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MILKY CLEAR VINYL.

''The lightness of the C86 Sarah Records guitars come with the significant counterweight of more ominous Factory Records basslines.The lyrics and vocals are stark, sandpapery and sardonic, akin to Jonathan Richman, Kiwi Jr and, Bodega.'' Ducks Ltd. - EP Review - God Is In The TV
Toronto’s Ducks Ltd. (formerly Ducks Unlimited), the bright jangle-pop duo of Tom McGreevy (lead vocal, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Evan Lewis (guitar, bass, drum programming), accomplish the impossible. The pair craft songs that play to very specific inspirations without drowning underneath them—immediately evidenced on their critically acclaimed EP, Get Bleak, and sharpened on Modern Fiction, their debut LP. “The Servants, The Clean, The Chills, The Bats, Television Personalities, Felt,” Evan rattles off. “Look Blue Go Purple is one I reference a lot with our production.” Echoes of ‘80s indiepop abound, but they never overwhelm. This is not a nostalgic record, after all, nor is it a derivative one. Instead, across 10 cheery-sounding songs, Ducks Ltd. explore contemporary society in decline, examining large scale human disaster through personal turmoil (hence the title, taken from a university course called Gnosticism and Nihilism in Modern Fiction, influenced by Graham Greene novels. Bookish indie fans, look no further.)

Writing the album was intimate. Tom drafted the nucleus of a song on an unplugged electric guitar and brought it over to Evan’s apartment, where the pair sat in his bedroom, placing percussive beats from a drum machine under nascent melodies, passing a bass back and forth, adding organs and bridges where necessary. “It’s computer music trying extremely hard not to sound like computer music,” Tom jokes. Fearful that limited and expensive studio time would kneecap the project creatively, eroding their charming naivete, the pair re-recorded the album in a storage space owned by Evan’s boss. Ornamentation through collaboration followed: there’s Aaron Goldstein on Pedal Steel in the Go-Betweens’ “Cattle and Cane”-channeling interlude “Patience Wearing Thin,” Eliza Niemi on cello (“18 Cigarettes,” a song loosely inspired by a 1997 Oasis performance of “Don’t Go Away”), and backing harmonies from Carpark labelmates The Beths (on an ode to friendship at a distance, “How Lonely Are You?,” “Always There,” and on the sped-up Syd Barrett stylings of “Under The Rolling Moon.”) While in his native Australia due to covid-19, Evan worked closely with producer James Cecil (The Goon Sax, Architecture in Helsinki) on Modern Fiction’s finishing touches—at one point, in the mountains of the Macedon Ranges in Victoria, recorded a string quartet (featured on “Fit to Burst,” “Always There,” “Sullen Leering Hope,” “Twere Ever Thus,” “Grand Final Day.”)

It’s danceable, depressive fun, with some relief: in “Always There” and “Sullen Leering Hope,” Modern Fiction’s faithful heart. “There’s a tendency in my writing, because of my world view, to be very bleak.” Tom explains. “A quality I don’t always see in myself and really appreciate in others is the courage to go on.” And yet, the record manages resiliency—enough for pop fans to fall in love with.

THE PALE FOUNTAINS - LONGSHOT FOR YOUR LOVE (Marina Records) New enhanced, remastered vinyl edition of the long-deleted, much sought-after Pale Fountains compilation "Longshot For Your Love" - originally released in 1998 - covering the band's early years from 1982 to 1984. "Longshot For Your Love" is a collection of rarities, radio sessions and previously unreleased tracks by Liverpool's second best band ever - fronted by Michael Head ("Our greatest living songwriter" - NME). Seven cuts are released here for the first time ever - incl. the superb John Peel and Old Grey Whistle Test BBC Sessions ('82/'83). The album comes with enhanced artwork - in a beautiful gatefold cover plus inner sleeve feat. lots of unseen band photos and extensive linernotes by former Pale Fountains manager Patrick Moore. On Marina Records.

During the production of two singles (This being the first) unfortunately William Stuckey passed away, below are some words from my partner in the project Brian Sears regarding our work with him pm his LP.

Brian Sears - I'm not one that likes to write but I wanted to say a few things about William Stuckey. William Stuckey passed away last in August 2021 at age 73, and is an artist that I've been working with since last summer. He was a key fixture in the Little Rock music scene and most notably was one of the driving forces behind the legendary True Soul label. Lee Anthony, the owner of True Soul Records, once told me that William Stuckey was the most talented musician he had ever worked with, and if you know anything about that label or Lee Anthony, that's quite a compliment.


When I reached out to William last summer about re-releasing his material, he ignored my calls and messages. Fortunately, I was able to reach his son, Erreyon who was kind enough to listen to me. I've worked a lot of terrible sales gigs in my past and "getting to the point" is sometimes a hard thing to achieve, especially when you're trying to talk about the music business and music that's 50 years old. But the point was simple, his music matters and deserved to be preserved. This resonated with William and Erreyon and they gave Euan Fryer and myself a chance.There was a memorable handoff of the master tapes in a parking lot and from that point forward I knew William Stuckey trusted me. Trust is something he had to do a lot in his life due to the fact that he was visually impaired and I'm thankful he trusted us. As I wrote before, there was a long process of transferring the tapes, but it was successful, and the album has never sounded so good. William had incredible hearing and was able to pick out details most might not detect. He was gifted and that shined through his own playing and voice through copious recordings. Speaking with him after he finally heard the newly remastered album, the way he had intended for it to sound, is something I'll never forget. Moments like that are really the reason why I feel so compelled to work with older musicians that didn't get a fair shake the first time.

Meeting William Stuckey face to face earlier this summer was one of the highlights of my year. We laughed and hung out at his place where he had lived for the past 50 years. I told him his music was internationally known and the re-release was well received. He was humble and felt like a long lost friend that I hadn't seen in a long time. I'll never forget that. I told him I wanted to take some photos, and I'm so glad I did.We had a good time and it was a beautiful summer night and as I left his place his neighbours noticed me walking to my car and wanted to chat, so we talked briefly and it ultimately lead to one of them getting into their car and cranking "The First Time" on the stereo system in their driveway. I wasn't sure if Stuckey could hear it from his house, but part of me knew he probably could and hearing his song echo in the background as I drove off and thinking about Stuckey and the time we shared and his music being appreciated by so many, even in that moment, is a wonderful memory. I'd like to think he was smiling.His music and legacy will live on forever.
Rest in peace to a great one.

Keeping the faith and facing the future, Times Are Changing puts a full stop on pandemic talk for unstoppable indie-pop four-piece Lottery Winners, as the four-piece release the fizzing anthem into a newly optimistic world. The first single from their newly


announced, upcoming, second studio album, Something To Leave The House For, the band has penned the soundtrack to hugging old friends, the rebirth of live music and those summer festivals just around the around the corner.

For front man and songwriter, Thom Rylance, working through the darkness of Covid meant surviving Covid, tying the threads of an unravelling mental state into a new body of work now emerging as bright, arms-aloft bursts of positivity. His famed ‘note to self’, the emotive An Open Letter To Creatives and the band’s sensational, viral collaboration with Nickelback with the Rock Star Sea Shanty were just two moments of levity in a time dominated by the dark clouds forming overhead. Now he and the band are moving on and moving up.

“If something so bleak and harrowing can hit us all, totally out of the blue, and change our lives, then by definition that must mean that something beautiful can too.” says bassist and vocalist, Katie Lloyd (bass and vocals) as Lottery Winners start the next leg of their adventure with Times Are Changing, reflective, ready to party and no less ambitious than before.

Their mammoth, 14-track new album, Something To Leave The House For, follows their 2020, self-titled UK Album Chart Top 30 debut with a Fri 24 September 2021 release via Modern Sky UK, promises to document the tumultuous times and the path back from despair. In true Lottery Winners style, every truth and life lesson is dressed in glass-half-full, wildly optimistic, radio-friendly pop, hip-swinging beats and bittersweet tenderness.

Beggars Arkive announce the LP reissue of Gary Numan’s
fifth album, ‘Warriors’, on orange vinyl. Originally released
in 1983 and co-produced with Bill Nelson, the album
continues Numan’s ambient-funk experimentations.
 “I still like a lot of the ‘Warriors’ stuff and Bill Nelson did a
lot of very inventive things on it which, because of our
differences, I failed to appreciate at the time. I think the
Mad Max image convinced a lot of people, the press
especially, that it was a sci-fi album. Much of it though was
actually quite autobiographical. Even songs like ‘The
Iceman Comes’ and ‘This Prison Moon’ were more to do
with what I was going through than anything sci-fi. Lyrically
I was already becoming overly focused on the career
struggle. ‘Warriors’ was written, in the main, in a hotel
room in Jersey. My girlfriend had just left me, I’d been
evicted from the house I was living in and I felt pretty much
alone in more ways than one. Despite its surface gloss of
futurism it was really very inward looking. To me the image
was meant to represent someone fighting for survival as
much as anything” - Gary Numan
 The achievements over his four-decade career (and
counting) are remarkable for someone who never made
any concessions to mainstream success. Seven Top 10
singles, including ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ and the debut
solo hit ‘Cars’; seven Top 10 albums, three of which
topped the charts; and huge critical acclaim, most notably
with the Inspiration Award at the prestigious Ivor Novellos.
 In a career that spans over forty years, the music evolves
and the themes change. But fans remain fascinated by
Numan for the v

“Impressions / I Am Thousands” is the new release from Berlin-based electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist sUb_modU, aka the brainchild of Italian Romeo Sandri. Both songs form part of the jazz musician’s debut album ‘Descent To The Centre’, a record that is an autobiographical and existentialist account of oneself, blending the electric/psychedelic spectrum of jazz with house, avant-garde and ambient leanings.

Following on from “Pidgin Synths EP”, a releases that entangled a homage to afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti with synth-heavy original material, sUb_modU has amassed an impressive list of tastemaker support through his unique reinterpations, from the likes of Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music), Ross Allen (NTS) and Virgil Abloh (Off White). Alongside the release of his debut album is a special edition, double A side single, 7” featuring an exclusive 45 Centre Edit of the iconic “Expensive Shit” paired with a sUb_modu original “RAM Generation”.

"This is another one that went down a storm” – Ross Allen (NTS), Best of 2020
“"Quite a lot of people have been asking me about that Fela Kuti cover…”
– Gilles Peterson (BBC 6Music)
“A killer electronic-filled reinterpretation” – Twistedsoul
With further support from Virgil Abloh (Off White), TRENCH & DJ Mag

“So much has happened since last year.” After the release of his 2020 debut album Armlock, School of X was hurtled into a new life. Having spent most of the past ten years touring and working on music non-stop, SXSW was cancelled just as he was about to make his first trip to the states under his own name and this life was suddenly put on hold for Rasmus Littauer, the man behind the School of X moniker.

While School of X’s self-produced indie-pop has always been revealing and reflective, “these sudden changes thrust me deep into my emotions.” Littauer took off to his childhood home in the countryside to write, capturing these swelling emotions and reflecting on his childhood. And then there was the news of a little one on the way, bringing his thoughts to his soon-to-be son. “I was facing a lot of


things from my life that I want to do differently for him.” Did he want him to grow up in the city or the countryside? What did he want to teach him about politics? Sexuality?

The result is School of X’s sophomore album, to be released in ‘21 via Tambourhinoceros. “It’s about trying to find the meaning in things. Juggling with the different parts of life that make it a full life. Asking why do I do what I do?” Following his ‘20 debut album Armlock, his ‘19 EP Destiny and his ‘17 EP Faded. Dream, School of X’s new album will be a more varied display of styles and emotions. “It makes it easier to create if there are no boundaries,” says Littauer.

The Men’s hugely influential album Leave Home came out during an exciting time in New York City. DIY lofts and shitty bars littered downtown Manhattan and North Brooklyn. The Acheron had just opened its doors. Kill Your Idols had broken up. Toxic State Records was just getting started with Crazy Spirit, Dawn of Humans, Hank Wood and Perdition EP’s. The city was alive with punk and noise and filth. And right at that time, The Men were the show to be at.

Every gig was dripping with sweat. Hallways and sidewalks were packed between sets. Chaos reigned in the pit. The Men hit like a bag of hard cement, a hardcore band with a familiar sound but with an aura of absolute chaos and intensity, like everything was on the brink of going off the rails at every moment of their set, a downhill freight train with no brakes. During these shows one’s focus could shoot back and forth between the intimidatingly angry-eyed, bald-headed Chris Hansell (who went on to front Warthog) and the long haired hippie punks Mark Perro, Nick Chiericozzi and Rich Samis, that made up the surrounding band.

Just one of the many juxtapositions the band embraced. If The Men were a chapter in Michael Azzerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, the early EP’s and cassettes would obviously be Minor Threat and Black Flag, while Leave Home would likely be… Sonic Youth. It was just before they made the full jump into each record being a smorgasbord of underground genres, from dream pop to folk;

before they had tracks called “Country Song,” for example. But it was a preview of what was to come. Leave Home was a pivot from pure hardcore punk (some might even call it mysterious guy hardcore), as the band got lost in the groove in a way one couldn’t on a straight up punk record. That groove was so strong on “If You Leave…,” “(),” and “Bataille,” while they spaced out on “Shitting With The Shaw,” and stayed as aggro as ever on “LADOCH.” But of course, Leave Home had a re-recording of their hardest track to date, “Think,” making it clear that they were still the moshers we all had come to know and love. If The Men raised their flag as an important New York punk band with Immaculada, they started waving it in the freakiest way with Leave Home.There is no doubt that Leave Home was one of the most influential records of the last decade.

You can hear their mark everywhere from Ty Segal and The Oh Sees to Milk Music and Hank Wood. Few bands have traversed as many genres as The Men and even fewer have done it so well. It is a testament to the band’s undying authenticity and adventurism that the record sounds as timeless and urgent now as it did when it blew the doors of New York punk off its hinges ten years ago, leaving a giant hole for bands of all kinds to come racing through.

Light Blue Vinyl

**Tracks 'Sixth Sequence' and 'Tenth Sequence' are bonus tracks & exclusive to the vinyl release only.** limited transparent green vinyl LP

Past Inside The Present is pleased to announce 'Wave Variations' which is a new mini-album by veteran ambient producer Dennis Huddleston AKA 36.

36 has often enjoyed exploring self-imposed restrictions, as it forces him to be creative, while allowing an inherently coherent sound between the different compositions. All the arrangements on Wave Variations use a limited pallete of mostly synth-based sounds, with particular focus on keys and melodies. Each track directly influenced the next one.

Dennis has kept almost every track around three minutes in length. He states, 'I feel like a lot of ambient music (including my own) is often unnecessarily long and these small vignettes work as a nice counter to that. Don't expect long build-ups or over-extended crescendos; These are short tracks that take you straight to Elysium and then dissolve into the ether.'

He further explains the output of Wave Variations, 'Ocean tides inspired the album. I think we've all felt that sense of longing and wonder while standing at the beach, staring at the waves and gazing into the endless horizon. I think it's something that transcends all generations of people. Like the waves, these tracks leave as quickly as they arrive. I feel it's one of the most minimal records I have made, with far fewer individual sound sources at my disposal. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to deeply explore the instruments I have available to me.'

This stripped-back sound gives the album a hypnotic quality to it. Like much of Dennis' work, there is a delicate balance between melancholic melodies and rich textures, resulting in an understated yet deeply exhilarating sound. Fans of emotional, melodic ambient music should find plenty to enjoy.

Around the year, the sturdy red brick walls of an old Cable Factory stand there like a mountain, facing weathers of all kinds rising from the Gulf of Finland. It might be freezing winter winds whipping the whole shore line into submission, fog heavy as concrete, or the relentless sun of the summer months, softening the asphalt to a boiling point. Whatever the weather may be, the narrow courtyard of the old factory embraces those musicians, who are looking to get down. They gather from all directions, making their way towards a pair of doors that lead towards a flight of stairs, again through a few doors all the way to the last portal, where an open padlock and a loosely hangin crossbar signal that Cold Diamond & Mink are inside, locked in a groove.

Who could it be with them this time, perhaps the jazz prophet Jimi Tenor beaming out of his space ship, maybe it's the golden voiced knight of soul Tuomo "Pratt" Prättälä, the number one trumpet wielding dandy Jukka Eskola or the saxman Pope Puolitaival, who loses nothing in coolness compared to the former? The reel to reel is always there in the monitoring room, catching each analog layer of sound, even the silences and banter between takes. Seppo lays down the guitar and tries to catch the riff on organ instead, Jukka throws a rare tune on the turntable, hoping to guide their unit through that wobbly chorus, Sami waits there bass in hand, maybe already thinking about the next production.

After a whole lot of playing instruments, arranging and taking care of business, after the moon has travelled around the old industrial building for some rotations, Carlton Jumel Smith comes waltzing through those same doors. There's a handful of unnamed tracks waiting for him. He sits there listening and then starts writing, maybe echoes of soul classics from his own record collection in New York projecting inside his mind. Then the tape is rolling again. Starting with a short intro rap Carlton lets it out, singing on the edge of shouting "Woman you made me...". After the vocals are in the can, Carlton ascends out of the basement and heads out to entertain an audience somewhere. Some months later, after the mix is said and done, there's the question of the instrumentals. It seems they're pretty good as they are. And here they are.




d 04: Help Me (Save Me From Myself) Instrumental

After his excellent debut EP 'Dance Class', which garnered a lot of love and attention from many DJ's across the dance music world, Sangre Voss returns with a superb new 6 track EP on Al Zander's A-Z Records.

Ranging from slow, balearic rhythms to dystopian atmospheres reminiscent of Detroit Techno, equally perfect for both a longing summer's day or a recently reopened dancefloor.
Subtle yet diverse musical references and idiosyncrasies run throughout this six-tracker, which together create a unique, genre-blending style that really stands out.

Label boss, Al gives his own take on 'Bona Fide Friday', potentially the most club or House ready out of the lot, with its dramatic breakdowns and acid melody.

Sinner is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Drowning Pool. Originally released on June 5, 2001 by Wind-Up Records, it is considered to be the band’s most popular album – earning RIAA Platinum certification within the first six weeks of its release. This was due at least in part to their hit single “Bodies,” which remains the band’s most well-known song. Dave Williams, the band’s vocalist at the time explained how the album got its name in an MTV interview: “I got that “Sinner” tattoo tattooed before we named the record. We were working on the song “Sinner,” and our A&R guy said, “That would be a good name for the record.” It was just a natural progression that became the whole theme of the record. There are a lot of religious issues on the record and a lot of relationship issues. It just seemed like it would fit.” This is album is especially unique in that it is the only studio album to feature the band’s original singer Dave Williams. While touring in support of Sinner, he died on August 14, 2002 from cardiomyopathy. This album is available on vinyl for the first time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release.

Vacant World is the first studio album by Jacks.3[4] It was released on September 10, 1968. In 2007, Rolling Stone Japan placed it at number 13 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time". Rumored to be a big influence on High Rise, one of their tracks ("Marianne") was covered by Fushitsusha on Tokyo Flashback II. "Here's what is considered one of the best psychedelic records in the world and certainly one of the must-have Japanese rock albums. The Jacks managed to record a very unique album, very dark and introspective, an album full of tension and contained wrath that maintains its power by refusing to fully explode. You'll find fuzz guitars, tremolo, lots of reverb and the occasional use of flute and vibraphone

Demon’s Souls (Original Soundtrack) is a modern reimagining of the incredible score composed by Shunsuke Kida for the original 2009 PlayStation 3 game, now updated for the 2020 PlayStation 5 remake. This soundtrack features that same amazing score but with dramatic new arrangements, great orchestral soundscapes and dramatic choral songs. Now available as a very limited vinyl set, pressed on a pair of gold LP's housed in a gatefold jacket featuring beautiful artwork by Ken Taylor. This soundtrack was recorded at AIR Studios in London, with a 75 piece orchestra, a 40 person choir and multiple vocal and instrumental soloists. Specialist marketing.

Stepping up with an astounding collection of first-class sonics, Fred V’s
highly anticipated debut solo album, ‘Radiate’ is on the horizon for the
summer of 2021, on Hospital Records.
Consisting of 15 tracks that feature exciting collaborations with Millbrook, Zara
Kershaw, Vonn , Lottie Jones and SAYAH. Fred V’s first-ever standalone longplayer is everything you’d hope for and more, built from an infusion of electronic
influences from the past, present and future.
Expect an up-close and intimate insight into the Exeter-based multi-instrumentalist, as he continues to carve out his unique musical identity through ethereal
soundscapes and melancholic climates.
With his debut album marking a fresh chapter in his career as a solo artist, Fred
V’s journey so far has been a remarkable one. From his decade-long collaborative project alongside Grafix which saw many world tours, live shows and three
studio albums.
Since embarking on his individual venture Fred V has put out a string of successful releases which have drawn support from airwave tastemakers Annie
Mac, Ren LaVice, MistaJam, Charlie Tee and more.
Diving deep into the exploration of his own sound, expect to find Fred V playing at Hospitality Bristol BBQ in August, Hospitality Weekend In The Woods and
Sundown Festival in September.

Power punks, Hot Milk, have announced their second EP, ‘I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD” via Music For Nations.

It follows the success of the band’s first EP, 2019’s ‘Are You Feeling Alive?’, a fizzy collection of gutsy emo-pop which established them as one of the most exciting new bands in the UK. Their 2019 was a whirlwind year that saw them tour with Foo Fighters, Deaf Havana and You Me At Six, as well as playing some of the UK’s biggest festival stages.

The band were formed in 2018 by vocalist and guitarist duo, Han Mee and Jim Shaw, two friends who met working behind the scenes in the Manchester music scene. Yet they yearned to be in a band themselves. “We got to the point where we were why not? What else have you got to lose?” says Jim. “We thought, we can go for this or we can get to 60 and know we didn’t do right by ourselves.”

Debut EP, ‘Are You Feeling Alive?’, which was penned during a drunken songwriting session, was an effervescent refusal to settle for second best in life. “We’ve both realised that life you don’t get another face,” Han continues. “You get one face and then you’re done, and you will never exist ever again.”

That sense of not letting life slip through your fingers is at the core of Hot Milk’s punk-indebted ethos. And having taken a leap of faith to grasp their platform, the band, completed by bassist Tom Paton and drummer Harry Deller, aren’t about to let it go to waste. “Art is about your interpretation of your own experience,” adds Jim. “The first EP was written five years ago. We’ve grown up and realised who we are and what the world is like right now.”

‘I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I’M DEAD’, which was produced by Jim Shaw, is another vivacious call to arms, rammed with sharp hooks and huge, catchy choruses, to encourage everyone, everywhere, to follow their dreams. But elsewhere, the lyrics are more personal, with the band bottling the anxieties and frustrations of their everyday lives. ‘Woozy’ openly tackles depression, ‘Good Life’ takes on societal corruption and the distribution of wealth, while elsewhere the band address the pursuit of happiness in a modern world.

“These songs are honest,” says Han. “I have nothing to hide. Everyone’s on antidepressants these days. It’s the world we live in, it makes people sad. Capitalism. Is it broken? 100 per cent. I’m angry that the fact that we’re sold a world that actually doesn’t make your inner peace happy. Humans need love and community and a lot of the time, there is no love and the community has dissolved.”

“The anger resides in us at the unfairness of the world,” adds Jim. “Online communities are all about flexing and battling your peers to look or sound a certain way that is better than everyone else. It’s constant and it’s dangerous. You’re teaching kids that to be content, you have to be best. It’s a question again. Are you really living?”

“We’re angry, both politically and existentially in terms of the system we now live in. But also, we’re angry at the fact that we’re sad quite a lot,” continues Han. “But we’re trying to not just sit there and take it. We’re trying to fix it, by building a family through this band.”

Walk into any Hot Milk show and you will feel that sense of community. Through their honest lyrics and inclusive approach, the band say their aim is to create an “aggressively space safe” where fans are empowered to be themselves, “authentically and unapologetically”, as well as opening up a dialogue for people to talk. That will become clear later this year when the band get their chance to air the new material. This summer, they will return to Reading and Leeds Festivals, this time to play the main stage, as well as embarking on a headline UK tour in September. And believe, when the times comes to finally get back into those sweaty pits, these new songs will provide the perfect, life-affirming soundtrack.

“Life is fragile,” says Jim. “You can’t take things with you, but you can make the best memories. That’s the most important thing in life. Your currency is your memory.” “What you can take with you is something that absolutely makes the blood pump round your veins and gives you goosebumps,” agrees Han. “That’s what this band is to us. It’s our passion. That’s what this EP is about.”

Spirits Having Fun records are ones made from and for shows and spaces—arrangements rooted in a deeply collaborative process, that come to life through intuitive and locked-in live improvisation. Following their 2019 debut Auto-Portrait, Two finds the New York and Chicago based four-piece continuing to challenge ideas of what a rock band can be, pulling apart their musical experiences and reimagining them as kinetic compositions, equally studied but palpably organic.

Two is constructed around gut feelings and strong grooves, elastic rhythms and playful pacing. Its twelve songs expand, contract, and make sharp turns between melodies under singer-guitarist Katie McShane’s meditative lyrics. “Broken Cloud,” which was also released last year on a compilation in support of Chicago Community Jail Support, offers a glimpse into her reflections on the natural world: "A city grew out of the ground / to a mountain it's only a blur."

True to its name, the internal logic of the band is also just a lot of fun, built on trust and deep-rooted musical relationships. Before there was Spirits Having Fun, McShane, bassist Jesse Heasly, guitarist-vocalist Andrew Clinkman, and drummer Phil Sudderberg had performed together in various arrangements over the years. McShane, Heasly and Clinkman met in a specific corner of the Boston underground in 2013, a time when a scene had coalesced around students from local music conservatories frequently collaborating with punk bands and noise artists, exchanging ideas and warping musical worldviews. Heasly and Clinkman played together in Cowboy Band, making mutant, free jazz-inspired takes on old country tunes. When Clinkman moved to Chicago, Heasly and McShane played in experimental groups like EKP and Listening Woman; in Chicago, Clinkman met Sudderberg playing in projects like jazz scene fixture Ken Vandermark’s high-powered band Marker.

Spirits first came together as an attempt at a long-distance collaboration among friends in 2016, driven by the simple feeling of missing each other; they’d meet up for marathon weekends here and there to practice, playing small loops through dive bars and art spaces around the Midwest—just enough for McShane and Heasly to afford plane tickets back home. Being split between Chicago and New York forced the project into a deliberate pace. “We tried to take it slow and let it be what it was,” said McShane. That sense of patience unexpectedly prepared them for March of 2020, when their planned tours and the release of Two were indefinitely delayed.

Two was mostly recorded in the summer of 2019 with the help of omnipresent Chicago engineer Dave Vettraino and DPCD’s Alec Watson, whose contributions on organ, synths, and piano are laced throughout the record. The album reflects a synthesis of solitary and communal songwriting processes—each song drawing on fragments written by individuals, which McShane threaded together and shaped through her distinct compositional lens, making the songs whole before returning to them to the band to mature collectively. When composing, McShane writes first on the keyboard before adapting parts for guitars played by herself and Clinkman. Their dueling approaches to guitar are complementary: McShane, being a newer guitarist, brings a freshness to the project (“I'm just discovering the whole time,” she says) while Clinkman has been playing since childhood.

“There's a lot more collaboration on this record,” says Clinkman, “in terms of all of us letting stuff bloom a little bit more.” The record’s first single, “Hold The Phone” is a good example of this process—it started with a playful intro riff from Clinkman, a melody and bridge added by McShane, a wobbly outro groove added by Heasly, which Sudderberg brought to life. Another single, the dynamic “See a Sky,” written primarily by Heasly, underscores the rhythm section chemistry at play across the record, the song ebbing and flowing around Heasly and Sudderberg’s eclectic percussive palettes.

“Entropy Transfer Partners” is the only song on the record with lyrics by Clinkman, and the album’s most politically direct—a call for solidarity in the face of systemic failures, an acknowledgment of the shared material devastation caused by our country’s ongoing healthcare and housing crises: “These are not things we're experiencing individually. We struggle through them collectively. And we could actually declare, all of us, that it doesn't have to be this way, and fight and organize to ameliorate some of those conditions.” (“We won't work to create the shit you monetize, to run our lives,” they sing.)

From front to back, Two is an absorbing listen simply for its impressive range. But as the members explain themselves, the complexity of the record is about more than its intricate riffs, or how often they count out an odd time signature, but how they reject the notion of boxing the songs in, letting the melodies take on lives of their own. “Making music that feels alive is important to us,” says Clinkman. “Music feels most powerful to me when it deepens our sensation of feeling alive and connected to other humans. It’s so easy to feel worn down and isolated; that your life’s value is fixed to your productivity at your job, or the things that you have or don’t have. Making music that feels joyful and fun seems like one effective antidote to that feeling.”

Revered Danish producer and live performer KÖLSCH follows his 2013 hit album "1977" (KOMPAKT 276 CD 107) with the new full-length "1983", again chaining up heroic techno tracks for a grandiose sonic journey to the vibrant heart of today's dance floor. PRIORITY RELEASE

Coupling contemporary production pizzaz with nostalgia-tinged soundscapes and sweeping melodies, this opus acts as both a skilfully composed portfolio of personal memories and a sublime collection of crowd-charming cuts - a modern classic in the making, coming from a master of his craft.

1983 features collaborations with Gregor Schwellenbach, Waa Industry and WhoMadeWho's Tomas Høffding.

Hot on the heels of SPEICHER 84 (KOMPAKT EXTRA 84), featuring club crackers DERDIEDAS and TWO BIRDS, the latest full-length offering from KÖLSCH is very much a travel album: "When I was a kid in 1983, we used to drive through Europe every summer on the way to the south of France", he explains. "A lot of my early music memories stem from these long travels, as we would listen to all my father's favorite records on the cassette deck. After getting a walkman, I would make up my own soundtrack for travelling, with early electro and hip hop creeping into my life. My father of course did not like it, and it never grace the official cassette deck of the car, obviously"

These trips became a primary source of inspiration to a hungry young mind forced to sit on the backseat of a car for several days: "they were also journeys through the seasons. In Denmark, it would be spring time, so I could nearly see us driving through spring into the summer. The scenery would change, and so would the mood in the car." Informed by the symbolic quality of these slightly gauzy childhood memories, KÖLSCH's unique melange of emotional and functional elements works exceptionally well for the full-length format - a seamless transition of musing introspection and explosve expression, where catharsis never seems far away in dance-ready techno vignettes like MOONFACE, UNTERWEGS or PACER.

From beatless opener and title track 1983 to the filigreed piano banger DIE ANDEREN or the bleep-infused synth-fest E45, each cut operates as its own little time capsule, storing bits and pieces of recollection and then magically transforming them into epic, beat-driven soundscapes. Confronted with other producers' input (and other memories), these traits find themselves extended in the most interesting ways - TALBOT, THE ROAD and CASSIOPEIA (also featured on KOMPAKT EXTRA 79) make excellent use of GREGOR SCHWELLENBACH's emotive orchestral flourishes, while BLOODLINE's lyrics come to life thanks to the distinct timbre of TOMAS HØFFDING of WHOMADEWHO fame. A new powerful take on an earlier collaboration, PAPAGENO 30 YEARS LATER not only rejoins WAA INDUSTRY on vocal duty, but also ends the album on a wonderfully elegiac, yet hopeful note - basically turning water into wine, as we've come to expect from KÖLSCH.

American indie rock band The Virgins released their self-titled debut full-length album in 2008 through Atlantic Records. A couple of songs were taken from their previously released EP, The Virgins ‘07, including breakthrough hit “Rich Girls”. A lot of songs from this album were used in prominent tv shows, films and commercials. “Rich Girls” was featured in 17 Again, Castle, and Gossip Girl, with the latter also featuring the songs “One Week of Danger”, “Fernando Pando”, “Radio Christiane” and “Love Is Colder Than Death”. “Hey Hey Girl” was also heard in The Vampire Diaries. It’s no surprise that the songs were so popular in the media, as their catchy dance punk yielded positive reviews from music critics.

Blue Vinyl with Bonus 7”
Charlotte Cornfield’s “The Shape of Your Name” was the inaugural release
from Next Door Records, originally launched in April 2019.
Next Door Records is proud to present a deluxe reissue of this monumental
album in time for the second anniversary of its release. The deluxe reissue
consists of the original LP, now pressed on Atlantic Blue vinyl, with bonus twotrack 7” In My Corner b/w Upstate.
From the original release sheet: ‘You free yourself when you take away the
script,’ says Toronto songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. ‘That’s where this record
came from, dismantling patterns and embracing the process.’
The album has a more honed studio sound than her scrappier 2016 release Future Snowbird, and for good reason: it was recorded in 5 different sessions over
the course of 3 years. The songs are her strongest and most striking to date -
contemplative and contemporary, funny and heart-wrenching - and they’ve got
that stuck-in-your-head-for-days quality that Charlotte is known for.
‘My initial intention wasn’t to make a record at all,’ Cornfield muses. ‘The
whole thing kind of happened by accident. I went to The Banff Centre to do
a residency and came out with these recordings that I knew I wanted to use
for something but wasn’t sure what.’ She brought the unfinished songs to her
former roommate Nigel Ward in Montreal.
‘He fell into the producer role seamlessly,’ says Cornfield. ‘We took it slow and
just tried things for a while until the vision settled in. There was no rush. It was
freeing, and it gave the songs a lot of breathing room to develop.’”

Team Schatzi's racking up another batch of tracks, this time for a game of eightball, and we've got one for each pocket on the table.

Little bit of classic crackly disco, little bit of freaky funk, little bit of heavy-duty house, all handmade with a whole lotta love in the hometown of Brooklyn, New York.

Run the table with these disco diamonds. Just don't sink the eight early, alright?
Signs point to Schatzi!

Produced by Benny Yurco (Michael Nau, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals), mixed by Dan Molad (Lucius, Emily King) and recorded live at Little Jamaica Recordings in Burlington, VT, Liz Cooper’s highly anticipated sophomore album Hot Sass marks multiple departures—from her nine-year home of Nashville, from her band addendum of the Stampede, and from the genre-based expectations she’s accumulated throughout her career. With these twelve new songs, Cooper comes into her own—both musically and as a person—embracing a newfound sense of independence, honesty, maturity and creativity. In addition to Cooper and Yurco, Hot Sass also features Cooper’s longtime bandmates and collaborators Joe Bisirri (bass), Ryan Usher (drums, percussion) and Michael Libramento (guitar, synthesizer). Reflecting on the album, Cooper shares, “It’s me learning about what kind of woman I am and it’s not pretty all the time…I’m still processing these songs. Still reflecting. And I think that’s the thing—Hot Sass is just a stamp in time of what was happening in my life. I just want to continue making art that displays myself, the moments, and the people around me.” The new record follows Cooper’s 2018 full-length debut album, Window Flowers, which was released to widespread critical acclaim. Of the album, NPR Music praised, “a gorgeously arranged and performed bouquet of psychedelia-tinged folk-rock,” while Rolling Stone hailed, “Cooper pushes her strand of folk rock deep into psychedelic territory by merging her idiosyncratic vocal style with swirling, droning guitar effects and lacerating solos that feel dusted with otherworldly magic,” and Paste declared, “If we’re lucky, we are going to hear a lot more artists in the future like Liz Cooper.” Originally from Baltimore and now based in Brooklyn, Cooper has continued to tour consistently since her debut, performing alongside artists such as Dr. Dog, Shakey Graves, Bermuda Triangle, Lord Huron and Phosphorescent as well as special festival performances at Austin City Limits, Newport Folk Festival, BottleRock Music Festival, Lockn’ and more.

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA is back! The band that formed as an idea of friends from several well known rock/metal bands (SOILWORK, ARCH ENEMY, MEAN STREAK) back almost a decade ago and has been dropping jaws ever since. With 5 albums already under their belt, 2 nominations for the Swedish Grammies, countless live shows and praises from fans and media alike, TNFO have steadily upped their game when it comes to paying tribute to a decade that influences all sorts of people and even industries to this day - the 80s. With hits like ‘Domino’, ‘Lovers In The Rain’, ‘West Ruth Ave’, ‘Divinyls’ or ‘This Time’, the band manages to maintain a variety of vibes and emotions within every album. From hard rockers, poppy digressions to progressive epics, disco-esque songs and almost cheesy yet loveable ballads.

Enter 2020, TNFO had just released their recent record, ‘Aeromantic’, and kicked off their European tour in support of it, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Björn Strid, the AOR dictator helming this exceptional collective called NFO, recalls “We made it one week into the tour after some absolutely amazing shows and then it all went south and we had to go home. Just about everyone on the tour got sick when they came home, with varied conditions.”
The band didn’t step back and accept the situation but decided to do what they do best instead: “It was pretty clear after some months into the Covid madness, that it was here to stay and that we weren’t gonna be able to tour for quite some time. So we made the best out of it. The remedy was simply to hit the studio again as soon as everybody was well again. It ended up being an incredibly creative 1,5 years and so many amazing songs came out of it.”

That being said, the second part of the ‘Aeromantic’ saga really captures what this band is all about: being in motion and romanticizing traveling, sometimes even with a broken heart - accompanied by the good things in life. Namely with songs like ‘White Jeans’, yet another jaw dropping classic rock gem about hot young love, cramped with nostalgia, or ‘Change’, which encompasses all the vibes you know from your favorite decade: Urgency, emotion, warmth and excitement. But also groovy danceable songs like ‘Chardonnay Nights’, a groovy, dreamy, yet uplifting homage to parties and hot love, or ‘Burn For Me’, a true feel good anthem for the summer - driving people to dance in the streets, all worries aside, to a brighter future.

On the other hand there are tracks like the almost progressive ‘Amber Through A Window’. A little throwback (at least titular) to the NFO’s epic 2017 album ‘Amber Galactic’: “Amber is with us wherever we go and I think she’ll keep coming back. She’s our mascot of escapism. The song was very interesting to compose. It takes you on quite a journey with key changes and goes from minor to major when you least expect it and throws you between different set of emotions. At the same time it feels pretty direct and operates like a mini epos. Really happy with how it turned out“, cites Strid.

Besides all this, the band has also stepped up their game when it comes to music videos for their timeless anthems. “White Jeans” for instance features Swedish TV personality Fredrik Lexfors and is a sweet little homage to the LGBTQIA+ community. “Fredrik is a good friend of mine and has loads of experience in the musical/theatre world and is super creative. He created this character called ”Kantorn” (The Cantor) some years ago and became a hit on YouTube. He has a very twisted and unique way of singing and acting, which is very funny. He was a part of Sweden’s Got Talent TV Show and went really far and became a crowd favorite. Fredrik has a lot of friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and I also have quite a few. We saw it as a joyful tribute and we’ve only gotten really good response. It’s of course also humorous but has a very nice balance and a very positive message.”

The bold and jovial video for “Burn For Me” on the other hand maybe among the biggest and best productions, the NFO ever recorded for the depths of the internet: “I’ve had this idea to film a ”Dancing in the Streets” video, where curious people come out of the woodworks and join the party in the streets. It’s a very classic 80’s scenario and very common in videos back then. Sort of the video to IRENE CARA’s ”Fame”. You don’t see it very often these days. We felt that it was needed and after “Burn For Me” was done I immediately envisoned it being the perfect ”post corona dancing celebration in the streets-song”.”

Those two videos are by far not everything the band will have to offer visually, but we won’t tell any more just for now. To be continued…

With all that new greatness up their sleeves, NFO are ready to take the world by storm – again! Even though coming up with a setlist for their scheduled tour starting in September may prove to become problematic according to the AOR Dictator: “Making a setlist might end up being a nightmare haha… I would be up for doing only songs off »Aeromantic I« and »Aeromantic II« since that’s really where we’re at right now, but I think most of our the Midnight Flyers would like to hear some old stuff, too. Maybe we could get away with it as long as we play “West Ruth Ave” as the ending song and create the good old conga train?”

LTD Edition!

Wenn ein Großteil von DJ Seinfelds früherer Arbeit von sepiafarbenem Dunst geprägt war - ein Ergebnis der absichtlichen Lo-Fi-Produktionstechniken des Produzenten - dann rückt seine Musik auf dem brandneuen Album, „Mirrors“, fest in den Fokus.Aufgenommen zwischen Berlin und Malmö, ist „Mirrors“ der Nachfolger von DJ Seinfelds von der Kritik gefeiertem Debütalbum, „Time Spent Away From U“, von 2017 und sein erstes für Ninja Tune. Benannt nach einem Zitat von Armands Lieblingsschriftsteller, dem argentinischen Romancier Julio Cortázar, findet sich der Produzent auf dem Album in einer ruhigeren und geerdeten Stimmung wieder, nachdem ein unglücklicher Vorfall in seiner Familie ihn in den letzten Jahren dazu zwang, mehr Zeit zu Hause in seiner Heimat Schwedenzu verbringen.

2016 als Teil der Lo-Fi-House-Szene neben Produzenten wie Ross From Friends und Mall Grab bekannt geworden, veröffentlichte DJ Seinfeld (dessen Name auf ausgedehnte Sessions beim Schauen der klassischen US-Sitcom nach einer Trennung und einem Umzug nach Barcelona zurückgeht) 2017 sein Debütalbum, das unter anderem vom internationalen Rolling Stone und Pitchfork gelobt wurde. Es erregte auch die Aufmerksamkeit von Zeitgenossen wie Flume, Flying Lotus, Bonobo und Martin Garrix und führte dazu, dass DJ Seinfeld zu einem weltweit gefragten DJ wurde, der überall von Glastonbury bis Coachella, Warehouse Project, Sónar By Night und MoMaPS1 Sets spielte und die Bühne mit zahllosen Künstler*innen teilte, von Jeff Mills bis Stormzy, Underworld und Bicep, außerdem begleitete er Disclosure auf einigen Terminen ihrer US-Tour. Im Jahr 2018 erschien seine DJ-Kicks, wodurch er zu einer auserwählten Gruppe von DJs und Produzent*innen katapultiert wurde, zu der auch Moodymann, DJ Koze oder Nina Kraviz gehören. Um das Ganze abzurunden, eröffnete Aphex Twin seine Live-Shows mit dem DJ Seinfeld-Track, „Sakura“.

In 1970, Kevin and David met whilst they were working in the Labour Exchange Office on Aytoun St, Manchester. Both played guitar and had been searching for other musicians who played atmospheric music. Kevin had been playing in small clubs in Manchester and David performed in a few local bands. One evening, they jammed together at Kevin’s family home, and quickly realized that their playing blended together to form the basis of the sound they had been looking for. In the late ‘70s, the music scene in Manchester was bursting with new bands and music.

However, Kevin and David had little in common with the local acts, being disciples of a more meditative approach. They followed a path of their own, reaching for an otherworldly sound that they heard from artists like John Martyn, David Crosby, Erik Satie, Terry Riley, Eberhard Weber, Alice Coltrane, and Ralph Towner. They experimented combining their acoustic guitars and David’s bass with various effects pedals and techniques to try and achieve a warm and expansive sound that rides the line between ambient, jazz, and psychedelic folk Music.

Towards 1981, they had written eleven songs and accompanied a few with Moog synthesizer laid down by Rob Baxter. All were recorded on cassette decks in their simple home studios. They named this collection of music “Light Patterns”, after a poem Kevin had written. With Light Patterns complete, they set out to find a label to represent their music. They started playing a few gigs in Manchester; Band On The Wall, the Gallery, and other venues, such as Rotters which local promoter Alan Wise had organized. They set up with small amps along with their effects and played as though they were back at home. As Kevin remarks, “It was unusual, to say the least, to play such venues in a low volume chilled out way. However, people listened, often in shocked curiosity, and some even asked for tapes.”

Peter Jenner, of Blackhill Enterprises, eventually picked up the album for his new label, “Sheet”. Peter had managed lots of experimental bands and solo artists, including Pink Floyd in their early Syd Barrett days. He always favored outsiders! The tapes were taken to Strawberry Recording Studios in Manchester, who were surprised when Kevin and David walked in with just a couple of home-produced cassette tapes. Fortunately, they liked them and agreed to master the album. It was then sent to Portland Recording Studios in London for final mastering to vinyl. George Peckham, aka “Porky”, did the pressing with a personal message in the deadwax; “Kaftans, Candles and be Cool Man”. The artwork for the album cover was done by the late Barney Bubbles, a truly visionary artist.

After the album’s release, the pair continued to play together regularly until David moved away from the city. Kevin still resides near Manchester in the rolling hills outside of the city. He continues to experiment with dreamy music in his loft, and we are set to share a selection of his ethereal archival and current compositions in the coming months. David lives a quiet life in a small coastal town in the South, he likes to sail and is an avid cricket fan. We’re excited to make Light Patterns accessible again for the first time in nearly 40 years, remastered from the original tapes. As the original press release said, “Put the album on, lie back and enter the land of no floors”.

- 2021 repress / comes in label sleeve -

This is the 1st release from Seba & Paradox since 2011. It carries the traditional breakbeat sound that the duo is known for, but with a sense of modern electronic music.
Delusions is a 'think break' based track with a monotonous beep that brings the thoughts back to minimal techno. The
sub on this track is very low! Make sure your system can handle it.
Future now is an 'amen' track with typical Seba & Paradox break edits and vocal samples. This track has already gained a lot of interest within old Seba & Paradox fans.

Jimmy Tamborello returns with a collection of 10 pop-infused vocal hymns – simultaneously perfect dance floor fillers and lullabies. "Away" is the second of two Dntel albums to be released in 2021 by Morr Music in collaboration with Les Albums Claus. While "The Seas Trees See" showcased Tamborello's more intricate and quiet side, "Away" embraces his love for pop music. A genre which like no other has been resonating the advancements of technology from the very beginning. Songwriting was sequenced and computerized on such a large scale that it would change the sonic aesthetics of the charts forever.

Dntel is a musician who changed pop music forever – and still works in this never-ending labour of love, both effortless and highly focused, constantly tweaking the universe of our musical perception. Whether beatless or uncompromisingly embracing the limelight of collective ecstasy with one of his most remembered tunes "(This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan", his almost forgotten anthem "Don’t Get Your Hopes Up" or his work as James Figurine. "Away" features 10 of these extravaganzas – uniting his audience once more in hope and future-bound optimism.

"I grew up with 80s techno-pop – these influences always come through in my music", Jimmy writes from Los Angeles. For this album, though, "I was thinking more of 80s indie pop or labels like 4AD. It is a mix of those influences along with trying to figure out what elements of my own discography I still connect with. I wanted it to reflect old Dntel records as well as the techno-pop band Figurine I used to be in. I have always considered my music basically being techno-pop, but not referring to pop as popular music – I just like pretty melodies. But with the Dntel moniker, I never had the ambition to produce music for a really big audience.”

It is exactly that looseness in approaching music which makes Tamborello’s style of composing so unique. On "Away" he combines a healthy dose of distortion with the most-sticking melodies, vocals and bitter-sweet lyrics he ever came up with – performing all vocals himself, with the help of technology. "My voice has a limited range. When I applied this vocal processing it seemed to bring out the emotions more. I don’t see it as the same as the more artificial, autotuned style of modern pop music. I think it still sounds like it could be a real person singing, just not me."

Using this technique, Dntel disembodies himself from his own art, welcoming all kinds of interpretations re. his current state as an artist. "Somehow this processed voice feels closer to how I see myself than my normal voice, for better or worse…", he writes. Pop music is a fragile entity, making its kingpins vulnerable. Many emotions reveal a lot of the originator’s personality –this is something one has to be prepared for. On "Away", Jimmy Tamborello finds the perfect way of marrying his unique musical personality with both the demands and possibilities of pop music. Just listen to "Connect" and you’ll know what we’re talking about. A perfect, yet timeless album for less than perfect times.

A vibrant electronic fusion of lounge, jazz, and disco is maybe not the first (or fifth) thing you would expect to hear from one of the world’s most renowned modern composers and ambient tape loop pioneers, but upon first listen, it makes so much sense that one wonders why it didn’t happen sooner.

After years of producing and mentoring slews of young artists in 1990s Williamsburg, Brooklyn, William Basinski moved to Los Angeles. There he hired a young studio assistant, Preston Wendel, who eventually introduced his own works to the curious composer. That spawned a creative partnership that inspired Wendel to persuade Basinski to haul out his saxophone. Five years later, SPARKLE DIVISION has arrived with their enchanting debut album, To Feel Embraced.

Produced by SPARKLE DIVISION at Basinski’s Musex International in Los Angeles, the duo were joined by a few notable friends: Mrs. Leonora Russo (who Basinski affectionately calls “the true Sicilian Sparkle Division, my Brooklyn Mom, the Queen of Williamsburg”) offers her sparkling voice to “Queenie Got Her Blues”; fabled free-jazz icon and genuine bodhisattva, the late Henry Grimes, contributed upright bass and violin to the aptly-named “Oh Henry!” (“Lotta babies gonna be born from this one,” Henry and Margaret Davis Grimes playfully declared); and London vocalist Xeli Grana offers her ethereal voice to the album’s meditative title track.

Repress

Silo EP is a strong piece of work from Berg Jaar for Planet Rhythm. Jaar is known for producing powerful & outgoing techno with an exotic touch to it. This 4-track pack covers a lot of ground and should be an excellent choice for lovers of Techno with a more artful approach.

Bouquet Records features Olive T. for their sixth EP release on vinyl to infuse their 2021 roster with the desired verve and energy that dormant club kids are thirsting for.

Releasing in early summer, the energetic dance tracks herald a return to the dance floor, uplifted by soul-stirring synthesiser orchestral strings.
The native New Yorker and scene fixture was influenced by 90's house, inspired by Raze, Deee-lite, Green Velvet, and smooth disco flows.
The ascension sensation of 'Goin' Up' builds on familiar house grooves with digital synths and a thoughtful utilisation of today's technology.

Known to play a range spanning hip hop to club, jazz to funk, disco to garage, and more, Olive T has DJ'd countless venues and over international airwaves.
An early exposure to house and techno, combined with a wide span of diverse musical taste, shaped her unique style. In 2020 she started her own 2 hour radio show on The Lot Radio.

Olive T worked with Tiro! due to her admiration of his use of traditional sounds of the 90's era, sensing he also listened prolifically to 90's house and techno. Tiro!'s remix of 'This Is A Bop' adds organic flare to the original.
A long-time fan of Matt Karmil, she invited him to remix 'Opaque' - He flips the track upside down to reveal a different, but still vibrant interpretation, with his technical approach to remixing.

Olive T has released singles and remixes on Nervous records, 2MR, and on her own. The four track record 'Goin' Up' marks Olive T's first label-released EP, and first release on San Diego-based Bouquet Records.

New York City 4-piece deliver a modern blues rock masterclass on their feisty debut album.

“A timeless classic rock sound that revels in lean riffs and raw emotion.” – Afropunk

In an age where artistic merit is awarded to those who shout the loudest, Dakota Jones pride themselves on an unwavering ability to leave a lasting impression. Spearheaded by Tristan Carter-Jones fierce and unashamedly uncensored songwriting, the band’s fast-growing reputation as formidable live act has stamped Dakota Jones with the hell-hath-no-fury power of Chaka Khan, the wild spontaneity of Janis Joplin, and the honey-dripping sensuality of Marvin Gaye. Their debut album’s message of proud black heritage and triumphant queerness manifests itself in Carter-Jones’ ability to challenge norms of adulthood and femininity as she takes a deep dive into some of life’s most visceral emotions.

Tristan Carter-Jones: “I’m a black, queer woman expressing myself through love and music. Some folks still find that to be a transgressive act in and of itself. I work to fight that idea. I write a lot about my
Continued over…
sexuality and the ways in which I express it. Songs about sex and love bounce back and forth between songs about heartache, hangovers and self-medication, and the pleasure and pain of truly finding yourself. I don’t think we get to hear these things from a woman’s mouth as often as we should.”

Serving as an instant tone setter, the album opens with the line "Stretch marks from growing pains" with Carter-Jones lamenting the woes of adjusting to adulthood on lead single ‘Did It To Myself’ - her husky and commanding vocal instantly asserting its place in the spotlight. The atmosphere soon turns steamy on the flirtatious title track ‘Blacklight,’ whilst fantasising over a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde love affair the funk-laden ‘We Playin Bad Games’ packs a punch with its tale of free spirits entwined in a haze of late-night revelry.

Elsewhere, stories of caustic heartache twist the knife into wounded blues guitar riffs on ‘Like That’ and ‘Black Magic (That Power)’, in which Carter-Jones’s stoical voice never once faulters as she mourns the memories of a previous flame. Personal prayer ‘Lord Please’ recites empowered words of reassurance, and solidarity in the face of injustice erupts into a rallying cry for change on the classic sounding ‘Noise’ – written as a reaction to the 2016 US election. “I woke up after the election feeling pure panic and fear in my body,” remembers Tristan. “I wanted people in a place of privilege to stand up for what I was feeling, stand up for injustice, stand up for all of the things we need to change as a country. I wanted their rage, and I wanted their noise.”

Finally, the band’s tender tropes of togetherness eventually boil into gritty, guitar-slung balladry on hidden bonus track, ‘California,’ where, knees buckling under the weight of past trials and tribulations, Carter-Jones sets out on one final journey of self-discovery, hastily pulling out from reality and leaving only a dust cloud in her wake.

Production comes courtesy of the Grammy-winning John Wooler, ex Virgin Records A+R and founder of the Blues label Pointblank who has worked with everyone from John Lee Hooker and John Hammond to Isaac Hayes and Van Morrison. The album also features a wealth of hugely talented and accomplished musicians, including backing vocalist Kudisan Kai, former backing vocalist for the likes of Elton John, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Beck, Sting, Mary J. Blige and Jill Scott. Also present; Grammy winning keyboardist Jon Gilutin, who has spent years working with some of the industry’s most respected and iconic artists including Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Jackson Browne, Celine Dion, Bonnie Rait and Carole King. You’ll also hear the talents of acclaimed guitarist Michael Toles. Most well-known for being a part of the Stax Records group The Bar Kays, and for his contributions on famous records by Issac Hayes, Al Green, BB King, Johnny Taylor, Rufus Thomas, Albert King to name just a few.

Dakota Jones are a rising funk, soul and blues rock band from Brooklyn, New York City. Comprising of Tristan Carter-Jones (vocals), Scott Kramp (bass) Steve Ross (drums), and acclaimed musician Randy Jacobs (guitar) - former member of Was(Not Was) who has recorded for Seal, Bonnie Raitt, Tears for Fears, Elton John and many others. Though Carter-Jones and Ross first met in 1999 whilst at primary school, the band formed years later following a series of home jam sessions in 2016. The band’s collective alias originates from Carter-Jones’s middle name, ‘Dakota’. Dakota Jones have since released a string of acclaimed singles and EPs as well as received international attention for their track, ‘Have Mercy’ after it featured on Netflix’s 2019 film, Always Be My Maybe starring Ali Wong and Randall Park – and now after years of hard work and determination, the band are finally set to reveal their long awaited debut album. “We’d been regularly releasing EPs, waiting for our chance to come, and wondering what that would look like,” says Carter-Jones. “We didn’t realise until we started making this record that we needed to stop waiting for some break to come along, and just do it ourselves, independently.”

“Black Light really dives into a place of funk soul and everything that comes with it. There’s joy and dancing, sleek guitar licks and funky bass slaps. There’s pain and longing, and there’s the feeling of relief when you come out of that place and find your joy and purpose again. Black Light is my story.”

'Deutsche Krimi passionnel' oder 'Ostalgie fuer begeisterte Kranken'? Well, this album may very well have been the perfect soundtrack of some very obscured 5-year-planned and very mentally disturbing, for truly some very fucked-up alienating D.D.R. / East German Democratic People's Republic remake of Tarkovski's old sci-fi classic 'Stalker' and that somehow, thank God, never made it to the Elevated Socialist Working Masses, for otherwise that 'Berliner Mauer' would have collapsed much earlier and certainly with a hell lot of more drastic damage! I mean, ''Mein Selbstmord! Im Monschein hinter dem Baum!'', now, what psychotic poetry of Goethean-Nietzschean 'Faustian' 'Sturm und Drang Tragoedie' and Romantic Mass-Industrial 'Todestrieb' Mantra is that? 'Das Ewig Weibliche (oder gibt's vielleicht auch Das Ewig Maennliche?) des alten Werthers Leiden in Teutobuerger Schwarz-und-buchenwaldklinik?' For this dark synth-guided croonin' could have turned into the ultimate 'Alan Vega Suicide' Project of the Soviet Bloc, its bloody very last Collective Act! Mastered by Guy Tavares.

Canadian collective The Hello Darlins, dubbed “the Broken Social Scene of
Americana”, release their first full-length LP Go By Feel on June 11, 2021.
With over 500,000 combined Spotify streams for their initial three singles, it’s
safe to say there’s a lot of anticipation for their debut album. The buzz began
building almost immediately after the Calgary, Alberta-based Americana collective debuted on the scene in early 2020, with American Songwriter calling the
group “the product of a talented pool of session musicians craving more,” while
Americana UK stated, “It’s great to see a band put together by the talented
folks who would usually be ‘behind the scenes.’”
So, who exactly are The Hello Darlins? The seeds of the band took root in 2016
when vocalist/producer Candace Lacina crossed paths again with keyboardist/
producer Mike Little after first meeting at a recording studio years earlier. Once
reconnected, they soon found themselves making music together in between
their work with other artists, an impressive list that ranges from Shania Twain
to Charlie Major, The Road Hammers to George Canyon as well as the late B.B.
King.
In short order, the couple began inviting others within their circle to participate, including Murray Pulver (Crash Test Dummies), Clay- ton Bellamy (The
Road Hammers), Matt Andersen, Dave and Joey Landreth (aka The Bros. Landreth), Russell Broom (Jann Arden), and ace fiddler Shane Guse.
On Go By Feel, this incredible collection of talent has forged a hybrid of country,
gospel and blues like no other, from the heart-wrenching ballads “Aberdeen”
and “Prayer For A Sparrow” to the classic country-rocker “Mountain Time” and
the album’s soulful title track.
Making music influenced by times of joy and sorrow is natural for Candace and
Mike, as both come from families with long musical traditions within Canada.
It all adds up to The Hello Darlins preferring to add “North” to the Americana
genre, a more than symbolic gesture that’s in line with a musical vision that will
continue to evolve as soon as the band gets a chance to play live with a lineup that could potentially consist of anywhere between five to nine players on
stage.
Until then, audiences will now be able to fully savour the tunes, musicianship
and production of Go By Feel, proof positive that teamwork ultimately leads to
exceptional results.

Produced by and featuring Aesop Rock. “I wrote half of these songs when my energy was either headed in the wrong direction or already there. I wrote the other half while my energy was moving in a direction I’m more excited about, that I find to be more enriching. They’re all still my songs though. My mother, and lots of my relatives, used to call me “Angelito.” Little Angel. The taijitu is the symbol for yin and yang. Opposites that make a whole. Given the dualistic/duelistic nature of the songs on the record, put it all together and what do you get, Anjelitu.” - Homeboy Sandman

Birgit Minichmayr captures the imagination and holds centre-stage on
‘As An Unperfect Actor: Nine Sonnets by William Shakespeare’. This
won’t come as a surprise to people in the German-speaking world,
where the Austrian actor is well-known from countless appearances on
TV and a substantial filmography. Perhaps equally unsurprising is the
deep experience she can bring to Shakespeare: as an ensemble
member of the Burgtheater company in Vienna, she has repeatedly lived
out the searingly dramatic lives of the Bard’s characters, notably the
daemonic anger of Lady Macbeth, the sadness of Ophelia and even the
uncomfortable truths of the Fool in King Lear.
What might be more of a surprise, however, is the exhilarating musicality
she shows on this, her first complete album as a vocalist. One could
have predicted the crystal clarity, meaning and intent in her words - the
desolation in her voice in “the very birds are mute... the leaves look pale”
in Sonnet 97, for example. And yet there is more, much more, not least
Minichmayr’s uncannily instinct to find artful and felicitous ways to shape
musical phrases.
Composer/ pianist Bernd Lhotzky has provided a wonderful array of
musical contexts. As Minichmayr says: “He got so deep into the meaning
of each sonnet, his music made it different every time. And we talked a
lot about the colour, the meaning of each poem.” The opening track, ‘My
Mistress’ Eyes (Sonnet 130)’ is a masterfully deft piece of gender-fluid
irony. In the poem, a man is describing possibly the ugliest woman he
has ever seen - while also declaring that she is the one he loves.
Lhotzky gives us an acerbic version in that most male-led of dances, the
tango, complete with bandoneon, in which the words are sung by... a
woman. Minichmayr then gives a masterclass in how to end a song as
she hits, holds and nails the words “false compare” with triumphant
fearlessness.
Throughout the course of the album, we are magically transported to
new musical and emotional places. As Minichmayr says: “Through
singing, through just doing it, I was able to find deep love, or deep
sadness. I was really touched by it.”
One of the secrets to this album’s success is Lhotzky’s wish to find
melodies which have a certain ease and straightforwardness about
them. He says that he approaches all music - whether he is listening to it
or writing it - with one simple and direct question: “What story is this
telling me?” Lhotzky is known for his work in the field of early jazz, but
the range here is far broader, with allusions to such examples of fine
songwriting as Brassens, Robert Plant and James Taylor.
LP pressed on 140g black vinyl.

Featuring Joep’s first three releases + bonus material, as a special Super Deluxe Vinyl Box Set of 7 LPs.

It may be his fifth album, but Saturday Night, Sunday Morning marks the start of chapter two for Jake Bugg. Arguably his most complete and coherent record to date, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning manages to combine a love of ABBA, the Beach Boys, Supertramp and the Bee Gees, with a contemporary pop sound: one that’s already spawned his most ubiquitous song in years via euphoric lead single, All I Need. “I knew what I was looking for this time around,” the 27-year-old says, firmly. “And I feel like I accomplished it.” It’s almost 10 years since a two-fingered Bugg burst onto the scene with his eponymous debut, one that topped the UK album charts and saw the then 18-year-old from Nottingham fêted as the next Bob Dylan. A Rick Rubin-produced follow up, Shangri La, quickly followed. But progress stalled with Bugg’s third, largely self-produced, record, On My One, in 2016. “I was having a hard time on that third record,” Bugg admits, five years removed. “The support from the industry wasn’t what it was. All those people telling you how great you are weren’t there anymore. It does feel like the rug’s been swept from under your feet.” What that record provided, however – along with its comparatively stripped-back follow up, Hearts That Strain (2017) – was a much-needed course corrector: one that set Bugg on the upward trajectory he finds himself on today. “When I came to terms with that was when I left the ego at the door,” he says. “It didn’t work out. But it led here. And this is probably my strongest record." It’s testament to Bugg’s rediscovered confidence that Saturday Night, Sunday Morning – a nod to the debut novel by Nottingham author Alan Sillitoe – sees him working with some of his highest profile collaborators to date, most notably American songwriters Andrew Watt and Ali Tamposi, best known for their work with pop heavyweights Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello. “I was looking for how I can incorporate my sound for a more modern era. And I kind of struck gold working with Andrew Watt and Ali Tamposi,” Bugg says. Convening in LA, the first track the trio wrote together is the jealousy-inflected About Last Night, a song about the “insecurities you go through as a young person in a relationship with someone.” “It’s got such dark undertones, which I love,” Bugg says, of a song that showcases a newly discovered, Beach Boys-esque falsetto. “But it’s also very, very pop. That’s what I’ve always loved. With ABBA, with Supertramp. I love pop music. But when you can get it to be dark, I love it even more.” It’s a trick the trio repeated again on Scene, Bugg’s personal favourite from the album and a song that best encapsulates the combination of old and new: Watt’s George Harrison-esquire guitar brushing up against contemporary melodic choices by Tamposi. “I love writing with her,” Bugg says of the Havana hitmaker. “She brought that women’s perspective. And I knew that I’d got that balance of what I wanted. That old school chorus with contemporary verses. That to me was my favourite song when I wrote it, and it still is.” Perhaps the biggest example of Bugg’s newfound ego-less approach to writing, however, came in the shape of Downtown, a song that grew from an idea by Jamie Hartman (Celeste, Lewis Capaldi, Rag'n'Bone Man), and sees Bugg deploy the higher range of his voice to ethereal, ’60s Bee Gees effect. “Usually, the initial spark of an idea comes from me. And when it doesn't, it sometimes loses my attention,” Bugg admits. On Downtown, however, he relished his role as arranger: “Because there were a lot of moving parts and chords, it was almost like a puzzle,” he says. “I’d never approached a song like that before. “What I’ve been enjoying on this record is the collaborative process,” he continues. Working with people, writing with people. Because I’ve realised all I really want to achieve is to be the best writer I can possibly be. And I think by working with other people, it allows you to learn a lot as well.” It’s a theory Bugg has put to the test during lockdown, when he was approached by his manager about writing the soundtrack to an upcoming documentary, The Happiest Man In The World, about Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. “It’s kind of a completely different experimental outlet,” Bugg explains of his first ever score. “I approach my own work quite professionally. But with this I can just switch off and go into a different world. And it’s been brilliant – I’ve had to learn different styles of guitar: bossa nova, samba. It’s a bit Vangelis, who’s probably my favourite artist – which may surprise people.” Possibly. But you get the impression that surprising is what Bugg likes to do. “I don’t like to be stuck doing the same thing,” he admits. “And that’s what this record Saturday Night, Sunday Morning was. I wanted to push myself. I’m always learning new influences. I’m careful not to get stuck on the same thing. “It’s not going to be right every time. It’s not going to be good every time,” he continues. “But if that’s the process it takes to get to this record, where people are loving the songs again, then that’s the journey we have to take.” For Jake Bugg, chapter two starts now. New album ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ is out August 20th on RCA Records

Airplay from Mary Ann Hobbs, Liz Alker and Tom Ravenscroft and beyond

Reviews in Mojo, The Wire, Quietus, Uncut and more

On October 9ththe multi-instrumentalist Jack Wyllie (Portico Quartet/Szun Waves) presents his new project Paradise Cinema. It was recorded in Dakar, Senegal in collaboration with mbalax percussionists Khadim Mbaye (saba drums) and Tons Sambe (tama drums).

The impressionistic and dream-like quality of 'Paradise Cinema' is a stunningly effective realisation of Wyllie's experience, in ahypnagogic state of aural consciousness:

"I had a lot of nights in Dakar, when the music around the city would go on until 6am. I could hear this from my bed at night and it all blended together, in what felt like an early version of the record."

Atmospherically 'Paradise Cinema' is vaporous and enigmatic, but also percussive; existing in a paradoxical sound-space that's amorphous,yet still purposeful, serene, but propulsive and aesthetically sharp.

Khadim Mbaye and Tons Sambe, provide the rhythmic backbone of the record. There are traditional elements of mbalax rhythm, but it is often deconstructed or played at tempos outside of the tradition, so while it hints at a location it occupies a space outside of any specific region.

'Paradise Cinema' is also informed by notions of hauntology – a philosophical concept originating in the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida– on possible futures that were never realised andhow directions taken in the past can haunt the present.

On the album's title Wyllie comments, "there are a handful of old cinemas in Dakar – these big modernist buildings dotted around the city built around independence. They're old and derelict now, but feel to me like monuments to that period, when the city was flooded with utopian ideas about its potential futures."

As such it sits closely to 4thworld music – situated in an imagined culture and time that never came to pass. And while it contains rhythmic references to Senegal it combines these elements with ambient and minimalist music to produce a sound that sits outside of any tradition.

Setting the tone for the long-player's themes is the optimism-driven, balmy beauty of 'Possible Futures', where rich-toned drums throb and levitate in a stratospheric ether.

Like a time-lapse video of plants in bloom, 'It Will Be Summer Soon' is the sound of anticipation and growth. Rhythmically it flickers and flutters, evoking rainfall, or the blurred wings of a bird in in flight.

Casamance moves through field recordings drifting in and out of focus, beats pitched-down low and unfurling saxophone, whilst the ambient 'Utopia' was made mainly with processed saxophone and suggests a longing for a perfect world.

Galloping percussion juxtaposes with a wistful mood on 'Liberté' – a title that referencesa derelict modernist cinema in Dakar of the same name– a hauntological landmark, made more poignant by the its name being part of the French national motto.

Tying into the cover artwork, Jack explains, "the 'Digital Palm is a telecommunications mast disguised as a palm tree in central Dakar. As a modern piece of technology that on first glance looks natural, it mirrors the combination of modern and acoustic elements."

Perhaps eliciting a time that never came, or maybe still in hope of it yet to come, 'Eternal Spring' concludes the LP's otherworldly beauty with hypnotic drums powering a subtly-building, sparkling and powerful crescendo.

Jack Wyllie is a musician, composer, electronic producer who draws on influences of jazz, ambient, and the trance-inducing repetition of minimalism.

Wyllie performs and records in Portico Quartet, Szun Waves (withLuke Abbott and Laurence Pike)and Xoros. He has also collaborated with Charles Hayward, Adrian Corker and Chris Sharkey and released on Ninja Tune, Babel, Leaf, Real World and Gondwana.

Khadim Mbaye and Toms Sambe play in various mbalax groups in Dakar. Khadim has also toured internationally with Cheikh Lo.

Bored At My Grandma's House is the moniker of 19-year old Leeds-based Amber Strawbridge, starting out as an exercise in passing time when she was quite literally bored at her Grandma's place. First single & EP opener 'Showers' is about time alone & listening to your mind - “Do you ever think of showers as like a new beginning?“ is a poignant opening line, about that therapeutic space for you to really think and let your thoughts surface. In Amber's own words "showers are a kind of therapy in my opinion, they give you time to reflect and think without influence from anything external."

Born in Whitehaven, Cumbria to musical family, and raised on the likes of Bowie & Pink Floyd there was always plenty of opportunity to mess around on the various instruments lying around the house. Attempts at proper music lessons went awry as Amber shunned the rules & rigidity, and so instead she gradually taught herself piano, guitar & drums. After time travelling in Cambodia, teaching English & helping with projects in various villages, Amber stayed with her Grandma & began to use the aeons of spare time to make tunes on Garageband & upload them to soundcloud. As a wave of BBC Introducing support rolled in, coupled with a move to Leeds to study music, the bedroom set-up evolved & a full EP began to take shape.

Playing all the instruments & self-recording most of the EP at home, Amber took the tracks to Alex Greaves (Working Men's Club, Bdrmm) at the Nave studio for live drums & some final mixing flourishes, leaving an EP full of lo-fi charm but with a studio feel.  Inspired by Slowdive, Wolf Alice & Alvvays, Sometimes I Forget You're Human Too showcases Amber's singular vision of indie-pop, on an EP that deals with topics like humanity, nostalgia & the current refugee crisis.

Speaking on the EP title Amber says "Sometimes I forget you’re human too is the realisation that everyone is the same. In the sense that we are all human, everyone has issues and problems to face, everyone makes mistakes and has success. I used to compare myself to others a lot and think ‘wow they have their life together’ or ‘how are they so happy all of the time’ but that’s not the case it’s just what you can see on the outside ...so it’s kind of an EP of self assurance and reminding myself that it’s ok to not have it together all the time because no one does as we’re all just human after all"

The EP is just the start for Bored At My Grandmas House "I’ve already got a few tracks which I’m thinking could be potentially for an album, I’d definitely like to do a bigger project next and have the sound I’d like in mind. I’ve recently just got a band together so hopefully when live shows are resurrected I’ll have a few of those!" 2021 is looking to be anything but boring for Amber Strawbridge.