans some of the most fertile periods of Jamaica's musical history. From the late-'50s era of Jamaican shuffle R&B and the subsequent ska boom, to the rocksteady and roots reggae of the late '60s and early '70s, Charmers made valuable contributions not only as a vocalist, but as a session musician and producer, as well. Charmers took up the piano in 1966. A few years later, he was an accomplished enough player to form a band of his own with a few friends. The band eventually backed Ken Parker, Max Romeo, Pat Kelly, John Holt, and Slim Smith & the Uniques (Charmers would also spend some time singing for the Uniques). Buoyed by their reputation for laying down some of the rawest and driving rhythms of the time. Charmers is joined by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires on this record, that is a must for all true fans of vintage Jamaican sounds. Reggae Charmers is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange colored vinyl.

2024 Repress

180 Gram, Tip On Sleeve RSD version of this classic. One of the rarer records of the mythical Strata East albums is finally reissued for the first time on Heavenly Sweetness!
The recording of Earth Blossom, the John Betsch Societys one and only album, seems something of an enigma nowadays. For even though Nashville is clearly one of the towns in the US with the highest number of recording studios, who would have thought that the capital of country music would give birth to one of the forgotten masterpieces of 1970s spiritual jazz. The path leading to the album starts in 1963 when John Betsch, originally from Jacksonville in Florida, arrives in Nashville to study at Frisk University. He is a young drummer and joins Bob Holmes trio. Holmes is one of the towns major jazz organists and pianists; he becomes Betschs mentor and, over the space of two years, John will play alternately with him and with the trumpeter Louis Smiths group. However, in 1965, John leaves town to go to the prestigious Berkeley University in Boston and do a two-year course along with his fellow debutants with names like John Abercrombie, Ernie Watts and Alan Broadbent. Two years later, he is invited by a pianist friend, Billy Chilf, to join the legendary singer/songwriter Tim Hardins group. Just after Woodstock, John Betsch and Tim record a psychedelic album Columbia will never release together with the members of the future group Oregon: Colin Walcott, Glen Moore, Paul McCandles and his friend Billy Chilf. But he soon leaves this group to return to Nashville where he hooks up again with his friend Bob Holmes. Two years later, he is accepted on Archie Shepp and Max Roachs famous course at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMASS) and for the next four years he participates in this collective of intellectuals and musicians under the aegis of the two masters.
During this period he returns to Nashville to form his Society whose music is obviously influenced by the Afrocentric ideas of the UMASS student and political movement. However, the album, recorded in one day and in one take, also bears the hallmark of their generations psychedelic experiences, and in the themes and playing of the musicians we can hear a less violent form of music than the radical free jazz of New York or Chicago. Nature and environmental themes are the inspiration behind tracks touched by the spirit of Coltrane but also of Flower Power.

After Amherst, John Betsch joins Marion Browns group in 1976, leaves Tennessee for good and makes his home in New York over the next ten years or so. He plays and records with Dollar Brand, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and many others, before heading off to France. He has lived in Paris for the last twenty years and played in Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron and Archie Shepp bands, as well as forming groups of his own. He now lives in Paris and plays with many musicians/bands.

Precious gems mined from a wall of vinyl. Cut, polished and mounted for maximum love

We’re glad to be back with the second installment of our new series of DJ and Artist curated 12” mini compilations: Melodies Record Club.

Ben UFO is up next for volume two, following Four Tet’s selection a few months back. Available early October in loud 12” format and digitally. Here we have two tracks which have been staples in Ben’s DJ sets at different times, but neither were originally produced with a club setting in mind, which is why they’ve never been available in this format before.

On one side, we have “Drums” from Laurie Spiegel’s 1980 experimental electronics album “The Expanding Universe”, a collection of tracks produced between 1974 and 1976 using a computer playing the actual sounds by controlling analog synthesis equipment under control of the GROOVE hybrid system developed by Max Matthews and F.R. Moore at Bell Labs. Drums is a percussive seven minute computer generated workout inspired by Laurie’s interest in African and Indian musics, and which brings to mind the most far out kosmiche music of the period to modern day techno. A connection Ben has tried to make explicit by including it in his first BBC essential mix back in 2013.

On the flip we have a track by Olof Dreijer from the Swedish band the Knife who’s work you might also be familiar with under the moniker Oni Ayhun. Back in 2009 his artist friend Adnan Yildiz curated an exhibition called “THERE IS NO AUDIENCE” in Montethermoso, dedicated to public imagination. Adnan commissioned a single piece from Olof called “Echoes from Mamori”, that played on loop during the exhibition and was subsequently released only on CD. A contemporary piece more clearly indebted to house music, Olof built the track around arpeggios generated using sounds of frogs he recorded in the Amazon and birds around Berlin, fed into a sampler.

Ein Zwischenspiel & eine Liebeserklärung Geübt, geordnet, wahrscheinlich inszeniert gingen die Beatles im Sommer 1969 über den Zebra Streifen der Abbey Road - 55 Jahre später sind es Brezn und Semmeln, die die vier Oberammergauer Bergschafe über die Kreuzung locken. Die Beatles gingen nach rechts, die Schafe gehen nach links. Wo sie sich treffen? Natürlich auf dem neuen Album von Maxi Pongratz. "I mecht an Landla hean" schiebt sich zwischen Solo-Album zwei und drei wie ein Zwischenspiel. Es ist ein Innehalten und Besinnen auf die Ursprünge, eine Liebeserklärung an die Volksmusik. Schon viel zulange versucht der Heimatsound, Volksmusik wieder 'cooler" zu machen. Sie muss aber nicht 'cool" gemacht werden. Sie ist das, was sie ist: Folk. Was sie nicht braucht - Heimat. Sie kann überall zu Hause sein. In den Melodien von David Bowie und Tom Waits, zwischen den Zeilen von Wir sind Helden, selbst im Dance-Schlager eines Gigi d"Agostino (bei Maxi Pongratz mit Hackbrett-Intro). Maxi Pongratz hat in seinem Repertoire gekramt und erste Kompositionen ("Eiseckla"), übermitteltes Liedgut ("Ich und der Mond", "Landlerrunde") und seine All-Time-Favorit-Coversongs zusammengetragen. So haben sich auf "I mecht an Landla hean" zwölf vorwiegend instrumentale Songs versammelt und es passiert das, was meistens passiert, wenn sich Musikanten spontan an einem (Wirtshaus-)Tisch zusammenfinden - jede*r bringt etwas mit und am Ende wird getanzt.

Strap yourself in for the highly anticipated latest edition in the High Energy Dance Club! Delivered by our friend and Hi NRG afficionardo Ian Anthony Stevens and released on Energy Level, Volume 2 features four previously unreleased hits from the 1980s all-star Hi NRG lineup of Paul Parker, Astaire, Hazell Dean and Marsa Raven. Complete with transparent green vinyl, this compilation is sure to turn the Energy Level to the maximum.

Jerome Thomas kehrt zurück mit seinem neuen Album “Submerge”, das in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Produzenten Pitch 92 entstanden ist und nimmt uns mit auf eine zutiefst menschlichen Entdeckungsreise. Textlich setzt sich Jerome mit den Themen Schwarzsein, der Suche nach Sicherheit sowie der Komplexität von Liebe und Lust auseinander. Klanglich verbindet das Projekt musikalische Einflüsse der Vergangenheit mit einer zeitgenössischen Produktion und lässt uns eintauchen in eine Mischung aus Jazz, R&B und 70’s Soul.

Der in Hackeney, London, geborene und aufgewachsene Jerome Thomas ist bekannt für sein umfangreiches stimmliches Können und die Fähigkeit, Soul auf seine eigene Art und Weise einen zeitgemäßen Kontext zu verleihen. Er hat bereits mit Künstlern und Produzenten wie FloFilz, Talos, Blue Lab Beats, Joe Armon-Jones, Serious Klein, Maxwell Owin und Bluestaeb zusammengearbeitet.

BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL EDITION: Mono (Thad Jones) bzw. Stereo (Clifford Jordan), von Kevin Gray gemastert, bei Optimal auf 180g-Vinyl gepresst, im Single-Sleeve.

Der 1986 gestorbene Trompeter Thad Jones ist Jazzfans vor allem durch seine großartigen Arbeiten mit dem Count Basie Orchestra (dem er als Solist, Arrangeur und Komponist von 1954 bis 1963 angehörte) und seinem eigenen Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in Erinnerung. Doch er konnte sich auch als Leader kleinerer Ensembles immer wieder glänzend in Szene setzen. Und nirgends besser als auf dem 1956 mit einem All-Star-Quintett aufgenommenen Album “The Magnificent Thad Jones”, mit dem sich der Trompeter endgültig als einer der führenden Musiker und Komponisten des modernen Jazz etablierte.

Als Clifford Jordan 1957 nach New York zog, um im Quintett von Max Roach Sonny Rollins zu ersetzen, eilte ihm der Ruf voraus, eines der größten Chicagoer Talente auf dem Tenorsaxofon zu sein. Noch
im Jahr seiner Ankunft erhielt der 25-Jährige die Chance, drei Alben für Blue Note einzuspielen, auf denen er sein Können unter Beweis stellte. Auf “Cliff Craft”, einer wunderbar entspannten Quintett-Aufnahme, präsentierte Jordan neben drei eigenen Kompositionen auch exzellent interpretierte Klassiker von Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie und Duke Ellington.

BLUE NOTE CLASSIC VINYL EDITION: Mono (Thad Jones) bzw. Stereo (Clifford Jordan), von Kevin Gray gemastert, bei Optimal auf 180g-Vinyl gepresst, im Single-Sleeve.

Der 1986 gestorbene Trompeter Thad Jones ist Jazzfans vor allem durch seine großartigen Arbeiten mit dem Count Basie Orchestra (dem er als Solist, Arrangeur und Komponist von 1954 bis 1963 angehörte) und seinem eigenen Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra in Erinnerung. Doch er konnte sich auch als Leader kleinerer Ensembles immer wieder glänzend in Szene setzen. Und nirgends besser als auf dem 1956 mit einem All-Star-Quintett aufgenommenen Album “The Magnificent Thad Jones”, mit dem sich der Trompeter endgültig als einer der führenden Musiker und Komponisten des modernen Jazz etablierte.

Als Clifford Jordan 1957 nach New York zog, um im Quintett von Max Roach Sonny Rollins zu ersetzen, eilte ihm der Ruf voraus, eines der größten Chicagoer Talente auf dem Tenorsaxofon zu sein. Noch
im Jahr seiner Ankunft erhielt der 25-Jährige die Chance, drei Alben für Blue Note einzuspielen, auf denen er sein Können unter Beweis stellte. Auf “Cliff Craft”, einer wunderbar entspannten Quintett-Aufnahme, präsentierte Jordan neben drei eigenen Kompositionen auch exzellent interpretierte Klassiker von Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie und Duke Ellington.

Keep on Dancing EP by Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg on 10-inch 45 rpm vinyl with four versions fresh out of the oven. Faithful to the essences, the band of the only Ramone still standing trims all the fat off the originals and makes every second count. High voltage. DESCRIPTION Marky Ramone needs little introduction. The only Ramone still standing was born in 1952 in Brooklyn and joined the band in 1978, replacing Tommy, and remained with the Ramones until they disbanded in 1996 (with a 1983-1987 hiatus due to personal problems). He is a restless person and has never stopped recording and performing live, either solo (MR & the Intruders, MR & the Speedkings) or in projects and collaborations (Joey Ramone, Teenage Head, Tequila Baby, Wardogs...). MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG is the name of the band with which he has been touring the world for 15 years celebrating the Ramones' legacy, as well as adding some own-penned songs and some covers of other iconic punk rock bands to his repertoire. Over the years the line-up has varied, but in recent times the band has consolidated its position on stage with the resounding presence of Vitoria-Gasteiz's own Iñaki Urbizu "Pela" (La Excavadora, Victima's Club) as frontman and vocalist, and the Argentinians Marcelo Gallo and Martín Sauan (Expulsados) on guitar and bass. So, the time seemed right to transfer all the energy generated live to a 10" plastic EP. Four versions fresh out of the oven. Three tracks under two and a half minutes and one just over three minutes. True to the Ramones essence, they remove all the fat that was left over from the originals and make every second count. The Gentrys' "Keep On Dancing" opens the selection. The original track reached number four in the US charts in 1965 and, after passing through the hands of MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG, classic Ramones covers like "Do You Wanna Dance" inevitably come to mind. The idea is easy, speed up the original a bit, in 4/4, and then play it faster. The hard part is that the result is so exciting and energetic. "It's Not Unusual", the Tom Jones hit, becomes maximum fun. The familiar, catchy tune is elevated to a whole new level of energy and intensity so that the chorus can be belted out loud. The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden", originally composed and sung by Ringo Star, is transformed into a playful punk-pop song to escape, if only momentarily, from the worries of the earthly world in the backdrop of a bar with a good sound system. Closing "New York, New York", the classic song from the Frank Sinatra songbook, celebrates New York City. It fits perfectly with Marky's identity as a native of the city, rooted in its culture and spirit, capturing the vibrant energy and rebellious attitude of the city that never sleeps. Some can cover hundreds of different songs and make them their own, and others can't. MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG, like their originators, are certainly one of those who can. The band is just as comfortable with a colossal song as they are with a ditty, it's all about electric atmosphere and chemistry and, on each of these new recordings, the voltage is very high. One euro from the sale of each record will go to the victims of war. Stop the war!

LUMBEROB has always strived for maximalist sonic vaudeville, always hoped for real electro gabber hardcore noise art, always grabbed for frenzied illegibility, always lurched loosely improvised from a psych-swamp of love. On the new album, HUNTER GATHER, LUMBEROB swings swanky as proper pop deviance. Built from the same loopy logic which drives the stomping slaphappy force of his live show, these tunes are crafted out of lovely and weirdly thunk out loud and large soundscapes. Mixed and mastered by Shimmy-Disc founder Kramer (Daniel Johnston, JD Pinkus, Pan American), the album surprises, estranged from obvious categorization. These slippery little bouncy bangers are bold exercises in genre discovery. It sounds like nothing and it goes with everything. LUMBEROB is a tough act to follow, a surreally inventive performer who spins giddy with excitement, dancing dumb and banging hard. That's just what he does, and HUNTER GATHER is a refined encapsulation of that energy. There's truly a beautiful stupidity to be found here. HUNTER GATHER is noise-pop, art-rock, psych-primitive, dumb-dance. The album teams with bright sounds, spinning visions, and brut poetics. It curves furiously like a naughty noodle and, yes, it spins you dizzy at times. Nothing is old in that feeling ever. Listen loudly.

Jaden Thompson returns to Crosstown Rebels with ‘Downtown’, with remixes from HoneyLuv and Ghoulish. Marking his first solo outing on the label following ‘Talking Walls’ alongside Seth Troxler, the fabric resident impresses once more following recent material on Classic Music Company, PIV and his own Midnight Parade imprint.

A new school talent whose sound takes cues from Chicago while pointing to the future with forward-thinking allure and energy, Jaden Thompson’s ascent is well-documented, having been tipped by an endless list of industry heavyweights and global media outlets from an early age. Releasing on labels such as Cuttin’ Headz and Classic Music Company, amongst others, plus his own Midnight Parade imprint, Thompson’s sound and dynamic sets have seen the UK talent become a favourite for many while also hosting his ongoing Rinse FM show and curating mixes for the likes of Circoloco and Keinemusik through to Nike for it’s annual Air Max Day. Having made his label debut on Crosstown Rebels in 2022 with his standout collaboration ‘Talking Walls’ with Seth Troxler, Thompson now returns to Damian Lazarus’ legendary imprint as he serves up his first solo record on the label ‘Downtown’ - backed by remixes from surging US DJ/producer HoneyLuv and emerging UK talent Ghoulish, who makes his debut on the imprint.

Merging various shades and sounds from across the electronic sphere, ‘Downtown’ brings vibrant vocals, energy-charged synths, and sharp metallic percussion, all balanced perfectly, to the fore. HoneyLuv’s remix brings jacking drums while warping the original’s vocals todeliver a peak-time interpretation before Ghoulish flips the script, utilising off-kilter drums and spiralling lasers amongst heavy low-ends.