Buscar:love international

Before Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes even had an album on the shelves, they were being played on the radio in Cleveland. That’s how far back the New Jersey band’s relationship goes with the city. As the “Jukes” part of their name would suggest, Southside Johnny and his group were spiritually a band from another time. They had a big sound (and a full horn section, courtesy of The Miami Horns) that conjured a vision of a large band, jammed together on the bandstand. Which was hardly far from the truth on a number of nights. Mixing carefully chosen blues and soul covers with their own originals (and some choice songwriting contributions from Bruce Springsteen), they had a live show that was even more potent than w hat had been laid to tape in the studio. This 1977 performance at the Cleveland Agora was the group’s second outing at the legendary venue in less than a year. Live in Cleveland ‘77, the recorded evidence of that night, presented here for the first time by Cleveland International Records, shows exactly why they would become frequent visitors and really, honorary Clevelanders. Songs like “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” Springsteen’s “The Fever,” “Havin’ a Party” and “Without Love” were already well-loved favorites with the local audience, thanks to frequent airplay on WMMS long before they even had an album. Cleveland got a special bonus round that other cities would have killed for. Ronnie Spector had joined the group in the studio as they recorded that debut and came to Cleveland to share the stage with the Jukes, sharing her soon-to-be-legendary take on Billy Joel’s “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” with the Agora crowd. As she did with so many songs, Spector made it her own. Southside Johnny and the Jukes continue to thrill audiences with their live performances worldwide to this day. Now, thanks to the release of Live in Cleveland ‘77, you can be in the audience to hear a bit of the early magic as they were on their way to the top.

“Featuring the mega-hit ‘Place Your Hands’, the album was recorded in Abbey Road, Real World Studios and LA’s legendary Sound City Studios, with producer George Drakoulias at the helm. And it’s fair to say that Glow was the point where everything that made Reef so great – the spirit, the passion, the honesty, the undiluted energy – came together. It’s the sound of a band who were never short of talent or confidence firing on every single cylinder.

“I love every album we’ve made, but Glow is the one that really encapsulates the band,” says Gary Stringer today. “It’s emotional, it’s sexy, it’s passionate, it rocks hard. It’s everything Reef should be.”

Having burst onto the music scene in 1994, and with their debut album Replenish going Top 10 the following year, Reef were on a fast-track trajectory to international fame. But in true Reef style, there were no agonising songwriting sessions for Glow. It was written entirely on the hoof, wherever and whenever they had their instruments to hand – in soundchecks, between shows, in the band’s rehearsal space and the trusty blue VW van which carried them from gig to gig. “

“Featuring the mega-hit ‘Place Your Hands’, the album was recorded in Abbey Road, Real World Studios and LA’s legendary Sound City Studios, with producer George Drakoulias at the helm. And it’s fair to say that Glow was the point where everything that made Reef so great – the spirit, the passion, the honesty, the undiluted energy – came together. It’s the sound of a band who were never short of talent or confidence firing on every single cylinder.



“I love every album we’ve made, but Glow is the one that really encapsulates the band,” says Gary Stringer today. “It’s emotional, it’s sexy, it’s passionate, it rocks hard. It’s everything Reef should be.”



Having burst onto the music scene in 1994, and with their debut album Replenish going Top 10 the following year, Reef were on a fast-track trajectory to international fame. But in true Reef style, there were no agonising songwriting sessions for Glow. It was written entirely on the hoof, wherever and whenever they had their instruments to hand – in soundchecks, between shows, in the band’s rehearsal space and the trusty blue VW van which carried them from gig to gig. “

Formed approximately three years ago, before the world changed (temporarily?), Odd Men Out are something of a garage-psych international super-group, with members originally hailing from Italy, Spain and the UK, brought together in the sprawling megalopolis of London in the sticky heat of summer 2019. Lois (drums) and Alessandro (guitar, organ, vocals) had already been playing together in legendary freakbeat trio The Embrooks since '96 (with a 10-year hiatus between 2005 and '15), while bassman Bruno had served time with moody-psych-turned-spiky-British-Beat exponents The Liquorice Experiment and Looking Glass Alice. The untried 'x' factor in this equation is frontman, guitarist, songwriter Nicolino whose love of moody 12-string folk rock and florid psychedelia shapes the overall sound of the band. Late in 2019, the quartet gathered at North Down Sound Studios in south east Kent to record the material presented here. Engineer and State Records mogul Mole was at the controls, manipulating the analogue 8-track recorder to capture the best and most exciting vibes they could offer, in a swirling sea of reverb and audio compression. Tracked predominantly live with a bare minimum of overdubs, this is classic 60s-inspired garage-psych, with elements of The Lemon Drops, Basement Wall and The Baroques to name but a few, yet the four never let their influences get in the way of producing quality original material. The pandemic caused many cancellations and postponements, but Dirty Water Records and Odd Men Out are finally ready to unleash this almighty beast!

Track list:
1. Summer 2. Magic Fudge 3. Mary B 4. Can’t Get Over 5. Big Worries (Big Troubles) 6. Look At Her 7. No 8. Knock On My Door

Live At The L.A. Forum präsentiert einen außergewöhnlichen Auftritt der Jimi Hendrix Experience im April 1969. Vor einem ausverkauften Haus spielten Hendrix, Schlagzeuger Mitch Mitchell und Bassist Noel Redding ein einzigartiges Set mit Highlights wie "I Don't Live Today", "Purple Haze", "Red House" und einem erstaunlichen Medley aus "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" und "Sunshine Of Your Love" von Cream. Diese unverfälschte Aufnahme, die von Hendrix' langjährigem Tontechniker Eddie Kramer neu abgemischt wurde, fängt die Jimi Hendrix Experience in ihrer unvergleichlichen Hochform ein. Ein Teil dieses Auftritts war zuvor Teil einer kurzlebigen Westwood One Radio-Dokumentationsbox Lifelines 1990-1992, war aber seit zwei Jahrzehnten nicht mehr in irgendeiner Form erhältlich. Die CD-Veröffentlichung mit einem 24-seitigen Booklet - komplett mit Linernotes von Billy Gibbons von ZZ Top, der die Show aus erster Hand miterlebte - gibt diesem bahnbrechenden Auftritt die richtige Plattform und präsentiert den kompletten Auftritt, der direkt von den originalen 8-Spur-Masterbändern abgemischt wurde.Enregistrée au printemps 1969 devant un public déchaîné et à guichets fermés, la performance captivante de la formation originale (Jimi Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell et Noel Redding) n'a jamais été publiée dans son intégralité. Cet album sort à temps pour le 80e anniversaire de la naissance de Jimi Hendrix. Après le succès massif du tiercé gagnant Are You Experienced, Axis: Bold as Love, Electric Ladyland en 1967-68, le trio est devenu l'attraction internationale la plus populaire du rock. C'est au L.A. Forum que le groupe dévoile pour la première fois la fameuse reprise de « The Star Spangled Banner », que Jimi allait canoniser quatre mois plus tard à Woodstock. Le live comprend «Purple Haze» et un medley incendiaire de 17 minutes de « Voodoo Child (Return) » et « Sunshine Of Your Love » de Cream. Le concert a été enregistré simultanément par Wally Heider et Bill Halverson, et récemment remixé par Eddie Kramer, producteur et ingénieur de longue date de Hendrix, pour une fidélité audio maximale et inclut une préface de Billy Gibbons de ZZ Top, qui a assisté au concert en 1969.

Felix Laband’s The Soft White Hand is the masterwork of an artist who expresses himself through musical and artistic collage acting together to reinterpret his sources and to express significant elements of his own personal story.

Released by Munich-based Compost Records, the 14-track album is Laband’s first full-length offering since the critically acclaimed Deaf Safari in 2015. It is heralded by the single “Derek and Me”, and is being pressed on vinyl for distribution globally.

In The Soft White Hand Laband works with source materials that will be familiar to those who know his previous four records – Thin Shoes in June (2001), 4/4 Down the Stairs (2002), Dark Days Exit (2005) and especially Deaf Safari which reached deep into the South Africa scene and its political culture to inspire its vocal and music sampling. However, the disengagement he felt from his homeland during his latest album’s creation – an abiding sense of untethered-ness to place and space, exquisitely rendered in tracks like “Death of a Migrant” – is perceptible in Laband’s desire to illuminate instead aspects of his own life.

“For this album, my source material became almost autobiographical as opposed to African statements I’ve worked with previously,” says the artist. “I have sampled a lot from documentaries from the 80s crack epidemic in impoverished African American communities and believe my work speaks unapologetically for the lost and marginalised, for those who are the forgotten casualties of the war on drugs. In the past, I have had my issues with substance abuse, and I know first-hand about the nightmares and fears, what it feels like to be isolated and abandoned.”

Few artists have managed to air these intimate aspects of their life so luminously as Laband does in tracks like “5 Seconds Ago”, “They Call Me Shorty” and in the strange and meditative “Dreams of Loneliness”. “I’ve been building this weird, autobiographical story using other people talking. It’s kind of humorous but it is also sad and beautiful,” says Laband.

Yet, as in all of Laband’s recorded output, the delineations between emotions are never starkly drawn and The Soft White Hand is also shot through with beauty. Nature appears in recordings made in his garden in the intimate early morning hours, whether as in the calls of the Hadada Ibis and other birdsong in “Prelude” or of the vertical-tail-cocking bird in “Derek and Me”. The last is a wonderful track with Derek Gripper, the South African experimental classical guitarist of international renown, whose 2020 song “Fanta and Felix” imagines a meeting between Fanta Sacko and Laband.

Laband’s eloquence in reinterpreting classical composers such as Beethoven in “We Know Major Tom’s a Junkie” is another thrilling aspect of the new record. “I’ve been properly exploring classical music on this album,” explains Laband, “taking melodies from classical compositions and reinterpreting them”. A fresh quality comes to his work through this sonic adventuring: the tender manipulation of the mundaneness of the computer’s AI voice to reimagine and reinvent iconic lyrics and melodies in strange and unexpected configurations.

The Soft White Hand is Laband’s most cohesive body of work to date. Yet it remains, in its sheer artistic scope, impossible to describe fully. Darkness abuts the gossamer light. A song that summons the sunrise and all the hope of a new day could also be about the final dipping down of the sun that portends a troubled night ahead. Interludes are invitations to expand outwards or shift inwards. Mistakes and “weird fuckups” in the sound are cherished as convincing statements against what Laband calls the “grossness” of perfect sound in modern music.

For this world-leading electronic artist, the boundaries are unfixed. He is inspired by the German Dada artist, Hannah Höch, who memorably declared: “I wish to blur the firm boundaries which we self-certain people tend to delineate around all we can achieve.” His music consequently reflects a primal artistic impulse that is also visible in Laband’s considerable visual art output as seen recently in several solo exhibitions such as that held in the No End Gallery in Johannesburg in 2019 and in the works he produced during his 2018 Nirox Foundation Artists Residency. “My music is always about collage, as is my art,’’ he affirms. “Everything I do is collage. It is a medium I find very interesting because you are taking history and distorting it and changing its meaning and turning it upside down and back to front.” In her book Recollections of My Non-Existence, Rebecca Solnit calls collage “literally a border art”; it is “an art of what happens when two things confront each other or spill onto each other”.

With The Soft White Hand, Laband is confirming his singular ability to achieve this in both art and music, melting the divisions between the two creative disciplines until they become one. He is also affirming his belief that an album of music should be more than a collection of unrelated tracks, but should unfold a fully integrated, cohesive story as in the song cycles of the great classical composers. In doing so, he claims his position as one of the most significant artists working today.

Artist Statement – Felix Laband – August 2022

When the Khmer Rouge took their captives for processing, they identified their class enemies by looking at their hands. If they were sunburned, rough and calloused, they were those of a peasant, a proletarian to be spared. But if they were soft and white, then they were those of a city-dweller, an intellectual or bourgeois, an adversary to be liquidated.

In calling this album The Soft White Hand, I was reflecting on the Cambodian genocide and how it resonates in contemporary South Africa. The apartheid era is over, and gone with it is white political domination. Yet economic and social privilege is still held in soft white hands. But those who grasp it know just how tenuous is their hold, how it singles them out, and my music reflects their subconscious fears, the stress and guilt of clinging on to what others envy and desire.

The soft white hand of the title suggests to me a further image, one that relates to all of postcolonial Africa. In my mind’s eye, I see the soft, duplicitous handshake of the smooth representatives of the superpowers making deals and promising gifts that benefit only them, and not their African dupes.
Yet, soaring above the wailing of sirens sampled from the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, my music is also about love gained and passion lost. It is about the tender caress of a soft white hand that conducts you into a place of dreams to be enfolded by nocturnal melodies.

“Who Do You Love The Most?” is the young trio’s third album in just over four years, and continues in the tradition of their two previous efforts; beautiful and evocative melodies, rich on harmonies, often rhythmically complex textures and a typically folk-like Scandinavian character with the occasional gospel feel. The album’s 10 songs are all Mulelid originals, except for a gripping cover of Judee Sill’s The Archetypical Man. Two of the originals are the trio’s versions of songs that first appeared on the pianist’s much lauded solo piano album (“Piano”) from last year. Kjetil André Mulelid (31) comes across as an exceptionally mature pianist and composer. The trio’s 2017 debut “Not Nearly Enough To Buy A House” received wide international acclaim, with writers most typically mentioning Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. The praise continued for 2019’s follow-up “What You Thought Was Home”, with the Jazz Journal giving it a 5/5 rating and calling it “some of the most captivating music I´ve heard in quite some while”. All About Jazz noted the maturity of the work, feeling like coming from three well-seasoned pros. Mulelid grew up in the small village of Hurdal, and started playing the piano when he was nine, after hearing Chopin on the stereo. Later he did a bachelor degree in jazz performance at NTNU in Trondheim, blessed with top teachers such as Erling Aksdal, Vigleik Storaas and Espen Berg. He is also a member of jazz quartet Wako. Bjørn Marius Hegge (33) has been making waves on the Norwegian jazz scene lately, with his quintet’s debut album "Hegge" winning a Norwegian Grammy. He has his own trio as well, with pianist Oscar Grönberg and young drummer ace Hans Hulbækmo (Moskus). In 2019 he released "Ideas" with Axel Dörner, Rudi Mahall, Håvard Wiik and Hans Hulbækmo. Andreas Skår Winther (30) is, like the other two, a "product" of the fertile milieu at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music. His discography includes "Left Exit, Mr. K" with Michael Duch & Klaus Holm (Clean Feed) and Megalodon Collective (Gigafon). Tracklist 1. Paul 2. Endless 3. The Road 4. Remembering 5. Point Of View 6. The Archetypal Man 7. For You I’ll Do Anything 8. Imagine Your Front Door 9. Gospel 10. Morning Song

“A Dream In A Dream” is the debut LP by DJ Piper, also known as Felix Wagner of techno superstar duo FJAAK.
One might be surprised about this all hip-hop instrumental album looking at Felix’ all dance music focussed musical resumé. Nevertheless, he has been crafting rap beats ever since he started producing as a teen, but had his childhood friends freestyle over the tracks solely. It took until 2020 when he teamed up with Lukas and
Jonathan Nixdorff of Kommerz Records to release his first solo track “Iluminay”, which was part of “Kommerz Season 1: Anti-Virus” compilation and shared by B-Real of Cypress Hill right away.

Now, 2022, marks the right moment to share his debut album, a waltzing ode to hip-hop’s golden era. The Berlin- Spandau original merges the legacies of both Pete Rock and Dr. Dre, while funky breakbeats meet laid back SoCal “Chronic” vibes. 12 instrumental tracks and 2 skits strong, his album tells the story of a young man, who lives up to his wildest teenage dreams. Most of the track ideas came up while being on tour with FJAAK. Between international transit areas, making inspirational new friends and bizarre encounters all over the world, beat making became DJ Piper’s safe space to process all the positive madness around him. As a result, “A Dream In A Dream” breathes that raw, untamable creative energy around Felix’ extraordinary day-to-day life, while being heavily influenced by the sound of his childhood, 90s and 2000s rap.

To visualize “A Dream In A Dream” DJ Piper and Kommerz Records joined forces with Raman Djafari, a childhood friend of the artist, who illustrated music videos for Dua Lipa and Elton John (no joke!) and worked for New Release Information Adult Swim. Raman’s supernaturalistic aesthetics bring life to DJ Piper’s somewhat psychedelic, somewhat nostalgic fantasy, locating the album in an otherworldly version of Spandau, hometown to both of the artists.
As one half of FJAAK Felix became an icon of Berlin techno conquering major festival stages and mainstream audiences while heavily representing underground D.I.Y. mentality up to this very day. As an initiator of Spandau20 label and collective, Felix pushes his creative family and day 1’s regardless of commercial potentials.
The same ethos and love for culture fuels the DJ Piper project. No matter if it’s FJAAK or DJ Piper, techno or hiphop… Integrity is key!

The sound company operating under the project name "Noiseshaper" is poised to release a very special vinyl album into record shops worldwide. The band received great acclaim for their first albums, which were released on the legendary and famous Rockers Hifi label Different Drummer. They later became celebrated for their musical contribution to the US television series CSI - Miami ! The Viennese coffeetable boys Axel Hirn und Florian Fleischmann achieved cult status with their 12-inch single "The Only Redeemer", which was later released in the US by Quango (Island Records /Palm Pictures) and fast became a permanent fixture on the playlists of the best and most popular DJs in Berlin, Vienna, Tokyo, Paris, London and New York. The next dancefloor filler followed with "All A Dem A Do", sung by Juggla, which was the band"s first release to get heavy rotation on many European and US radio stations. Next up were remixes by and for heavyweights such as Sly & Robbie, Outkast, Seven Dub and Carl Douglas. Noiseshaper"s defining sound has been distilled and condensed an utterly distinctive blend of "housey downbeats with a fat reggae flavour" has brought the Noiseshapers international acclaim and popularity. The very special VINYL release is the essential of what NOISESHAPER has ever done all over the years with a special focus on HEAVY bass remixes by Adrian Sherwood & Paolo Baldini. It is another very impressive display of how a musical style has progressed. Dub as a style with all its reference points between commerce and innovation ! 8 pounding dub flavour tunes all are best for bringing the dancefloors of the dub universe to boiling point. Heavy bass for heavy dancing!

Luuk van Dijk has unveiled his hotly-anticipated debut album First Contact, out 11th November on his own Dark Side Of The Sun label. The Dutch DJ and producer’s maiden LP is the end result of a long and intense voyage of discovery.

Years in the making, it’s a project that Luuk can fully stand behind and be proud of. Next to a search for his own identity and his own place in music, it has also become a passage
through time.

By far his largest body of work to date, the 13-track release kicks off with the suitably-titled ‘Cosmiq’, a deep, grooving sonic exploration that immediately sets the tone. “Because of this
track I wanted to make an album to showcase my other kind of music that people won’t maybe expect of me,” Luuk explains.

Next up is the shimmering, ethereal sounds of ‘Love You’, a track that features the irresistible vocals of US singer-songwriter Dawn Richard and will be released as a single in October. “She really brought this track to a whole new level,” says Luuk. “I couldn’t be more happy with the result.”

Further collaborations come in the form of ‘Wolf’, a majestic, strings-led house cut featuring Steve Burton of oneofmanysteves; ‘Master Plug’, a deep, jackin’ number with Chicago artist
Kid Enigma; and the Detroit-indebted ‘Together We Rise’, punctuated by the spiritual vocals of MC Roga. “I tried making a track the way they used to make music,” Luuk says of the latter.

“With as few machines as possible, just a mixer, sampler and some synths.” Additional highlights include the enchanting ‘Let The Bass Kick’, orchestral ‘Lightning
Striking’ and hypnotic ‘Hot Stuff’, before ‘Knowing How To Love’ closes things out on a peculiarly wistful note. “The last track of the album, also a track that started as an interlude and
ended up being a full song,” says Luuk.

“This song basically sums up how I’ve been feeling the years 2020 and 2021, very emotional, sad, but also hopeful. Everything will be alright.”

One of the hottest new names coming out of Amsterdam’s bustling club scene, Luuk van Dijk is currently making waves in international waters with his infectious take on spirited house
music.

He has already released on labels like Hot Creations, Cuttin’ Headz, Solid Grooves Records and Eastenderz have established his name as a house music prodigy.

He launched Dark Side Of The Sun in 2020 with the aim of exploring a broader approach to his signature style.

First Contact represents a vivid sonic snapshot of one of electronic music’s brightest young talents.

Early DJ Support :

Jamie Jones
Marco Faraone
Carl Craig
Yuksek
Sasch BBC
CamelPhat
Paco Osuna
Stacey Pullen
Tocadisco

Dressed in a powder blue suit with the frilly shirt to match, DJ Yoda invites you to be his +1 for ‘Prom Nite’, his new album promising retro Americana full of daydreaming reverie, international megastar guests, trip hop acknowledging the likes of Morcheeba and Nightmares on Wax, and the turntable extraordinaire’s bread and butter of cuts, beats and rhymes.

Certainly no stranger to retro sounds having famously peppered his DJ and AV sets with the unexpected the world over, and his ‘How to Cut n Paste’ mix series going all the way back to the 30s, Yoda’s harp-laden puppy love vibe spreads from the sweet and mellow sound of 2019’s ‘Home Cooking’, an album described as ‘boundary-breaking’ by Mojo upon slotting nicely into the UK’s blooming jazz canon. Think deliciously harmonised doo-wop murmuring ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’ with an eye for dreamboats en route to Makeout Point – on ‘My Energy’, Eva Lazarus takes the form of an earth angel, with Yoda on jukebox cut-ups, taking it back to starry-eyed, clean cut days of wonder (or more recently, Little Mix’s ‘Love Me Like You’).

Beginning enigmatically with the assistance of Hollywood A-lister (and former next-door neighbour) Lily James, ‘Breathe’ demonstrate Yoda’s continued evolution as a musician (not to mention shrewd decision maker), with James’ vocal confidence - a little Lana del Rey to her breathiness - returning on the velvet-smooth ‘Airplane Mode’. It’s a smartly executed soundclash accentuated by LA rapper Choosey, the star of the album’s straightest hip-hop shooter ‘Harder I Rock’. Homeboy Sandman adds some kick to the prom punch with typical wordplay sent down ‘Coconut Grove’, and Liam Bailey is perfectly cast for the darkly cinematic sway of ‘Don’t Even Try It’.

On an album of many talking points, the LP’s crowning glory is opening single ‘Feel Like Home’: featuring the vocal comforts of the House Gospel Choir, it’s your go–to pick-me-up when the chips are down, targeting the hairs on the backs of necks like a softer focus version of Jamie xx’s ‘Loud Places’. Extended into an alternative, equally uplifting form by Beardyman’s ‘Don’t Mean Thing’, summer festival season already has its homecoming anthem.

With tongues wagging, the twists and turns step away from Heartbreak Ridge when O Love tucks into the mouthwatering shopping list funk of ‘Way Home’; and ‘Lesson 1956’, featuring Jamie Cullum and DJ Woody, jauntily pays homage to classic Cut Chemist alchemy, Yoda’s celebrated turntable tomfoolery back in full effect and extending the flavours found in ‘Home Cooking’.

Again maximising the experience and enjoyment gained from recording live instruments and prioritising songs over beats, Yoda continues to progress with a mixture of risk-taking, elite musicianship, nostalgia brought bang up to date, and ultimately, good clean fun capable of stirring your soul, making ‘Prom Nite’ a date to remember.

Magpie artwork supplied by London’s ENDLESS, whose signature style has tagged Liberty and Lagerfeld as but two high profile clients, Yoda again maximises the experience and enjoyment gained from recording live instruments and prioritising songs over beats. His continued progress mixes risk-taking, elite musicianship, nostalgia brought bang up to date, and ultimately, good clean fun capable of stirring your soul, making ‘Prom Nite’ a date to remember.

Featured 7” Vinyl singles:
Feel Like Home (feat. The House Gospel Choir)/ Don’t Mean A Thing (feat. Beardyman)
My Energy (feat. Eva Lazarus)/Lesson 1956 (feat. Jamie Cullum & DJ Woody)

dreamcastmoe is the recording project of singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ Davon Bryant, a lifelong resident of Washington, DC. His music moves freely between moods and modes, hypnotic, romantic, traversing electronic, R&B, funk, soul, and hip-hop... Resident Advisor dubs it "soulful, cross-genre dance music." This ability to adapt and finesse, to twist in different directions while staying true and coherent in vision, can be traced to his home city and its complex cultural history. "Most Black kids in DC don't ever get to this point," he says. "This is what I am making this music for, in the DC tradition of soul and empathy and love that is rooted in this city. My music is for real people dealing with shit every day." A versatile, modern artist and collaborator, dreamcastmoe has thrived in the underground since his first uploads to Soundcloud and Bandcamp in 2017 and subsequent releases with labels like People's Potential Unlimited, Trading Places, and In Real Life Music. Bryant's laid-back personality, emotional honesty, and infectious energy shine through his work and how he talks about it, as Crack Magazine notes in their 2021 Rising feature: "a steady combination of confidence, creativity, and calmness." He grew up playing drums in church; he's worked dead-end jobs, had ups and downs, even sold off all his gear one time, but never stopped reinvesting in himself. He is quick to praise his co-producers, rattle off influences _ the visual feel of NBA 2K, the comedic timing of Bernie Mac, the savvy legacy of Duke Ellington, for starters _ and credit resourceful DC breakouts like Ankhlejohn that showed him the roadmap. His voice, a steady instrument, seemingly connects it all, capable of slow falsetto flow, swaggering talk-rap, and outright croon. His storytelling style is choppy yet fluid, like a mixtape, which is how Bryant sees Sound Is Like Water, his debut on Ghostly's International's freeform label, Spectral Sound. The two-part project culminates as a full-length LP release in November 2022. The first side, released as Part I, opens on the blurred beats of "El Dorado," which dreamcastmoe dedicates to his journey. It's a head-nodder, an off-kilter earworm co-produced by Max D (Future Times, RVNG Intl, etc.), with Bryant harmonizing hooks with synth jabs and a pitched-down presence. "Complicated" is the slow jam, delivered smoothly from a Saturday night crossroads. dreamcastmoe is contemplative and committed... gliding and locking ad-libs into skittering rhythms courtesy of co-producer Zackary Dawson _ but also willing to let something go, "acknowledging that everything in life IS NOT easy." "RU Ready" takes off from the jump as a tribute, challenge, and promise to his partner and his city ("The times you sat with me when I needed you the most / Told me the things that I needed to see / Young black man, really trying to be what I can be / And I'm really from DC). In its potent two-plus minutes, the sonics (co-produced by ZDBT) press the message, all cymbal crashes, breakbeats, and serrated synth lines. "Cloudy Weather, Wear Boots" is a blitzing dance-punk track made in collaboration with Jordan GCZ on Bryant's first trip to Amsterdam. The album's flipside opens on "Much More," the first of two synth-and-beat ballads co-produced by ZDBT. Later on "Long Songz," he claims, "I'm not writing love songs no more," prioritizing the vibe with "all my day ones." He calls it "a cry for more normal moments. Everything doesn't have to be a fantasy love story, more time spent getting to the money, growing, and making a way." He saves two of his most propulsive cuts for the finale, co-produced by Sami, co-founder of DC dance label 1432 R. As their titles suggest, "Take A Moment" and "Make Ya Mind" operate as anthems for movement, with Bryant free-flowing commands above wildly-styled percussion. Per Bryant, the latter is both "wake & bake jam" and a "dance floor bomb." His parting line: "Action / You got to show me action / Reaction." The world of dreamcastmoe straddles virtual reality and the realness of DC, images both imagined and lived-in. Bryant has a knack for unexpected melodies but what makes his music so exciting is his capacity to defy the expectations of genre and image. A fluid ingenuity and vulnerability bottled by Sound Is Like Water, and this is just the beginning.

Eugene Lamont Johnson a.k.a E Lamont Johnson or Lamont Johnson holds the distinction of being the first internationally recognized fretless bassist in R&B music. Born April 20th 1955 in Highland Park, Michigan. Lamont rose to prominence as a session musician on Gloster Williams &The King Vision’s 1977 gospel album project “Together” (Gospel Roots -5005). In the same year Lamont featured as part of the celebrated Detroit based band Brainstorm their best-selling 1977 album “Stormin’” for Tabu Records. Brainstorm was initially formed during 1975 by bandleader and saxophonist Charles ‘Chuck’ Overton, and included lead vocalist Belita Woods, Lamont Johnson on Fretless bass, Renell Gonsalves on drums, Trenita ‘Treaty’ Womack on percussion, flute and backing vocals, Bob Ross (a.k.a Professor RJ Ross) on keyboards, Gerald ‘Jerry’ Kent on guitar, Jeryl Bright on trombone and ‘Leaping’ Larry Sims on trumpet and flugelhorn. The album was recorded during 1976 and released the following year. It contained the disco hit “Loving Is Really My Game” the popular “Wake Up And Be Somebody” and the radio hit “This Must Be Heaven” a beautifully crafted ballad featuring the lead vocals of Lamont which still receives continued airplay to this day. Lamont did not feature on the band’s two subsequent album projects “Journey To The Light” (Tabu 35327) in 1978 and “Funky Entertainment” (Tabu 35749) in 1979.

The year1978 was to prove to be one of the most prolific of Lamont’s recording career, playing bass on three studio albums. Firstly, on Hamilton Bohannon’s “On My Way” (Mercury SRM-i-3710), Jimmy McKee’s “First Time Out” (Champion- 8083N5) and Keith Barrows “Physical Attraction” (Columbia JC-35597) albums respectively. The final project of that year would be Lamont’s own album project “Music Of The Sun” (Tabu-35455) featuring Lamont on both bass guitar and vocals, the album also spawned two lead 45’s “Sister Fine/Yours Truly, Discreetly” and “Hey Girl/Differently”.

During 1979 Lamont would feature as a guest bassist on a further two studio album projects, firstly the self-titled debut album of fellow Detroit musicians Chapter 8 (Ariola 50056) followed by another self-titled album “Nightflyte” (Ariola 50060) who’s line-up included Howard Johnson prior to him embarking on a solo career. During 1980 Lamont began work on a second solo album for Tabu. Two lead 45 singles were recorded “Rock You Baby/Something More” (Tabu ZS9-5521) followed by the album’s title song “Rhumba” backed with the modern soul favourite “Masta Luva” (ZS9-5525) for whatever reason CBS/Tabu decided to shelve the remainder of the project. Later recording projects to feature Lamont instrumental talents were Was Not Was ‘s “Tell Me I’m Dreaming and Robert Lowe’s “Double Dip” jazz funk album. Later solo CD album projects from Lamont, “This Must Be Heaven” arrived in 2004 and “Amore’ Dance” in 2001 both on his own Allee Records Label. From the mid 70’s through to the present day, Lamont has been a notable electric bass instructor in the Detroit area and beyond. As well as the previously mentioned projects, Lamont and many of his prot’eg’es work can be found on many other world renown artists recording projects the most notable being, Earth Wind & Fire, The Dramatics, Anita Baker, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Phyllis Hyman, Beyonce, Howard Johnson, David T. Walker, Aretha Franklyn, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, George Duke, The Temptations, The Winans amongst others.

Fast forward to the present and Soul Junction have licensed two previously unissued dance orientated Lamont Johnson produced compositions for this 45sinlge release with more to come. Under the project/artists name of “Lamont Johnson & Eugene” the recordings feature several different local Detroit musicians and vocalists. The a-side is a male vocally led early 90’s mid-tempo feel good dance number. While the b-side in contrast is a more synthesized bass driven 80’s female dancer which should appeal to the Boogie crowd,

Enjoy.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods . A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind. Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet , before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood's value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application. Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood's music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods , self- issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975. Where Neighborhoods , a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood's love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of "musical cinematography," imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood's extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world. A fascinating counterpoint to its predecessor, Back to the Woodlands brings us even closer to Hood's belief in the transportive qualities of sound; that field recordings could serve as a vehicle for the imagination and liberation, particularly for those with similar mobile disabilities as his own. Across the album's twelve compositions, the rippling instrumental harmonics - shifting between abstraction and playful melody - fold so seamlessly into the birdsong, bubbling brooks, and other environmental ambiences, that they often give the impression of having been recording within the landscapes toward which they whisper. Falling somewhere between the immersive calm of healing music and New Age, the creative field recording practices of sound ecologists world building for Folkways, and the jazz infected ambiences during Obscure / Editions EG's highest heights, Back to the Woodlands sculpts an singular proximity of music for its moment; a form of ambient sonic realism that draws the consciousness toward its surroundings as much as within. Working closely with his estate to maintain his original vision, Freedom to Spend has restored and remastered this never before released, lost masterpiece by Ernest Hood from the original tapes. Ernest Hood's Back to the Woodlands will be issued on vinyl, as well as on CD in combination with its contemporary Where the Woods Begin , with new liner notes by Michael Klausman . On behalf of Ernest Hood and Freedom To Spend, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Oregon Wild, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Oregon's wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

“The Long Meadows is the endless stream never getting to the sea, through the lens of a couple in love unable to buy a home. It's the Now and the Past both melding into one cry of confusion, unanswered and forever in pursuit, “locked out of the next life”.

Following both a global pandemic and an acclaimed, landmark debut album, inimitable Irish Alt-Folk act Junior Brother returns today with details of his new album The Great Irish Famine, and a new single titled “No Snitch”. The album follows his much lauded 2019 Pull The Right Rope and is out 2nd September via multidisciplinary Irish label Strange Brew.

The Great Irish Famine leaps boldly forward into an exciting new chapter, and into a shaken new world - staggeringly profound, brutally beautiful in its epic sweep.

Speaking about the themes across the album Kealy further explains, "I was very conscious to bring each element of the debut into this follow-up, but dramatically dig ten times deeper and stretch ten times further down into each avenue”. “No Snitch" soars amidst darkly comic self-reflection ("This Is My Body"), anxious reflexes on modern living ("No Country For Young Men"), and the painful role the past plays in a nation's present ("King Jessup's Nine Trials").

Both startlingly dynamic and profoundly accomplished, The Great Irish Famine reflects fall-out of trauma both personal and universal, national, and international, minor, and mountainous, historic, and contemporary - all uncompromisingly conveyed through the magnetic, emotionally potent vision of a one-of-a-kind artist at the top of his game.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods. A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind.

Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet, before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood’s value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application.

Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood’s music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods, self-issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975.

Where Neighborhoods, a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood’s love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of “musical cinematography,” imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood’s extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world.

No Way Out is the classic rap album helmed by Puff Daddy and featuring his Family of labelmates and trusted collaborators from across the Bad Boy universe and the music industry at large. Debuting in the Summer of 1997, the Grammy Award winning album sold well over half a million copies in its first week of release—securing the Number One spot on the Billboard 200 chart. It also spawned several Billboard Hot 100 singles, including the international chart-topping Biggie tribute “I’ll Be Missing You” which sat in the top spot for 11 consecutive weeks and has the distinction of being the first ever rap song to debut at Number One on the Hot 100 chart.

Originally conceived as an ode to Harlem and a nod to the mob narratives of Scorsese and Puzzo, Puff changed course (and album titles!) following the death of his friend and fellow Bad Boy artist The Notorious BIG. Assembling a powerhouse production team of rotating talent known collectively as “The Hitmen” and stowing away to Trinidad, they spent weeks expanding on the project. What came of those sessions were not only major hit records for No Way Out, but also tracks that appear on Life After Death and various other Bad Boy releases throughout the late 90’s.

Since his debut 25 years ago as a bona fide solo artist, Diddy has gone on to develop countless other talented performers and produce a myriad of projects that reach beyond music into fashion, film and television. Yet and still, No Way Out—which has been RIAA certified 7x Platinum—remains one of Puffy’s most successful, highest grossing albums to date.

"You and Me" by Penny & the Quarters simply refused to stay lost. For 40 years, the song sat silent in a box of reels before heartthrob Ryan Gosling selected it to star in 2010's indie weeper Blue Valentine. The power of the track set off an international treasure hunt in pursuit of the mysterious artists behind it. Since then, "You and Me" has soundtracked thousands of weddings, spawned hundreds of YouTube covers, and tugged heartstrings for scores of advertisements and films. Fifteen years after "Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label" became Numero's worst selling compilation, we've reanalyzed the tapes and selected 11 equally-as-fascinating rehearsals caught by engineer Clem Price in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970.

"You and Me" by Penny & the Quarters simply refused to stay lost. For 40 years, the song sat silent in a box of reels before heartthrob Ryan Gosling selected it to star in 2010's indie weeper Blue Valentine. The power of the track set off an international treasure hunt in pursuit of the mysterious artists behind it. Since then, "You and Me" has soundtracked thousands of weddings, spawned hundreds of YouTube covers, and tugged heartstrings for scores of advertisements and films. Fifteen years after "Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label" became Numero's worst selling compilation, we've reanalyzed the tapes and selected 11 equally-as-fascinating rehearsals caught by engineer Clem Price in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970.

“You and Me” by Penny & the Quarters simply refused to stay lost. For 40 years, the song sat silent in a box of reels before heartthrob Ryan Gosling selected it to star in 2010’s indie weeper Blue Valentine. The power of the track set off an international treasure hunt in pursuit of the mysterious artists behind it. Since then, “You and Me” has soundtracked thousands of weddings, spawned hundreds of YouTube covers, and tugged heartstrings for scores of advertisements and films. Fifteen years after Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label became Numero’s worst selling compilation, we’ve reanalyzed the tapes and selected 11 equally-as-fascinating rehearsals caught by engineer Clem Price in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970.