Cerca:lock

The X-Man has been locked away in the Detroit Psychiatric Hospital for the last 30 years. As his release date drew near PPU had a moment to sit down and talk with the man behind the mask.

Roberto Agosta, or just Agosta as he likes to be called, is a Sicilian DJ and producer from Catania active all along the eastern coast of Sicily, a place that proved to be a soulful place and a training ground for a long career, making him an excellent music selector and a reference point in the spread of alternative music.

A soundtrack music enthusiast since he was a child, now a vinyl "serial gathere", Agosta has always put his vast knowledge at the service of a very personal sound that sums many different music styles and contaminations, simple and profound but straightforward and direct at the same time.

Agosta’s eponymous album, released on LP, CD and digital formats, was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the precious collaboration of friend DJ and producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea, with whom Roberto has already started another project called AN-AN that will produce a new record for Space Echo at the end of 2022.

This record highlights a typical chill-out aesthetic, thanks to its trip-hop and ambient rhythms and atmospheres, while a deeper exploration reveals the psychedelic essence of the entire work, a daring and exciting journey in the most primitive Sicily, and the energy that sustains all of its ten tracks.

Much of their author and his lifestyle - mainly based on meditation, the search for spiritual elevation, the relationship with nature and the regaining of contact with those particular places and with the people who live there - is revealed by those tracks that constitute a soundtrack for this spiritual but also extremely physical journey.

The song titles are, in fact, intrinsically linked to Roberto’s real life: the Gorna and Ilice mountains at the foot of Etna, the Carricante vineyard and its excellent wine, Unna, Three Chestnuts, Varanni, Don Alfio, Lady G. Each of them represents a pleasant and dreamlike narration and the escape from the complex dynamics of a city like Catania, among echoes of the most dreamy Pink Floyd, the softer side of ’70s krautrock, but also the Massive Attack and Tricky’s Bristol scene.
There’s also an excellent choice of synthesizers and overdubbed guitars, thanks to the talent of the multifaceted musician and producer Salvo Bruno Dub, and of Manuela Amalfitano, Loredana Poidomani and Deran Obika’s voices.

Agosta is an introspective, deep work with a cinematic vocation, perfectly rooted in the territory where it took shape, among sunny landscapes, lush with vegetation but also deserted and arid lands. From Sicily to the cosmos... enjoy!

Ein bahnbrechendes Album aus dem Jahr 1975, das mehr als dazu beigetragen hat, den Reggae einem neuen internationalen Publikum nahezubringen. Der Titeltrack ist auch heute noch eine der ikonischen 70er Reggae-Hymnen und das gesamte Album ist randvoll mit Roots-Reggae-Klassikern. Aufgenommen bei Channel One, Randy's & Harry J's und gemischt auf Treasure Isle.
Black Star Liner hat bei seiner Veröffentlichung die Messlatte für Roots-Reggae-Musik sehr hoch gelegt, und die Zeit hat nichts an seiner Majestät eingebüßt.

Das 4. Remaster der Serie um den australischen Singer-Songwriter Robert Forster.
Erstmals erscheint Beautiful Hearts“ hier mit Bonusmaterial auf Vinyl im Gatefold mit zusätzlicher 7".

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) return with their 14th studio album Bauhaus Staircase, over six years after the triumph of their Top 4-charting record The Punishment of Luxury. The album was born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when as Andy McCluskey admits: “I rediscovered the creative power of total boredom.”

The album’s first offering as a single is the title track which serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era & the power of protest art. “I am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movements” Andy comments. “The song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.”

Ranging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of ‘Veruschka’ and the dance stylings of ‘Anthropocene’ - a term for the current epoch in Earth’s evolution to the sinister ‘Evolution Of Species’ and the hectic ‘Kleptocracy’ - OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song - the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on ‘Healing’ - a moment of reflective calm.

By rights OMD should be in semi-retirement performing classics like Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers. Instead they’ve created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s.


“I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record" McCluskey summarises. “I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement.”

Mit ihrem neuesten Album "Suffer & Become" setzen VITRIOL aus Portland ihr entschlossenes Bestreben fort, die Essenz des modernen Death Metal sowohl zu verfeinern als auch neu zu definieren. Fachmännisch aufgenommen vom visionären Frontmann der Band, Kyle Rassmussen, und gekonnt abgemischt von Dave Otero (bekannt für seine Arbeit mit Archspire und Cattle Decapitation), umarmt VITRIOLs zweites Full-Length-Album von ganzem Herzen die verblüffenden technischen Feinheiten und die unverfälschte Wildheit und lässt langjährige Fans, die ihr bühnenzerstörendes Können neben Acts wie Morbid Angel und Cattle Decapitation erlebt haben, völlig fassungslos zurück. Tracks wie "Shame and Its Afterbirth" und "Weaponized Loss" bieten unverfälschte Streifzüge in eine Welt intensiver klanglicher Erkundung, durchtränkt von dichtem, geschwärztem Sound. VITRIOLs Wirkung ist nichts weniger als ein Paradigmenwechsel, der Grenzen auslöscht und neue Maßstäbe setzt, und "Suffer & Become" ist ein unbestreitbares Meisterwerk zeitgenössischer Extremität.

Belgian artist Jennifur is a bit of an enigma in today’s contemporary music climate. While most bend over backwards to satisfy the algorithm’s constant need for content, Jennifur (real name Hector Devriendt) has been quietly crafting spell-binding music that stands the test of both time and decreasing attention spans, blurring genre and emotion seamlessly through a sonic DNA that is diverse and colourful.

Having locked himself in his basement for eighteen months in order to produce the soundtrack for PS5 and XBOX ONE snowboarding game Shredders – which was later released by Jennifur himself under the title Nowhere, Now Here – the Ghent based artist is preparing the release of his next full length; Things Don’t Change Until They Do on Supreems’ new label Sweet Sun.

Tears-on-the-dancefloor aesthetics meet with polyphonic, nostalgia-inducing patterns, coming-of-age breakbeats and heart-string tugging classical ambient on an album that sounds completely unlike anything else you will hear this year.

Nach dem 2022er Erfolgsalbum "Go Steady" kehren die Londoner Ska-Pop-Punker BUSTER SHUFFLE auf die Bühne zurück und bringen eine brandneue Buster-Hymne mit, die den Titel "Hold Back The Rebels" trägt. Als Jet am Ende des Lockdowns umzog, stellte er fest, dass er einen sehr ungewöhnlichen neuen Nachbarn hatte. Im Garten des Nachbarn lebte nämlich ein Truthahn, ein sehr, sehr lautstarker Vogel (Tag und Nacht). Diese lärmende Meleagridinae (gerne googeln) hat schon so manche Tasse Tee im Garten verdorben. Es musste etwas unternommen werden, und so bereitete Jet seine geliebte Katze und seinen Hund (die Rebellen) auf ein "Attentat über den Zaun" vor. Als seine Frau von Jets Vorhaben erfuhr, griff sie in letzter Minute ein und befahl ihm, die Rebellen zurückzuhalten". Bei der Produktion der 7-Inch-Single und der Tournee wurden und werden keine Truthähne verletzt. Der Nachbarschaftsstreit wurde friedlich beigelegt. Fresssack! Nur 500 Exemplare von 'Hold Back The Rebels', auf der B-Seite der ebenfalls brandneue Song "Then Like Thunder", werden auf 7-Inch-Öko-Vinyl gepresst und nur bei Buster Shuffle-Live-Shows und über Cargo/375Media erhältlich sein! Buster Shuffle still goin' steady!

For the first Klasse Wrecks release of 2024, the label looks back to 2020 and a previously digital only track from label co-owner Mr. Ho. During the first lockdown of covid Mr. Ho released '000Baby' as part of the digital 'Homeboys' EP alongside Luca Lozano. An alternative version popped up on the 'Michaelsoft' album in 2021 but the much lauded original has never seen the light of day on wax....until now. The first 10inch on Klasse Wrecks also features a suped and sped up interpretation from Om Unit, who expertly increases the pressure with deft 808 bass subs, a half time swagger and dubbed out atmospherics.

Der Detroit-Spucker Danny Brown ist nicht ohne Grund ein Fanfavorit. Nur wenige MCs haben die pure lyrische Wildheit in eine so fesselnde Persönlichkeit gehüllt. Dannys Beats und Reime sind berüchtigt, er wusste immer, wann er die Dramatik ankurbeln musste. In einer Zeit, in der sich Hip-Hop in zahllose Richtungen aufspaltete, schien Brown alles einer Wissenschaft zu verdanken – mit seinem bahnbrechenden Album XXX war er die Speerspitze einer Bewegung des avantgardistischen Internet-Hip-Hop, in dessen Schatten wir heute noch leben. Seitdem hat Brown Raver auf europäischen Festivals in Aufruhr versetzt, eine Brücke zwischen alten und neuen Rap-Königen geschlagen (Kollabos von Earl Sweatshirt bis Q-Tip) und ist mit den renommiertesten Underground-Labels für elektronische Musik verbunden. Und dabei ist er unerklärlicherweise er selbst geblieben ist, macht sich auch nicht die Mühe zu erklären, wie er das Gleichgewicht hält. QUARANTA beginnt endlich, den Vorhang zu öffnen und enthüllt die inneren Monologe eines Künstlers, der seine Fans seit über einem Jahrzehnt verblüfft. Browns sechstes Studioalbum, das während der Pandemie-Lockdowns im Jahr 2021 geschrieben wurde, ist autobiografisch und persönlich, wie man es vom MC selten zuvor gehört hat. 'Es gab nicht viel zu tun, also war es das Beste für mich', sagt er, 'alles, was ich durchgemacht habe, in die Musik zu integrieren.'

Der Detroit-Spucker Danny Brown ist nicht ohne Grund ein Fanfavorit. Nur wenige MCs haben die pure lyrische Wildheit in eine so fesselnde Persönlichkeit gehüllt. Dannys Beats und Reime sind berüchtigt, er wusste immer, wann er die Dramatik ankurbeln musste. In einer Zeit, in der sich Hip-Hop in zahllose Richtungen aufspaltete, schien Brown alles einer Wissenschaft zu verdanken – mit seinem bahnbrechenden Album XXX war er die Speerspitze einer Bewegung des avantgardistischen Internet-Hip-Hop, in dessen Schatten wir heute noch leben. Seitdem hat Brown Raver auf europäischen Festivals in Aufruhr versetzt, eine Brücke zwischen alten und neuen Rap-Königen geschlagen (Kollabos von Earl Sweatshirt bis Q-Tip) und ist mit den renommiertesten Underground-Labels für elektronische Musik verbunden. Und dabei ist er unerklärlicherweise er selbst geblieben ist, macht sich auch nicht die Mühe zu erklären, wie er das Gleichgewicht hält. QUARANTA beginnt endlich, den Vorhang zu öffnen und enthüllt die inneren Monologe eines Künstlers, der seine Fans seit über einem Jahrzehnt verblüfft. Browns sechstes Studioalbum, das während der Pandemie-Lockdowns im Jahr 2021 geschrieben wurde, ist autobiografisch und persönlich, wie man es vom MC selten zuvor gehört hat. 'Es gab nicht viel zu tun, also war es das Beste für mich', sagt er, 'alles, was ich durchgemacht habe, in die Musik zu integrieren.'

plastic death - the second album by glass beach - is a follow-up record almost five years in the making. The band's 2019 debut, aptly titled the first glass beach album , has over the years grown a cult fanbase for its unflinching depiction of queer life as mediated through social media, its oversized ambition, and its scrappy yet adventurous production. And while it took some time to arrive, plastic death sounds like the logical expansion of all the things that made their first album so special. Years and years of relentless writing, tinkering demos, cancelled tours and a few lockdowns only strengthen the chaotic core of what makes glass beach' s maximalist approach work so well. Frontperson and primary songwriter J McClendon is joined by lead guitarist Layne Smith, bassist Jonas Newhouse and drummer William White to create something adventurous on each song. Trumpet, trombone, violin, and even marimba dance and bloom alongside the band's own creative and dextrous instrumentation - a stunning, transformative creation that pulls from indie rock, jazz, prog, hardcore, metal, experimental, and beyond. Songs like lead single "the CIA," are examples of the band's ambitious writing. It's a dark, dancy, post-punk/jazz hybrid, a coordinated, breathless braid of synth and saturated guitar. Tension and confusion explode into a brutal modern metal climax to close the track, flickering with glitchy production zaps and razor-sharp stops. The artwork of plastic death is similarly rich with detail, resulting in a bioluminescent, fully-realized double album depicting sprawling scenes where moments of neon brightness shine momentarily in a dark undersea - a metaphor for the moments of optimism and catharsis glass beach provide on these songs. "This album is the Pacific garbage patch: cultural trash strewn together seemingly by accident, standing in stark juxtaposition to each other ," says McClendon. plastic death is a complete, uncompromising, playful work of art; every corner and crevice of the record's 13 tracks, each arrangement and timbre and texture, is alive with intention and possibility.

plastic death - the second album by glass beach - is a follow-up record almost five years in the making. The band's 2019 debut, aptly titled the first glass beach album , has over the years grown a cult fanbase for its unflinching depiction of queer life as mediated through social media, its oversized ambition, and its scrappy yet adventurous production. And while it took some time to arrive, plastic death sounds like the logical expansion of all the things that made their first album so special. Years and years of relentless writing, tinkering demos, cancelled tours and a few lockdowns only strengthen the chaotic core of what makes glass beach' s maximalist approach work so well. Frontperson and primary songwriter J McClendon is joined by lead guitarist Layne Smith, bassist Jonas Newhouse and drummer William White to create something adventurous on each song. Trumpet, trombone, violin, and even marimba dance and bloom alongside the band's own creative and dextrous instrumentation - a stunning, transformative creation that pulls from indie rock, jazz, prog, hardcore, metal, experimental, and beyond. Songs like lead single "the CIA," are examples of the band's ambitious writing. It's a dark, dancy, post-punk/jazz hybrid, a coordinated, breathless braid of synth and saturated guitar. Tension and confusion explode into a brutal modern metal climax to close the track, flickering with glitchy production zaps and razor-sharp stops. The artwork of plastic death is similarly rich with detail, resulting in a bioluminescent, fully-realized double album depicting sprawling scenes where moments of neon brightness shine momentarily in a dark undersea - a metaphor for the moments of optimism and catharsis glass beach provide on these songs. "This album is the Pacific garbage patch: cultural trash strewn together seemingly by accident, standing in stark juxtaposition to each other ," says McClendon. plastic death is a complete, uncompromising, playful work of art; every corner and crevice of the record's 13 tracks, each arrangement and timbre and texture, is alive with intention and possibility.

Latest project from Swervedriver front-man Adam Franklin. Working under the name Bolts of Melody Adam, along with main contributor Locklsey Taylor from Sianspheric, have created an atmospheric masterpiece with Film Noir, an album that features additional guitar work from none other than the legendary J Mascis! Film Noir by Bolts Of Melody, released 19 January 2024, includes the following tracks: "The Village Sleeps ", "Vibratube ", "Cops Raid Easys ", "The Isle is Full of Noises" and more. This version of Film Noir comes as a 1xLP. The vinyl is pressed as a transparent, cloudy disc.

Aptly titled Two Worlds, Tigers Jaws sophomore full-length draws on the strengths of the band's raw, minimalist atmospheres and driving grunge-rock rhythms, funneling them into a catchy, brooding and brilliantly focused album. Sounding as confident as ever in abandoning dependence on traditional pop structures, songs ebb and flow naturally as the band explores fresh tones and textures. Firmly planted in their own niche of the 90 s-era Midwestern emo sound, Two Worlds probes Superchunk's indie-punk stylings, Weezer's discordant pop moments and the far edges of Kurt Cobain's brain while managing to sound almost nothing like those groups. Chimey clean guitars weave in and out of the mix, juxtaposing a gain guitar laden with thick grit. Standing alone, the tones create familiar Tigers Jaw moods, but when combined, the effect lays the foundation for swelling walls of sound. Pulsing bass fills the low end, locked with the drums in rhythmic unison, alternately tracing guitar lines and stepping forward to grab the listener s car. Similarly, the drumming style perfectly compliments the songwriting with steady beats and measured flash. Lush and resonant cymbal splashes constantly flourish, adding color and a new spaciousness. Keyboards swell in a wave of warmth creating the band s defining ambiance, in parts taking on more adventurous melodies and chord tones. At its core, Two Worlds is a Tigers Jaw album through and through. It evokes many moods the band is known for, but adds a depth that will leave listeners discovering new reasons to love them with each new listen.

Dutch lute player and composer Jozef Van Wissem's new album The Night Dwells in the Day out 19th January 2024. “It's like a part of my body,” says Jozef Van Wissem of the relationship he has to his chosen instrument, the lute. “The complexity of it is what keeps me going because you can always find something new.” The ability to constantly extract something different and explore fresh terrain is evident throughout Van Wissem’s sprawling back catalogue and up to his latest album, ‘The Night Dwells in the Day’. Over the years he’s released countless solo albums stretching into double figures, there’s been collaborations with Jim Jarmusch and Tilda Swinton, award-winning computer game soundtracks, along with award-winning film soundtracks, from Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive to Pierre Creton’s 2023 film A Prince. Since studying the lute in New York with Patrick O'Brien in the 1990s, Van Wissem has gone on to create works equally as rooted in classical Renaissance and Baroque forms of lute music, as contemporary sounds spanning drones, electronics and field recordings. Throw in some of his formative influences from the no wave and industrial scenes, alongside a dedicated approach to minimalism and this has resulted in Van Wissem producing distinct and singular work whose sound is often a marriage of opposites; meditative and intense, forward thinking but with a sense of the arcane. The Quietus has called him “probably the most famous lutenist in the world”. The genesis for his latest album began during lockdown in Warsaw, where Van Wissem splits his time between Rotterdam. “The Call of the Deathbird” was the first song he wrote from the album and is the first to be shared, along with an accompanying video today. Over a hypnotic yet beautifully fluid and plucked melody - captures scenes of deserted streets, death and the intense isolation that gripped us all. One of the relatively rare tracks that Van Wissem sings on - along with some stirring and enveloping guest vocals from Hilary Woods (who will tour with Van Wissem later this year – details below) - his towering voice circles above the music much like the swooping deathbird he sings of. Normally Van Wissem writes all the music for one album within a confined period but this one song from a few years ago stuck around and took on a new lease of life and so joined a bunch of freshly written songs for the album. While one song written during, and about, the pandemic came to be the album’s centerpiece, the rest of the album grapples with the world as it moved on and all the dualism and dichotomies that followed. “It has to do with darkness and light,” Van Wissem says of the album. “The title can mean different things to people but sometimes people say that if I play a happy piece of music that it still sounds sad. So this is why I came up with that title.”

During the dreaded lockdown of 2020, many people found themselves working from home, or with much more time spare than they had previously. Vasts amounts of music was being offered during this period as a result. I’ll be honest, the name Riffz I had no experience of at the time, unlike Msymiakos, which was a name I was already familiar with. The most compelling aspect of my curiosity before listening was that I was intrigued by the geographic blend of Poland and Norway. How would these distant locales combine to decipher their thoughts into this great sound we all know and love. Once I had listened, the word ‘no’ was nowhere within the vicinity of my vocabulary. Hear for yourself.

“Water Tiger” is the debut album from oqbqbo & Scandinavian Star, compiling their previously released singles with 3 new songs. In 2020 the couple released their first collaborative work, the double single “Airdrops / Coercion” just as the the first wave of Covid lockdowns set in action across Europe and the rest of the world. The music offered a kind and compassionate stance to the turmoil that swept across the world in those months. Later that year the single “Wakening” was released on Rift One, a compilation by Year0001. In 2022 they returned with another double single “Dandelions / Sleep Lines”. “Water Tiger” compiles all those with 3 new songs; Free Fall, Colibri and Water Tiger. oqbqbo is the moniker of Russian born artist Nastya Sipulina. Scandinavian Star is Malthe Fischer, producer and part of pop outfit Lust For Youth. They live together in Copenhagen, Amager with their daughter Freja Rei. Together they make uplifting and bubbly dance music that inhabits its own world whilst playfully referencing both euro dance and contemporary club music. The LP version comes on white vinyl, housed in a white, stickered disco sleeve, with hand-stamped and numbered white labels, a fold around two-sided color cover and an obistrip. ltd to 300 copies

London-based producer Otik releases his first album 'Cosmosis' on Martyn's label 3024. The 11-track LP signifies the fourth album on the imprint across its ten-year tenure, showcasing a more introspective side to Otik's musical output.

The album leans into delicate melodies, hazy atmospheres and lush analogue sounds, often evoking blissed-out feels and ripples of brilliant colour. Produced three years ago during lockdown, 'Cosmosis' comes after a period of spiritual struggles, where Otik questioned his faith, religious beliefs, and the concepts of right and wrong. While the pandemic allowed ample time for reflection, Otik translated these thoughts into music from his Peckham-based studio, later finding a home on 3024's evolving discography.

Following Otik's EP 'Soulo' in 2021, 'Cosmosis' marks the second release from the Bristol-born DJ and producer on 3024. This time, his sound stems from a broader palette, touching on slower, aerated ambient notes through to rugged D'n'B, displaying the far-reaching breadth, vision and maturity of Otik's aesthetic.

Keen to release a body of work that explores the journey of enlightenment and the struggles to get there, Otik drew inspiration from the luminary filmmaker Terrence Malick and how Malick portrayed ideas and philosophies in films like The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. As a result, the record conveys a compelling narrative of rebirth, told through exquisite sound design and a push-pull pace that oscillates across the album.

The lead single 'Cosmosis' binds astral breakbeats with a star-lined melody stitched against a spacious backdrop. Sparse, celestial vocals punctuate the soundscape and add a spiritual feel, culminating in a dazzling trip at just over five minutes.