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Following the release of Eric Chenaux's last album Say Laura (2022), The Guardian wrote "the Canadian songwriter has one of the all-time great singing voices in popular music, an intensely romantic Chet Baker-ish instrument that seems to float with piercing direction, like a paper aeroplane thrown hard through mist." With Uncut describing his songcraft "as delicate and lovely as a rare orchid" and Record Collector praising the album's "sublime alien balladry" such are the accolades that have accrued throughout Chenaux's unique and consummately uncompromising solo music for well over a decade now. Delights Of My Life opens a new chapter for the singer/guitarist and formally introduces the Eric Chenaux Trio, with Toronto-based musicians Ryan Driver on Wurlitzer organ and Phillipe Melanson on electronic percussion. Driver is a longtime collaborator, appearing on several of Chenaux's solo albums (even embedded into the very title of the 2010 masterpiece Warm Weather With Ryan Driver). Melanson has a long list of involvements that include Bernice, Joseph Shabason, and U.S Girls, and a recent release with his Impossible Burger project on Chenaux's own experimental label Rat-drifting, but this marks the first fulsome involvement between the two as players on a recording. In many ways Delights Of My Life also picks up right where Chenaux's previous album left off, in its subversions of a classic, timeless jazz-inflected balladry, while the interplay of the trio formation indeed unfurls many new delights. Recording together at Chenaux's spartan home studio in rural France, Driver's harmonically warped organ and Melanson's electroacoustic sampling and percussion hold time in newfound ways. Where previously Chenaux relied on a freeze/sustain pedal and minimalist rhythmic triggers to generate both pulse and chordal foundations, Melanson now paints timekeeping with expressive and intricate colourations, through live deployments of fluid sampled percussion (including orchestral timbres like timpani, kettle drums, and woodblock) that blur the boundaries between acoustic and electronic. Driver also ramps up his role in the song arrangements (prefigured in his support playing on Say Laura), teasing out chords and melodic filigree on Wurlitzer that percolate more prominently with Chenaux's signature fried guitar solos and succulent singing. Both trio members add dulcet backing vocals, most notably on the 10-minute tour-de-force of fuzzed and ring-modulated swing "This Ain't Life" that opens the record. All seven songs on the album groove and sway, simmer and sparkle, like nothing in the inestimable Chenaux discography to date. Chenaux's tunes have the uncanny ability to sound like jazz standards; songs you feel you've heard before, though certainly never quite like this. Yet these are of course all originals, compositionally and interpretively, bent through an inimitable avant/out-music lens. Delights Of My Life conveys warm familiarity, shot through with the exuberantly experimental subversion and playful, even mischievous, iconoclasm that continues to mark Chenaux as defiantly, virtuosically, and genially one-of-kind.

1STEP Process 180g 45rpm Double LP Pressed on VR900-Supreme Vinyl!
Mastered from the Analogue Mix-Down Tapes of the Original Digital Recording by Bernie Grundman!
Ultra-Luxe "Monster Pack" Jacket with a Deluxe 16-Page Booklet & Striking Outer Slipcase!

New lacquers cut after each run of 500 pressings!

Strictly Limited to 5,000 Numbered Pressings!

Impex 1STEP #5 celebrates Patricia Barber's 1999 "return" to The Green Mill, Chicago's fabled jazz club. Conceived as a "companion" to her Grammy-winning studio album Modern Cool, Companion finds Barber and her touring band in inspired form, playfully and energetically performing hits and deep tracks from her celebrated oeuvre.

The dynamic interaction between the artist and her reverent audience adds a palpable sense of space and community. At the same time, the fans' hushed attention creates a studio-like sense of precision and detail. The snap and crackle of Barber, her grand piano, and her onstage partners practically leaps off the groove into your listening room!

Companion's fan-favorite reputation is enhanced immeasurably by Jim Anderson's jaw-dropping, lifelike recording. Eschewing the crystalline sterility of digital recordings of the time, Anderson's sound is always warm, natural, and lacking unforced "hype."

Like Anderson, Impex aims to present great recordings that are as natural as possible. And we couldn't wait to put our favorite Patricia Barber release, using Jim's analog mix-down master tapes, on 180 grams of VR900 Super Vinyl. The deep, inky black backgrounds and absence of surface noise will pull listeners right into those three evenings in 1999, capturing a seminal modern jazz artist at a creative and professional peak and reveling in a perfectly rendered and joyous audio time capsule.

Finally, our deluxe Impex Treatment packages the whole party with a lovely outer slipcase, a booklet containing a new note from Patricia, and a dazzling array of photographs from the evenings by frequent Barber collaborator Valerie Booth, exclusive to our 1STEP. Heavy paper stock with spot gloss coating and a faithfully recreated exterior design will satisfy original fans and aesthetes throughout the music-loving world.

True audiophile joy — now cut at 45 RPM 2LP for better tracking, exceptional bass!
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio from the original master tapes
Plated and pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings!
Stoughton Printing gatefold tip-on heavyweight cardboard jacket


Praise for the 33 1/3 version of The Smoker You Drink, The Player You Get:

"(Side one) ends with the appropriately titled 'Happy Ways,' a Latin-tinged guitar-fest with lovely chunky bass lines that sounds absolutely glorious on this Analogue Productions pressing. The zing of steel string guitar almost sounds dead on the CD and tired on my ancient vinyl pressing, so this is clearly not one of those remasters that's based on an umpteenth generation copy of the tapes. ... You owe it to yourself to hear this album — and it will not sound any better than this spectacular pressing." — Recording = 8/10; Music 10/10 — Jason Kenedy, Hi-Fi+, Issue 148

"An outstanding new 180gm LP reissue from Analogue Productions, with improved sound thanks to a sparkling new remaster by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, makes it clear that this 1973 release remains — with the possible exception of 1978's But Seriously, Folks . . . — the undisputed highlight of Walsh's solo career. ... Another week, another beautiful-sounding, wonderfully packaged reissue from Analogue Productions." Read the whole review here. — Robert Baird, May 2017

In between his stints with the James Gang and the Eagles, Joe Walsh tackled his second solo studio album The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get which became his most successful solo outing. The 1973 LP continued the heavy and light rock mix of tracks found on his previous release, Barnstorm.

Analogue Productions has done reissue justice to the album that AllMusic decries "features some of the most remembered Joe Walsh tracks, but it's not just these that make the album a success. Each of the nine tracks is a song to be proud of. This is a superb album by anyone's standards."

To obtain the best sound possible we turned to Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio to remaster this superb album from the original analogue tapes. Next we plated the lacquers and pressed LPs on 180-gram audiophile vinyl at the world's best LP maker, Quality Record Pressings. Top it all off with a deluxe Stoughton Printing gatefold tip-on jacket and you've got the makings for audiophile joy.

But would we stop there? Hardly. Now with our 45 RPM release, the best-sounding version of this rock music gem gives listeners an even richer sonic experience. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately.

This amazingly eclectic rock album has Joe's smash "Rocky Mountain Way," his hit "Meadows," plus "Bookends," "Wolf; Dreams" and more! Walsh's ability to swing wildly from one end of the rock scale to the other is unparalleled and makes for an album to suit many tastes.

An’archives presents the latest album by Japanese free saxophonist and vocalist Harutaka Mochizuki, Doppelgänger ga boku wo. Since the early 2000s, Harutaka has quietly, yet steadily, released a string of solo and collaborative releases that have allowed multiple perspectives on one of the most singular voices in modern music. In collaboration, he seems to prefer the duo format, and digging through his discography, you’ll find releases where he pairs with Tomoyuki Aoki (of Up-Tight), Michel Henritzi, and Hideaki Kondo. But Harutaka’s solo performances, with their lyricism and physicality, are where the magic truly happens.

If earlier albums, like Solo Document 2004 (Bishop, 2005) and Pas (no label, 2014), were raw documentations of solo alto saxophone performances, in recent years, Harutaka’s solo albums have become more complex, more mystifying. Most significantly, they’ve become more personal; there are few musicians extant whose albums feel quite so much like diaristic interventions, and Harutaka’s music now is deeply moving in its intimacy. Developing that thread of revelation, Doppelgänger ga boku wo offers a still richer exploration of many facets of Harutaka’s artistry.

The two double-tracked alto saxophone performances here feel consummate, with Harutaka shadowing himself, exploring the possibilities of the multiple self: Doppelgänger is me, indeed. The playing here is rich with affect, but still exploratory, voiced with rigour and intent. Two short pieces for keyboard and voice (about Giacometti and Genêt, respectively) are fragile miniatures, with clusters of chords, and passing phrases, wrapping around Harutaka’s untutored but lovely singing.

The ‘karaoke’ performance that closes the album, of “Woman ‘W no higeki’ yori”, speaks to the iterative aspects of Harutaka’s music. A cover of the Hiroki Yakushimaru song, the theme to Shinichirō Sawai’s 1984 film W’s Tragedy, he’s returned to this song several times, and here, his delivery perfectly captures the spirit of what Michel Henritzi, in his typically beautiful liner notes, evocatively details as “one of those sad love songs that accompany lonely sake drinkers in smoky night bars, sharing their spleen.”

Gorgeous, human, heartrending - Doppelgänger ga boku wo is Harutaka Mochizuki in element and in spirit.

Although both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong had met and performed together previously, they wouldn't be heard on record together until January 18, 1946, when they waxed a single 78-rpm disc ("You Won't Be Satisfied) for Decca. They went on to record a few more singles together until in 1956 when producer Norman Granz paired the two together between 1956 and 1957 on three albums that were both critically acclaimed and commercial successes - appealing to audiences in and beyond the confines of jazz per se: Ella & Louis, its sequel Ella & Louis Again, and the selection of songs from George Gershwin's opera Porgy & Bess. While Porgy & Bess was recorded with a big band, the first two albums (featured in this release) were made in small group formats with the great Oscar Peterson Trio plus drummers Buddy Rich or Louie Bellson, resulting in some of the most fascinating jazz and popular music ever produced

With Lucifer, Kompakt presents an album of rare beauty from two masters of modern music. A family affair, it’s a collaboration between the Italian father-and-son duo of Luciano Michelini and Lorenzo Dada, whose combined histories bring to Lucifer a depth of experience alongside clarity of vision and a finely tuned, neatly developed combined compositional voice. A lovely, beguiling suite of music that combines the electronic and the acoustic, the urban and the pastoral, its gorgeous night-eye vision and tender melancholy sits neatly within the Kompakt universe, while offering the curious listener some rich new perspectives.

There is already plenty to know both artists by. Lorenzo Dada creates across multiple fields – a techno producer and DJ who has already worked with the likes of Jay Haze, Fete, Leo Benassi, and Der, he’s released a small clutch of stylish, smartly designed EPs, and a solo album, Second Life (2018). His complementary background in classical music and composition informs his ensemble project, Tears Of Blue (who appear on Lucifer), where Dada paints with neo-classical tones for a quartet of violin, viola, cello and grand piano, supplemented by electronics for live performance.

Luciano Michelini’s history is yet richer. He may be best known, to many, for his piece “Frolic”, the theme to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm series; it was also sampled by Snoop Dogg for 2022’s “Crip Ya Enthusiasm”. But there’s much more to Michelini’s story. A successful soundtrack composer, Michelini both studied and taught at the Conservatoro di Santa Cecilia, and worked for RCA from the sixties to the eighties; his soundtracks from this period are gorgeous examples of the form, particularly his work for Il Decamerone Nero (1972), L’Isola Degli Uomini Pesce (1979), and the devastatingly gorgeous Dimensione Donna (1977).

In the eighties, Michelini and his wife Anna Gutling founded the Electronic Music Division studio and academy in Rome, which is where the majority of Lucifer was recorded. Dada reflects on the experience: “We never worked together before, so it was all new for both of us,” with Michelini adding, “I truly love this experience with my son. He’s a talented pianist and composer. I am not very familiar with electronic music nowadays, but we did it fluently.” There’s certainly a familial energy at play through Lucifer, and you can hear how Dada and Michelini, through exploration and experiment, find a shared language, balancing Dada’s tendency toward minimalism, and Michelini’s composerly voice.

Lucifer flows as a suite that interweaves electronic music with acoustic instruments: the lonely sigh of saxophone; Michelini’s lush, verdant piano; the weeping strings of Tears Of Blue (recorded at the studio of Michelini’s friend, the late Maestro, Ennio Morricone). These multiple voices are located within the electronic sighs and swarms from Dada’s kit; there are moments of propulsion, and passages of lambent drift, where the album revels in its tonal sweetness. If it flows so effortlessly, that’s because Lucifer was designed that way, as a suite or a sonata of sorts.

And the title? Dada reflects, “Lucifer was an angel who decided not to be one anymore. The miracle of life is that we can decide what we want to be, even if we are born as angels or vice versa.” This feels somehow apposite: there’s certainly something of the transformative, and the transportive, in Lucifer, a unique family collaboration of rare poetry and sensitivity, where two generations meet in the modern crucible that is the electronic music studio.

Sounds Good ist ein Album, das, vereinfacht ausgedrückt, seinem Namen alle Ehre macht. Die aktuelle Single Hanging On folgt auf den Bombast-Track Nobody But You und Gift of Life mit Kevins Delfonics-artigem Gesang, der die Bandbreite der menschlichen Erfahrung thematisiert. Kevin und Tony Martin sind Brüder, Eric ist ihr Bruderund langjähriger Freund durch die Musik. Während die anfängliche Verbindung der Band auf der berauschenden Mischung aus Jazz-Performance-fokussierter Musikschule und der Plackerei lokaler Auftritte gründet, wurde ihre Bindung durch unzählige Stunden auf Tour und die Produktion von zwei Studioalben gestärkt – 2019 das Debütalbum Buck und 2021 die EP Ripe. "Being on the road, doing our own tours, and backing incredible people like Lady Wray, has sharpened our skills and really revved us up for this record", sagt Kevin."It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." Das ist eine Möglichkeit, Veränderungen zu beschreiben: sich selbst einzuholen. Jedes Mitglied von Brainstory hat Veränderungen durchgemacht, sowohl persönlich als auch musikalisch, und all das zieht sich durch diese Platte. Der Weg zur Weiterentwicklung ihrer Musik ist klarer denn je zuvor. Wenn es eine Sache gibt, die auf diesem Album überdeutlich wird, dann ist es, dass Brainstory sich entwickelt haben. Ein Teil ihrer Entwicklung ist zweifellos darauf zurückzuführen, dass sie ihr eigenes Studio in Long Beach haben und dort ständig arbeiten. Ein weiterer wichtiger Faktor ist, dass sich ihre Gemeinschaft erweitert hat. "I've been playing music with my brother all my life and now with Eric for a long time", erzählt uns Tony. "Leon, though, is like another brother I've just met." Aus der Freundschaft ist die Band entstanden, und jetzt trägt die erweiterte Gemeinschaft dazu bei, sie weiter voranzutreiben. Die Sterne stehen günstig, dass sie mit diesem neuen Album einen großen und wohlverdienten Schritt machen, und das hört man ihrer Musik an – music that just Sounds Good.

Warehouse Find!

Vienna-based producer Sam Irl popped up on our radar a couple of years ago following stellar releases on Jazz & Milk, but honestly we should have been paying far closer attention as this guy has been making the best crunchy, MPC-driven jazz-infused House music dating right back to 2006. EP's for S3A's Sampling As An Art and collaborative projects with Patrick Pulsinger and Dusty have won him fans including Gilles Peterson (leading to a release on Brownswood), Mr Scruff and Session Victim amongst many others. His live sets have also seen him perform at the hallowed grounds of Panorama Bar and Sonar Festival.

For his debut EP here on Freerange Sam has delivered four tracks which perfectly showcase his production skills and knowledge of what makes a dance floor tick, kicking off with title track Rain Technique. Quirky keys and a playful groove help build a warm and charming vibe, light and bouncy yet deep and driving enough to get your dance on to.

Trust follows with loping, lopsided percussion forming the basis of the groove, sparse Rhodes pads punctuating the beat and adding just the right musical element to the mix without cluttering the beats or compromising the sense of space.

Flipping over we have All That's Left which sees Sam utilising his trusted TR606 for some lovely snappy snares and sizzling hihats. Chiming arpeggios join the repeating chord riff creating another simple yet uplifting and playful mood which can't fail to get under your skin. Closing the EP we have a wonky, shuffling house track which once again shows Sam proving less is more, sampling his key elements into the MPC and jamming out the arrangement in a live and improvised way which brings a fresh, somewhat naive appeal to the production.

"Joell Ortiz & KXNG Crooked met the year they both won XXL's coveted Freshmen of the Year Award. The two's careers are as legendary as any in the rap game. Joell Ortiz started by signing to Dr. Dre's Aftermath label, then moving to Shady records as part of the Super group Slaughterhouse with Joe Budden, Royce Da 5'9 and KXNG Crooked. Add to that a fresh feature on Eminem's newest album "Music To Be Murdered By."

Meanwhile, KXNG Crooked was signed to Virgin Records at just 17 before joining Death Row Records. He's had a flourishing solo career including collaborations along the way with TechN9ne, 2Pac, Benny The Butcher, Raekwon, Akon, Ray J and more. The West Coast LBC representer KXNG Crooked and Brooklyn's Joell Ortiz have finally come together for the the joint project "H.A.R.D." on Mello Music Group.

Album produced by HEATMAKERZ, ERICK SERMON, BOOGEYMAN, ILLMIND, APOLLO BROWN, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. LEAGUE

This special edition vinyl features the 24 for '24 Artist Series painting by KipDaFog."

GRUPO ÉBANO (Pr. "Grupo EH-ba-no") In the time-honored spirit of excavating gold from the unlikeliest dark corners, we bring you the shiniest of gems which is guaranteed to thrill lovers of classic Brazilian bossa and MPB. This self-titled album by Rio's Grupo Ébano, an all-female gospel vocal group, was originally released on CD only in 1997 on a small independent label and in small quantities. The songs, all originals from the pen of group leader (and backing vocalist to the stars) Gil Miranda, are richly melodic and sophisticated in the mode of all the 60s and 70s Brazilian classics (think Quarteto Em Cy) while their positive spiritual message is more reminiscent of the Clark Sisters if they sang in Portuguese. This first-time reissue, first-time vinyl & digital edition and debut international release will bring many new fresh ears to this lovely and very classy album which will appeal to different generations of Brazilian music lovers, from tastemaking DJs to their parents to even their grandparents.

Warehouse Find!

As we hurtle towards our 200th Freerange release the quality output you've come to expect from Freerange shows no sign of faltering with Bas Amro bringing you an absolutely stellar EP entitled You And Me. Dutch wunderkind Bas has built himself a solid reputation through only a handful of releases on labels such as Wolfskuil, Kutchuli and most notably his 2011 EP Ten on Freerange which has gone onto become a stone-cold classic in the deep house mecca of Johannesburg. This long awaited follow up delivers on every level and if early feedback and crowd
response is anything to go by looks set to push Bas further into the spotlight where he deserves to be.
You And Me starts in a deceptively understated manner wrapping you in a shroud of warm, dubby stabs underpinned by a rolling groove that can't fail to draw you onto the dancefloor. Things stay deep with hints of Chandler and echoes of Basic Channel until the breakdown arrives, the filters roll up and the whitenoise
shines through bringing a new energy and dynamic to the track. A classic, timeless vibe which we're proud to be bringing you on Freerange. As with his previous release Ten, Bas works hard to deliver not one but two faultless originals so flip over for Across The Street featuring the vocals of Jennifer and you won't be disappointed. A simple, repeating six-measure synth hook drives the track and brings with it a lovely looseness and lack of obvious
structure. Kennifer's sparse, almost improvised sounding vocal drops heighten the sense of space and freefall effect making such a refreshing change to most of todays formulated and conventional house music. Last up is an amazing remix of You and Me from rising start Matt Karmil who brings his own unique and refreshing sound to the EP. Karmil's recent LP on PNN
won rave reviews from all corners and with just two other releases on Beats In Space and International Records Recordings he seems to have burst from out of nowhere but has certainly become hot property in the last 12 months. His forthcoming remix for John Talabot and Axel Boman under their Talaboman is immense and here he treads a similar path focusing on a raw percussion-heavy sound with very minimal tweaks and effects adding subtle colour and interest. These days it's very hard to breakthrough with an original, new approach to house
but Matt Karmil seems to have done it with ease.

Repress of Child's EP "I". "If you're familiar with CHILD and are particularly a sucker for the keyboard, I'm afraid I've got some bad news - It's mostly gone. Fear not, though, as their fuzz-infused blues is alive and kicking and is sure to continue to appeal to a lot of fans of different genres. The three songs follow as their lengths increase, starting with "Age Has Left Me Behind", clocking in at 03:47 and ending with "Going Down Swinging", a 10:20 jam which definitely raises the temperature and which I'm confident will be talked about for a long time. In-between, one can find "The Other Song", which is not just another song, but a sublime cover of Spirit's "The Other Song", originally released as part of the album "Son of Spirit" in 1975. A great tune started only by Michael (drums) and Danny (bass), to whom Mathias and his guitar join after around 20 seconds, and later with a lovely vocal melody which stands throughout the whole song - the less fuzzy song of the EP but definitely a pure beauty (so is the original)." - More Fuzz

Orange vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Repress of Child's EP "I". "If you're familiar with CHILD and are particularly a sucker for the keyboard, I'm afraid I've got some bad news - It's mostly gone. Fear not, though, as their fuzz-infused blues is alive and kicking and is sure to continue to appeal to a lot of fans of different genres. The three songs follow as their lengths increase, starting with "Age Has Left Me Behind", clocking in at 03:47 and ending with "Going Down Swinging", a 10:20 jam which definitely raises the temperature and which I'm confident will be talked about for a long time. In-between, one can find "The Other Song", which is not just another song, but a sublime cover of Spirit's "The Other Song", originally released as part of the album "Son of Spirit" in 1975. A great tune started only by Michael (drums) and Danny (bass), to whom Mathias and his guitar join after around 20 seconds, and later with a lovely vocal melody which stands throughout the whole song - the less fuzzy song of the EP but definitely a pure beauty (so is the original)." - More Fuzz

The Cat's Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years '92-'93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros' Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane's Selected Songs 1997-2003). It's a smart selection of songs by one of Australia's finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat's Miaow's history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets. The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from - Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) - were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence. Diving into that two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat's Miaow's music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren't forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all. The Cat's Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that's pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie's and Bart's lovely, unforced singing. This double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing - some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you're likely to hear. RIYL: Hydroplane, The Cannanes, Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian, Jesus and Mary Chain

[j] How Deep is the Ocean? [Alt Tk]

2023 sees the return of multi-talented Norwegian producer Espen Horne to Wah Wah 45s, after a 24 year hiatus. The man behind the label's very first release, the now seminal Magnetica, never lost his connection with the imprint and has remained very much part of the Wah Wah family, making a comeback this year with his first solo material under his own name since that club classic from 1999.

Back in the spring, the first single from the project, the gorgeous soul-jazz beauty Bakeren, featuring the stunning vocals of Resonators' Faye Houston, quickly found a home on Gilles Peterson's internationally renowned BBC Radio 6 show as well as that of Jazz FM legend Robbie Vincent, Bandcamp Weekly and the Fresh Finds Jazz Spotify playlist.

Following that, Bergen Sunrays, became a weekly fixture on the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show on BBC 6 Music, with the limited 7-inch of both singles selling out within hours of release.

Next up was the wistful Den Franske Gitaren, a lugubrious soul-jazz piece with drum & bass leanings featuring Bergen based MC and vocalist Aich, which found favour with legends Laurent Garnier and Jazzanova as well as hot Japanese production outfit Dazzle Drums.

This was closely followed by the final single to be taken from the album, the stunning and outspoken vocal jazz waltzer Nada Pode Me Calar (which roughly translates to Nothing Can Shut Me Up!) featuring the sublime talent of Olav Wöllo on vocals and Juno - anotherr big one with Gilles Peterson on Worldwide FM and Deb Grant on BBC 6 Music.

And now the full album, entitled The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence is available for your aural delectation. Recorded largely during lockdown, the LP is a sophisticated and composed piece of work that sees the Norwegian producer make connections with musicians from across Europe, and some closer to home, to collaborate on this sedate and peaceful collection of songs.

The aforementioned Faye Houston also appears on the soulful, dub flavoured Don't Fall Asleep, a piece of music that explores the feeling of being isolated whilst sharing a mutual love and drive to explore new sonic possibilities.

Elsewhere, Olav Wöllo pops up again too, this time on O Mar E A Lua and once again singing in Portuguese to give this track a certain Tropicalia feel, as Espen explains:

"Olav Wöllo is a close friend, an excellent musician and vocalist, and a capoeira professor here in Bergen. He has spent much of his life living in Brazil and speaks Portuguese fluently. He wrote the lyrics for this tune years ago and had just been waiting for the right collaboration to come along.

We went to his lovely studio out on this remote island, made a massive gyoza meal, had some serious good wine and stayed the whole night to record his vocal harmonies and outspoken lyrics."

The single Bergen Sunrays also appears on the album in instrumental form with featured keys courtesy of London based player Rory More - here entitled Rory's Sunrays. His Lowrey organ adds a more melancholic feel to the track, as it does on the stunning Belle Époque, alongside the ivory work of Eirik Blåsternes - an emotional, contemplative and atmospheric track that was tested and shaped in the eclipse of Covid.

As with Belle Époque, La Psychosomnie is a playful yet explorative cut that examines insomnia, paralysis and hypnosis courtesy of some enigmatic French spoken word spinning around a framework of drums, bass and swirling keys.

And finally, the album offers up an alternative version of the single Den Franske Gitaren, this time featuring Martin Halla, a vocalist out of the Bergen Grieg Jazz Academy and winner of the Norwegian version of The Voice back in 2012! The perfect flip to Aich's more mournful interpretation of this bass and drum future classic.

The third studio album from Rebecca Downes with 12 new, original blues-influenced, rock tracks all written by Steve Birkett and Rebecca. Album mixed by Bill Drescher and Chris Childs. With exciting new material that continues the evolution of the music towards rock, More Sinner Than Saint is worth the wait. At the outset, Downes consulted with producer Chris Kimsey, who has previously worked with The Rolling Stones, to select and refine the 12 tracks and to achieve what she and co-writer Steve Birkett see as the perfect expression of their current writing. With five of the fabulous tracks having been mixed by Californian based Bill Drescher, whose previous accolades include working with Rick Springfield and The Bangles, Downes showcases her trademark powerful vocals throughout. With the remainder of the tracks being mixed by Thunder’s Chris Childs, the pedigree of this album is faultless. With her superb studio band that includes Dan Clark, Lloyd Daker and Magnum’s Rick Benton, there was no shortage of artists queuing to join her on the odd track or two. The multi award winning Alan Nimmo (King King) plays guitar on If I Go To Sleep and Magnum’s Tony Clarkin delivers a fabulous guitar solo on Breathe Out. With her signature voice, style and song writing, it was little wonder that last year she was voted Female Vocalist of the Year at the FORM UKBlues Awards. The release of this jubilant new album once again gives her the chance to showcase her formidable powerhouse and gutsy vocals in tracks that have greater range and depth than anything she’s done before. Rebecca said: “We were honoured and humbled to receive Chris Kimsey’s guidance. He gave us confidence about the direction of our writing changing to a rockier sound and advice on the way the material should be recorded. Meeting Bill Drescher in LA was fantastic – such a lovely, down-to-earth guy – and his mixing took the five tracks to the next level. Chris Childs has since done an excellent job on the rest in matching Bill’s mixing style. We are very proud of this album – and the way the music has evolved towards rock. More than ever before we believe it captures the best of our song writing.”

The 3rd installment of Razor-N-Tape's Family Affair series is back and hotter than ever! Now an annual end-of-year tradition, Family Affair Vol. 3 features a heavy hitting 5 track sampler of standout tracks from the full compilation.

The A side features two spanking new remixes of RNT material — Ezel’s dub of Cor.ece & JKriv’s Possibly Impossible takes the track into classic & soulful house territory, while Bruce Leroys flip fellow brasilian artist Guinu’s Amanha into a mid-tempo afro stomper.

The B side starts with boogie-funk bomb Better Than Her by JKriv ft. Saucy Lady & Tortured Soul on vocals. Kim Ahn delivers the deep & sensual vibrations of In The Stars, and Cody Currie rounds out the EP with Ghost, a funk live instrumentation heavy UK broken beat jazz-dance serving.

With gorgeous art lovingly designed by The Myno, in true RNT style the collection is a lovely listen from beginning to end, and naturally boasts some serious dance floor heat!

Warehouse Find!

Time to welcome Soul 223 to the label with his debut Delusions EP entitled Fear Of Stopping. Something of a complete legend in our eyes and ears, Steve Pickton has been releasing top drawer tuneage for over two decades both as Stasis on influential labels such as B12 and Peacefrog and more recently as Soul 223 on equally well regarded imprints like Delsin, Soul Jazz and Neroli. Always one to shy away from any limelight or self promotion it's true to say that this underrated British producer remains something of an anomaly, staying true to his underground roots where faceless, shadowy and obscure reigns supreme over the latest over-exposed cover star. This ethos naturally carries through into his music where you will always find both expansive beauty and unrefined rawness in equal measures ensuring his tracks always sound fresh rather than over produced or contrived.

Fear Of Stopping opens the EP with a low-slung disco groove providing the backbone for intermittent pad washes and reversing stabs. The focus here is firmly on the drums and simple conga riff with thankfully very little else to deter you from this sublime slice of abstract dance music.

Next up we have a remix from another ridiculously talented producer who chooses quality over quantity, having only ever had one release under his own name, albeit for one of the most respected labels in the world; Rush Hour. Maxi Mill came to our attention having released one of the tracks of 2011 namely To The Next. On this, his first ever solo remix he brings a brilliant bump to the EP with a raw, warehousey and bass-heavy workout. Just the right amount of strings and pads keep the deep vibe intact but the filtering bass and jacking drums definitely take this one to the floor.

Flipping over we have Walberswick in it's Hoist Covert Mix incarnation. Almost thirteen minutes of spaced out, deep Detroit house music awaits you, ready to lure you in and cocoon you with it's warm and hypnotizing machine funk. Lovely to hear the old Stasis influence working it's way into this one sounding both decidedly old-school and completely futuristic and otherworldly as only the best tracks ever do.

Closing the EP we have Birdbrook Rain dropping the BPM's for a beautifully sparse track that brings with it an almost desolate and disconnected feeling, echoing synths providing a naive melody while a dusty pad shifts simply beneath. A little slice of magic concluding a fresh and interesting EP, we hope you agree.

The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours was made with the black watch bandmates and producers/engineers Rob Campanella (Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Tyde, The Warlocks) and Andy Creighton (The World Record, Parson Red Heads). Ben Eshbach, formerly of The Sugarplastic, arranged the strings. Kesha Rose guests on lead vocals on the second single, Oh Do Shut Up. And the great Lindsay Murray once again lends her beautiful backing vox to a number of tracks.

the black watch songwriter/frontman John Andrew Fredrick wrote the ten songs on this, his Los Angeles-based band's latest album, entirely unselfconsciously, with no set goal in mind other than to revel in the joy of songwriting, and, eventually, the luxury of recording his music with his more-than-accomplished band. The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours, produced separately and together by Rob Campanella and Andy Creighton evinces the black watch's often stunning ability to, as Andy Gill once observed in The Independent, "find chaos in the calm, melody in the miasma."

Fredrick, who has also published four comedic novels and a book on the early films of Wes Anderson, jovially describes himself as "a recovering Anglophile--one who'll never, one hopes, fully recover." From his home studio in the Angeleno Heights district of L.A., he waxes eloquent about how being branded, as it were, as a too-ardent lover of British music, film, and literature has left him as bemused as has the tag "prolific" that is often affixed to reviews of his work.

"I just don't think it's all that interesting to note that we've made so many records. Looked at one way, it's a sort of deflection from talking about the timbre if not the quality of the individual songs. Though I know it can be intimidating for fans who've just discovered us--a sort of 'My goodness, where do I start with this band that has put out LPs since 1988?' I get it. I do. I picture someone standing at our slot at a bin at a record store becoming overwhelmed at the prospect of picking the 'wrong' title. And then walking away and not picking up anything from us!" Fredrick laughs. "What can you do indeed?"

He started his career as a songwriter as a result of an American Football injury that left him bedridden in the home he grew up in in Santa Barbara, California. The year The Beatles immortal double-album came out at Christmastime he broke his leg so badly that he had to be home-schooled for an entire year. His parents, ex-teachers themselves, refused to let him watch telly for more than an hour a day. He propped a Silvertone acoustic on top of the massive cast that screamed all the way up to his thigh from his toes, and began to write little melodies and lyrics that, doubtless, did not in the least mask his love for the Fabs, The White Album in especial.

And he read and read and read--histories of the American Revolution and Civil War, mostly, and as many Dickens novels as his mum and dad could bring him. "That year," Fredrick observes, "surely made me who I am today. Proof that intensely unfortunate-seeming events can prove most fortunate. As a sport-mad kid, it made me absolutely mental that I was exiled from the activities I loved most and the school teams I played on. What a blessing undisguised that injury was! Not that I'd like to experience anything like it ever again, mind you."

Fredrick can even recall a few of the melodies he wrote as boy ("Utterly trite, of course, completely jejune"); and in a way, The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours showcases a kind of get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged sensibility. "I didn't intend, this time, to make an album per se. I write both songs and fiction in order to find out what happens, to find out what I might want to say," he notes. "Rob often asks me what a particular song is about; and I often reply that I either don't know, or would prefer that others say. Same thing goes for when people ask me where they should start with our discography. I never know what to say. Our LP from 2011, Led Zeppelin Five (remastered in 2021 for its tenth anniversary), has been our best seller, I think--but that may be because some stoned Zepheads thought their gods had perhaps put out a record they'd missed!"

Despite being deadly serious about music-making, TBW's been known to either whimsically or perversely title their albums. Examples: Jiggery-Pokery (an allusion to John Lennon assessing George Martin's productions), After the Gold Room (a pun on the Neil Young classic plus a local eastside L.A. watering hole), Sugarplum Fairy, Sugarplum Fairy (echoing Lennon's famous count-off to A Day in the Life), Fromthing Somethat (a garbled spoonerism/lyric while doing a vocal), Brilliant Failures (the 2020 release that, along with Fromthing Somethat, was named Album of the Year by venerable indie rock magazine The Big Takeover), and the aforementioned LZ5.

For the new LP, the band recruited longtime friends and allies Ben Eshbach (the Emmy-Award-winning frontman of The Sugarplastic) and Lindsay Murray (Gretchens Wheel) to compose and arrange strings and sing heaps of lovely backing vocals, respectively.

And the result? A collection of songs that Fredrick, in his quite-but-not-quite self-deprecatory way, might call another set of brilliant failures. "Every song, every LP we do, is a failure of sorts--no matter how powerful or beautiful or pleasing-to-us it turns out," John concludes. "I have often said that my aim is to write songs as good as anything on The Beatles... and I will never achieve my goal. And thus I'll have to keep at it, keep trying. And chin-chin to that!"

And now your attention's been brought to a band (or you've heard of them or heard a track or two down the years) that has been pegged by The L.A. Weekly as "a national treasure" as well as "the most criminally-neglected indie pop group imaginable."

So here's to the prospect of that ostensible neglect becoming as much of a thing of the past as John Andrew Fredrick's year-long stint in bed.

Label mainstays Fouk just dropped the perfect dancefloor Bomb with ‘Mirage’ paired with a high-octane Elisa Bee remix

We all know Dutch duo Fouk from their soulful, bouncy take on house music. They’re also responsible for some of Heist’s biggest tracks like Kill Frenzy or their Lil Louis inspired 2021 release ‘Blue Steel’. On their new EP, the talented duo shows us a fresh side of their sound: the main-room hands-in-the-air-going-wild side. To top things off, Italian producer Elisa Bee made time in her busy schedule of DJ’ing and releasing for artists like Ben Sims on his Hardgroove imprint and Unknown to the Unknown to deliver a killer remix of the title track.

Fouk’s return to Heist after 3 years is a welcome one and with ‘Mirage’, they might just have given us their biggest house track in their decade spanning career. The track is built around a stuttering synth loop and a seductive female vocal chanting ‘What made you wanna…” The real star here is the bassline, which propels the track into a seriously infectious groove. Add some lush strings and moody changeovers and you’ve got yourself a full-blown dancefloor weapon. Mirage has been a staple in Dam Swindle’s sets for the past months and has been one of their set highlights ever since.

“Coffee” is one for the classic Fouk fans. It’s got lovely Rhodes, a joyous combination of whoo’s, snare-rolls and synth hits grooving on top of an infectious orchestral background loop. “Tapioca” is a hybrid latin-electronic groove that builds on punchy synths, live percussion and drunk keys to balance the energy of the track.

Elisa Bee’s remix of ‘Mirage’ is an intense percussive workout that builds on a breakbeat loop and a rave-bassline. The tempo is turned up a notch or 2 and that stutter synth and vocal of the original make this remix a wild warehouse affair.

Closing track of the EP is ‘Abalone’; A lovely bleep-house affair that still has a bit of that warehouse vibe. It’s got the perfect amount of distortion the drums while keeping things dreamy with some face-melting pads throughout the track.

As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!

Lars & Maarten

Sounds Good ist ein Album, das, vereinfacht ausgedrückt, seinem Namen alle Ehre macht. Die aktuelle Single Hanging On folgt auf den Bombast-Track Nobody But You und Gift of Life mit Kevins Delfonics-artigem Gesang, der die Bandbreite der menschlichen Erfahrung thematisiert. Kevin und Tony Martin sind Brüder, Eric ist ihr Bruderund langjähriger Freund durch die Musik. Während die anfängliche Verbindung der Band auf der berauschenden Mischung aus Jazz-Performance-fokussierter Musikschule und der Plackerei lokaler Auftritte gründet, wurde ihre Bindung durch unzählige Stunden auf Tour und die Produktion von zwei Studioalben gestärkt – 2019 das Debütalbum Buck und 2021 die EP Ripe. "Being on the road, doing our own tours, and backing incredible people like Lady Wray, has sharpened our skills and really revved us up for this record", sagt Kevin."It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." Das ist eine Möglichkeit, Veränderungen zu beschreiben: sich selbst einzuholen. Jedes Mitglied von Brainstory hat Veränderungen durchgemacht, sowohl persönlich als auch musikalisch, und all das zieht sich durch diese Platte. Der Weg zur Weiterentwicklung ihrer Musik ist klarer denn je zuvor. Wenn es eine Sache gibt, die auf diesem Album überdeutlich wird, dann ist es, dass Brainstory sich entwickelt haben. Ein Teil ihrer Entwicklung ist zweifellos darauf zurückzuführen, dass sie ihr eigenes Studio in Long Beach haben und dort ständig arbeiten. Ein weiterer wichtiger Faktor ist, dass sich ihre Gemeinschaft erweitert hat. "I've been playing music with my brother all my life and now with Eric for a long time", erzählt uns Tony. "Leon, though, is like another brother I've just met." Aus der Freundschaft ist die Band entstanden, und jetzt trägt die erweiterte Gemeinschaft dazu bei, sie weiter voranzutreiben. Die Sterne stehen günstig, dass sie mit diesem neuen Album einen großen und wohlverdienten Schritt machen, und das hört man ihrer Musik an – music that just Sounds Good.

Sounds Good ist ein Album, das, vereinfacht ausgedrückt, seinem Namen alle Ehre macht. Die aktuelle Single Hanging On folgt auf den Bombast-Track Nobody But You und Gift of Life mit Kevins Delfonics-artigem Gesang, der die Bandbreite der menschlichen Erfahrung thematisiert. Kevin und Tony Martin sind Brüder, Eric ist ihr Bruderund langjähriger Freund durch die Musik. Während die anfängliche Verbindung der Band auf der berauschenden Mischung aus Jazz-Performance-fokussierter Musikschule und der Plackerei lokaler Auftritte gründet, wurde ihre Bindung durch unzählige Stunden auf Tour und die Produktion von zwei Studioalben gestärkt – 2019 das Debütalbum Buck und 2021 die EP Ripe. "Being on the road, doing our own tours, and backing incredible people like Lady Wray, has sharpened our skills and really revved us up for this record", sagt Kevin."It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." Das ist eine Möglichkeit, Veränderungen zu beschreiben: sich selbst einzuholen. Jedes Mitglied von Brainstory hat Veränderungen durchgemacht, sowohl persönlich als auch musikalisch, und all das zieht sich durch diese Platte. Der Weg zur Weiterentwicklung ihrer Musik ist klarer denn je zuvor. Wenn es eine Sache gibt, die auf diesem Album überdeutlich wird, dann ist es, dass Brainstory sich entwickelt haben. Ein Teil ihrer Entwicklung ist zweifellos darauf zurückzuführen, dass sie ihr eigenes Studio in Long Beach haben und dort ständig arbeiten. Ein weiterer wichtiger Faktor ist, dass sich ihre Gemeinschaft erweitert hat. "I've been playing music with my brother all my life and now with Eric for a long time", erzählt uns Tony. "Leon, though, is like another brother I've just met." Aus der Freundschaft ist die Band entstanden, und jetzt trägt die erweiterte Gemeinschaft dazu bei, sie weiter voranzutreiben. Die Sterne stehen günstig, dass sie mit diesem neuen Album einen großen und wohlverdienten Schritt machen, und das hört man ihrer Musik an – music that just Sounds Good.

At the time, Sizzla was part of Phillip Burrel's XTerminator stable, touring with Luciano and other roots&culture new wave artists. Sizzla is prolific, even by Jamaican standards. Since 1995, he has released over 30 albums and probably over 400 singles. With such an output, fans often complain about the mediocrity of many of them, but Sizzla always manages to surprise listeners with a quality album after a few mediocre ones.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Brainstory’s sophomore full-length album Sounds Good.

Based in L.A. but hailing from the Inland Empire's own Rialto, California, two-thirds of Brainstory, Kevin and Tony Martin are brothers by blood, while Eric Hagstrom is a brother through their music and long term friendship. Since they started the band they have constantly faced situations that forced them to rise to the occasion. They got signed to Big Crown Records, they stepped up their game. COVID happened, they learned to record themselves. They started touring a ton sharing the stage with the likes of Lady Wray and they got their live show super tight. All of this time spent grinding and growing has certainly paid off. The path to take their art to the next level is clearer than ever, and once again, they are here for it. If there is one thing that is abundantly clear on Sounds Good, it’s that Brainstory has leveled up.

Part of this evolution is undoubtedly attributed to having access to and working constantly in their own studio in Long Beach. Another major factor is that their brotherhood has expanded. "I've been playing music with my brother all my life and now with Eric for a long time," Tony tells us. "Leon, though, is like another brother I've just met."

Leon Michels, Big Crown's co-owner, produced this record and applied his unmistakable golden touch in crucial ways. The other member of the extended Brainstory brotherhood whose contributions were essential to the album, is studio engineer legend Jens Jungkurth who controls the tones and textures of the music. "That's what you're hearing, our connection, the fun moments, the little details," Kevin describes. "This record isn't half what it is without them—and it made us want to match that effort," and match that effort they did. Album opener "Nobody But You" is an uplifting, dance ­oor burner, that shows off a new side of Brainstory's range. Drummer Eric Hagstrom’s crushing back beat lays the foundation for an inspirational feel good banger that manages to take the uncomfortable truth that “nobody will save you but you” and turn it into pure blissful motivation. "Peach Optimo" is a laid back half time tune that blends the bounce of Down South Hip-Hop with California G funk and Jazz. They once again show off their B said ballad talents with "Gift Of Life" but this time taking the genre to a new place with lyrics about existentialism and a track that is drop dead gorgeous, haunting, and profound all at once. "NyNy" is an homage to Kev and Tony's recently deceased grandfather while "Too Yung" is a show stopping, deeply personal, stripped down number about being introduced to

alcohol at a young age. They put another hit on the boards with "Hanging On," a Latin / Psychedelic Soul inspired banger featuring Claire Cottrill on background vocals while "XFaded” addresses the all too common vicious cycle of smoking and drinking too much over a trippy shuf­e.

"It's been four years since our last full length record, and with everything that's happened since, it's like we've been catching up to ourselves." That's one way to describe change: catching up to oneself. Each member of Brainstory has gone through shifts, both personally and musically, and all of that threads through Sounds Good. It's easy to say that the music industry can be short on lasting, genuine relationships. However, for Brainstory, from day one it's been about standing by each other, for each other. Their friendship started the group. Track listing:

During the 1990s Shizuka self-released a series of four cassettes, barely heard by anyone outside of their inner circle. Culling together live recordings and home demos, these served as companions to the scant amount of proper Shizuka releases at the time (including the recently reissued Heavenly Persona). Concentric Circles is proud to present the third and most anomalous cassette from Shizuka, simply titled III, on vinyl for the first time in an edition of 500 copies. Formed by guitarist and singer Shizuka Miura, alongside husband Maki Miura, who’d previously played with both Les Rallizes Dénudés and Fushitsusha, the group known as Shizuka started in the early 90s with Jun Kosugi (also of Fushitsusha) on drums, and a revolving cast of bass players, including J.J. Junko, whose sole recorded appearance with the band is here on III. Devoid of any of their trademark noise and bombast, III feel distinct from their studio and live albums of the era, largely due to its fragility; haunted and spare, the songs revolve around Shizuka Miura’s gentle, unforced sighs, and Maki’s flickering, flinty guitar. The first side of the album features four songs – “For You,” “Lunatic Pearl,” “The Night When The Door Opens” and “To The Sky” – which will be well-known to Shizuka fans from previous recordings, but the drastically understated renditions here are particularly moving for their quietude and intimacy. The second half of III consists of a side-long duo session, just Shizuka and Maki Miura together at home, circling around the simplest two-chord motif for twenty minutes, Shizuka singing the most heavenly melody, strung through the sky of this lengthy improvisation. It’s an astonishingly beautiful performance, one that stills time through its becalmed repetition, pointing towards the endless forever. In this respect, it feels like an ultimate extension of Opal’s early recordings, Big Star’s 3rd or even Galaxie 500’s quietest moments. III lifts the darkness away, allowing for a softer, more gentle Shizuka to shine through, bringing with it a side to the band that most never knew existed. A lovely discovery if there ever was one.

Recorded by award-winning mastering engineer Kevin Gray's record label, Anthony Wilson's Hackensack West is Cohearent Records' follow-up to Kirsten Edkins' Shapes & Sound album. Produced by Joe Harley and recorded all-analogue/all-tube at Gray's studio, Cohearent Recording, the AAA vinyl release is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket.

From the liner notes:

The week before these sessions in the summer of 2023, I sat down each morning with the goal of composing one new song by day's end. I knew I'd soon be in the room with my dear friends Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, and Jeff Hamilton, three musicians whom I trust the most, and with whom I've played the most over the last couple of decades. I tried to imagine themes that would feel natural to us, the kinds of songs we could simply dive into without much thinking. When we headed to Kevin Gray's studio to record, I brought seven new songs along with me. Five are included on this album.

"Daido" is dedicated to Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, who became known in the late 1960s for his grainy, sometimes blurry, high-contrast black and white images made throughout Japan. I love his pictures taken on the streets of various Tokyo neighbourhoods such as Shinjuku. His portrait of a menacing stray dong, from his series "A Hunter," is the kind of picture that, seen just once, is unforgettable. These days Daido is still out on the street making pictures, at the ripe young age of 85.

"Verdesse" has a sinuous, chorinho-like melody and rhythmic feel. The tune seems to weave and bob playfully in a space of brightness the way a grapevine seems to curl towards the sunlight. So I named it after a wine grape native to the pre-Alpine region of Isère, near Grenoble in eastern France, that makes a particularly delicious and drinkable white wine.

I wrote "Sunday," well...on Sunday. It unfolds slowly, like a good Sunday does when there's nothing to do, you can sleep in, you've got your person beside you, and you just relax into the day.

"The Lands" is dedicated to a family very dear to my heart: that of tenor saxophonist Harold Land. My mother met Harold when they were both teenagers growing up in San Diego, California. The two of them became lifelong friends, and a little later, Harold enjoyed a fruitful musical association and close friendship with my father, Gerald Wilson. Harold, his lovely wife Lydia, and their son Harold Jr. were extended family for us; they looked after me with love and care. Some of my first gigs ever as a young guitarist were with Harold's incredible band that included Oscar Brashear, Billy Higgins, Richard Reid, and Harold Land Jr.

I've loved Todd Rundgren's "Marlene" since I first heard it on his epic double-album Something/Anything. With its tender, well-contoured melody buoyed by a few special harmonic surprises, it almost seems like something from the pen of Burt Bacharach. It tells such a complete musical story. Rundgren's recorded version has a beautiful endlessly repeating tag. So we played the melody simply, and used the tag as a small staging area for a bit of improvising.

Hackensack West is our alias for engineer Kevin Gray's studio Cohearent Recording, a place inspired by Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Located inside Van Gelder's parents' home, the musicians played in the living room! It was there, in 1954, that Thelonious Monk recorded his classic tune "Hackensack," a "contrafact" melody over the chord changes to the Gershwins' "Oh, Lady Be Good!" In contrafact-like fashion, my own bebop-spirited melody "Hackensack West" seems to nod toward the changes of a few recognizable standards, without corresponding to any particular one.

Yuko Kureyama returns to TAL with the album Heart Fresh, her first ever full length release under her Kopy moniker. All tracks for the album were recorded in Tokyo in June 2023 at the famous live house Ochiai Soup. For the recordings of the ten tracks, Ochiai Soup was swiftly converted into a recording studio as the intimate atmosphere of the club and its perfect room acoustics gave Kopy the chance to record her music like in a live situation.

Amazingly Kopy‘s instrumentation on Heart Fresh consists only of a Jomox x Base 09 rhythm machine and an Elektron Digitakt mini sampler. In the hands of Kopy this fairly basic and common gear creates an unmistakeably intuitive and original approach to drum programming, which is recognizably her very own.

Due to extensive live playing in the past two years, Kopy has garnered a lot of admiration for her consistently unpredictable and fearless club performances and has easily become one of the most exciting and inventive live acts from the ever vibrating electronic music scene in Japan.

However, Heart Fresh seems even more focused, urgent and ambitious than its predecessors, the Paredo EP (TAL12 including a remix by Lena Willikens), the Eternal EP (TAL 24 featuring a remix by Elena Colombi) and the split album Super Mild (TAL15). Nothing on Heart Fresh is subdued. The entire production is resonating with its peculiar frequencies, it is wonderfully evocative, open hearted, full of life and intelligence.

The album opens with Night Sarkas with quirky snare rolls played against slashing, nervy chunks of melody. Samples of organ and chimes evoke an rollercoaster spinning out of tune and synch. Hole Hole is a beat driven and melody free short story for bass drum, snare and hi hat with constantly changing bpm‘s. Tir Tone marks the arrival of annunciatory rhythm patterns and a lovely sprinkling of distorted synths. The album's final track Moonlight Pool is the perfect closer for an album of taut, free wheeling figurations of meter and tone, a nod to classical ambient music as well as to contemporary more experimental digressions.

However, the album’s most startling and unexpected moments come when Kopy follows her futuristic inclinations and matches them with dissonant excoriations that shuttle the mind into a completely different place where all kinds of different activities seem to follow their own individual compasses. Imagine to walk down the noisy streets in Tokyo and you hear all kinds of different sounds infiltrating your ears independently from different sources and directions. In that sense Heart Fresh is the most appropriate soundtrack we can imagine for the contemporary era.

Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics. 2024 welcomes the new 12” on the label with 4 hot and rare gospel disco/funk tunes to uplift your sets and throw people’s hands in the air!

“The Top” is an uplifting and relentless disco roller for incendiary peak times, “Hear my prey” suits the openings with its midtempo funky groove. On the flipside, “Lil Longer” gets deeper and moodier for the most demanding djs out there while “Giving It Up” rounds things up with its lovely boogie vibes.

All tracks have been carefully edited by Andrea Passenger without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors! 12” limited to 300 copies (no digital).

New edits label from the Deep&Disco crew outta NYC. 2 Killer cuts given a revamp and shine for the dancefloor.

Pressed on heavy weight 180g vinyl limited to 300 pressings hand stamped.
DJ FEEDBACK

Craig Smith (6th Borough Project) - Lovely edits, well produced and expertly put together. Good luck with the label chaps

Guy (Sleazy Beats, Monsieur Monod) - What a delightful debut for your new label. Feel The Rhythm is an irresistable boogie groover. We'll be playing these puppies all over the place! All the best with the release and label.

aliOOFT (OOFT! Music) - Being playing this for ages, good to see it being released. Best of luck with the label - I look forward to more Razor N Tape jams!

Sleazy McQueen (Whisky Disco) - Dig it, man!

Onur Engin (OE Edits) - Nice one! I'll definitely support this.

Jimpster (Freerange) - Nicely done. always a good one to have in the bag. cheers for the good edits.

Trujillo (Apersonal Music) - So Tight is a dope warm disco for the dance floor!, will spin it!

The Glue (Kolour) - Great edits both of them, we will keep an eye out for more stuff from you guys for sure!

Leftside Wobble (Futureboogie) - A pair of filtered boogie beauties.

Alkalino (Much Love) - Like both, but "Feel the Rhythm" is my fav.cheers!

Matthew Bandy (Z Records) - Solid edits here, will be getting support on both from me. Cheers.

Sell by Dave (Bedmo Disco, Juno Plus) - Excellent first release lads - enjoying both tracks. The edits scene needs some fresh cuts/styles, and you've delivered on these. Major props - can see both getting plenty of plays in Bedmo Disco sets this summer x

Daz (Get Down Edits) - So Tight never fails but this is my first time hearing Feel The Rhythm & cant wait to play it out its sounds excellent, have a gig @ Disco Deviance this sat & cant wait to play these at it :)

Mike W (Kolour Recordings) - Been looking forward to RNT001 and it does not disappoint one bit! edits that drip with funk & soul .. just like they should. got a nice batch of gigs in the pipes and these will definitely be seeing their way into my rotation as well as the full gambit of chart support! cheers j. kriv & aaron dae .. got yourselves off to a nice & tidy start .. best of returns to ya!

Nelue (Groove Democracy) - Both sound great!

South West Seven (SWS Music) - Love it!

Kid Color (Dollar Disco) - Slammin' work if I could say so myself!

The Beat Broker (Flexx) - So Tight is exactly that. Killer unstoppable groove. Love it!

John’s debut album was recorded at Tony Pyke’s home studio in Dryburgh Road, Putney in glorious mono and then mastered at Pye Studios, Marble Arch, London for the princely sum of £158. Recording and mastering was completed by 9 August and London Conversation was released when John was just nineteen in October 1967. Theo Johnson took the role of producer under the supervision of Chris Blackwell and the cover photograph of John perched amongst chimney pots was taken on the roof of Blackwell’s apartment. Talking to Music Week magazine in 2007 John recalled that he recorded the whole album in one afternoon in a two-track studio on Putney High Street.

The album is in the folk tradition and contains some excellent lyrics and jazzy instrumentation including the sitar and flute in Rolling Home. As a result it won praise and the instrumentation distinguished John from his contemporaries in the folk scene. Back To Stay is a beautiful love song with a sad and dreamy melody, a sign of things to come.

John took up guitar whilst at school and although he was only nineteen he was already acknowledged locally as an accomplished guitarist. He was influenced by two people in particular, amongst others, that he knew. “Les Brown, who is completely unknown and has never recorded…he plays a kind of American Doc Watson guitar very very well. Lovely voice. Also a friend of mine called Paul Wheeler who is featured on the second album.”

Helping to spearhead a revival of neo-psychedelic pop, California's Sugar Candy Mountain emerged in the early 2010s fusing sunny, retro sounds with lush, sophisticated composition. Ranging from lo-fi experimentation to vibrant Tropicália, early releases like 2013's Mystic Hits soon gave way to a brighter, synth-driven brand of psych-pop on 2018's Do Right. Sugar Candy Mountain's evolution continued with their eclectic fifth album, Impression, in 2021.The band initially began oin 2010 as the recording project of Oakland-based musician Will Halsey. From early on, his partnership with collaborator Ash Reiter yielded a unique sound blending classic '60s West Coast psychedelia with pastoral folk and pulling inspiration from pop experimentalists like Brazil's Os Mutantes, the Flaming Lips, and Brian Wilson. The band's self-titled 2011 debut drew largely from Halsey's early, more lo-fi recordings. By the time of 2013's Mystic Hits, Sugar Candy Mountain had evolved into a fully fledged live group with Halsey and Reiter at the helm. The album also expanded on their Brazilian influences and was partially recorded in Sao Paulo.Reissued for it's 10th Anniversary, Mystic Hits returns to vinyl under their newly minted home record label, Sugar Candy Mountain Records. Available in March 2024 on Lava Splatter (ltd to 1000) and Blood Red vinyl.

Los Mayos sorgen mit ihrer perfekten Mischung aus Dance Beats und Latin Rhythm für eine positive Partystimmung Egal ob auf einer Feier oder beim Karneval, die eingängigen Melodien und tanzbaren Rhythmen dürfen nicht fehlen Der Titel „Disco Samba“ mit seinem Hit Medley aus bekannten Hits wie “El Ritmo“ , “Charly Brown“, “Moliendo Cafe“ , “Ritmo De La Noche“ uvm. bringt jede Party in Schwung. Erstmals gibt es die größten Hits von Los Mayos als farbige Vinyl.

The lost tapes have surfaced, bringing with them a walloping new stereo mix! A sonic cocktail of acid garage, blues & psych rock from one of Detroit’s finest – featuring Ted Nugent! Dominated by gritty head-swirlers and heavy, fuzz guitar licks, their debut is considered to be an early innovator of heavy metal. Their five and a half minute version of “Baby Please Don’t Go” is an absolute acid garage classic with some fantastic feedback and great guitar sustain. Nugent creates some serious guitar noise on this number and shows off his brilliant chops. The album closes with another garage classic, “Gimme Love.” This song has some laser fuzz guitar riffs and angry Mike Drake vocals. In between these two garage monsters are many other great compositions. There are a few covers, two work really well (the splendidly bluesy “Let’s Go Get Stoned” and the gritty Who cover “It’s Not True”). They also hit real hard with “Colors,” a furious acid rock song with some sinister soloing. “Phillip’s Escalator” is very Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd with brit vocals, clanging chords and first class guitar scrape. It’s a true classic on this exceptional outing. The guitar freakouts, Who-like energy and great songs make this debut a prime slice of early Detroit rock. – The Rising Storm

The fresh-faced folk pop band Stornoway seem promising: They play with guileless vigor, have a light-stepping chemistry as a unit, harmonize well. Their lead singer Brian Briggs has a lovely, pure high tenor, the kind of voice that effortlessly conveys simple longing. And yet, on their second album, Tales from Terra Firma, they continue to be almost crushingly dull, making well-appointed and cheerfully empty music that successfully communicates next to nothing.

Their Achilles Heel is a simple and unfortunate one, the same on Tales as it was on 2010's Beachcombers Windowsill. Stornoway are clearly in love with Celtic and British folk, and yet they can't write a memorable melody to save their lives. Try to sing along to the verse melody of "Zorbing", their most well-known tune, and pay attention to what your face muscles are doing; most likely furrowing with the effort of recall. Each of Tales' painstakingly arranged nine songs sinks underneath the weight of this insurmountable problem, which is a shame.

If you're making folk-pop, an inability to write a catchy melody is a difficult deficiency to overcome. Stornoway try valiantly with their complex arrangements, which quickly grow exhausting. “You Take Me as I Am” is cluttered with horn charts and pointlessly banging piano. “(A Belated) Invite to Eternity” builds to a full Explosions in the Sky crescendo, with glimmering tremolo guitar and a “Tonight, Tonight”-style sweeping string section, but having built zero momentum and generated zero heat until that point, their planned fireworks display fizzles.

“Farewell Appalachia” follows the same pattern, with celesta, finger-picked acoustic and electric guitar all tracing an emptily pretty circle with nothing in the center. The melody of "The Great Procrastinator" is almost cleanly written enough to be memorable-- and then the ersatz Dixieland jazz interlude crashes in. Stornoway are deft players, and the transitions are tightly managed, but this is praise on the same order as praising the brushwork in a hotel-room painting.

Briggs’ lyrics are filled with uncomplicated images of the good old British countryside, but his lyrics trample over all these dew-covered fields with wordy, awkward phrasing: "And in the gathering dew, I was lucid as a floodlight,” goes a line from “(A Belated) Invitation to Eternity”. “There's a hunger in the air/ A lemon swollen in the trees" he bleats on “Knock Me on the Head”. On “The Great Procrastinator”, he sings that he is “a scientist with far too many metaphors and far too little data to conclude in time.” They don’t read particularly well, and they don’t sound much more natural when sung.

Tales From Terra Firma is a peculiar record-- carefree music that feels leaden; tuneful-sounding songs that offer no tunes to hold onto. They seem an odd fit for 4AD, a label mostly home to singular voices. They may be a mercenary signing, an attempt to ride the coattails of Mumford and Sons' success. But Mumford and Sons, as head-smack simple and pandering as they are, have a pretty crucial ingredient in their arsenal: they write anthems. In that regard, they have Stornoway pretty thoroughly beat.

The fledgling Detach label continues to show it means business with a new 12" in a lovely screen-printed sleeve. Romanian artist Dyl is the one in charge and has been serving up consistently excellent and innovative sounds now for serval years. All of these cuts mix up great sound design with languid rhythms - the first is eerie, with watery droplets and glassy tinkles hanging in the air, while 'Glasshouse 2' has a percolating rhythm down low. 'Glasshouse 3' gets a little more dynamic with a shimmering low end and freaky abstract life forms and 'Glasshouse 4' layers in more intense and ever-shifting synth lines while the closer sounds like it's roaming through a deserted factory long after it shut down.

Longtime friends and musical collaborators Max Essa and Eddie C join the RNT fold with a 4 tracker of melancholic and exquisitely produced chilled out disco. Begun as a lockdown project, the We Live In The Hills EP explores a vast palette of sonic soundscapes, from the shimmering guitars and acid lines of Melon Stepping, to the insistent rolling bass and whimsical synths of Save Me, the deep funk of the EP’s title track, and the late nite driving soundtrack stylings of Sixth Bridge. This EP tells a hopeful story of emerging from isolation and doubt, like a lovely musical sunrise after a long dark night.

DJ and producer Gratts returns to his own imprint with the third instalment of the "Balearic but bumpin'" trilogy. Here, the Belgian puts forward a captivating piece of organic, Body & Soul NY inspired deep house, assisted by Cata Mansikka-aho on vocals. As always, an instrumental is provided for maximum nightclub daydreaming. On the flipside, British duo Faze Action up the energy levels with an equally musical disco version that hits in all the right spots. Artwork once again by Mads Cooke.

Glenn Underground:
"Bad Ass'd Project, The whole thing"

Laurent Garnier:
"Really cool tracks :) Looking forward to hearing more stuff in the future."

Colleen Cosmo Murphy:
"Great release! I like the original best! I will be supporting on the show once I’m back in February."

Groove Armada:
"Sounds great and Faze remix is great too!"

Severino (Horse Meat Disco):
"Great stuff and amazing remix!"

Kevin Reynolds (Transmat):
"I remember this voice! Both tracks are incredible, has this classic Dinosaur L vibe that is super dope!"

Gareth Sommerville (Athens Of The North):
"Love Gratts’ productions - this is no exception. Spiritual for optimists."

Shane Johnson (Fish Go Deep):
"Really enjoying the original mixes here... such a relaxed, musical groove that perfectly suits that lovely, drifting vocal. Looking forward to playing."

Syncrophone proudly presents 'Proceed with Caution' by Detroit's Filthiest. This 4-track catalog masterpiece is a rhythmic exploration, featuring infectious funk-infused beats and a distinctive style that pays homage to the city's illustrious musical heritage. Detroit's Filthiest seamlessly blends tradition with innovation, creating an electrifying experience that echoes the Motor City's iconic sound.

Feedbacks :

Luke Slater : dope
Serge (Clone) : Sick release! Another banger from Dj Nasty!
Elena Colombi (NTS) : Check Out the Technique is great!
Lukas Wigflex (Wigflex) : wonk
Tijana T : huge fan!
Hodge (Livity Sound) : lovely
Eclair Fifi (Lucky Me / NTS) : fk yeah 5/5
Monty Luke (Rekids / Black Catalogue) : fear in your eyes is a banger
Dave Clarke (white noise radio) : Will support ! Love the first track
Marcel Dettmann : thx
Machine Woman (Take Away Jazz Records) : cool
Ben Sims : Technique is my pick, thx!
Will Hofbauer (Third Place, Wisdom Teeth, Rinse) : very slick
Blasha & Allatt (Meat Free) : Fire! Up In Smoke + Nuttin But Chedda are the ones for me :) Thanks, Steffi x
Lena Willikens (Cómeme) : Fear In Your Eyes for me!
Lauren Flax (The Lot Radio/ Young Turks / K7) : incredible EP, thanks!
David Martin (Dimensions Soundsystem) : his is superb. Love it! Thanks DM
Amy Dabbs (Shall Not Fade, Distant Horizons, SlothBoogie, ) : Beautifully sleazy - love it
Bloody Mary (Dame-Music) : track 2 :))) thanks
DMX Krew (Breakin Records / Fresh Up) : Nice trax :) Will try to fit in my December show for Rinse FM.
mi-el (NTS show) : heavy

This vinyl re-pressing of Martin Carthy's Debut album is released to commemorate Topic's 85th anniversary in 2024 - Limited edition of 1000 copies - Black vinyl, standard weight with black, polylined inner sleeves. In the early 1960s, the approach Martin Carthy took to folk music was nothing short of revolutionary, albeit a relatively quiet revolution befitting of his humble nature. You wouldn't find Carthy's music clambering up the singles charts; his was not a face adorning the teen magazines. Instead, his influence was felt at a grass-roots level. He plied his trade in the folk clubs, which is where the likes of Bob Dylan and Paul Simon sought him out, enamoured of his traditional repertoire and keen to learn songs like 'Scarborough Fair' and 'Lord Franklin' directly from him before adapting them for their own purposes.

His debut eponymous album, re-released here, on vinyl by Topic Records as part of their ongoing Topic Treasures series, is a snapshot of the work he was doing at the time.

Originally finding its way into the world in 1965, courtesy of Fontana Records, Martin Carthy pulled together 14 songs from his burgeoning repertoire. Produced by Terry at the Philips Recording Studios in Marble Arch, the album was a must-learn checklist for budding guitarists and folk club orgas, and, to this day, remains an essential listen for anyone attempting to find their way into traditional English folk music. Most people turn up for 'Scarborough Fair', very few leave without getting hooked on 'High Germany', 'Sovay' and 'Ye Mariners All'.

The album also introduces Carthy's earliest collaborations with Dave Swarbrick, an enduring and much-copied partnership that lasted, off and on, until Swarbs death in 2016, and became a blueprint for how guitar and fiddle duos ought to sound. While Carthy had been building up his solo repertoire over the previous five or six years, several of the duo arrangements on this album ('Lovely Joan', 'A Begging I Will Go', 'Broomfield Hill') were thrown together in the studio, adding a fizz and freshness to the recordings. This became the pair's standard way of working. "We used to rehearse on stage, in front of the audience," he explains today.

In the years since, Martin Carthy has become the veteran of over 40 studio albums and a veritable beacon for musicians and music lovers seeking "the real stuff." Pressed to name his favourite, he needs no time to think it over. "I always stand by the first album," he says of his 1965 debut. "I love it. There are some things on it I think I couldn't have done better. There was a clarity of purpose."

And, with this re-release, we can be sure that newcomers get to hear that sense of purpose in the best possible quality, as clearly as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon and a generation of folk lovers did six decades ago.

Dean McPhee’s fifth full length album 'Astral Gold' sees the Yorkshire-based electric guitarist's music continue to evolve beyond the spacious folk-inspired fingerpicking that typified his earlier releases into a heavier sound combining deep bass, textured reverbs and waves of saturated delay. 'Astral Gold' brings together several now out-of-print tracks that were originally released on the Reverb Worship and Folklore Tapes labels, along with two brand new pieces – all recorded live in single takes. There is a cosmic theme throughout, including a track based on the local lore of The Ilkley Alien (The Second Message), a trance-inducing drone piece inspired by the orbit of the 'doomed moon' Triton (Neptune) and a meditation on lunar volcanism combining baroque melodies, EBow bass and found recordings of a crackling fire played through guitar pickups (Lunar Fire). Throughout this intricately layered and beautifully crafted album McPhee draws on a wide range of influences from Kosmische Muzik and Dub to Stoner/Doom Rock, British Folk and underground electronic music, and the result is both intoxicatingly atmospheric and sonically inventive. ‘Astral Gold’ was mastered and cut by Anne Taegert at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin and is pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl. ‘Astral Gold’ follows Dean McPhee’s recent appearances this year on several well received compilation albums ‘I Thought I Told You: A Yorkshire Tribute to Michael Chapman’ on the Tompkins Square label, ‘Ballads of Seduction, Fertility & Ritual Slaughter’ released by Wasistdas, and Folklore Tapes’ limited edition cassette ‘A Web of Braided Willow (The Folklore of the Wickerman)’. "His take on the late folk guitarist’s ‘Caddo Lake’ could have you believing the pinch of callous on string was birdsong – a meditative gem" (Noel Gardner, The Quietus) "Magpahi's synth-drizzled Maypole, Dean McPhee's Sunset and Meg Baird's Willow's Song are particularly gorgeous" (Jude Rogers. The Guardian) "An excellent new single from UK guitarist Dean McPhee...the A-side is an echo-laden slice of smoldering instrumental guitar, pulling at the mind like taffy and living up to its cosmic title" (Raven Sings the Blues) "Absolutely lovely stuff; shimmering, gorgeous, delicate electric guitar playing of the very highest quality

2023 Repress

Maston’s Darkland is a breezy collection of the material from the Tulips sessions that didn’t make it on to the original LP. Originally a digital-only release for those in the know in the autumn of 2018, after re-issuing Tulips in 2020 it made too much sense for Be With to give Darkland a vinyl release.

Like Tulips, Darkland was recorded mostly in Hoorn, in the Netherlands, between 2015-2017 during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. Bits were also done in Los Angeles on some extended trips back home.

The collection plays like an alternate view of Maston’s instant modern classic Tulips; a companion piece to the LP proper with similar mixture of shorter themes and more full length tracks. As Frank Maston explains: “I think Darkland is the shadow of Tulips in a way… what it might’ve been in a different universe. But the heart of Tulips beats in these songs as well and they evoke the same memories and feelings for me. I see my process playing out across these songs - lots of experimentation and trying out new techniques and sounds and just sort of going for it.”

Frank goes on: “It was all from the same pool of material, like 30+ ideas. I was making a lot of little demos… some would be more fleshed out and become songs and others would just be a cool riff and not go anywhere. When I started trying to form it all into an LP I went through all the sessions and ideas and collected the ones I thought were the most fleshed out and cohesive together as a whole. There were a fair amount of songs that were finished and in hindsight really should have been on Tulips (like what would’ve been the title track). And the rest of these songs are either very early versions of tunes that ended up on Tulips or some cool ideas that just ended up being dead ends. It definitely shows how wide my net was in the beginning before I narrowed the record down stylistically.”

Darkland opens with its ornate 39 second title-track before striding into “Tulips”, that full-length title-track that never was. It’s a real head-nod, percussive-rich electric piano stunner that would’ve been a comfortable standout on the album proper. But now this “downlifting” gem is given ample room to shine on this record.

The funky organ-led bass and drums workout “Immaculate Conception” will keep your neck gently snapping while MPC fiends go reaching for their sampler. And that’s gospel. “Love Theme No 3” cuts a breathtakingly stylish vibra-slapped swathe through the middle of the opening side before we’re startled by the pronounced bass and twinkling percussion of “The Owl In Daylight”. Charming digi-drums underpin the wonky synth (quiet-)banger “Innovative Patterns” which has a lovely melodic switch-up in the final third before the tempo (and hairs on your neck) rise on the faintly creepy yet imminently groovy “Osiris”. The gorgeously soft-focus “Groove Experiment No 3” closes out the first half in slow-mo wonderment.

The lushly melancholic “Raincloud” ushers in side B before the emotionally-stirring “Phonic” taps at the door, coming on like the long lost sister to Pet Sounds’ “Let’s Go Away For A While”. Next up, the swooning beauty “Love Theme No 2” keenly sways in front of you, growing ever more insistent and hypnotic. The too-short “Italian Summer” conjures the same flirtatious imagery as the title hints at whilst “Endless” is a fascinating “piano-pella” alternative version to “Rain Dance” from Tulips. “Wonder Theme” has a nostalgic, exotic 60s swing and album closer “Willow” is a hushed, campfire folk gem. The gently circular strumming is just magical.

Speaking to Aquarium Drunkard back in 2019 about the sessions that became Tulips, Frank noted: “I was really surprised by the lack of sunlight during my first winter in Holland, so I would call it Darkland which then became the name of the first demo I wrote during that time. It was also the working title of the record when I first started writing. Some are full songs that didn’t make the cut (including what would have been the title track), some are just ideas that I never finished.”

Whilst we were working on Darkland’s vinyl release Frank explained more specifically about the music that didn’t make it on to Tulips: “When I was putting together the tracklisting for Tulips I was already thinking that whatever didn’t make it onto the LP would be cool to release eventually somehow. The response to Tulips has been so passionate over the years that it’s nice to be able to offer another piece of that world. And for me personally it’s amazing to have more of my work out there in the world. Most common bit of feedback was that many of these songs should have been on Tulips. The odd friend says it’s much better than Tulips.”

Just like Tulips before it, Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering for Darkland has been cut at 45rpm so you can trip out to this as well at a woozy 33 1/3. The artwork too has been designed by Frank himself as a literal visual continuation of the Tulips cover.

We couldn’t possibly say whether Darkland is better than Tulips, and luckily we don’t have to decide.

Psychedelic Anxiety, as a mood, goes something like this: overwhelming, existential, vertigoic, arising when we stare into the void. This metaphysical unease also serves as the title for Brooklyn-based musician Frances Chang’s second album, and as a feeling it’s present throughout, charged by all things occultish. Recorded by Chang and engineer Andrea Schiavelli, featuring a cast of revered NYC DIY players, including Schiavelli (Eyes of Love) and Liza Winter (Birthing Hips), Psychedelic Anxiety relishes in the refining of aesthetic, in the electricity of improvisation, in balancing bleakness with humor. It embodies an idiosyncratic genre Chang calls slacker prog — offbeat, but brimming with spiritual and emotional resonance. The record infuses artifacts of the mundane with otherworldliness— even the love songs live more in the realm of fantasy (or horror) than the romantic. The psychic twin and mirror image of Chang’s 2022 debut full-length Support Your Local Nihilist, Psychedelic Anxiety by comparison is less urgent, leaving space for more nuance and storytelling. Together, these albums represent a new cycle of creativity for Chang, a reset to zero. “Eye Land,” captures Chang on a tour around the Irish and English countryside, in a moment of major life change. “Lying around your spare room,” she sings, “Sky is cloudy here in June.” Around her, guitar sputters and stops. Vocals branch off like vines on the side of an old house. It is a profoundly lovely song, a freaky miniature in the way that a Broadcast song is a freaky miniature. “Darkside” opens up with a particularly memorable narrative moment. “Last night I saw Parasite,” sings Chang, describing how she saw it alone, how regular life that week was acute, weird, intense. How she found comfort in resignation. After all: Psychedelic Anxiety is a serene, bizarre record full of alien sounds and big introspection.

Warehouse find!

With '100% Dope' we find Central Processing Unit bringing up their hundredth catalogue number, and you'd struggle to find a more fitting artist to ring in a century of releases for the label than Cygnus. The one born Phillip Washington has been with CPU since the very beginning, his 2012 LP 'Newmark Phase' representing the first record ever released on the imprint. That album's combination of textured techno and grizzly Drexciyan electro set the tone for CPU perfectly, and it's no surprise that Cygnus has returned to the Sheffield imprint several times down the years.

While '100% Dope' is an expert demonstration of what Cygnus and CPU do, this EP also shows just how much both artist and label have grown over the past nine years. At its heart '100% Dope' is a set of prime machine-funk from a master of the form, but these are also some of the most daring and innovative tracks that Cygnus has ever produced.

Take opening cut 'Bad RGB Controller'. In the undulating synth lines we have a ghost of grime as well as Drexciyan drive, and as such the track reminds one as much of Mr. Mitch or Last Japan as it does, say, Dopplereffekt. Furthermore, 'Bad RGB Controller' shifts gear around the halfway mark into a highwire electronica mode which has the wit and spark of prime Bogdan Raczynski. Entries like 'Float Back To The Surface' are similarly unpredictable. There's some lovely industrial techno bite to this one - the snare drum will echo in your head long after the party's died down - but Cygnus periodically pulls out the rug from underneath us with passages of impressionistic texture that almost border on sound art.

'Float Back To The Surface' is one of a trio of vocoder-led jams here. On 'Throwing Shade' we hear I-F and Egyptian Lover, with Cygnus' vocals clattering around like pronouncements from some funked-out robot overlord atop hissing-piston drums. Then there's the enticingly-titled 'CPU Records'. 'CPU Records' delivers all the crisp electro snap we've come to expect from a record emblazoned with that signature black-and-white artwork, yet this thing is also widescreen and cinematic in ways that demonstrate the maturation of the Cygnus sound. With a wicked vocoder vocal that celebrates the label's many achievements, 'CPU Records' is a victory lap tune if ever we've heard one.

Central Processing Unit keep it 100 on for this new EP. '100% Dope' by Cygnus is CPU's 100th catalogue number, and the Texan producer delivers on the promise of the record's title with a collection of brilliantly unique electro joints.

Currently celebrating ten years of releasing music on vinyl & cassette and following hype for recent releases from Moscow (via Tallinn)’s Galun (glagol album) and Osaka's Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album), Edinburgh's Hobbes Music label continues to mine a leftfield seam with this brand new album from singer/songwriter George Demure (Tirk, Output) aka DJ/producer George T (Greco Roman, Optimo), better known as George Thomson to his mum. And it’s another absolute peach if you have a taste for post-club sounds of a more leftfield persuasion.

This is the follow-up to his 'The Record Store' EP which came out via George's own All Noise imprint in 2021. He has also released the Roll On, King's Cross single via Hobbes Music under his George T moniker last November (plus various bits for the Paradise Palms and Ramrock labels in the interim).

“It all began with the Record Store EP in 2021,” explains George. “Limit my options. No samples, one drum machine, two analog synths (mono and poly), computer simply to record. I was so happy with the results I began with what you hear today. Same drums, same machines (or lack thereof) maybe some real percussion and melodica but hey, I only answer to me.”

Imagine, if you will, Scott Walker jamming with Kruder & Dorfmeister in a very small studio…

Bonus Album ‘Dandy In Dub’ features dubs, instrumentals and bonus tracks, with yet more regular flashes of pure brilliance. Be sure to check out opener 'After' and closer 'Blue Lou', which sound like George might well have sound-tracked some French 80s flick of the 'cinema du look' period (Betty Blue, Diva et al) in another life. Plus ‘Mr Minilogue’ with its clarinet-like synth.... Does it really get any better than this?!!

Sleeve art by the amazingly talented Bernie Reid, another local legend.

Feedback/Reviews to date:

'He's so talented!' JD TWITCH (Optimo)
'Love the LP. Sounds really together, production is awesome. I love the aesthetic. Vocal tracks sit nicely with instrumentals. Vocals sound light-hearted' THE MAGHREBAN
"On a bobbled and float-y, light sunbeam dappled vapor of deep house, garage, electro, kosmische, leftfield pop electronica, dub and new wave (both the German and UK’s), the Edinburgh DJ/producer and singer-songwriter George Thomson continues the good work he laid down on the last EP... It’s a most lovely, swimmingly blend of motivations, feels and deep grooves that effortlessly comes together in a generous offering of electronic music: the very epitome of the Hobbes label’s remit in delivering leftfield unique visions of now techno, house and club sounds." MONOLITH COCKTAIL
‘I love the album’ LEO MAS
‘Lovely stuff’ S/A/M (Music For Dreams/DK, Cafe Del Mar, Pikes, Playasol Radio and many more, Ibiza)
Plus play/s from Andy Wilson on ‘Balearia’ Ibiza Sonica Radio
+ DJ Dribbler (Pikes, Ibiza // Paradise Lost, Red Light Radio, Pure)

“The band was once described as a 'fucking nightmare' to be around, whilst we are lovely people we do embrace the chaos that comes with all of this so found it fitting to title our next album as such. The songs themselves mainly follow this theme but relate to all aspects of life. Lyrically, it is more of the same... no metaphorical meanings, no fantastical story telling, no pretentious bollocks.... Just tales of a life lived as it will always be.”

The latest release on An’archives, Suikyō, documents a first-time meeting between three Japanese improvisers: Takashi Masubuchi on guitar and harmonica; Ayami Suzuki on voice and electronics; and Tomo on hurdy-gurdy. Recorded at Permian on the 29th of January, 2023, it’s a stunning, forty-minute long improvisation of rare artistic sympathy. Notably, it was the first time the trio had performed together, though Masubuchi and Suzuki have prior form as a duo; on the evening itself, the trio performance was preceded by solo sets from Suzuki and Tomo, which served as a kind of introduction, of sorts, to the broader aesthetic visions of two of the musicians on Suikyō.

Masubuchi, Suzuki and Tomo make for a fascinating trio, not only due to the shared musical sympathy that’s clear from their performance, but also due to their histories, and the way these dovetail on the music you hear on Suikyō. Masubuchi has recorded a number of stunning solo albums for guitar and has also improvised with a number of musicians: you can hear his responsiveness and thoughtful playing on albums alongside Suzuki, Taku Sugimoto, Straytone, Shizuo Uchida, Takahiro Kawaguchi, and more. Suzuki’s work for voice has been documented on several solo cassette releases, and in consort with Tetuzi Akiyama, Rob Noyes, Leo Okagawa, Aidan Baker and Tobias Humble. And Tomo’s music can be heard on a small clutch of solo CDs, as a member of Tetragrammaton and Archeus, and in collaboration with Junzo Suzuki.

The way their instrumental voices meld together on Suikyō, though, is evidence of a capacity both to draw from these histories, and to take these collective knowledges to new places. And sometimes, unexpectedly old places: Masubuchi notes that his guitar on this set took him back to the rock and blues he used to play, perhaps in earlier groups like Pelktopia, which he suggests contributes to “the psychedelic mood” of Suikyō. Tomo’s hurdy gurdy matches this by pulling drones out of the air or allowing melodies to slowly morph and envelop the listener – their development, at times, reminds me of troubadour music from Occitanie.

Suzuki’s presence is equally compelling and curious. Her voice is an eternally flexible instrument, and whether it sits unadorned within the soundworld magic’d into space by Masubuchi and Tomo, or slips between the cracks thanks to subtle use of electronic effects, it has a quality about it that is both otherworldly – at times, the voice soars and pirouettes – and thoroughly, deeply grounded, of this earth, a most human and intimate encounter. There is a lovely consort between Suzuki and Tomo, the voice and hurdy-gurdy shadowing each other: as Tomo notes, “the hurdy gurdy has been an instrument played to accompany singing since the Middle Ages.” For Suzuki, the performance was “psychedelic and hedonistic in a good way,” but it wasn’t simply given in to that experience: “we were at the same time looking at it from an objective point of view.”

That feels like the right way to approach Suikyō: as a performance that both sets the mind and ears spinning, but with a careful, thoughtful, and considerate objectivity to its moment-by-moment development. It’s also incredibly gorgeous. As a first encounter, it’s surprising in both its comfort and its challenge: and as Masubuchi says, the playing together feels just the way it had to be: “instinctive, unintentional, and inevitable.”

Released in 1973, Lord of Lords was Alice Coltrane's final album for the Impulse! label, as well as the last instalment of a trilogy that began with Universal Consciousness and World Galaxy. Like its two predecessors, Lord of Lords features a 16-piece string orchestra that the leader arranged and conducted, fronted by a trio in which she plays piano, Wurlitzer organ, harp, and timpani accompanied by bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Ben Riley.

The original producer, Ed Michel, later stated that Coltrane worked with the top-rank classically-trained studio musicians of the string section and "opened them up so they could do absolutely astonishing things. Afterwards, the string players couldn't believe that they had done what they had done." According to AllMusic reviewer Thom Jurek, "The interplay between the three principals is lively and engaging, based on droning blues chords, and her soloing - even amid flurries of notes - comes right back to the root. Haden's bass is a beautiful anchor here, and the strings offer a lovely response to her organ and harp. Riley's cymbals are shimmering shards of light throughout, ending Lord of Lords on a very high note. She succeeds here, in ending her Impulse! period with elegance, grace, and soul."

Doug Liman’s breakthrough film Swingers showed he had a real ear for music; for his next film, 1999’s Go, he traded neo swing nostalgia for rave culture, but the beats-heavy score still took center stage. Its tale of a drug deal gone wrong dismissed by some as a Pulp Fiction rip-off when originally released, Go has become a bona-fide cult classic over the years, and its kinetic soundtrack—composed of the most au courant artists and tracks (including the first new single in two years from No Doubt)—has always enjoyed a lofty reputation among film score cognoscenti. For this 25th anniversary release, we’ve fashioned a gatefold jacket festooned with stills from the film to hold the two LPs, which we’ve pressed in “Blue Smoke” vinyl limited to 750 copies!

2LP im Gatefold-Sleeve. 100% recyceltes & zufällig gefärbtes Re-Vinyl. Kommt mit neuem Artwork. "Black Screen Records, Videocult, Akapura Games und Komponist James Primate freuen sich darauf, euch erneut bei der akustischen Reise durch die seltsame "Rain World" zu begleiten. Nachdem der Soundtrack jahrelang ausverkauft war, wird er nun endlich neu aufgelegt. Dieses Mal auf 100% recyceltem & random-coloured "Re-Vinyl". Die Musik stammt von Videocult-Level-Designer und Komponist James Primate - mit Unterstützung von Lydia Esrig (die andere Hälfte des Chiptune-Duos BRIGHTMATE) und Rain World-Schöpfer Joar Jakobsson.Die Platte erscheint in einem Gatefold-Sleeve mit atemberaubenden Artwork von Allegra "Del" Northern. Zusätzlich enthalten ist ein 12" Kunstdruck mit weiteren Illustrationen von Del.

If you’ve been anywhere near the modern dark scene the past few years, then you are no doubt familiar with Vandal Moon. If 2020’s Black Kiss set the scene for their rise, then the 2022 follow-up Queen of the Night cemented their well-deserved status as goth darlings. But Vandal Moon isn’t your typical goth band. Founder Blake Voss has always defied genre expectations. In fact Vandal Moon was originally envisioned as an experimental electronic-psychedelic project. The band has since evolved into equal parts post-punk, synthpop, goth, and synthwave – and 2016’s Teenage Daydream Conspiracy marked the beginning of that evolution. A visceral snapshot into the band’s formative years, the album is exploding with raw energy. It’s fully formed and yet completely unhinged. And until now, it’s never been available on vinyl. Midnight Mannequin Records is proud to present this deluxe reissue of Vandal Moon’s Teenage Daydream Conspiracy, remastered and pressed on colored vinyl, complete with OBI strip and all new artwork by Trina Hines and Eric Adrian Lee. Experience Teenage Daydream Conspiracy like never before…look around and ask yourself – is what I’m seeing real? Or is it a daydream conspiracy?

Lovely Is Today (Edit) by Eddie Harris b/w September 13 (Edit) by Deodato | Galaxy Sound Co. — GSC4540, test pressing | Hot off the presses via the always-on-point @galaxy_sound_company crew. This will mark number 40 in the GSC45 series. Every release has been stellar, elevating it to the rarified “buy-it-on-site” status. If you love hip-hop, broken beats & top-class edits, anything w/ their stamp on it — you know it’s going to be top notch. They’ve got a bottomless discography full of that good ish, & here comes another addition to the cannon in the form of a pair of glorious jazz-funk nuggets.

Side A is an edit of “Lovely Is Today” by Eddie Harris, which is taken from his brilliant 68 soul-jazz LP “Plug Me In”. Chicagoan Harris pioneered the usage of amplified electric Varitone saxophones. It features a stellar line-up: Ron Carter (bass), Haywood Henry (baritone sax), Jodie Christian (piano), Garnet Brown (trombone), James Bossy (trumpet), Grady Tate & Richard Smith on drums, &, of course, Harris on tenor sax. Here the edit trims off the intro noise & extends the breaks recalling hip-hop songs it sampled: “2 Deep” by Gang Starr, “Intro” by Mobb Deep, “It Ain’t Hard To Tell (The Stink Mix)” by Nas, “What’s My Name Yo?” by MC Lyte, among others.

Side B is an edit of “September 13” by Deodato, taken from his self-titled jazz-funk 73 LP. Deodato, aka Eumir Deodato De Almeida, is a Brazilian artist known for his range of production work for Kool & The Gang to Björk, as well as TV & film scores & collabs w/ Milton Nascimento, Ithamara Koorax & Marcos Valle. Heads will know this one as the source for heaters like “In The House” by Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, “Park Joint” by Camp Lo, “Epoca” by Gotan Project, “Don’t U Know” by DJ Rels aka Madlib & “Track 13” on Beat CD #2 by J Dilla.

- iam8bit Edition - 2xLP on Ice Crown Blue Vinyl - Featuring Music from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King - Music Composed by Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, and Neal Acree - Album Design by Ryan Brinkerhoff // Wrath of the Lich King was more than just World of Warcraft's second expansion. For the game's millions of players, its release was a watershed moment in the MMORPG's then-young history, a defining time that rocketed the game into a new stratosphere of popularity and prestige. Northrend may be cold, but we here at iam8bit are feeling the warm and fuzzy embrace of nostalgia, thinking back on fond memories of countless icy raid nights. To commemorate this feeling, we collaborated with the folks at Blizzard Entertainment to create a 2xLP worthy of the Frozen Throne! Inside, you'll find select tracks from Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, and Neal Acree unforgettable soundtrack, presented across two records and packaged in album design from seasoned talent Ryan Brinkerhoff. This iam8bit version comes on lovely Crown Blue vinyl. Whether you're rolling need or greed, we know you're gonna want this one. Don't miss out on this celebration of one of the greatest expansions of all time!

Into the best Balearic tradition boldly steps Milan’s Rollover crew. As well as a regular party in Milan, the Rollover DJs (Tiberio Carcano & Rocco Fusco) have been making edits and releasing tunes over the past several years, but with this release there has been a step change in ambition. The latest collection of songs has been produced in a studio with actual musicians and songwriters, but with the ear of an experienced DJ. The best of both worlds. It was recorded almost exactly one year ago in December 2022, with the cream of Italian players, including bass player and Jovanotti collaborator, Saturnino, sticksman Sergio Carnevale, vocalist David Blank and guitar and synth boffin Lorenzo Morresi, who’s helped the guys with production. It follows in the tradition of a new generation of Italian musicians, like Nu Genea, Mystic Jungle Tribe and also DJs like Volcov. The lead single, ‘What Do You Live For’ was what Rocco & Tiberio describes as, “a funky track inspired by the early 1980s” and grooves so hard, with Blank’s message hitting right in the solar plexus. This will be followed by a pair of bangers, ‘Change My Mind’, a mid tempo disco chugger that is a tribute to LTJ Experience, the Bologna DJ Luca Trevisi, while ‘Never Found The Way’ heads towards Arthur Russel, before pealing off directly to the dancefloor. There’s also a Bawrut remix that adds some urgency and darkness to proceedings. The package is completed by lovely artwork by Riccardo Corda, whose work has adorned the Nu Genea releases. Is it Balearic? We think it is.

Svaneborg Kardyb are Nikolaj Svaneborg – Wurlitzer, Juno, piano and Jonas Kardyb – drums, percussion a multi award winning duo from Denmark, with a fast-rising international reputation and with an NPR Tiny Desk concert – number one on many artist’s wish lists - in the bag before even the release of their Gondwana Records debut album Over Tage last November.



Their beautiful, exquisite compositions draw on Danish folk music and Scandinavian jazz influences, resulting in a joyful melding of beautiful melodies, delicate minimalism, catchy grooves, subtle electronica vibes, Nordic atmospheres and organic interplay. All of this and more shines through on their NPR session, first broadcast in May 2022 on YouTube. But of course, not everyone watches YouTube and so here, remastered for vinyl and download, is a strictly limited to 1500 vinyl, four tracker - At Home (An NPR Tiny Desk Concert) featuring bespoke artwork from Gondwana Records’ Daniel Halsall.



Here is what Kara Frame had to say for NPR, “Svaneborg Kardyb's Tiny Desk (home) concert was recorded in the countryside of Djursland, Denmark. "You have to drive for a while on a gravel road, and then you come to a lovely old house surrounded by hills and a stream on one side and a very flat landscape on the other, where you can see 10 miles away," the band wrote to us, describing the location of the shoot. It's this place that inspired Svaneborg Kardyb's second album, Haven (or "garden" in English). "Haven celebrates places we like to be," the duo said.



The Danish jazz duo is composed of Nikolaj Svaneborg on the Wurlitzer, synthesizer and piano, and Jonas Kardyb on drums and percussion. Their instrumentation set-up is untraditional, with the drums and keys facing each other, a position that they play in on stage just as they do in Kardyb's kitchen and living room here. They open up their set with the title track from Haven, which begins with a quiet melody over an effervescent loop. The sound mimics the shimmy of leaves in the breeze.”

This is the first album of Mickey Stevenson’s Venture material. ‘Funky Way’ was the label’s first release and a hit in 1967, despite limited airplay due to having the word “funky” in the title. It went on to become an early funk classic, covered by Rufus Thomas for Stax, Tommy Strand for Fame, Jimmy Bee for Kent, Ray Johnson and others.











[i] 09 Tryin' To Fly My Kite [In Rainy Weather]

Dylan John Thomas’ self-titled debut album is set for release 26th January 2024 on Ignition Records. Includes fan favourites 'Jenna' & 'Fever' plus recently released 'Yesterday Is Gone.' The album also features 'Wake Up Ma' live at Barrowlands & the brand new single 'Rich Boy.'

repress !

A lovely selection of mixes from Paolo Baldini’s Dubfiles, all mixed
at his Alambic studio in San Foca Italy. The vocal is supplied by Al Brown and music is from his band from the 80s the Inner Force.

There are 3 rumbling dubs as well as the opening vocal cut from
Al Brown. We have added some keyboard action from Toike Mitsuhiro.

The best of the traditional elements of Jamaican music, with modern mixing, and all done with a strong sense of respect towards
the original recording and playing. Comes in a custom Pressure Sounds sleeve.

The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, the triple LP With pats on the head, just one too few is evil one too many is good that's all it is. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experiments with novel instrumentation that have defined the trio’s decade of working together. Containing some of the most delicate music the three have committed to wax since the gorgeous 12-string acoustic guitar and dulcimer tones of Only wanting to melt beautifully away is it a lack of contentment that stirs affection for those things said to be as of yet unseen (BT011), this wide-ranging release also offers up some of their most blistering free rock performances yet.

The side-long opening piece finds Haino on a single snare drum in duet with O’Rourke on unamplified electric guitar, playing in the lovely post-Bailey vein heard on his classic 90s recordings with Henry Kaiser and Mats Gustafsson. Spiky dissonance and ringing harmonics interweave with flowing melodic fragments as Haino single-mindedly explores the resonance of the snare like an untutored Han Bennink. On ‘Right brain, left brain; right, left; right wing, left wing. Just how many combinations can be made from these?’, O’Rourke moves to synth and electronics, joined by Ambarchi on drums, who at first focuses on sizzle cymbals before hypnotic cycles of gentle tom rhythms combine with electronic burbles and flutters to suggest a dream collaboration between Masahiko Togashi and Jean Schwarz. Ambarchi’s percussion is then joined by Haino on wandering, overblown flute, before the man in black switches back to the snare for a bizarre, stuttering drum duet.

For the first trio performance, Haino makes another new addition to his seemingly infinite catalogue of instruments, this time a homemade contraption he refers to as ‘Strings of Dubious Reputation’. Joined by O’Rourke on increasingly spaced-out electric guitar and Ambarchi on skittering percussion, Haino’s wonky, slack strings adds a definite ‘musique brut’ edge to this side-long performance, certainly one of the most enchantingly odd in the trio’s discography. When the group reconvene for the second set, spread out across the final three sides, they seem ready to breathe fire from the first instant. O’Rourke slashes distorted chords on the six-string bass, Ambarchi breaks into his signature irregular caveman thump, and Haino squeals and squawks on heavily delayed oboe before unleashing an overpowering electrical storm when he first picks up the guitar. For over half an hour, the trio pound out one of their most relentless performances, a constantly rearranging kaleidoscope of tortured fuzz guitar, insanely busy bass riffing and propulsive, tumbling drums. A hushed atmosphere initially reigns on the final long piece, given the mournful title ‘There are always things I wish to say but I can only convey them in this language August 6 August 9’. Haino’s clean guitar strumming calls up the shimmering tones of his PSF classic Affection, gradually building to a surging wall of sound, bass and drums lumbering through a roar of jet-engine guitar. Arriving in a deluxe trifold package with photos by Lasse Marhaug alongside inner sleeves with extensive live images, this epic release is perhaps the most remarkable document yet of this unique trio’s stamina and continuing inventiveness.

Soliton maximizes the compact format by further illuminating lesser-traveled paths. Contemplation and exploration weave harmoniously through five mysterious tracks. Influenced by a wide range of styles and sounds, such as Japanese ambient, the muted dissonance of Pharoah Sanders, and the chilly dub of the Scape catalog, Soliton evokes visions of lonely night drives punctuated by bright moments of bliss. The Calque EP from January 2023 saw them pursuing the minimal electronic side of their work even further. The opening track, "Kottbusser Tor,” showcases a conspicuous absence of the processed guitars that characterize most of their work, and instead explores sequenced filters, tape delays and analog synth patterns for eight minutes. On "Ammosel", they dive directly into dubby soundscapes, with crackling electronics and deep basslines, while "Kiyosumi" and "Fade Into Air" pay a visit to more familiar ambient territory. A darker undercurrent pervades on this EP, but one that goes particularly well with the coldest of seasons and its frosty air. The duo, consisting of Jason Kolb (Michigan, US) and Jonas Munk (Denmark) started working together in 2006, sending each other tracks across the Atlantic, eventually resulting in a full-length release on Felte in 2012. What started out as a side project to their respective main projects (Auburn Lull and Manual) have slowly become the main activity for both artists, now with a total of four full-lengths under their belt. Their music has also evolved and matured over the years, reaching a level of perfection that’s only granted producers who've been in the game for decades. Billow Observatory have by now established themselves as purveyors of highly refined ambient music and the Soliton EP sees them elegantly blend new and old, electronic and organic, into a gently drifting, enveloping whole. “.. mind drenching sunrises, glittering constellations, and sailing clouds, richly furnishing the familiar sense of hovering over vast natural orders that you're also inside. – Pitchfork // “So the world it inhabits is essentially that one between states, simulating a quietly vibrant ecology of sub-aquatic bass rumbles, washed out expanses of mid-range swirl and keening top end whose elusive colours seem to fade and coruscate in the low light. Lovely

An autumnal treasure, East Village’s Drop Out has spent the past thirty years finding new ears to bewitch and new hearts to melt. The only album from this British four-piece, recorded and released in the early nineties, it’s long been considered one of the hidden jewels of its time, and is talked of with hushed reverence by people who know. Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne once called it “an elegy for a particular brand of eighties guitar music, sweet minor chords and Dylanesque lyrics”, which captures what makes it so special; in summarising its era, though, it also effortlessly transcends it.

Like all great guitar gangs, East Village fell together as a four-piece; having relocated from High Wycombe to London in mid ‘80s, brothers Martin and Paul Kelly on bass and guitar, set on forming a group together, were joined by John Wood (guitar) and Spencer Smith (drums). Wood and the Kellys shared writing and vocal duties; it was an ideal combination, and one of the many charms of East Village is their various song writing voices, a tip of the hat, seemingly, to the 60s folk-rock groups who influenced them.

Originally influenced by garage-rock and freakbeat, the band eventually came through via the same scene as groups like Felt, The Go-Betweens, The Weather Prophets, and Primal Scream. They’d formed as Episode Four, releasing an EP, Strike Up Matches, in 1986, which has gone on to become one of most sought after releases of the C86 era. Their first two singles as East Village, ‘Cubans In The Bluefields’ (1987) and ‘Back Between Places’ (1988), were released on Jeff Barrett’s Sub Aqua label.

When it came time to record Drop Out, East Village found a supporter in Bob Stanley, who bankrolled the album sessions until Barrett re-signed the band to his new imprint Heavenly Recordings in 1990. The album that took shape is dusky, heartfelt, lamplit, full of chiming minor chords, close harmonies, rattling organs, all buoyed by a rhythm section that moves as one, steady and elegant. There’s melancholy here, certainly, on songs like ‘What Kind Of Friend Is This’, but also pleasure and freedom, on ‘When I Wake Tomorrow’ and ‘Silver Train’. The group were obsessed with Dylan’s Eat The Document at the time, and the album’s rich with references to the film; Drop Out’s character is also somehow close to the thin wild mercury sound of Blonde On Blonde, and the lambent light of the Byrds’ Notorious Byrd Brothers.

In one of life’s gentler surprises, ‘Silver Train’ became an unexpected radio hit in Australia when released there as a single in 1993. The story of East Village seems marked by such unexpected turns and surprising events. None was more surprising for their fans at the time, though, than their onstage split in 1991, leaving an unreleased album in the can. Encouraged by Jeff Barrett the band revisited the tapes two years on and while mixing the album for its posthumous release in 1993 invited Debsey Wykes (Dolly Mixture, Coming Up Roses, Saint Etienne, Birdie) to sing the quietly devastating album closer, “Everybody Knows”, a perfect, sad-eyed sign-off.

Listening now to Drop Out, its timelessness is clear. It could have been recorded by young folk-pop hopefuls in the late sixties, taking their shot at the big time; but it could just as easily have been recorded yesterday, by a group that’s both reverent to music’s past, but forward looking in spirit and temperament. It’s that kind of album. Drop Out’s pop poetry is fully formed, with a singular charm that takes in wistfulness, romance, and good times, and a clutch of deeply moving songs that are overflowing with melody and gracefulness. It’s pretty much everything you’d want from a guitar pop record.

It's also an album that’s slowly accrued its own legend. From its stunning cover art, photographed by Juergen Teller originally for a Katherine Hammett campaign, to the ten perfectly formed songs within, Drop Out’s significance in the scheme of things is such that, a decade ago, it was given a rare 10/10 rating in Uncut magazine, who called the album “the lost classic of its era”. Drop Out comes round every decade or so, each edition introducing new fans to its understated beauty, and this latest reissue is its most elegant and deluxe yet.

The 30th anniversary edition of Drop Out lands in two formats: an LP with tip-on style jacket and four-page insert, designed to partner with the 2019 vinyl reissue of their singles and rarities compilation, Hot Rod Hotel; and a double CD, featuring an extra disc compiling the group’s early singles and alternative versions. This CD edition previously has only been available in Japan, though it now features a new, superior mix of their second single, ‘Back Between Places’. Both feature new, typically eloquent liner notes from writer Jon Savage.

The members of East Village have all gone on to do inspired things: Martin Kelly joined Jeff Barrett at Heavenly and has managed label mainstays Saint Etienne since 1993; Paul Kelly formed Birdie with Debsey Wykes, and is now a renowned film director and graphic designer; both Paul and Spencer Smith played in Saint Etienne’s live band; John Wood moved to China to teach, and released a lovely, understated folk album, Quiet Storm, in Japan in 2006. But with the hazy perfection of Drop Out, they’ve all already etched their names in the firmament.

Featuring a fabulous mix of R&B classics such as "That's the Way of the World" (Earth Wind & Fire), "Lovely Day" (Bill Withers), "You're the One I Love" (Barry White), "Kiss" (Prince) with more contemporary pop material like "I Belong to You" (Lenny Kravitz), "It Runs Through Me" (Tom Misch), "Roads" (Portishead) and others, Vanessa and Tim Pierce (arranger) have delivered a supremely satisfying and ultra-rewarding album, one that is also beautifully recorded (tracked and mixed by maestro Michael C. Ross).

Many plaudits must also be directed at the magnificent group of creme de la creme LA-based session musicians who are backing Vanessa's latest effort. This is basically the same outstanding group that played on her previous album (GRV1200 I Want You): Tim Pierce (guitars), Alex Al (bass), Victor Indrizzo (drums), Jeff Babko (keyboards), Felipe Menolio (acoustic guitars), and Luis Conte (percussion). Felipe, a brilliant young guitarist from Brazil, is the one new addition and delivers some truly incredible playing - wait till you hear his solo on the samba-driven version of "It Runs Through Me"!

Deliverance of the divinest order. Gospel at its greatest, reworked for the dancefloor for maximum jubilation, whenever wherever these spiritual sermons are laid down.

DJ Feedback

Luke Howard & James Hillard (Horse Meat Disco) – Such a tune!
Natasha Diggs - Glitterbox baby!
Tristan da Cunha (Back 2 Basics) - Loooooovely stuff.
Red Greg – Sounds Excellent!
Darryn Jones (Chicago) – Dope!
Rocky (X-press 2) - Lovely stuff….can definitely use all 3.
Marcel Vogel (Lumberjacks in Hell) – Fire!
Ashley Beedle - Thank you so much for the gospel bombs…trust me they’re all dope!

The Royal hangmen are exited to announce the release of our third full-lenght album "Paranoid Nightmares" on Foggy Notion Records. Swiss garage heroes The Royal Hangmen are back with their third album. Imagine fuzz-driven guitars, a grinding Vox organ, a stompin' backbeat and some high energy screaming vocals, mix that with some real dedicated sixties attitude and you dig what the The Royal Hangmen were all about. These swiss wildmen play vintage instruments with a sound reminiscent of The Sonics, 13th Floor Elevators and Small Faces but with a style and energy all of their own."Paranoid Nightmares" is an adventurous and eclectic trip through the glorious sixties. 12 tracks that lead you fromfuzz-driven Beat to Surf, from Folk-Jangle to R'n'B and Soul. Always authentic and raw, the band's sound is a lovely combination of shredding vocals, nasty guitars and organ sounds with strong melodies and hooks on top. For fans of The Sonics, The Pretty Things, The Fuzztones, The Chesterfield Kings. The very limited coloured vinyl comes as violet/black marbled LP (DLC included)!

The Royal hangmen are exited to announce the release of our third full-lenght album "Paranoid Nightmares" on Foggy Notion Records. Swiss garage heroes The Royal Hangmen are back with their third album. Imagine fuzz-driven guitars, a grinding Vox organ, a stompin' backbeat and some high energy screaming vocals, mix that with some real dedicated sixties attitude and you dig what the The Royal Hangmen were all about. These swiss wildmen play vintage instruments with a sound reminiscent of The Sonics, 13th Floor Elevators and Small Faces but with a style and energy all of their own."Paranoid Nightmares" is an adventurous and eclectic trip through the glorious sixties. 12 tracks that lead you fromfuzz-driven Beat to Surf, from Folk-Jangle to R'n'B and Soul. Always authentic and raw, the band's sound is a lovely combination of shredding vocals, nasty guitars and organ sounds with strong melodies and hooks on top. For fans of The Sonics, The Pretty Things, The Fuzztones, The Chesterfield Kings. The very limited coloured vinyl comes as violet/black marbled LP (DLC included)!

Repress in Blue Vinyl

There’s a big clue to the pacific wisdom of The Orchestra in the Sky in the artist name – Hochzeitskapelle + Japanese Friends. For this is, indeed, music based in, and resonating with, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration, and creative exchange. Across two albums – one documenting recordings from Tokyo, the other an expansive double album of sessions from Kobe – Hochzeitskapelle gather around them some of the finest voices in Japanese independent and underground pop music, like Tenniscoats, Eddie Marcon, Yuko Ikema, and Kama Aina, and explore an open field of music, full of creative encounters.

You may already know Hochzeitskapelle as the German instrumental quintet formed by members of The Notwist, Alien Ensemble, and friends from the jazz scene. Across three albums, one a collaboration with Kama Aina (2018’s Wayfaring Suite), they’ve developed a way of playing together that’s intimate and playful, rich and human; it’s a music that’s deliberately rough around the edges, and that nestles cosily into the everyday. Their relationship with Japanese indie has developed over the years, doubtless encouraged by Saya´s „Minna Miteru“, compilations series of Japanese indie pop for Morr Music. A peripatetic gang, Hochzeitskapelle also recently backed Japanese singer-songwriter Makoto Kawamoto on her new album, Hikari.

In many ways, The Orchestra in the Sky feels like the culmination of a set of ongoing cross-cultural exchanges: the Minna Miteru compilations; tours of Japan by Hochzeitskapelle and The Notwist; and indeed, Markus Acher’s Spirit Fest group with Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats. The latter are present throughout much of The Orchestra in the Sky, and Saya’s voice is particularly winning on songs like “Tsuki no oto”, where the two outfits are joined by brass ensemble Zayaendo. There are several lovely turns from singer-songwriter Yuko Ikema, and Eddie Marcon appear twice; their songs are still beautiful, spectral acid folk, but with Hochzeitskapelle filling the details with lush, sad brass and strings.

But it’s also the potentially lesser-known names that shine through The Orchestra in the Sky, like the frail folk of Gratin Carnival; the delightful, gentle pop songs by sekifu and Zayaendo member, Kanako Numata; a trio of beautiful, stumble-drunk melodies played in swaying consort with popo. That group, along with the presence of Zayaendo, Fuigo, and Mitamurakandadan?, make strong connections with the Japanese underground’s love of brass bands, partly informed by the tradition of chindon’ya, marching bands that walk the streets of Japanese cities. They also all appeared on the recent Alien Parade Japan compilation of such groups, assembled by Acher and Saya.

All things converge, then, on The Orchestra in the Sky, a smart, spirited collection of heavenly pop songs, intimate folk melodies, lungfuls of joyous brass, deep weeping strings, and swooning sighs. The last words go to Acher himself: “Many things we did in the last years come together here and it feels like something special was captured.” We hope you like what you hear.

There’s a big clue to the pacific wisdom of The Orchestra in the Sky in the artist name – Hochzeitskapelle + Japanese Friends. For this is, indeed, music based in, and resonating with, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration, and creative exchange. Across two albums – one documenting recordings from Tokyo, the other an expansive double album of sessions from Kobe – Hochzeitskapelle gather around them some of the finest voices in Japanese independent and underground pop music, like Tenniscoats, Eddie Marcon, Yuko Ikema, and Kama Aina, and explore an open field of music, full of creative encounters.

You may already know Hochzeitskapelle as the German instrumental quintet formed by members of The Notwist, Alien Ensemble, and friends from the jazz scene. Across three albums, one a collaboration with Kama Aina (2018’s Wayfaring Suite), they’ve developed a way of playing together that’s intimate and playful, rich and human; it’s a music that’s deliberately rough around the edges, and that nestles cosily into the everyday. Their relationship with Japanese indie has developed over the years, doubtless encouraged by Saya´s „Minna Miteru“, compilations series of Japanese indie pop for Morr Music. A peripatetic gang, Hochzeitskapelle also recently backed Japanese singer-songwriter Makoto Kawamoto on her new album, Hikari.

In many ways, The Orchestra in the Sky feels like the culmination of a set of ongoing cross-cultural exchanges: the Minna Miteru compilations; tours of Japan by Hochzeitskapelle and The Notwist; and indeed, Markus Acher’s Spirit Fest group with Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats. The latter are present throughout much of The Orchestra in the Sky, and Saya’s voice is particularly winning on songs like “Tsuki no oto”, where the two outfits are joined by brass ensemble Zayaendo. There are several lovely turns from singer-songwriter Yuko Ikema, and Eddie Marcon appear twice; their songs are still beautiful, spectral acid folk, but with Hochzeitskapelle filling the details with lush, sad brass and strings.

But it’s also the potentially lesser-known names that shine through The Orchestra in the Sky, like the frail folk of Gratin Carnival; the delightful, gentle pop songs by sekifu and Zayaendo member, Kanako Numata; a trio of beautiful, stumble-drunk melodies played in swaying consort with popo. That group, along with the presence of Zayaendo, Fuigo, and Mitamurakandadan?, make strong connections with the Japanese underground’s love of brass bands, partly informed by the tradition of chindon’ya, marching bands that walk the streets of Japanese cities. They also all appeared on the recent Alien Parade Japan compilation of such groups, assembled by Acher and Saya.

All things converge, then, on The Orchestra in the Sky, a smart, spirited collection of heavenly pop songs, intimate folk melodies, lungfuls of joyous brass, deep weeping strings, and swooning sighs. The last words go to Acher himself: “Many things we did in the last years come together here and it feels like something special was captured.” We hope you like what you hear.

We love to just try things at Athens of the North and when Clara and Theo (one of our PR friends) were chilling with us at pikes one evening it came up in conversation that Theo has a lovely singing voice and fancied having a spin in the studio. Roll on a month later, and they were home in Edinburgh, and we threw ourselves into a couple of days of experimenting, this little electro floater we were all super pleased with came out of the session. Tonight is a super late night CR78 drum machine mashed work out with a Theo's floaty falsetto smashing out the park, we flipped the OG with a brilliant dubbed out mix that's not to be slept on either.

“Incident At a Free Festival” is a tribute to the mid-afternoon slots at Deeply Vale, Bickershaw, Krumlin, Weeley, and Plumpton – early 70s festivals that don’t get the column inches afforded the Isle of Wight or Glastonbury Fayre, but which would have been rites of passage for thousands of kids. Bands lower down the bill would have been charged with waking up the gentle hippies and appealing to both the greasy bikers and the girls in knee-high boots who wanted to wiggle their hips. And the best way to do that was with volume, riffs and percussion.

Compiled by the venerated Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of Saint Etienne, this is the heavier side of the early 70s they summarised on the acclaimed “English Weather” collection. There’s an air of menace and illicit thrills among tracks by Andwella, Stack Waddy and Leaf Hound (whose “Growers of Mushroom” album is worth well over £1,000). Bigger names include the rabble-rousing Edgar Broughton Band and kings of the festival freakout, Hawkwind. They are represented by their rare version of ‘Ejection’

For every mystical Tyrannosaurus Rex performance there was something like Atomic Rooster’s Tomorrow Night or Curved Air’s Back Street Luv to capture the spirit of the day and stir the loins of festival goers; the tracks on “Incident At a Free Festival” were inspired by both Chicago’s percussive wig-outs and the Pink Fairies’ anarchic spirit. The sounds were heavy and frequently funky, with a definite scent of danger. Their message was clear and simple: clap your hands, stamp your feet, hold on to your mind.

So, put on your wellies in your living room, drop the needle and enjoy...

First vinyl reissue since 1987 with 2 bonus tracks

Dennis Huddleston AKA 36 is back with another new album in the form of Cold Ecstasy which arrives on lovely limited edition aqua blue double vinyl via 3six Recordings. It comes after his superb mini album Weaponised Serenity back in 2021 which was a raw deconstruction of 90s jungle and drum & bass and it follows down a path of retro-future exploration with more lush ambient soundscapes. Each one is subtly joyous and doused in gently euphoric chords while dreamy vocals drift in and out of focus. It is an expansive listen once more from Huddleston.

Russia's mellow music phenomenon Mikhail Khvasko aka A Vision Of Panorama teams up with lovely Japanese vocalist Eiko Hara for one of the smoothest yet danceable tunes of 2023.

Loser edition: initial vinyl copies pressed on lovely Transparent Yellow vinyl!
Ursprünglich als Live-Konzertfilm gedacht, entwickelte sich der Film zu einem visuellen Porträt, das Beam während eines kreativen Ausbruchs einfängt, der ihm vier Grammy-Nominierungen in vier Jahren einbrachte. Wie seine Musik berührt auch der Film universell persönliche Themen, da Beam sich mit der Bewältigung seines privaten und beruflichen Lebens als Künstler auseinandersetzt. Zusammengenommen sind Soundtrack und Film ein faszinierender erster Blick hinter die Kulissen von Iron And Wine. Der Dokumentar-Konzertfilm wird in diesem Herbst/Winter in ausgewählten US-amerikanischen Städten in die Kinos kommen, bevor er 2024 auf Streaming-Diensten abrufbar wird.

“‘Bashed Out’... will also likely be her breakout... get ready to hear a lot more from her.” - Stereogum  This Is The Kit is the much beloved musical project of Kate Stables, born in England and based in Paris. ‘Bashed Out’ was produced Aaron Dessner, a member of The National known for both minting indie icons (Sharon Van Etten, Local Natives) and, more recently, becoming a producer to stars like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. Dessner’s former client Sharon Van Etten called This Is The Kit her “favorite new artist” in Pitchfork.  The backing band gathered for ‘Bashed Out’ combines the talents of This Is The Kit’s touring members alongside session players drawn from the Brooklyn music scene: Bryce Dessner, Thomas Bartlett (Doveman, The Gloaming), Matt Barrick (The Walkmen) and Ben Lanz (Beirut, The National) made key contributions.  Since this LP’s initial release Kate made significant contributions to The National’s 2019 album/film ‘I Am Easy To Find’ and became a touring member on subsequent live dates. In 2020, ‘Bashed Out’’s title track became a streaming hit after an impactful needle drop in a key episode of Netflix’s ‘Sex Education’ series.  This music is honest, human and humane - a folky-lovely slowrumble. It’s rock but of the groovy, hangover-friendly, stoner variety. Stables’ voice hearkens back to the singer-songwriter era - her distinctive, cutting vocals up front in the mix.  The Line of Best Fit has the band as an “essential fixture of British folk music for the past 10 years… one of a handful of truly innovate songwriters working with the British folk template today.”  For fans of Joni Mitchell, Bon Iver, Sharon Van Etten, Father John Misty, Gillian Welch, Laura Marling, Natalie Prass, Jose Gonzalez.  This is the first time ‘Bashed Out’ has been widely available on vinyl since 2019.  ‘Green Eyed Muddy Puddle’ eco-vinyl variant.  Heavy touring in UK, Europe and North American to support the June 2023 release on Rough Trade, ‘Careful Of Your Keepers’.

2023 Repress

Two lovely House mixes produced by Frankie Knuckles and Brett Wilcotts (Gherkin Jerks). From the mid 80s era when dance music was shaken up between disco, boogie, Italo and the emerging house sounds from Chicago. Claudio Simonetti was a titan of the Italian groove, but his monster jam as Kasso, "One More Round", reached the stratosphere when Windy City godfather Frankie Knuckles gave the track his Midas touch. The Knuckles mix is already worth the pressing, but the flip side contains the overlooked 80s remix by supremo Brett Wilcots. The Chicago master is known for his Gherkin Records and lays his hands on "Walkman" to turn it up to a boogie frenzy of the highest order. Must have!

Following the release of the shoegaze masterpiece Delaware in 1992, and the intricate experimentations on National Coma in 1993, Drop Nineteens disbanded. They had a great run. Shared stages with Radiohead, Hole, Blur, PJ Harvey. Went from being teenaged kids in Boston to mid twenty somethings with an MTV video under their belt. So when Drop Nineteens ceased to be, Greg Ackell felt content, music was a closed chapter. That was until 2021. For the first time in nearly 30 years, Ackell felt compelled to pick up a guitar. He immediately called up Steve Zimmeran, the band's bassist and fellow guitarist, and the two got writing. It felt effortless for Ackell, like he never stopped writing music. "We were off to the races," he says. "But also the question came up: what does a Drop Nineteens song sound like today? Enter Hard Light, the band's stunning third record. It's the band's proverbial follow up to Delaware, a modern Drop Nineteens record that is completely singular in its sound and vision. The first task making Hard Light, was of course, getting the rest of the band back together. Drop Nineteens is an inherently collaborative project. Ackell's primarily the lyrics writer, and he collaborates with Zimmerman, Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue, and Peter Koeplin to create the sonic world. The record came together over the course of a year, recording at a patchwork of studios all around the country. Making music together felt natural, fluid, exciting. The guitar reverb is expansive as ever. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are crystalline. "Scapa Flow," is triumphant. An excellent example of what a modern day Drop Nineteens song sounds like. The guitars glide like clouds on a blue sky day, drums shuffle in the background, searching. Ackell and Kelley's vocals are cool toned and dreamy, bound up in a haze of reverb. It's unquestionably lovely. You could say the same for the whole of the record. Hard Light is so lovely. A portrait of a band 30 years later, as talented and as dedicated to their craft as ever.