At long last, after decades out of print, joining their growing Cramps Records Reissue Series, Dialogo brings us the long-awaited vinyl reissue of Alvin Lucier's "Bird and Person Dyning", the composer's first solo LP. As legendary as they come, and easily among the most important and groundbreaking efforts in experimental music ever recorded, this is Lucier at his most visionary. Issued in a limited edition of 500 copies of black vinyl, with fully remastered audio, housed in a sleeve that beautifully reproduces the original design, complete with brand new English translations of the original liner notes, it doesn't get better than this.
James Blunt’s greatest hits album, 'The Stars Beneath My Feet (2004-2021)’ is out November 19th and celebrates songs spanning a stellar 17-year career that has spawned over 23 million album sales, a global smash hit with ‘You’re Beautiful’, two Brit Awards and two Ivor Novello Awards, as well as receiving five Grammy Award nominations.
Amongst the string of hit singles, 'The Stars Beneath My Feet (2004-2021)’ will also include four new songs (‘Love Under Pressure’, ‘Unstoppable’, ‘Adrenaline’ & ‘I Came For Love’), as well as four exclusive live performances from around the world, including the Glastonbury Festival. It also features stunning tracks from his latest Gold-selling album ‘Once Upon A Mind’, including ‘Cold’, and the heartbreaking ballad for his father, ‘Monster’.
James’ classic 2004 debut album ‘Back To Bedlam’, was recently named as one of the top ten best-selling albums of that decade, and with ‘Once Upon A Mind’, James Blunt reinforced his reputation for writing honest, emotional songs that people can easily relate to. The album marked a return to what James Blunt does best – writing classic songs that touch both the heart and the head. Another side of James - his wit and charm - have in recent times been showcased via his always engaging Twitter account. James has also announced a huge UK arena tour for 2022.
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go”.
A-side inside and B-side outside: this single is very loosely influenced by the collective experience of the long wait to be released; adding to the already exhausted canon of cultural covid artefacts. Cheeks is centred around the sub-bass of an old Italian organ and the honking sax of Iain McCall, telling the tale of a squashed individual. The over zealous approach to layers hopefully adds to the feeling of claustrophobia and mundane delirium.
If Cheeks is the wind up, Mild Weather is the release. An ode to the modern desire of one week in the sun, accepting that prize and returning back to the slog. Jayne’s beautiful vocal provides the centre-point to a casio led symphony, with acoustic and electronic drums fighting for attention throughout. As is the current norm, these tracks were written and recorded remotely and in a couple of sessions in Edinburgh at the beginning of 2021.
SIM CARD HØLDER is not a band. It is the hybrid child of Ian Bruner, Drone Operatør and Gajek. It's procreation date is hard to pin down, but it started 2020 with an Insta chat and one of Ian's piano improvisations recorded in his Colorado living room. From there the album grew in separated covid lockdown wombs at three different locations in Germany. Ian's shadowy instrumentation of light piano and heavily layered and long believed to be dead soundscapes were digested, replanted and grown-over by Drone Operatør's and Gajek's uncompromising and individual sense for song structures and sounds. When finally all body parts were assembled in early 2021 the baby was already fluent in different languages.
Sim Card Hølder grows slowly while meandering through dense and open fields. It switches from calm and dreamy moods to wild fractured outbursts without fragmenting into the arbitrary. A raw spiritual power keeps every part connected and in perfect motion. Each song is a portal into multiple universes that suck you in on thick piano carpets, sharp saxophone spikes and buzzing quadcopter wings, warming insect intestines, blasting raw drums and slow healing winds, screeching synth rhymes, dissonant orchestral tales and floating blue melodies. It's a demanding ride but thoroughly deeply relaxing. The perfect soundtrack to rewind your mind.
k 11: Alone_ (rendered altitude) [feat. Drone Operatør & Ian Bruner]
In 1976, KISS dropped the bombshell on the world being DESTROYER, an album that originally received resistancefrom fans due to the band exploring a new sound and has long become the quintessential and all-time best selling KISS studio album. Exploding with concert staples and KISS Army favorites like “Detroit Rock City,” “Shout It OutLoud,” and “God Of Thunder” – the album’s new sounds came from the softer side of songs like “Do You Love Me?,”and songs heavy with orchestral arrangements including “Great Expectations” and their surprise hit single “Beth.”
Since her debut onto the techno scene with the 2018 release of her EP 'Post-Traumatic Rave Syndrome' on Paula Temple's "Noise Manifesto" and a string of international festival and club appearances, Femanyst has gained a reputation for militant individuality. Akua Grant sets herself apart from the crowd with her aggressive & unrelenting industrial techno sets tinged with elements of Hardcore and Gabber. She has become known for her rebellious and innovative style in her adopted home of Berlin. Her self-assured approach to gripping and brawling techno tension sees her perform a fast paced and fervent flow on the dance floor. Femanyst continues to bring her unapologetically bold signature sound with her own techno imprint "Dark Carousel" as an extension to her much revered DJ sets of twisted and aggressive, high octane electronic music.
A2 Fluid - Post Industrial Transformation
Fluid is a queer DJ and producer based in Berlin. Supporting FLINTA* DJs, producers and party events are one of his priorities. His first release begun in January 2021 and he is still modelling his sound. His interest in electronic music goes from industrial techno to ebm to trance to hypnotic techno.
Post Industrial Transformation is a track which combines aggressive sounds and a lot of industrial elements. The transformation refers to Fluid's evolving own path. This evolution is similar to the tension that builds up all through the track. This track evokes change, modification, passage from one form to another.
B1 Hybral - Unheard Voices
Hybral is a Berlin-based non-binary DJ and producer drawn to eerie energetic industrial techno. They mix and produce haunting techno, EBM, and noisy-driven experimental sounds. Hybral's productions are made of dark atmospheric patterns linked with pushing percussions and basslines as well as heavily distorted kicks and harsh industrial noises. Mixing DJ sets the track selection is ranging from contemplative ambient to stern and fast techno - connecting vast influences from Hybral's personal experiences of spending days and nights on Berlin's dancefloors. They are founder of the queer label, podcast, and event series 'Subverted' which focuses on a distinct program aiming to lead dance music back to its roots of resistance and diversity.
B2 Marsch - Mrs. Jones
Marsch is a Berlin-based dj and producer from France, who initially began 8 years ago as a music curator and selector. She started to produce when she moved to Berlin, and has mostly been focusing on this for the past few years. She would define her music as a balance between melody, energy and texture, with a blend of minimalistic elements, rhythmic and percussions, and voices and futuristic synths.
DURCH BLN/TLV is a queer collective with a clear vision of solidarity and community building. DURCH operates in Tel Aviv and Berlin trying to bring queer people together, building a culture of inclusion, diversity and tolerance. In the tradition of original raves DURCH organizes solidarity events ranging from parties, to art and community events, with the strong belief that raves are a much needed place for people to come together, celebrate their diversity and learn to respect each other. Musically DURCH is eclectic inspired by hardcore, straight forward techno, ghetto and scouse house and 90s acid.
We proudly announce the release of our first vinyl record "dogged boldness". This is a long held dream by the entire crew. With Femanyst, Hybral, Marsch and Fluid we are happy to showcase four artists that are close and dear to DURCH BLN/TLV. The record is a compilation of four hard-hitting, inciting techno tracks. Rough, bold and aggravating, just the way we like it. We are proud that we are able to continuously work with queer artists and to be a platform to further queer artists visibility.
Disclaimer: The world needs more queer artist, more queer music, more queer techno, more queer perspectives, more queer love and more queer intimacy.
No place for any racist, sexist, trans- or homophobic shit.
Artwork by Rory Midhani
Mastering by Chlar
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Restlessly awakening from the depths of a feverish slumber, doomed heavy metal masters KHEMMIS return to reveal their fourth full length studio album, DECEIVER, arriving via Nuclear Blast Records in November 2021. Six tracks of desolate, soul-awakening heaviness encapsulate a project that has been nearly three years in the making. With a title that reflects the internal struggles that many of us battle in our daily lives, DECEIVER is a ferociously honest and appetizingly raw piece of musical artistry.
The first single LIVING PYRE signifies far more than just the beginning of another musical endeavour for the band; it is a substantial benchmark for emotional struggle and growth. “When it comes to my own mental health, when I’m in a bad place, I can’t access the part of me that creates art. After reaching that understanding of myself, the bulk of this song came out in one sitting. I was feeling stable. I was feeling hopeful–even though so much outside in the world was not exactly inspiring. All of us needed a reason to feel a glimmer of hope,” recounts Hutcherson. With a big, quintessentially KHEMMIS chorus embellished by a swampy sorrow, this song incorporates familiar elements of the band’s sound with a touch of Swedish death metal in its latter half. “The reason that this was the song that came first lyrically was because I was juggling all the things that were happening with the inside and outside world intersecting. All the lyrics for me feel very ‘of the time.’ So much was happening in this world, and they were just my efforts to contend with it,” explains Pendergast. “Like Ben, this was a breakthrough moment for me. Once I got the song out, it allowed me to write other songs for the album. It’s less about the fire metaphor implied by the title than about the fact that in order to escape fire you have to find water. You find the deepest, darkest cavern…you just want to stay there forever. It slowly fills up and you eventually drown.”
HOUSE OF CADMUS was another deeply collaborative writing effort between all three members of KHEMMIS. “I thought the opening riff had this cool almost-swing to it...but evil,” recalls drummer Zach Coleman. “I was drawn to the atmosphere of that first riff, and it felt like it needed to be a song that was dark the whole way through. Ben and I discussed getting some New Orleans-style sounds somewhere on the album, and I think this is where we were able to sneak some in to tie together other aspects of the song.”
“I knew that I wanted the lead guitar line in the second half of the song to tie two very different parts together,” explains Hutcherson, “but the idea was all really abstract until we were in a room together. It wasn't until we jammed out that big funeral/death doom bridge and the slow, sad coda that we found out what we wanted that lead line to be: memorable and emotive. It was a very honest musical moment together.” The writing and recording processes of HOUSE OF CADMUS were so emotionally driven that even producer Dave Otero of Flatline Audio (Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, Act Of Defiance) encountered his own deeply personal and intense connection with the song. “With the lyric turn at the end, I was inspired by Dave’s imagery,” says Pendergast. “This idea of a person leaving some important part of themselves behind as they float away and leave the thing they love on the shore. The sound of this song is like a lighthouse beam cutting through the fog in a dark night on the ocean.”
While the lyrical themes of DECEIVER;sorrow, pain, longing for hope, will no doubt be familiar to longtime fans, these six songs display a broader collection of musical influences than on any other KHEMMIS record to date. “It being our 4th album, especially after the transition between the last two albums, it felt really freeing. We felt that we could really do anything on this record,” explains Coleman. “There’s a lot here that we’ve never done before,” adds Pendergast. “In some areas it gets darkly psychedelic. I think we found a cool way to mutate things using transitions that feel really natural. There is a subtle symmetry between the first and last songs which is one of the things that makes listening to the full album a satisfying holistic experience. It builds from almost nothing, becomes very dark, and then you slowly crawl out of that lowest circle of hell.” KHEMMIS’s DECEIVER is a beautiful, musically ambitious journey from beginning to end drenched in impassioned melody and complex, unrestrained variations of sonic savagery adorned with chilling, intensely tragic cover art by frequent collaborator Sam Turner.
Restlessly awakening from the depths of a feverish slumber, doomed heavy metal masters KHEMMIS return to reveal their fourth full length studio album, DECEIVER, arriving via Nuclear Blast Records in November 2021. Six tracks of desolate, soul-awakening heaviness encapsulate a project that has been nearly three years in the making. With a title that reflects the internal struggles that many of us battle in our daily lives, DECEIVER is a ferociously honest and appetizingly raw piece of musical artistry.
The first single LIVING PYRE signifies far more than just the beginning of another musical endeavour for the band; it is a substantial benchmark for emotional struggle and growth. “When it comes to my own mental health, when I’m in a bad place, I can’t access the part of me that creates art. After reaching that understanding of myself, the bulk of this song came out in one sitting. I was feeling stable. I was feeling hopeful–even though so much outside in the world was not exactly inspiring. All of us needed a reason to feel a glimmer of hope,” recounts Hutcherson. With a big, quintessentially KHEMMIS chorus embellished by a swampy sorrow, this song incorporates familiar elements of the band’s sound with a touch of Swedish death metal in its latter half. “The reason that this was the song that came first lyrically was because I was juggling all the things that were happening with the inside and outside world intersecting. All the lyrics for me feel very ‘of the time.’ So much was happening in this world, and they were just my efforts to contend with it,” explains Pendergast. “Like Ben, this was a breakthrough moment for me. Once I got the song out, it allowed me to write other songs for the album. It’s less about the fire metaphor implied by the title than about the fact that in order to escape fire you have to find water. You find the deepest, darkest cavern…you just want to stay there forever. It slowly fills up and you eventually drown.”
HOUSE OF CADMUS was another deeply collaborative writing effort between all three members of KHEMMIS. “I thought the opening riff had this cool almost-swing to it...but evil,” recalls drummer Zach Coleman. “I was drawn to the atmosphere of that first riff, and it felt like it needed to be a song that was dark the whole way through. Ben and I discussed getting some New Orleans-style sounds somewhere on the album, and I think this is where we were able to sneak some in to tie together other aspects of the song.”
“I knew that I wanted the lead guitar line in the second half of the song to tie two very different parts together,” explains Hutcherson, “but the idea was all really abstract until we were in a room together. It wasn't until we jammed out that big funeral/death doom bridge and the slow, sad coda that we found out what we wanted that lead line to be: memorable and emotive. It was a very honest musical moment together.” The writing and recording processes of HOUSE OF CADMUS were so emotionally driven that even producer Dave Otero of Flatline Audio (Cephalic Carnage, Cattle Decapitation, Act Of Defiance) encountered his own deeply personal and intense connection with the song. “With the lyric turn at the end, I was inspired by Dave’s imagery,” says Pendergast. “This idea of a person leaving some important part of themselves behind as they float away and leave the thing they love on the shore. The sound of this song is like a lighthouse beam cutting through the fog in a dark night on the ocean.”
While the lyrical themes of DECEIVER;sorrow, pain, longing for hope, will no doubt be familiar to longtime fans, these six songs display a broader collection of musical influences than on any other KHEMMIS record to date. “It being our 4th album, especially after the transition between the last two albums, it felt really freeing. We felt that we could really do anything on this record,” explains Coleman. “There’s a lot here that we’ve never done before,” adds Pendergast. “In some areas it gets darkly psychedelic. I think we found a cool way to mutate things using transitions that feel really natural. There is a subtle symmetry between the first and last songs which is one of the things that makes listening to the full album a satisfying holistic experience. It builds from almost nothing, becomes very dark, and then you slowly crawl out of that lowest circle of hell.” KHEMMIS’s DECEIVER is a beautiful, musically ambitious journey from beginning to end drenched in impassioned melody and complex, unrestrained variations of sonic savagery adorned with chilling, intensely tragic cover art by frequent collaborator Sam Turner.
Germany-based metal band OBSCURA launch trilogy concept on stunning new album “A Valediction”. The group’s first (sixth overall) album for Nuclear Blast pivots on many fronts. Advanced, elegant, and yet refreshing, “A Valediction” sums up past endeavors effortlessly as it gazes with purpose and conviction into the future. OBSCURA are fan-renowned and critically acclaimed for challenging and then expanding upon norms. From “Cosmogenesis” (2009) through “Diluvium” (2018), the band flourished and made significant progress in a musical genre unprepared for a creative shot of German invention. “A Valediction” spearheads OBSCURA into a new era of extreme metal.
Guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer founded OBSCURA in 2002. Early on, he set out to improve, redefine, and push forward. Under his self-label creation, the Bavarian released debut album “Retribution” (2006), followed by heavy touring throughout Europe. Word quickly spread that a brand-new band from the south of Germany was on the rise. Buzz lead to a deal with U.S.-based Relapse Records. The first record out was “Cosmogenesis”. In Europe, Metal Hammer Germany awarded the album 6/7 while in the U.S., “Cosmogenesis” hit the Billboard charts at #71. The cross-continental praise and fevered momentum landed OBSCURA on high-profile tours in Europe, North America, and Japan.
When follow-up “Omnivium” arrived in 2011, they upped their chart success (Billboard #11; Media Control #14), received more accolades from publications like Terrorizer, Rock Hard, and Decibel, had another massive round-world tour cycle, while enhancing and making progress on their clever brutality. OBSCURA further developed their sound on “Akróasis” (2016). Moored by jaw-dropping tracks like ‘Sermon of the Seven Suns,’ ‘Ode to the Sun,’ and the title track, “Akróasis” elevated OBSCURA to the highest levels of international renown, having climbed up the Billboard charts (#5) as well as earning top marks in Rock Hard (8.5/10), Metal Hammer Germany (6/7), and Revolver (4/5). The Germans toured the world yet again, playing over 100 shows in support of “Akróasis”.
OBSCURA’s most significant accomplishment was, however, just around the corner. The final part of a tetralogy, “Diluvium” (2018), fiercely pursued OBSCURA’s multi-album transformation into musical innovators and metal powerhouses. Music videos for the title track, ‘Emergent Evolution’ and ‘Mortification of the Vulgar Sun,’ in concert with a substantial interest in virtuosic, forward-thinking metal, posited OBSCURA in the good graces (yet again) of the worldwide press in addition to rocketing up, for the very first time, the official album charts in Germany (#58) and Switzerland (#93). The Germans also topped out at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with “Diluvium”.
OBSCURA‘s stats have been impressive: Twenty years active; six highly prized albums; over 600 shows on four continents. Worldwide fan and press engagement—the videos for ‘The Anticosmic Overload,’ ‘Akróasis,’ and ‘Diluvium’ have over 4.5 million views—is only getting stronger the longer OBSCURA continue to offer up and interact with (via play-throughs and member/gear spotlights) their very captive audience. This is only the tip of Kummerer’s custom ESP guitar, however. A Valediction finds OBSCURA turning the page to a new chapter in the band’s evolution. A year in the works, the songwriting sessions followed a new approach, where the framework was relaxed, allowing new inspirations, imagining, and opportunities to arise. Songs like the opening epic ‘Forsaken,’ the '80s-tinted ‘When Stars Collide’ (featuring Soilwork/The Night Flight Orchestra frontman Björn Strid), the brutal groove of ‘Devoured Usurper,’ the ethereal artistry of ‘Heritage,’ and the fleet-fingered title track benefitted compositionally (refined structures) and aesthetically (more dynamism) from OBSCURA’s restyled songwriting stratagem.
OBSCURA wrote, recorded, and finalized “A Valediction” during the pandemic. The stipulations of working during this time allowed OBSCURA to work cross-country, tracking each respective part—drums, guitar, and bass—in national studios across The Netherlands, Austria, and Germany. Once the pieces were completed, the recordings were shipped off to award-winning producer Fredrik Nordström and Studio Fredman (In Flames, Architects) in Gothenburg, Sweden, where Kummerer and Münzner completed vocals and acoustic guitars using custom-built ENGL amps. Nordström was also tapped to mix and master. The final result is a deeper, heavier, yet more rounded production.
Lyrically, “A Valediction” is layered in structure and meaning. The word ‘valediction,’ by definition, deals with goodbyes and farewells. In a way, this is auf wiedersehen to the four-part album series while also addressing complex topics of Kummerer’s personal life. Instead of obscuring issues of loss, death, and abandonment in metaphor and allusion, the German laid bare his torment across songs like ‘Forsaken,’ ‘Solaris,’ ‘In Unity,’ ‘The Neuromancer,’ and ‘In Adversity.’ But for every line of desperation, he also offers positivity. Indeed, new beginnings—physical, emotional, or environmental—can provide light in the darkness. Lauded artist Eliran Kantor (Testament, Helloween) was brought on board to visualize the leitmotif. The bronze-themed colourway Kantor used exemplifies OBSCURA’s resistance to individual and sonic corrosion.
In 2021, OBSCURA will lighthouse their musical prowess, thematic complexity, and lyrical ambition on “A Valediction”. The group continue to be a beacon for change. No doubt OBSCURA’s new stats will amaze, but what they’re focused on is the release of “A Valediction” and then taking it on the road. Several high-caliber tours of Europe, North America, and Asia are planned through to 2023, with routes are in the works for the band to visit Australia, South America, and beyond. Truly, there is no band quite like OBSCURA. “A Valediction” proves that persistence, perseverance, and enterprising minds can achieve anything. Welcome to the next level!
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.
Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.
THERION have always been a band that have challenged themselves to explore new paths, while remaining true to their musical core values. For their 17th studio album, mastermind Christofer Johnsson and his collaborator Thomas Vikström have created something that has been previously unthinkable to the guitarist and the singer. "We have done the only thing that was left of all the different angles to explore", explains Christofer. "We have decided to give the people what they kept asking for. 'Leviathan' is the first album that we have deliberately packed with THERION hit songs."
True to the Swede's words, the album opens with the catchy and swift tune 'The Leaf Of The Oak Of Far' featuring female and male antiphonal singing as well as a choir that seems to have evolved straight out of THERION's breakthrough full-length "Theli" (1996). This is immediately followed by the obvious highlight 'Tuonela', in which Christofer cleverly underscores this hit-track's Finnish vibe by employing NIGHTWISH’s "metal voice" Marko Hietala. Next up in this parade of future fan-favourites is the title track 'Leviathan' that offers classic THERION material with operatic female vocals and a massive choir.
Christofer Johnsson's passion for classic voices, choirs, and orchestral elements as well as his penchant for epic melodies in combination with rock and metal shines clearly through the following sing-along ballad 'Die Wellen Der Zeit', which indicates another nod to German romantic composer Richard Wagner. "Ever since 'Theli', Wagner has been and will always be at the core of THERION", emphasises Christofer. "When we started to combine metal and opera, it was something new and original. Today, symphonic metal has long been a firmly established genre." When THERION came into being in 1988 by changing name from the already existing band BLITZKRIEG, which was founded a year earlier, Christofer had rather taken inspiration from SLAYER's "Reign In Blood" among other classic metal albums.
At the beginning, the Swedes were firmly rooted in death metal, a genre which they helped to define, as witnessed by their debut album "Of Darkness...." (1991). Yet even back then, there were hints of "something else" lurking beneath the rough surface. The use of female vocals is another core ingredient of THERION today, which developed gradually. CELTIC FROST had basically introduced the female element to extreme metal on "To Mega Therion" in 1985. THERION began with both a female and male vocalist emulating a church like choir already in their sophomore full-length 'Beyond Sanctorum' (1992). With Symphony "Masses: Ho Drakon Ho Megas" (1993) and "Lepaca Kliffoth" (1995), Christofer continued to developed his trademark sound by gradually drifting towards cleaner vocals and more keyboards.
With "Theli", the Swedes had firmly established a reputation of pushing the boundaries of metal in the 90s –among such acts as their compatriots TIAMAT, THE GATHERING, and MOONSPELL that were often referred to as "gothic metal" at the time. THERION continued to break new ground leaving inspiration for others to follow in their wake: On "A'arab Zaraq -Lucid Dreaming" (1997), Christofer further explored the use of Near Eastern music in metal which he had already begun in 1992, while "Secret Of The Runes" (2001) dared to have Swedish lyrics in some songs.
While critics were left confused and fans challenged, THERION were often ahead of their times and vindicated in hindsight. Even the band's 25th anniversary excursion "Les Fleurs Du Mal" has by now overcome the initial shock the album caused and is only beaten in terms of streaming by the classic "Vovin" (1998). When Christofer faced the question of where to go next after the dramatic "Beloved Antichrist" (2018) had finally fulfilled his musical mission, his answer is "Leviathan" named after a giant sea monster from Judeo-Christian myth that has roots in Babylonic lore: THERION have created a giant hit album –and for the first time in the history of the Swedes, their fans are not asked to explore something new, but simply to lean back and enjoy the best from their band!
Have we ever needed great storytellers so badly? Voices to snap us out of our collective grey funk, to pull us out of our narrow, hemmed-in worlds and to lighten our days and enlighten us with their perspectives, Immersing us in their worldview and history. People who can make us laugh, cry, gasp or nod sagely, to see our world anew and not feel so alone. We need stories, vignettes, new windows to look out of, and narrators to help those new visions make sense.
In short, we need Scott Lavene. Born and raised in Essex, but a man of the world who has wandered far and wide, Lavene’s a storyteller who can capture all the madness, joy and frustration of life while singing about worms writhing in the ground. Lavene’s been in bands since his teens, but only really located the voice that makes his new album Milk City Sweethearts so remarkable – that combination of wry observation, humble wisdom, unguarded vulnerability and unpredictable humour – in a music workshop for alcoholics and addicts, long after he’d bid farewell to childhood dreams of pop stardom, and the ghosts and demons that accompany those dreams.
He released an album as Big Top Heartbreak, 2016’s Deadbeat Ballads, and followed it with his first album under his own name, 2019’s droll and marvellous Broke. “I was signed to a little label in Bristol, but then they went skint,” he remembers. This time, however, the disappointment didn’t shake his confidence or his resolve. “I started writing prose, like ‘flash fiction’, and I’ve begun a novel,” he says. “And I’ve started some creative writing workshops for people who’ve come out of my situation.”
Amid all this activity, the songs that became Milk City Sweethearts began to take shape. Lavene noticed the border between his prose and his songwriting beginning to become porous, and the album feels like a clutch of excellent short stories set to music. Without a label, he recorded the album at home, and assembled it in a week in his mum’s garage during lockdown’s heavy manners. It’s a warm, witty, charismatic record with a dark heart at the centre, Lavene sounding dislocated and therefore able to write his everyday stories with a left-handed brilliance and blunt honesty that keeps them so fresh, like classic Kinks, or David Bowie if he’d never had to go to space to feel otherworldly. His songs are talking blues, set to loose and minimal and excellent art-rock with a pop sensibility, the honk of Roxy sax and the guttural weird-funk of Ian Dury’s Blockheads haunting their grooves.
Have we ever needed great storytellers so badly? Voices to snap us out of our collective grey funk, to pull us out of our narrow, hemmed-in worlds and to lighten our days and enlighten us with their perspectives, Immersing us in their worldview and history. People who can make us laugh, cry, gasp or nod sagely, to see our world anew and not feel so alone. We need stories, vignettes, new windows to look out of, and narrators to help those new visions make sense.
In short, we need Scott Lavene. Born and raised in Essex, but a man of the world who has wandered far and wide, Lavene’s a storyteller who can capture all the madness, joy and frustration of life while singing about worms writhing in the ground. Lavene’s been in bands since his teens, but only really located the voice that makes his new album Milk City Sweethearts so remarkable – that combination of wry observation, humble wisdom, unguarded vulnerability and unpredictable humour – in a music workshop for alcoholics and addicts, long after he’d bid farewell to childhood dreams of pop stardom, and the ghosts and demons that accompany those dreams.
He released an album as Big Top Heartbreak, 2016’s Deadbeat Ballads, and followed it with his first album under his own name, 2019’s droll and marvellous Broke. “I was signed to a little label in Bristol, but then they went skint,” he remembers. This time, however, the disappointment didn’t shake his confidence or his resolve. “I started writing prose, like ‘flash fiction’, and I’ve begun a novel,” he says. “And I’ve started some creative writing workshops for people who’ve come out of my situation.”
Amid all this activity, the songs that became Milk City Sweethearts began to take shape. Lavene noticed the border between his prose and his songwriting beginning to become porous, and the album feels like a clutch of excellent short stories set to music. Without a label, he recorded the album at home, and assembled it in a week in his mum’s garage during lockdown’s heavy manners. It’s a warm, witty, charismatic record with a dark heart at the centre, Lavene sounding dislocated and therefore able to write his everyday stories with a left-handed brilliance and blunt honesty that keeps them so fresh, like classic Kinks, or David Bowie if he’d never had to go to space to feel otherworldly. His songs are talking blues, set to loose and minimal and excellent art-rock with a pop sensibility, the honk of Roxy sax and the guttural weird-funk of Ian Dury’s Blockheads haunting their grooves.
Operating on a plane between avant-garde indie, bubbling electronica and cosmic psychedelia, London group Voka Gentle have an addictive, amorphous sound. A three limbed beast made up of twins Ellie and Imogen Mason, and William J. Stokes, each is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer with an imperious understanding of three dimensional sound.
The newest single ‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - features Wayne Coyne from The Flaming Lips.
The hallucinatory mix of squelching synth bass and rhythmic samples, three-tiered harmonies playing off against William’s sprechgesang, and a cutting, full-bodied drum beat is reflected in the oneiric themes.
“This song is a dream sequence about the narrator entering the Garden of Eden, the emblem of an idealised pastoral relationship with the natural world, and realising they can’t stand it and want t o consume and bring destruction to it (I see a deer pass me by and I break its neck / Rip off its hind leg and take a bite through fur, sinew and bone).”
‘Necrofauna / The Garden of Eden’ - recorded with neo - metal battalion Pigsx7 guitarist and producer Sam Grant - is the first release in earnest since 2019’s acclaimed debut album ‘Start Clanging Cymbals’, released via Nude Records. Having come through the dues - paying gestation period that leads up to a debut record, there’s a sense of liberation around this new phase for Voka Gentle - a subtle confidence in their craft. It’s well earned too - with high praise from the likes of UNCUT, MOJO and The Line of Best Fit at press. Support comes too from BBC 6 Music - including presenting an edition of Stuart Maconie’s Freak Zone - and Radio 1. Tracks from that album also featured on FIFA 19 and The Sims 2020, aiding in recognition.
A live set at the prestigious Pitchfork Avant Garde festival, as well as a clutch of tastemaker festivals in the UK (Dot to Dot , Live At Leeds, The Great Escape, Kendall Calling, Bluedot, Neighbourhood), alongside the serendipit ous shows with The Flaming Lips and
[l] d2 [When We Go, We’re Taking You All With Us!]
Ltd White vinyl LP w/ printed inner sleeve lyric insert (1000 copies ww)! Emma Ruth Rundle's forthcoming Engine of Hell is stark, intimate, and unflinching. For anyone that's endured trauma and grief, there's a beautiful solace in hearing Rundle articulate and humanize that particular type of pain not only with her words, but with her particular mysterious language of melody and timbre. The album captures a moment where a masterful songwriter strips away all flourishes and embellishments in order to make every note and word hit with maximum impact, leaving little to hide behind. "I really wanted to capture imperfection and the vulnerability of my humanity," Rundle says of the album's sonic approach. "Here are some very personal songs; here are my memories; here is me teetering on the very edge of sanity dipping my toe into the outer reaches of space and I'm taking you with me and it's very fucked up and imperfect.'" Emma Ruth Rundle has always been a multifaceted musician, equally capable of dreamy abstraction (as heard on her album Electric Guitar: One), maximalist textural explorations (see her work in Marriages, Red Sparowes, Nocturnes or collaborations with Chelsea Wolfe and Thou), and the classic singer-songwriter tradition (exemplified by Some Heavy Ocean). But on Engine of Hell, Rundle has opted to forego the full-band arrangements of her previous albums in favor of the austerity of a lone piano or guitar and her voice, which creates a kind of intimacy, as if we're sitting beside Rundle on a bench, or perhaps even playing the songs ourselves. It's an extremely up-close and personal confessional with a focus on the rich subtleties and timbre of Rundle's graceful performances. "For me this album is the end of an era to the end of a decade of making records. Things DO have to change and have changed for me since I finished recording it." In essence, Engine of Hell signifies a major turning point for Rundle as both an artist and as a person. The catharsis of this type of songwriting has effectively served its purpose, and to continue ruminating on the past going forward is less of a healing process and more like picking at a scab and refusing to let it heal. This may help explain why Rundle is less than enthusiastic about divulging the details about her muses, but it doesn't alter the fact that these songs served a purpose in their creation, and that they may continue to bring comfort to others.
Flashes of light rarely burn for long. Bush Tetras exploded into
New York in 1979 and flamed out just a few years later. Yet
somehow this lightning-quick band have risen from their own
ashes again and again for four decades. The spark that ignited
Bush Tetras tapped into a deep grid of power, fuelled by
guitarist Pat Place, singer Cynthia Sley and drummer Dee Pop.
That chemistry is palpable on ‘Rhythm and Paranoia: The Best
of Bush Tetras’, which features 30 tracks across 2CDs in a 4-
panel digipack / 29 songs across 3LPs pressed onto 180gram
vinyl in a rigid lift-off box with lift ribbon, remastered by Carl
Saff, plus a 40-page (2CD) / 46-page (3LP) book with neverbefore-seen photos, an original essay on the band by Marc
Masters and micro essays by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore,
R&B legend Nona Hendryx, The Clash’s Topper Headon and
more.
From the band’s earliest recordings to their current, vital-asever incarnation, ‘Rhythm and Paranoia’ - for the first time ever
- showcases their unique, influential and body-shaking meld of
rock, punk, funk, reggae and more in one cohesive, immersive
and meticulously constructed box set.
“Coupled with ‘Too Many Creeps’’ dancey arrangement, Sley’s
monotonous tone signaled that within the Tetras’ newly staked
safe space, misogyny wasn’t a threat: it was just a boring,
predictable damper on the party. Like the rest of their peers, this
band was over it.” - Pitchfork (The History of Feminist Punk in
33 Songs)
“The Bush Tetras are a national treasure” - VICE
“Renowned at the dawn of the eighties for pairing the disjoined
guitar skronk of the inaccessible No Wave scene with
irrepressible, funk-infused rhythms, the Bush Tetras were
remarkably influential without ever really receiving their due” -
The New Yorker
“Bush Tetras bridge the gap between the Ramones and Sonic
Youth.” - NY Post
‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’, the new studio
album from Damon Albarn, is released by new label home Transgressive
Records.
‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’ was originally
intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland.
This last year has seen Albarn return to the music in lockdown and
develop the work to 11 tracks which further explore themes of fragility,
loss, emergence and rebirth. The result is a panoramic collection of
songs with Albarn as storyteller. The album title is taken from a John
Clare poem Love and Memory.
The CD edition includes a 20-minute ‘hidden’ track of a new and original
recording that inspired some of the record’s themes.
The deluxe version of the album takes the form of a casebound book
with additional photography, original scanned lyrics and artwork from
Damon, alongside a clear vinyl version of the album and a bonus 7”
featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions, plus a high
quality digital download. Also available on black vinyl and cassette.
A recent special Globe Theatre performance in London sold out
immediately and was streamed globally to 72 countries around the world
and received rave reviews across the board.
Far View’ is a compilation of tracks from Joel Vandroogenbroeck’s series of library
music releases for the Coloursound label, a uniquely trippy catalogue of music
vignettes long overdue for their day in the library music sun, remastered from the
original analogue reels.
The late Joel Vandroogenbroeck was among the rare breed of musicians who defy
all categorization, using music conventions to explore the far reaches of human and
cosmic consciousness. After passing through the jazz and rock worlds from the
1950s through the ‘70s, Joel found new outlets for his expansive vision in the ‘80s
with the Swiss library music label Coloursound. ‘Far View’ draws tracks from these
releases, which form a unique entry in the genre of library music. For the uninitiated,
this is just one way to begin a brilliant musical trip through Vandroogenbroeck’s
undersung career.
A musical prodigy from youth, Joel arrived at Brussels’ classical Music Conservatory
in the early ‘50s, but his studies were curtailed by the revelation of jazz. Soon, Joel
was touring in groups around Europe and beyond with luminaries like Eje Thelin,
Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer and Zoot Sims. As time passed, his musical
consciousness continued to expand: time spent in Africa sparked a deep exploration
of the music of the Middle East. The new rock sounds from England, like The Beatles
and Jimi Hendrix, were mind-blowing. And from Germany came the krautrockers,
with something completely else again.
Vibing on the eclectic energies of the day, Vandroogenbroeck formed Brainticket,
whose approach to composition fused jazz, rock and a mélange of global musical
traditions, combining a Western rhythm section and analogue synthesizers with an
astonishing array of acoustic instruments; ethnic flutes, sitar, harp, kalimba and all
manner of percussion. Steeped in diverse approaches of playing and listening,
Brainticket drew from prog rock and psych, traditional sounds and minimalist music,
all of which passed through their hands like the tributaries that formed the basis of
what would soon be known as New Age music.
In the late 1970s, Vandroogenbroeck began composing for sound libraries, with
recordings to be used as underlay music in films, radio and television. Gunter
Greffenius’ Coloursound Library was formed in 1979 with an inclusive vision of
music, including experimental, progressive rock, and some of the earliest examples
of ambient music - styles not well represented in other libraries. Coloursound gave
Joel the freedom to create music in any style or genre, and over the next decadeplus, he embarked on a musical journey that is unmatched anywhere in the world of
library music. Working under the pseudonyms VDB, his output on Coloursound is
some of his most sublime and otherworldly - ranging from dark electronics to
imagined music of the ancient past to ethereal ambient sounds of the future, which
makes sense, as Joel’s records were always ahead and in and out of their time.
Joel VandroogenbroeckJ passed away in in December 2019, while work was being
done assembling this collection. Curated by David Hollander, whose ‘Unusual
Sounds’ album and book of the same name delightfully explore the library music
world, ‘Far View’ draws from ten of Joel’s Coloursound albums with lovely cohesion.
Featuring brilliantly remastered sound, liner notes from David Hollander, album art
designed by Robert Beatty and reproductions of the Coloursound album jackets, ‘Far
View’ is an entry point to Joel Vandroogenbroek’s mind-bending body of work - sonic
soma to expand your consciousness and vibrate with the cosmos.
1. Some records hit you with an instant impression of timeless brilliance, and Low Life’s Dogging is one of those records, what the wise call “an instant classic”. 2. From Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life is more like their second album Downer Edn (read Edition), a little more withdrawn, a little more textured. Complex. Rich. Which is to say: you’re going to need some time with it. 3. Some show, some grow. Low Life have done both. This one is a grower. Spend some time with this one. It’s got that nuanced flavour. Don’t guzzle. Sip. Savour. 4. Sip it, and sense the recurring brilliance of Mitch Tolman’s lyrics, exploring the usual territory of gutter life, lad life, punk life, low life. The dirge. Disgust and shame in white Australia. Council housing, bills piled to the neck, substance abuse and rehabilitation, the fallen lads and lasses who stood too close to the flame, loss and loneliness, from squats to lots. Un-Australian gutter symphony. 5. There is a celebration of resilience and that’s a central theme of this record and a time like ours needs a record like Agony & XTC. Low times are coming through, but if you’re low they won’t get to you. 6. Iggy Pop’s Bowie produced studio rock masterpieces ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’ are important reference points to the 3rd album sounds of Low Life. Here comes success! 7. ‘The Agony and Ecstasy’ is a 1985 novel by Irving Stone about the life of Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo. Stone wrote another novel about the single eared painter Vincent Van Gogh called ‘Lust For Life’. This synchronicity hit me. 8. Iggy and the Stooges are a pretty safe reference for Low Life (and all good rock music). Iggy and the Stooges are a low life’s Michelangelo, but solo Iggy like Lust for Life is a better reference for this particular incarnation of Low Life, which is to say they are studio rock albums. 9. Bowie later referred to this period of his life as profoundly nihilistic. But Iggy looked at it as the period of his life that saved him from an early grave. This confrontation is Low life lore. 10. Let’s stick to this, because there’s something about this era of Bowie that makes sense with Low Life’s new album, particularly Low. One should never miss the Low in our new album from Low Life. Producer and studio boss Mickey Grossman has the ear for the Low, and he has carved out a little statue of David right here. 11. Mickey’s ears are recording, mixing and producing the best of Sydney, most notably the Oily Boys Cro Memory Grin. A great companion record to this one. Use Agony & XTC AFTER Oily Boys. Not on an empty stomach, and don’t try to operate heavy machinery (bobcat, bulldozer etc). 12. The relationship between Low Life and Sydney hardcore should not be understated, but it also shouldn’t guide how to listen to Agony & XTC. This is not austere, disciplined music. 13. Think, like, if Poison Idea were given the kind of studio time and budget as Happy Mondays. You wouldn’t play it to a teenager. It’s not for children. This is a mature flavour, one for the adults who have had to contend with failure and hardship, medical bills and disappointed family members, betrayed lovers and worrisome growths, police brutality and tooth decay, humiliating bowels and collapsed septums, detoxing and drying out, for those who have seen themselves as corrupted and putrid and unloveable, for those who endure all of this and aren’t willing to lie down and cop it sweet: Low Life are still here and they ain’t going nowhere. NOTES ON HOW NOT TO LISTEN TO AGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE: 1. Don’t think of shoe-gaze. It suggests a safe passage to 90’s reminiscences, a vogue style of our time, but nothing to do with Low Life style. Low Life style is always of its time. The content changes. Agony & XTC shares weight of records like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and Slowdive’s Kebab, records that were laboured on after the songs were recorded, songs that were written as they were recorded. 2. We can call these “studio albums” as opposed to albums built in the heat of live performance. Studio albums from the 90’s are called shoe-gaze by some journalist nerds, but we know better than to use words like this. 3. Studio albums are excessive and, at the same time, so empty. Agony & XTC, Loveless, Kebab, Rumours: excessive! And empty. This is not to suggest this is Low Lite, some throwback, soft. A band like Low Life can make an overproduced studio rock album without having to use the word shoe-gaze. So, don’t think studio albums mean anything especially 90’s. Don’t look back. 4. Let’s lose these distasteful labels, like “shoe-gaze”, “rehab rock”, “stab”, “guitar OD overdrive”, “western Sydney wonder”. They can fade out. A low life was once referred to as a vagabond. Who uses this term today? Nobody. Language can murder. Words can die. Kill ‘em all! - Daniel 'DX' Stewart, Melbourne, 2021.
We used to enjoy presenting Chapelier Fou's work using the idea of music in the form of a treasure hunt. However, while the phrase in itself it still just as relevant today, we would never have imagined that it would become such an integral part of one of his albums. Or two of his albums to be perfectly exact - Méridiens and Parallèles. Two records with twelve songs each which answer each other back in the form of anagrams. They are like the two sides of the same planet - similar but simultaneously so different. They need to be discovered one after the other taking the time necessary to travel through the sound territories produced by his imagination. The starting point is a sombre night in Uqbar… Chapelier Fou's opening reference to Borgès was obviously not made by chance. He subsequently confided in us the objective of his diptych, namely to combine reality with fiction to question certainties and our relationships with the imaginary sphere. He has continued with his traditional classical-contemporary electronic approach which, although now known to a wide audience, has the advantage of opening up a whole range of possibilities right up to the infinite scale. Moving away from an "État Nain" (Dwarf State) to take refuge on an asteroid...Throughout Méridiens, each composition can be seen as a universe in itself or a specific landscape with its own temporality. Proof of this is the introduction to the chamber music format composed for and performed by only strings which can only be given the date we want to give it. This is "État Nain" in which violins are played like guitars. In some parts we find the spirit of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the idea of cheering up classical instruments and not taking everything too seriously. In other parts, we find something close to a mischievous and childish unplugged grunge anthem that could be from the French series Les Shadoks. This mischievous view of things is shown to full effect in Am Scharchtensee. The introduction shows Chapelier Fou's whole classical universe and mastery of orchestration in which "modular" electronics provide a subtle and discreet backdrop. Then, the record suddenly switches to a surrealist dialogue between these classical sounds and modular synthesizers with the flavour of the German pioneers Kluster/Harmonia to name but one example. Timelessness and imaginary places. La vie de cocagne confirms this choice of total freedom. It's traditional music with old sounds, a kind of forgotten bourrée (old French dance) in which electronic sounds disturb the established order and thus reach another musical dimension. Le méridien du Péricarde followed by Désert de Sonora push this idea of a trompe l'oreille and a hall of mirrors even further. The latter track ends almost like a catchy 80s melody and we can no longer find any logical meaning. We let ourselves be carried away by this profusion of madness and are a little amazed by this mastery of sound, composition and space. It sometimes all seems like a succession of conjuring tricks. Chapelier Fou takes not being serious very seriously indeed. The end song Everest trail is the perfect conclusion, a deadpan track in which the primary aspect of a totally classical melody in all its straightness is underpinned by a permanent exchange of electronic tweets which mocks the main musical posture. This impertinence harks back to Pierre Schaeffer who directed the ORTF's very serious experimental department in another era and allowed the development of Jacques Rouxel's series Les Shadoks thus introducing the general public to the notion of concrete music. This is also perhaps why Louis Warynski's stage name is French – because he has opted to use his French musical heritage. Thus the first singles selected from this album, Constantinople with its groovy and jazzy allure and Le Triangle des Bermudes evoke composers like Michel Magne or Michel Colombier both of whom have totally open minds and consider all music to have the same importance, namely that of sound. In absolutely all the tracks that make up Méridiens, you will find at least one detail - a pattern, melody, sometimes a simple sound - that will draw you back to explore it a little more. And the words are carefully weighed for sure. It's quite simple. This is undoubtedly his most hypnotizing and catchy album. Chapelier Fou has become a complete master of his own universe. He draws the start and finish lines himself and no one can follow him in a field that now belongs to him alone. Composed imaginary spheres, illustrated territories...Music is just as meaningful as the more visual arts. Therefore the artwork of Méridiens had to project each of the twelve tracks considered individually and not just the whole album as such. Chapelier Fou therefore asked his old friend the contemporary artist Corentin Grossman to create twelve windows to represent glimpses of the twelve worlds composed for the record. Windows or mirrors when it comes to that? You can never be sure of anything...Space OK. But what about time? The years go by and sometimes we forget that fact. But a simple glance back is often enough to gently touch the time that has passed. It is over 10 years since his first official record and he has been composing, recording and sharing his music for almost 20 years. 20 years is a long time. It makes some people look old while others fall into reassuring but sterile nostalgia. Chapelier Fou, on the other hand, has released his most ambitious project and tried to take a higher view of his discography that was itself nevertheless irreproachable. Although the journey is over we can see Parallèles universes on the horizon. Chapelier Fou has announced 12 additional tracks which are like echoes of the compositions on Méridiens' and will be released on the album Parallèles next spring. They are neither twins nor opposites – they are instead totally original new compositions which go further in exploring a universe which is already richly abundant.
‘Of Process and Progression’ is a perfectly balanced combination of hip-hop, jazz, and soul from longtime collaborators Tall Black Guy & Ozay Moore, who continue to push themselves creatively after a collective more than 30 years in the game. On each and every track on this LP, the duo beautifully blend Golden Era boom-bap with modern sounds to deliver something altogether timeless and inspiring. There’s just so much to love about ‘OPAP,’ an easy candidate for one of the year’s best releases, regardless of genre. Both TBG and Ozay have been on a tear these past few years with their respective careers, but it’s safe to say they’re reaching a new peak together with this release.
After having sold more than 3 million albums Nolwenn Leroy is making a resounding comeback with a new hit single, “Bresil, Finistère”. Fruit of a collaboration with Benjamin Biolay, who has written several songs on the new album, the single is one of the eleven new titles on"La cavale", the 8th album from Nolwenn Leroy. Reviews and Ads – R2 and London Macadam
The vinyl album Deo Volente is a collection of ten tracks taken from the last four And Did Those Feet recordings (originally released between 2001 and 2018), all featuring Eisteddfod blue-ribbon-winning vocalist Ina Williams and many of which have been played on Classic FM TV, BBC Radio 2 and BBC local radio. The album cover is graced with the iconic Fred Morley photograph entitled `Business As Usual', a propaganda shot taken at the height of the German bombings of London in the Second World War. The `milkman' in the shot was in fact the photographer's assistant. Deo Volente is a unique collection of songs in a classic cover. The LP is housed in a gatefold sleeve together with an accompanying CD in a digipak attached to the inner sleeve. Full lyrics are included and each LP is signed and numbered as part of a limited edition of 500 copies.
With Robyn, South London's cktrl shares his most ambitious work yet, collaborating with the likes of Duval Timothy, Coby Sey (Micachu, Tirzah, Dean Blunt) and Purple Ferdinand to create a vital exploration of contemporary-classical from the black perspective; out via Errol and Alex Rita's Touching Bass. Spurred on by the overpowering feelings of heartbreak, Robyn impressively creates emotive and heartfelt clarinet and saxophone-led soundscapes about the all-consuming power of love. On the project, cktrl says: "'Robyn' at its core is heartbreak and is just really sentimental. It's a journey of losing a love but it ends with optimism as you find strength to love again." Born and bred in Lewisham, cktrl aka Bradley Miller is an integral part of London's pioneering musical underground. One of the only remaining original DJs on NTS, cktrl has previously worked with and played alongside the likes of Sampha, Sango, Kelela and Dean Blunt. Throughout his career to date, cktrl has also been recognised and heralded by fashion and film VIPs including Virgil Abloh, Bianca Saunders, Tremaine Emory, Nicholas Daley and Jenn Nkiru who recently secured him a cameo in Beyonce's heralded 'Black Is King'. With a shared ethos of elevating and amplifying leftfield black music, he partners with London based label, Touching Bass, themselves a key cog within the city's bubbling musical underbelly.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Breathe – the stunning eight-track mini album from long-standing British techno artist Mark Reeve out via Adam Beyer's iconic Drumcode Records.
Following a slew of critically acclaimed single and EP releases on Drumcode over the course of his esteemed decade-long career – the last of which came in the form of his mammoth Distance EP back in February 2020 – Breathe marks Mark Reeve's most extensive musical opus on the legendary imprint, and goes a long way in showcasing the inexhaustible creativity of one of the most prolific and original artists in techno today.
A career-defining moment for Reeve, Breathe has extraordinary allure and maintains the impressive quality of engaging the listener from the very start. A rich and complex body of work, the stunning eight-tracker goes far beyond Mark's trademark transcendental crowd pleasers, encompassing lilting moments of euphoric ambience alongside a sundry offering of full-throttle warehouse juggernauts and ravey breakbeat cuts.
out of Stock
Last delivered 8 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Roman Flügel and Radio Slave remix KUSP ft Pablo:Rita on Rekids this November.
Arriving on Radio Slave’s vital Rekids imprint following 2020’s ‘Freedom of Fear EP’ on Rekids Special Projects, British duo KUSP deliver the captivating ‘Folding’, featuring vocals from Pablo:Rita and remixes from label boss Radio Slave and electronic music luminary Roman Flügel. A deviation from the duo’s upfront techno records, which have been supported by likes of Luke Slater, Regal, Truncate, and more, KUSP have crafted an emotive breakbeat jam featuring vocals from West London-based Pablo:Rita, the Crosstown Rebels affiliated duo formed of Annabel Simpson and Liz Cass.
Following the A1 is the ‘After Dark’ mix, which sees the duo head to heavier territories, stripping away the vocals and going for the jugular with crisp, pounding drums under the original’s melodic touch. On the flip, Roman Flügel brings his years of clubland experience to the table, introducing a wonky electro-esque
pattern, arpeggiated synth lines, before an ecstatic breakdown takes hold. For the final version, Radio Slave returns to his use of breaks and delicate atmospherics with his evocative, early-rave referencing ‘New Age Of Love’ remix.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Already iconic in London’s underground queer rave scene, Josh Caffe makes a characteristically upfront and disruptive arrival to Phantasy with his debut single for Erol Alkan’s label, ‘According to Jacqueline’. Produced in collaboration with Quinn of Paranoid London, for whom Caffe has previously provided vocals on club favourites such as ‘Vicious Games’ as well as for their rapturous live sets, ‘According to Jacqueline’ fully centres and cements Caffe’s personal vision of club culture as a raw and demanding force.
Loosely chronicling a hi-NRG pursuit across the club, ‘According to Jacqueline’ follows murmurs on the dancefloor concerning one such individual, a “freaky butch queen on the scene, dancing round like a machine.” Outrageous, confrontational and disappearing further into a space between ecstasy and submission, Caffe’s attitude and sound spans Chicago house, vogue culture and the resurgent spirit of his home city’s current LGBTQI+ landscape.
A complimentary dub provides dancers the opportunity to luxuriate in the sensuality of Caffe’s advances, but no matter what side the needle lands on, Jacqueline’s wicked tongue persists in cheek.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
On 18th April, 1980, after decades of anti colonial struggle, the Zimbabweian flag was finally raised at midnight at the Rufaro Stadium in Harare. Not long after, the words "Ladies and Gentlemen, Bob Marley and The Wailers!" rang out, and Zimbabwe's independent future began.
In the years that followed, Africa was to produce it's own reggae superstars, as the likes of Alpha Blondy, Majek Fashek and Lucky Dube swept across the continent and beyond, and there's no doubting Bob Marley's explosive impact on this particular narrative.
Marley's unswerving commitment to liberation and unity ranged from the sweeping spiritual sentiments of iconic hits such One Love and Redemption Song to the galvanising, focused tone of 1979's 'Zimbabwe', and his status as global superstar ensured that his (self funded) part in the countries' epochal celebrations meant that the history of reggae in Africa would always be viewed through the prism of his influence ( Wiki/African Reggae : "In 1980, world-famous Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley performed in Harare, Zimbabwe, and that concert is often credited as marking the beginning of reggae in Africa")
But in fact, the recorded history of reggae produced in Africa stretches back over a decade before Marley's arrival on the continent, and showcases broad pan - diasporic interflows between the Carribean and Africa, with the UK and the US communities playing influential supporting roles, all helping shape the evolution and development of the genre in Africa from late 60's inception to Marley's arrival in 1980, and then well beyond.
Reggae Africa : Roots and Culture, 1972 - 1981 tries to capture a sense of that evolution, starting in 1972 as Mebussa's ultra rare 'Good Bye Friends' effortlessly captures triangular, transatlantic cultural interflows, with the short lived Nigerian group's bitter sweet chords echoing classic US soul, but laid over a gritty, skanking Jimmy Cliff - esque proto reggae rhythm.
Trying to work out the precise provenance of Black Reggae's 'Darling I'm So Proud of You' (1975) isn't easy, but involves Paris based / African focused label Fiesta, some proper OG co-branding exercise with Bols Brandy ( "Bols Brandy presents Black Reggae") - and deeply infectious, lilting Rocksteady.
By 1976, glorious Nigerian sister duo Lijadu Sisters are echoing the chunky roots of a Dennis Brown or U Roy on 'Bobby', and in 1977, bespoke Nigerian drummer Georges Happi is introing 'Hello Friends' with the soon to be universal signature reggae tom roll intro, before veering leftfield with snatches of spoken Afro - English vocal in between the hooky choruses.
Nigerian giant Chrissy Essien's 'I'll Be You Man' (1979) combines floaty Lovers vibes with catchy ska shuffle, and in the same year, Cameroonian afro-funk/disco heavyweight Pasteur Lappe' drifts seamlessly into skanking, Lovers infected reggae on 'Babbette D.O. ( Rastawoman )' (before a sprawling electric guitar solo reminds us how unselfconsiously eclectic so much African music of the era was.)
And finally bookending the compilation, in chronological terms, fellow Cameroonian Tala AM also swaps his funk and soul for the rootsy and infectious 'Hop Sy Trong' (1981), again highlighting the diverse and eclectic approach to this timeless Carribean musical genre taken by African musicians in the years before that Bob Marley year zero event in Zimbabwe.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Briti$h is a UK-based artist carving out his own niche using a unique blend of original sounds. Growing up in Ipswich, Briti$h’s relationship with hip hop was strengthened when he moved to Florida, where he lived for 10 years. He became immersed in the music of famed Southern ambassadors such as UGK, Outkast, Scarface and Rick Ross, which went on to subliminally inform his music.
Back in Ipswich, a town that has long been a hotbed of Hip-Hop talent, Briti$h stepped right into the scene and never looked back. His style is impossible to pin down in any one area of Hip-Hop, instead offering a smorgasbord of styles with its roots laid down across the spectrum, from boom bap to trap, but always with a heavy focus on lyrics.
Briti$h’s debut EP, ‘Stuck in a Bunker’, was released in 2018. It delivered a solid introduction to his music, and enjoyed a warm reception from both his fans and peers. The EP was produced by label mate Bunker Beats, on Briti$h’s fledgling label DJGT Entertainment, and was all recorded at his Purple Loft Studios.
Briti$h was involved in a few notable collaborations with the likes of Emjam, Skribblez, El-Emcee, and Rye Shabby. He has also enjoyed airplay from BBC Introducing, the FATP Hip-Hop Show and Graffiti Kings Radio.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Part of the Soul Direction family “Origins” will focus on rare and obscure Soul
Classics.
The Combinations were a male vocal group whose line up included Willie C. Collins
of Will Collins and Willpower “Anything You Can Do” fame.
Under the auspices of David Braithwaite and Ernest Kelley they recorded a solitary
45 release “(Too Long) I’ve Been Waiting/Please Don’t Leave Me” (Soul “O” Sonic).
(MARY) ANN SEXTON was born in South Carolina in 1950 and is the cousin of Northern Soul hero Chuck Jackson. She launched herself onto the soul scene at the dawn of the seventies as ‘Ann Sexton and the Masters Of Soul’ alongside her husband, saxophonist Melvin Burton.
Her debut disc “You’ve Been Gone Too Long” (featured here) was originally released in 1971 on the local ‘Impel’ label before being picked up by John Richburg for his ‘Seventy 7’ imprint. It was quickly adopted by the UK Northern Soul clubs, notably Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino, and has remained a perennial dance floor favourite.
We also feature the wonderful “I Had A Fight With Love” taken from her 1977 album ‘The Beginning’. Finally, this dynamic groove makes it to 45. Another great reason to buy this 50th Anniversary disc.
Perc returns to Perc Trax with an EP designed to capture the energy and chaos of rave without relying on the same classic sounds that have been in constant use since the early 90's. 'Greed Dance' is Perc's first full EP in 14 months, following 'Fire In Negative' on Perc Trax back in September 2020. Since then Perc has pushed through lockdown with an intense production regime resulting in tracks being signed to Lebendig, Possession, RAW and Rote Sonne, as well as this EP for Perc Trax.
Originally started at Christmas last year, lead track 'Greed Dance' started life as an anger fueled full vocal track aimed squarely at the hypocrisy of certain sections of the dance music industry, but over time has been stripped down to a tight rhythm track with sparse vocal elements reflecting a change of mood as the UK's clubs and events were finally allowed to open again this summer.
B1 ' Resistor' takes a similar approach as previous Perc release 'Toxic NRG', looking to squeeze maximum dance floor drama out of a small group of continually tweaked sounds. Finally B2 track '240 Volts' layers rapid fire organ arpeggios over a rock solid kick & bass foundation to create something fresh for both Perc and techno in general.
'Greed Dance' will be released on limited edition cola bottle green 12" vinyl, packaged in a full colour double-sided sleeve designed by regular Perc Trax design crew Adult Art Club. The EP was written & produced by Perc at his home studio and mixed down by Perc at MAP Studios in London. The EP was
mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis, London
out of Stock
Last delivered 3 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Cinedelic Records continues on with the release of yet another Paolo Vasile gem, and that is his score to Antonio Margheriti’s 1975 poliziottesco, Controrapina (The Rip Off) starring Lee Van Cleef. This soundtrack runs the gamut from strumming guitar and vocal numbers, to straight up dancefloor heaters. This beautifully produced record incorporates smooth sax, disco strings, wah guitar, and a driving beat — all the essential elements of a first rate 70s Eurocrime soundtrack. This release will be pressed in a run of 400 copies: 400, All will also include a super cool promotional .45 caliber pistol cut-out! (Alfonso Carrillo)
– 27 tracks from the soundtrack to Yakuza 0, picked by the Yakuza team
– Two 180g vinyl (light blue and green)
– Printed inner sleeves in a widespined outer sleeve
SEGA and Laced Records have formed a pact to present the music of Yakuza 0 (Ryū ga Gotoku Zero: Chikai No Basho) on vinyl.
The double LP set features 27 remastered tracks picked by the Yakuza team. Two heavyweight 180g LPs in light blue and green will come in printed inner sleeves, all housed in a widespined outer sleeve.
The game’s vibrant soundtrack includes a modern — yet often ‘80s-inflected — blend of pop, rock and electronic dance styles. The vast array of composition and production talent was led by long-time SEGA composer Hidenori Shoji.
Weighty Ways strongly believe that every now and then the Universe aligns a series of elements that leads to the uprising of a unique talent. Enter the Room 'Alfredo Romero', alias of Alfie Aukett, Music Extraordinaire hailing from West London. Alfredo Romero is the byproduct of where a philosophical understanding of the sonic landscape meets all its capabilities. With little regard for the restraints of traditional music theory and drawing influences from improvisational genres such as Jazz (which Alfie studied to a molecular level at Leeds University) makes for a superior musical tapestry woven by a man far beyond his years.
Alfie's quest for musical enlightenment started at a very young age as a Chorister and experimented with a plethora of musical instruments. This profound musical understanding is evident in "Retrain Station", a four track EP born from the ashes of a desolate 2020. A collection of seamlessly flowing production with tones drawn from the musical nuances of Jazz, Blues and Classical through to the ever evolving face of the electronic music scene from both sides of the pond.
Strong on all flavours from Jungle to Jazz. A magnificent EP from a truly special individual.
out of Stock
Last delivered 4 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
David Lohlein about to drop his long awaited album on Snake Sounds. Although sticking to his club roots on VIA TAYA he is exploring new grounds based on his signature snake sound.
out of Stock
Last delivered 2 years ago available to reorder, subject to availability
