Suche:love girls

Leng Records proudly presents Everything You’re About to Hear Is True: Volume 1, a compilation carefully curated by Rotation Soundsystem. Brought together by Rotation founders Dean Meredith and Ben Shenton, alongside the Wrekin Havoc trio of Rob J, Stuart Robinson, and Rich Hall, this debut volume captures the collective’s shared vision – shaped by decades of crate-digging.

Founded in 2013, Rotation has grown from a modest gathering in Staffordshire into a thriving community of like-minded music lovers, attracting heads and partygoers from across the UK – and well beyond. What began as an intimate affair has evolved into a full-scale, three-day celebration, now held in a grand yurt and powered by a bespoke six-way sound system. The rig features four Klipschorns, two JBLs with twin 18” and 15” sub reinforcements, compression horns, and an Isonoe 420 mixer.

Meredith explains: “With the help of my brother, Martin, I’m constantly looking at ways to improve the setup. I love the way Larry Levan did that at The Paradise Garage. We have a few things that are custom-made. I want our system to be unique to us.”

According to regular attendee, DJ and writer Steve KIW: “In the right hands, the sound system at Rotation – very much Dean’s labour of love – is untouchable. The comparisons with Mancuso’s Loft come easily because they are deserved. There isn’t a bad spot in the yurt. Wherever you are, it sounds incredible.”

As the dancing continues through the weekend, the DJ line-up has grown to match the occasion. Guests and headliners have included a roll call of legendary selectors: Bill Brewster, Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, Phil Mison, Nick The Record, Ruf Dug, Mark Seven, and The Idjut Boys — the latter playing a marathon 10-hour set in 2024. The parties have also featured live performances from Emperor Machine, Quinn Lamont Luke, Reuben Vaun Smith, and Orbs of Light.

Presented on gatefold double vinyl, this lovingly assembled collection is the result of decades spent digging through dusty crates, reflecting the selectors’ deep-rooted passion for uncovering rare gems and overlooked treasures. Decidedly European in spirit, the album brings together 14 rarities with standout selections from Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Germany, and France. The vast majority of tracks are true obscurities, and nearly every one is a mid-tempo bumper.

“This has been a long time coming – something we’ve always dreamed of doing. We’re incredibly thankful to Leng Records, who understand our vision and what we’re trying to build. This compilation pulls together some of our favourite tracks from over the years. It’s not just a playlist – it’s a journey, a window into the sound of Rotation,” says Meredith.

Demon Music group in conjunction with the Hughes family are proud to present the first official compilation of music
from the movies of legendary filmmaker John Hughes, covering the classic eighties period 1983 – 1989.
For anyone growing up in the 1980s, the films of John Hughes are some of the most iconic of the decade and have
created a lasting cultural impact still felt and referenced across TV, film and music. As well as the characters and
stories created in these iconic movies, what made John Hughes’ movies different from the rest was the symbiotic
relationship between scene and music. Whether Cameron Frye staring at the painting in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off set to
The Dream Academy’s “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want (Instrumental)”, Duckie and Andie from Pretty
In Pink at prom set to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark’s “If You Leave”, or even Neal and Del’s classic “Those aren’t
pillows” scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles set to Emmylou Harris’ “Back In Baby’s Arms”.
“Music was a huge part of filmmaking for him, it was a thing he seemed to like the most.” Matthew Broderick
Curated by John Hughes’ music supervisor Tarquin Gotch, this 6LP vinyl boxset includes 73 tracks from the movies
National Lampoon’s Vacation, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Weird Science, Pretty In Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off, Some Kind Of Wonderful, Planes, Trains And Automobiles, She’s Having A Baby, The Great Outdoors and Uncle
Buck.
“Back when we were working on these movie soundtracks, the best way to send music around the world was the
cassette, by Fedex. We sent John cassettes of newly released music, of demos, of just finished mixes (and in return he
would send VHS videos of the scenes that needed music).” Tarquin Gotch
The films of John Hughes spawned many classic tracks, some licensed for the films, some commission specifically, and
many going on to become huge international hits from acts such as Simple Minds, Kate Bush, Furniture, Yello, and
The Psychedelic Furs.
“It serves as a reminder not just to the musicians he championed in the 1980s, but to how intensely his search for
music expanded beyond this era. Until his final days, he was still collecting outrageous amounts of music from around
the world, galaxies removed from the New Romantic and new wave sounds that, to many, still define him.” James
Hughes
Also includes an extensive 24-page booklet including memories from Matthew Broderick, James Hughes, Tarquin
Gotch, Ron Payne, plus track-by-track sleeve notes.
“John said he only made movies so he could choose what music to put in them, so as his success at the Box Office
grew, and thus his power with the studios, the number of tracks in his films, by up and coming UK bands, steadily
grew.” Tarquin Gotch

Step back into one of the most exciting years in pop history – a time when boundary-pushing alternative anthems, flawless dancefloor fillers, global megastars and fresh faces all collided on the charts. NOW - Yearbook 1997 celebrates an unforgettable year of hits with 43 massive tracks across a 3-LP set pressed on gorgeous green vinyl.

LP1 kicks off in style, with the stunning jazz-drenched ballad from legend George Michael, ‘Older’, before Natalie Imbruglia's huge debut single ‘Torn’. The Cardigans had a #2 smash with ‘Lovefool’ and Hanson hit the US & UK #1 with ‘MMMBop’. ‘Barbie Girl’ from Aqua and the Spice Girls’ anthemic ‘Spice Up Your Life’ were both #1s, and Boyzone’s ‘Picture Of You’ was a huge hit and featured in the film ‘Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie’. Eurovision glory happened for the UK in 1997, and winners Katrina And The Waves with ‘Love Shine A Light’ close the first side…while over on the other, a second George Michael classic from his ‘Older’ album, the beautiful ‘You Have Been Loved’, opens ahead of another contemporary masterpiece ‘Secret Garden’ from Bruce Springsteen. Texas scored a UK top 5 with ‘Say What You Want’, and Sheryl Crow had a top 10 hit with ‘A Change Would Do You Good’. Paul McCartney’s ‘Young Boy’ is next before ‘Ready To Go’ which gave Republica a Top 20 chart debut, and closing the first LP, Robbie Williams’ ‘Old Before I Die’, which became his second smash as a solo artist.



LP2 kicks off with Radiohead’s defining ‘Paranoid Android’, ahead of Kula Shaker’s hit cover of ‘Hush’, and alt-pop from Embrace (‘All You Good Good People’), The Charlatans (‘North Country Boy’) and The Seahorses (‘Love Is The Law’) before the side closes with Oasis’s huge #1 ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ – the lead single from their third album ‘Be Here Now’… Flip the LP over and discover some of 1997’s dancefloor gold – opening with the club juggernaut and #1 ‘Professional Widow’ from Tori Amos, remixed for single release by Armand Van Helden, along with Olive’s UK #1 ‘You’re Not Alone’ and the huge ’97 ‘Now Voyager’ remix of ‘You Got The Love’ from The Source feat. Candi Staton. En Vogue’s powerful ‘Don’t Let Go (Love)’ is up next, ahead of ‘I Wanna Be The Only One’, a #1 for Eternal feat. Bebe Winans. LP2 finishes with pure pop gems from 911 with ‘Bodyshakin’, Backstreet Boys with ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ and Steps with their debut hit ‘5, 6, 7, 8’.



The final LP opens with Pet Shop Boys’ and their brilliant version of the musical classic ‘Somewhere’, ahead of the genre-blending #1 ‘Your Woman’ from White Town, and the atmospheric ‘Out Of My Mind’ from Duran Duran. Suede’s plaintive ‘Saturday Night’ leads into three of the years’ electronic dance music highlights: Orbital provided the theme to the remake of ‘The Saint’, Moby with his re-imagining of the classic film-series theme: ‘James Bond Theme (Moby’s Re-Version)’ and The Chemical Brothers with the massive ’Block Rockin’ Beats’ completing the side…Turn the LP over for the final side featuring the debut from All Saints with ‘I Know Where It’s At’, and fabulous dance-pop from Whitney Houston with ‘Step By Step’, and both Ultra Naté and Dannii Minogue enjoyed euphoric hits with ‘Free’ and ‘All I Wanna Do’. Pan-European smash ‘Encore Une Fois’ from Sash! is followed by Ricky Martin’s global success ‘María’… but the final word on the collection goes to Elton John. His superb ‘Something About The Way You Look Tonight’ was one half of the biggest selling single of – not only 1997 – but of all time and ends the collection on a perfect pop high.



NOW – Yearbook 1997: A celebration of the diversity and creativity in the charts of a truly magical year in pop.

Jukebox Disco Divas makes a fine entry into the world of wax with this first too-classic-to-fail edit offering. First up is an instrumental rework of a well-known and strident disco delight from the golden 70s era. It's sympathetically done with big drums, hooky trumpets and enough original vocals from the Moroder-style gem to make sure the floor catches fire. On the flip, an equally delicious tweak of an equally great original. This first 7" sets a fine standard for what is sure to be a very useful new label for lovers of old and new disco and plenty of sounds in between.

Joseph Salvador's impressive young Universo Positivo label returns with a new EP from the boss himself alongside Europe mainstay Orlando Voorn. The dynamic duo serve up four cuts that perfectly embody their timeless sound. Salvador has been at the heart of the underground since the 1990s. He is deeply involved on the scene on many different levels from running the cult Tomorrow Is Now Kid! nights in Amsterdam to labels like TINK Records and also working as part of house acts like Black Tulip & Wendell Morrison, Thyone Girls, Digital Cartel and many more. His music always operates at the sharp end of the spectrum and has come on labels like Tribal America, EMI and Sony Columbia. Orlando Voorn is equally as vital to the evolution of techno. His sound famously builds a bridge between Detroit pioneers and the contemporary European sound and he has worked with greats such as Blake Baxter and Amp Fiddler. He recently remixed South Bay Jams on this label and has also dropped music on the likes of Rush Hour, R&S and Housewax. 'Every Man Loves' brings lavish disco strong stabs to a mid-tempo groove that is packed with warmth. Funky bass riffs and jumbled toms all bring it to life next to an exquisite diva vocal that brings the soul. 'Slap My Funk' hits harder with raw drum loops and a touch of filter house energy. Chopped vocal stabs keep things driving with more live funky bass next to jazzy chords. The steamy 'So Well' is a fulsome house sound with big trumpet stabs and smart vocal samples worked into a heavy, party-starting but emotional groove. Last but not least, 'Break It Down' layers up freeform Rhodes jams with crashing drums and smeared synths to make for a real dance floor weapon. These are four potent and expressive new house gems from this dynamic duo.

Limited yellow coloured vinyl!

"Throughout all my time as a musician and producer, ever since Jack the Tab, I've been focused on developing a single idea: Blending psychedelic sounds and effects with rhythm." Richard Norris, Strange Things Are Happening White Rabbit 2024

Over the past few years Eskimo Recordings have invited some of the best crate diggers aroundto curate compilations that don't just reveal the hidden contents of their record bags but something about themselves too. Now, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bill Brewster and Psychemagik, producer, musician, DJ, writer and more, Richard Norris, takes us on a globetrotting psychedelic journey with the epic 42 track collection, Mr Norris Changes Brains.

For over forty years Richard has played a part in many of the UK's most important music subcultures. Whether sharing stages with the likes of Tracey Thorn as a pubescent punk in St. Albans, or running freakbeat nights in Liverpool and working at the pioneering psychedelic label Bam Caruso, co-producing the UK's first acid house inspired LP with Throbbing Gristle's Genesis P. Orridge or riding the wave of creativity that the second summer of love unleashed all the way to the Top of the Pop studios as The Grid, Richard's career has continually seen him work to expand both hisown and the public's musical horizons.

With Mr Norris Changes Brains it's the most recent part of his mercurial career that he's focused on. Drawing inspiration from his post 2006 adventures as one half of Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve, alongside Trash's Erol Alkan, this compilation shows how a more connected world has blown the dust off a paradoxically sometimes straightjacketed scene. The result is a dizzyingly wide-ranging collection that explores the further out there reaches of worldwide psychedelia and dancefloor mayhem.

"A lot of these tracks are fairly recent discoveries, things that I've discovered from around the time I started working with Erol and going right up to today," Richard explains. "Whether that's from going out to play and finding new records in places like Istanbul or just connecting with people online from all around the world. Psych can sometimes be a sort of narrow-minded field, with everything havingto sit in its specific niche, but more and more people are open to new sounds and that's allowed for a much broader selection."

Despite their disparate origins what does unite these tracks is that they aren't just there to zone out to on a bean bag as projections of swirling coloured oils and psychedelic patterns wash over you. Mr Norris may change brains but his DJ sets also move feet, and whether it's their killer guitar riffs, oscillating synths floor shaking drums or soulful Hammond organs these are all cuts that from festival tents to underground clubs have proven time and time again to get people dancing.

"With a lot of these tracks there's a kind of fun element in them," says Richard. "It's still psychedelia, but they've also got these solid, funky grooves. They sound phenomenal on the dancefloor and as much as these records might excite old psych heads, this compilation is also for a new generation out there who might have never heard anything like this before and, just like when I was 18 and heard The 13th Floor Elevators for the first time, think 'Oh, my God, what on earth is this and more importantly what else is out there?'"

Limitierte Reissue des Solo-Highlights des legendären jamaikanischen Bassisten Lloyd Banks, "Officially" (1973) mit dem gleichnamigen Single-Hit, das dank der Entdeckung der 4"-AMPEX-Bänder nun erstmals wiederaufgelegt werden konnte. Lloyd Banks war seit den Spät-1960ern Mitglied diverser Reggae-Bands (The Termites, The Revolutionaires, Invincibles, Skin Flesh & Bones, We The People Band, The Professionals), arbeitete mit Legenden wie Dennis Brown, Prince Far I, The Abyssinians, Culture, The Itals oder The Gladiators zusammen und war an Top-Hits wie "Uptown Top Ranking" (Althea & Donna) und "Here I Am Baby" (Al Brown) beteiligt.

DJ Support: Diplo, Disco Lines, Alok, MK, Low Steppa, Bob Sinclar, Groove Armada, Dennis Cruz, David Penn, Sam Divine, Adam Beyer, Calvin Harris, Hardwell, MEDUZA, Martin Garrix, James Hype, Claptone, Nicky Romero & John Summit.

Toolroom’s latest Sampler sees 4 big releases from KC Lights, Milk & Sugar & James Hurr, Crusy, and Illyus & Barrientos.

The NOW Yearbook series continues with the ultimate soundtrack to one of pop’s most dynamic years: 1998 - out February 14th! This collection brings together the biggest and most iconic tracks from the year, presented across three stunning coloured vinyl discs, pressed in neon violet with 43 tracks from the era and two CD editions available as a standard 4-CD set, and as a special edition 4-CD set in ‘hardback book’ packaging, which includes a 28-page booklet packed with notes about all of the 80 featured tracks that capture the unforgettable sounds from the year. Whether you’re reliving the hits or discovering them for the first time, this collection brings you the best from the singles charts of 1998.. Whether you're revisiting these unforgettable hits or discovering them anew, NOW - Yearbook 1998 brings you the best from the singles charts of 1998!

You Are The Morning was formed amid personal upheaval in 2021. "I came out as trans to my nearest and dearest," she says, "Some did not accept me, but some did." Jasmine got divorced, and a difficult home life meant she was writing while experiencing homelessness and precarious housing, sleeping on friend's couches and relying on community support. Despite the pain of some of its background, the record is an uplifting look at t4t love. Jasmine describes her first trans romance as the first time she experienced joy in a deep sense, because of her experience of living as a woman. First single `Skin on Skin' explores the new joy of physical touch. Usually a quick writer, it's a rare song that grew over time, during which a close connection with a friend began to form. "Sticking to the physical boundaries we wanted to have with each other became increasingly difficult. We were spending lots of time together, then falling in love. This song became a celebration of healing and physical catharsis found through unrepressed queer love." The first UK signee on Saddest Factory Records, the album was produced by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Jasmine and her band travelled to L.A. to record at Sound City Studios. It was made across 12 days in a highly collaborative and emotional process, and because Jasmine sees her songs as fluid and ever-changing, the recordings carry that free and spontaneous spirit. jasmine.4.t is supported by an all-trans band, Phoenix Rousiamanis contributes piano and strings, with Eden O'Brien on drums and Emily Abbott on bass. With Jasmine's voice and songwriting at the centre, the record incorporates a wider cast of voices. `Best Friend's House' features a chorus including her bandmates, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus ("the girls and the boys"), Saddest Factory Records label-mate Claud, Becca Mancari and E.R. Fightmaster. The song carries the communal spirit of the record's creation. On the closing track, `Woman', she is backed by the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, a cross-generational group of trans singers who, like Jasmine, use their voice as a source of communal power. The song blossoms from solo performance to wider group catharsis. All the while, Jasmine sings unwaveringly about the power of knowing yourself at a core level: "I am, in my soul, a woman". The writing of You Are The Morning pulled from dark moments to tell its story. Surrounded by friends, the recording process was full of light. Through her performances, activism and artistry, jasmine.4.t is ushering in a new dawn.

Here’s the first release of the Hungarian Alliwant Wax limited VINYL series including label owner James Cole’s 2 original tracks beside the remix of one of the scene’s most inspiring and respected producers, Diego Krause and another remix from the Israeli Mike Sharon.

Both original tracks bring back the oldschool deep house wrapped in modern sound. The deep sexy groove, the catchy vox and melody work really well on the dance floor.

Diego Krauses remix operates with his characteristic sound, its minimalistic build-up features dynamic grooves. Mike Sharon’s version is more epic and more emotional using the pads of classic deep house - we’ll love it!


Just like before, HOW003 will be released in a restricted, vinyl-exclusive edition.

"How We Operate is the fift studio album from Gomez. Pressed on double amber translucent vinyl, exclusively for National Albums Day 2024. This is the first time on vinyl since its original release in May 2006. Features tracks: 'See The World', 'How We Operate', 'Notice' and 'Girlshapedlovedrug'

Hardcover Book which includes a 208-page book documenting Louisville's rich Black Gospel music legacy and access to a comprehensive digital archive.

In the mid-20th century, Louisville gospel music was occasionally recorded when members of the local gospel community pressed 45rpm records and LPs, and released them through grassroots record labels such as Sensational Sounds, Grace, Blessed, and D.J.S. Over the years, a substantial body of work was produced in our city, but those recordings are in danger of being lost forever.

The Louisville Story Program has been working with dozens of people in the local gospel music community to locate, digitize, and preserve hundreds of these recordings and to develop a book that documents and honors the legacies of the people and communities that produced them.

For decades, the passion, hard work, and support of countless people across dozens of Black church communities in Louisville have nurtured and sustained a rich gospel music ecosystem. This music has served as a central part of people's religious practice and as an expression of Black pride, joy, affirmation, love, dignity, determination, and hope. This legacy continues to this day.

With support from The Owsley Brown II Family Foundation and Owsley Brown III Philanthropic Foundation, LSP has partnered with members of the gospel community and a local advisory group of local gospel historians and luminaries:

To locate, clean, and digitize gospel records of local artists released by small local labels
To accompany the local Black gospel music community in developing a 4 CD box set that includes a 200+ page hardcover book with first-person documentation of their rich history
To create an accompanying double LP featuring 26 of those songs
To create and maintain a public-facing digital archive of 1,000 songs and 1,000 photographs
To celebrate the final release with a large concert at the Brown Theatre (September 28, 2024)

2025 marks 50 years since the release of Donna Summer’s debut international hit ‘Love To Love You Baby’. To herald in this milestone anniversary, we proudly present this newly expanded edition of Donna’s classic hits collection “On The Radio”. • This 24 track/2LP collection features the international hits that propelled Donna’s popularity through the decades, from her 1976 UK Singles chart debut up until her 2008 studio album and includes eighteen UK Top 20 hits. • They include ‘Hot Stuff’, ‘Bad Girls’, ‘This Time I Know It's For Real’, ‘Down Deep Inside (Theme From 'The Deep')’, ‘I Remember Yesterday’, ‘Love's Unkind’, the vocal powerhouse track ‘No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)’ with Barbra Streisand and the groundbreaking #1 ‘I Feel Love’. • Donna Summer gained prominence during the disco era of music, rightly earning the title "The Queen of Disco" and becoming one of the most successful recording artists of the 1970s and all-time best-selling female Artists. • She was the first artist to have three consecutive Double Albums hit No. 1 on the US Billboard charts, as well as becoming the first female artist to have four No. 1 singles in a thirteen-month period. • Donna’s catalogue has sold more than 130 million units worldwide and her music is still relevant today, as her music continues to fill the radio airwaves, appears in TV programmes, movies, as well as TV commercials. • In 2023, her daughter, Brooklyn Sudano, who along with Roger Ross Williams, directed “Love To Love You, Donna Summer”, a documentary that followed Donna’s personal life and career. The film had its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and was screened at SXSW. HBO released it in May 2023. • Earlier this year, Donna was posthumously awarded a Recording Academy Special Merit Lifetime GRAMMY, as well as ‘I Feel Love’ being inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame

a 1. Love To Love You Baby Single Edit
b 2. Could It Be Magic 7" Version
c 3. I Feel Love [Edit]


[f] 6. Love's Unkind [7" Version]
[g] 1. I Love You [Single Version]
[h] 2. Rumour Has It [Single Version]
[i] 3. Last Dance [7" Version]
[j] 4. MacArthur Park [Single Version]
[k] 5. Heaven Knows [7" Version]
[l] 6. Hot Stuff [Single Version]
[m] 1. Bad Girls [Single Version Edit]
[n] 2. Dim All The Lights [7" Single Version]
[o] 3. No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) [7" Version]
[p] 4. On The Radio [7" Version]

[r] 6. State Of Independence [7" Version]
[s] 1. She Works Hard For The Money [7" Version]
[t] 2. Unconditional Love [Edit]
[u] 3. Dinner With Gershwin [Edit]
[v] 4. This Time I Know It's For Real [7" Mix]
[7" Remix]
[PWL 7" Mix]

Expansion’s most successful and longest running compilation series returns with its 2020 collection. It’s the 20th Anniversary edition. The concept remains, the tracks better than ever, fifteen must-have modern soul room gems telling the story of the past 12 months. Tracks here have topped UK soul charts including many that have not been available in all formats. Participants this year include Charlie Wilson (biggest dancefloor spin before lockdown), Tower of Power, Will Downing, Randy Hall, JB Rose The Weather Girls, and Sam Wills all prolific on soul radio through the summer with other artists delivering signature songs of 2020. Then there’s the biggest revival track of the year from Johnny Baker, “It’s Your Night”, the 300 copy limited edition 7” pressing now exchanging hands upwards of £50 a copy.

A group of friends go sailing and one disappears. The others start
searching for her. But it gradually becomes apparent that she won’t
be found. So the friends return home one by one. Only the missing
girl’s lover and her best friend remain.They have begun an affair.
As the lovers come together the girl’s disappearance is all but
forgotten.

From Michelangelo Antonioni — “Auteur of eerie angst”
(L’Avventura) by Richard Skinner from Vade Mecum Essays,
Reviews & Interviews (Zero books, 2015).

Glasgow based Seated Records return with more 1980s Scottish Post-Punk / New Wave material. In this 8-track mini compilation the label introduces the work of Stirling band 22 Beaches, offering a deep dive into music recorded between 1980-1984 - the majority of which has never seen the light of day!

22 Beaches formed in Stirling in the late 1970s as an evolution of the short lived group ‘Alone at Last’ - drummer Fred Parson’s and guitarist Stephen Hunter being the two who spanned the divide. Out of the six members of 22 Beaches, many were school friends, and the rest naturally fell together. The band toured extensively and played at a truly diverse set of venues across the UK: from a local swimming pool boiler room, to small nightclubs and university parties, to several fundraisers for the miners strike. Maybe most notably of all, drummer Fred Parsons described playing at what he calls “the Grangemouth International”, organised by local promoter Brian Guthrie and which featured an all-star lineup of 22 Beaches, The Exploited and the first incarnation of The Cocteau Twins. A coach was hired to ship the audience to Grangemouth from Stirling, the cost of which was included in the ticket. The gig then paused halfway through for a 'help yourself' buffet. Young promoters take heed. This is how it's done!

Over the course of the 80s the band released music on three different, and now sought after, various artists compilation cassettes. “What Day Is It?” and “Sadie When She Died” were released on a compilation of local Stirling artists 'The A.N.K.L.E File'. The track from which the current record takes its namesake - “Dust” - was initially released on a compilation-tape for the fanzine 'Another Spark'. And ‘‘Zoo” (also featured on this record) was first released on Glasgow label Pleasantly Surprised via compilation, 'An Hour Of Eloquent Sounds', where 22 Beaches rubbed shoulders with early music from Scottish names Primal Scream, Cocteau Twins, The Wake and Sunset Gun. Unfortunately, 22 Beaches never met the same level of commercial success as these others and decided to retire the project in 1984 - leaving their recordings and demos to gather dust (hehe)…until now!

This compilation, “Dust: recordings 1980-1984” follows the band's journey and the changes in their sound over the years. It moves from the raw, punk energy of early DIY recordings through to the A Certain Ratio style Balearica of their later pieces. The record's opener and title track “Dust” is perhaps the most shining example of the latter. Characterised by the plenitude of sonic space in the mix, “Dust” has an almost dub sensibility that is communicated through centrality of Parsons’ drums, McChord’s percussion, and Fildes’ Bass while the harmonising vocals of Sharkey and McGregor chant over the top to give the track its distinctive psychedelic edge. This is an atmosphere only exacerbated by the lofi quality of the recording which sits the vocals in the same aural realm as much 1960s psych-folk. On “Cartoon Boy”, the band strips things down further. A droning bass line persists through the tape fuzz and is accompanied by the sounds of a sole looping guitar chord sequence and McGregor and Sharkey’s vocals - respectively and carefully dancing around one another before harmonising in the most beautiful way. The result is a haunting and abstract Marine Girls style heartbreaker. ‘That Girl’ again delivers a dub adjacent rhythm section similar to that of “Dust”. However, on this instance crisp guitar chords, a distant, phased organ and blue-eyed soul vocal delivery, produce a track that could easily have been a lost Orange Juice recording from their sessions with Dennis Bovel. On “Somebody Got It Wrong” and “One Of Us” the band employ a more macro approach where a jangling guitar with an almost highlife-influenced tone, vocal ad-libs and syncopated percussion give the music a Talking Heads-esque swagger.

Taken together these tracks illustrate a clear trajectory in the band's sound, moving from from the high energy no-wave quality of early recordings towards a more dub influenced, and stripped-back sound - a sonic trajectory followed by so many bands of the time, not least those emerging from the diaspora of Manchester’s Factory Records.

On “Breathing’’ we hear the beginning of this transition, with the strong influence of the oddball NYC disco styles of Was (Not Was) and ZE records. All of this is meshed together with the residual punk rock energy of 1980s UK. This combination is employed to excellent effect with the addition of the distinctly Scottish (and what the band confirmed to me to be spontaneous) vocal delivery of: “Do you love me? Do you want me?” “Aye!” “Do you love me? Do you need me?” “Naw!”.

On the record’s closing tracks, “Zoo” and “Talent Show”, we hear early examples of the band’s work, playing with their rawest all-in-one-take live energy where Hunter’s spiralling guitar riffs and McGregor's distorted vocal exclamations lead the charge. The band recalls that these initial-forays did not always translate so well into multitrack recording and overdubbing: “the deconstruction took away some of the band's natural feel”. On “Talent Show” the record ends with Sharkey delivering an almost unintelligible spoken word section over the top of the track, making for one final, disorientating, almost manic slice of post-punk.

These tracks from 1980-1984 chart the progress of a unique contribution to the world of Scottish Post-Punk and New Wave, encapsulating not only the musical trajectory of 22 Beaches but also echoing the broader sonic landscape of 1980s UK, a testament to the adaptability and creativity of the UK’s underground music of the time.

"...too G to take a knee, still I gave you all of me.”

A pivotal force in the early ‘10s NYC rap revival, now LA-based rapper and producer Chuck Strangers steps into the limelight on new solo LP A Forsaken Lover’s Plea.

The album sounds markedly lush, candid rhymes bolstered by a slew of guest producers—including The Alchemist, Animoss and Strangers himself. Chuck’s own production feels current without ditching its previous homeliness, a seamless compliment to his honest, lived-in raps.

A Forsaken Lover’s Plea is laced with guest verses from a collection of fellow New York rap torchbearers, from Pro Era comrade Joey Bada$$ & Flatbush Zombies' Erick the Architect to Queens’ own Remy Banks.

Strangers’ tangled romance with hip-hop is the crux of the project—the culmination of a decade’s unwavering dedication to his craft, with its lofty highs, inevitable lows, and rough lessons of humility, patience, and process.

It’s Chuck’s most comprehensive solo project since Consumers Park, his 2018 debut, and follows The Boys & Girls EP, released May 2023.

A Forsaken Lover’s Plea is available on heavyweight green vinyl, silver tape and CD.