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You need to go hunt this down. They’re making incredible music!” Tony Minvielle – Jazz FM

Vertaal’s debut double LP, “Paradigm Shifting” was released earlier this year to wide acclaim from the international jazz community and sold out on initial pressings.

Featuring 4 singles including the atmospheric “Alcazar” and live favourite “Drop Off’, the album was subsequently re-pressed on limited edition black vinyl which is also at the point of selling out.

2020’s lock down and subsequent cancellation of the band’s tour schedule led to extended periods recording in their home studio, on a barge on the River Stort near Stansted Airport.

The duo, comprising keyboard player and producer Theo Howarth and drummer Ajit Gill recorded “live”

versions of some of the Paradigm Shifting album tracks for various radio shows, joined online by guest bassist Severin Bruhin, guitarist

Luca Gianassi, conga player Simon Todd and saxophonist Loren Hignall.

Some of those recordings have now been made available on a special limited edition cassette EP featuring 4 tracks live studio tracks

– three previously unreleased versions from the album “Paradigm Shifting”, “Drop Off”, “Paradigm Shifting” and “Alcazar” and a completely new track “NDY”

Designed to look a box of Swan Vesta matches, the tape itself is pink with an onbody sticker of a collection of pink-headed matches.

Rush-released for Christmas, The Lockdown Tapes will make a nice stocking filler for jazz aficionados!

Vertaal have been an increasingly notable presence in the nu-jazz scene over the past 3 years.
Tipped as “ones to watch for 2019” by Jazz Re:freshed, in 2021 Vertaal have played an exclusive pick of sold out shows at prestigious venues such as

Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Soho and the Jazz Café, along with festival appearances at Standon Calling, High Tide Festival and Lost Village.

They have also supported the likes of Mark Guiliana (David Bowie), & Pete Ray Biggin (Level 42) Richard Spaven

and this year embarked on a tour of the UK’s record stores playing tracks from the album.

Tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, one of Finland's leading jazz artists, is back with a new album release "Trio" on We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 27 August, introduces Lassy's new combo with bassist Ville Herrala and drummer Jaska Lukkarinen – both We Jazz Records roster artists on their own right.

The new Lassy sound is tight, swinging and funky, led by the strong and riff-ready sax of the tenorman. That being said, the album's sound is not limited to that of the swinging trio. Lassy's new vision also brings in some subtle electronics (played by Lassy, Dalindèo frontman Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen and Ilmiliekki Quartet pianist Tuomo Prättälä) and lush strings performed by Budapest Art Orchestra as arranged by Finnish artist Marzi Nyman. It's a new sound for Lassy, but one which keeps true to his no-nonsense cookin' on the tenor.

This combination proves to be a winning one on the album, ranging from the more solemn moments on tracks such as "Sunday 20" and "Sointu" to the all out groovers like "Pumping C" and "Subtropical". The basic three sylinders of the band tenor sax, bass and drums, are strong throughout and the strings add air beneath the wings to really lift things off. Electronics are used as a tasty condiment, not taking over the main course but adding to it just right.

"We began the process with the bare bones trio but along the way, the sound started evolving into something else" Lassy explains. "That's how I like to work, anyway, while the trio can take this music to great lengths live, on the album I like to paint a fuller, more colourful picture sonically."

Speaking of painting, the sleeve of the album features the original artwork "Subtropic" by Finnish artist Ilari Hautamäki. "Trio" by Timo Lassy will be released by We Jazz Records as blue and black vinyl editions complete with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve, on CD and digitally. The special BUNDLE version includes the LP with a 7" featuring two non-LP tracks, available with blue LP + blue 7" or as black LP + black 7", bound together in a re-sealable "Japanese styled" sleeve, plus a We Jazz sticker.

In 1958 the painter Isson Tanaka (22 July 1908 – 11 September 1977) moved to Amami Ōshima, an island in the Ryukyus. There, in self-chosen isolation, he committed himself exclusively to his art until his sudden passing in 1977. In 2018 Seiha Kurosawa, Kanako Azuma and Hideki Umezawa visited Amami Ōshima to create a video installation about Tanaka’s insular life. The work, entitled “Dokkyaku” (tr. The Lone Visitor), shifts between the texture and materiality of Tanaka’s paintings in relation to the natural world of Amami Ōshima and its people. The video invites viewers to understand—poetically—the artist’s sensitivity to nature and the expressivity of his works.

During his stay on Amami Ōshima, Hideki Umezawa recorded a lot of natural sounds to recreate a sort of simulated ecology of Tanaka’s mind – or: of the painter’s mind. On this long playing record these recordings are blended with electronically generated sounds. Next, Andrew Pekler, who has never actually visited Amami Ōshima, upon hearing Umezawa’s field recordings creates - in the spirit of Isson Tanaka - a complementary dreamscape of the island’s phenomena. Of what could be.

This is a work that doubts between site specific and creative imagination. With sounds echoing between the anecdotic and the imaginary. It is a sensitive and highly stylized interpretation of a world that Isson Tanaka had also carefully studied. A painter at work; a way of seeing. So, after Christophe Piette’s ‘Six Tableaux de Quelpaert’, released by Edições CN in 2019, we again moore an island in the nautical footsteps of a painter. While Piette drew a story through – among other things - recording dialogues at his island home, at the restaurant table, et al. Pekler and Umezawa paint their pictures in a more musical fashion. Where natural sounds evaporate into electronic clouds of imagination.

Hideki Umezawa (b.1986, Gunma) is Japanese artist / composer. He won 1st prize at Luc Ferrari’s international competition – Presque Rien Prize 2015 (France), and the Contemporary Computer Music Concert 2015 (Japan). “Dokkyaku” was originally created for "Fukami – Une plongée dans l'esthétique japonaise", an exhibition at Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in Paris, France as part of ‘Japanismes 2018’.

Andrew Pekler (b. 1973, Samarkand) works with techniques of digital sampling and analog synthesis to re– contextualize found sounds and archival musical materials. In addition to numerous album releases, Pekler has also produced a number of video, installation and web-based works, as well as music for theater, dance, and film.

LIMITED-EDITION SANDS OF TIME COLOR VINYL VERSION Open The Gates is Philadelphia-based free jazz collective IRREVERSIBLE ENTANGLEMENTS's third full length album (and first double LP length album). Recorded at Rittenhouse Soundworks in Philadelphia, across 73 minutes of music the band - featuring Camae Ayewa aka Moor Mother, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro & drummer Tcheser Holmes (who released their duo debut Heritage of the Invisible II on International Anthem last year), saxophonist Keir Neuringer, and bassist Luke Stewart - supplement their raw, organic punk-jazz sound with firsttime experiments with electronics and synthesizers.

Finally available the 2nd – unreleased – album by iconic Italian post-punk outfit. Born in 1979 as Sextons, in 1980 they became Rats and in 1981 they published their classic debut ’C'est Disco’. Set to release in 1982 on cult label Italian Records, the record didn’t make it due to several diatribes with the company itself. Here’s your chance to taste this precious moment in Italian wave revolution.

Polish production legends Catz ‘n Dogz journey to Club Sweat to drop a double A-side ready to set the rave-craving animals out of their cage, releasing ‘Rendezvous / Nasty’. The duo have creatively crafted a double A-side oozing floor-to-floor elixir, to skillfully entice underground cavern connoisseurs. As those punters find their way to their dancefloor destination they are met with the aptly named ‘Rendezvous’ a tech-house heater that couples deep stomping kickdrums, with underlying techno textures for an insatiable groove that is augmented by the deep yet sensual melodies of R&B vocalist Raymoane.

The pace is turned up a notch on the flip-side, with stank-face inducing textures apropos for the title of ‘Nasty’, a tune that layers the hypnotic and conspicuous vocals of Kiddy Smile over a bounce-loaded bassline with underlying rhythmic drums and sirens to evoke a bustling party atmosphere.

Radio Support: Danny Howard (BBC Radio1), Ben Malone (Kiss FM), TCTS (Kiss FM)

DJ Support: Riva Starr, Todd Terry, Roger Sanchez, severino panzetta, Pirupa, boys noize, Eli Escobar, Tocadisco, Hifi Sean, Tommie Sunshine, Nhan Solo, Kolombo / Olivier Grégoire, Tough Love, Anna Lunoe, Kryder, Lorenzo Borgatti, Funkerman, Pat Lok, Lucati, Martin Ikin, Cut Snake, GAWP, Utah Saints, Vanilla Ace, Das Kapital, Tommy Trash, Sam Divine, Cassimm, Hector Romero.

Following the critical acclaim of the 2020 compilation Pyramid Pieces, The Roundtable return with a second offering of modernist jazz from Australia. Another vital document further examining the nation's jazz scene during the late 1960s and 70s. A fertile period that witnessed the birth of an independent movement and the development of a distinct Australian jazz sound. While continuing to focus on the modal forms explored in Volume 1, this second edition shifts direction slightly, this time also surveying other post-bop modes representative of the scene including soul jazz, avant-garde ballet music and Eric Dolphy-inspired free jazz.

Again featuring tracks from the esteemed independent imprints Jazznote and 44 Records, the collection also offers never before published pieces from less obvious Australian jazz groups. Compositions by internationally renowned musicians including Bob Bertles (Nucleus/Neil Ardley), Bruce Cale (The Spontaneous Music Ensemble/Prince Lasha) and Allan Zavod (Frank Zappa) alongside pillars of the local scene, Charlie Munro and Ted Vining plus the lesser-known yet formidable free jazz unit 'Out To Lunch'. Pyramid Pieces 2 is another timely insight into the evolution of the incredible yet obscured Australian modern jazz movement.

A compilation of Australian modern jazz. 1969-1980
Rare modal, soul-jazz and free jazz from artists including The Charlie Munro Trio, Bob Bertles Moontrane, The Bruce Cale Quintet and The Ted Vining Trio.
Tip-on sleeve featuring artwork from renowned Australian modernist painter James Meldrum.

Record Kicks presents "Gurami" the first single from the forthcoming "Origin of Forms" album, the vibrant debut album by Moscow funk band The Diasonics with a mix of cinematic funk, instrumental hip-hop and soviet psychedelia.

Record Kicks is proud to present the mesmerizing psychedelic universe of The Diasonics. "Gurami" is the first single taken from "Origin of Forms" the startling debut full-length by the Muscovite band, coming out on January 28 2022 on ltd edition LP, CD and Digital. "Gurami" is an instrumental funk cut with heavy abstract hip hop influences and it will be available on limited edition 45 vinyl and digital.On the flipside the instrumental soul bonus track "Gradients". The 45 is limited to 500 copies wordwide.

Welcome to "hussar funk", that's how The Diasonics call their music: a style that blends infectious deep funk instrumentals, East European flavours, hip-hop rhythms and psychedelia. Firmly rooted in the late 60s and early 70s, their debut album "Origin of Forms" was recorded on an 8-channel Japanese tape recorder Otari MX-5050 MK III at The Diasonics HQ's Magnetone Studio in Moscow and was mixed by Henry Jenkins (The Cactus Channel / Karate Boogaloo) in Melbourne.

The Diasonics are one of the latest additions to the Russian instrumental funk scene. The band was only formed in 2019 and it's made of five young and seriously talented Muscovite musicians: Anton Moskvin (drums), Maxim Brusov (bass guitar), Anton Katyrin (percussions), Daniil Lutsenko (electric guitar) and Kamil Gzizov (keyboards). In just a couple of years the band has amassed a cult following, releasing a shower of ten celebrated singles and various in-demand 45 vinyl records on funk labels such as Funk Night Records and Mocambo Records.

Fans of Khruangbin, Dj Shadow and of instrumental soul, take note!

Acclaimed US DJ and producer Maceo Plex has announced the release of his long awaited studio album ‘Solar’. The climax to a lead up that included last year’s 7-track ‘Journey to Solar’, and 2015’s 2 track ‘Solar Sampler’, ‘Solar’ is due for release on his brand new label Lone Romantic on the 16th June.

Lone Romantic is a new electronica based label; it will focus on albums and will also open its doors to releasing more avant guard and leftfield singles.

Meanwhile, the ‘Solar’ album allows Maceo to utilise the long format to explore and expose his less explicitly club leaning and more reflective side, taking the listener on a journey through shades of electronica, techno, breakbeats, dub and more. Named after his son Solar, the album also chronicles his new found fatherhood; “the ups and downs in the first few years and its effects on life, marriage and more”.

There’s still dancefloor suitable music within the album; opener ‘Sparks of Light’’s propulsive drums make for an attention grabbing first track, just as the driving 4/4 bassline of closing track ‘The Tesseract’ is a memorable climax. ’Polygon Pulse’ also features the hefty low end that Maceo has become known for, yet underneath breakbeat style drums and sighing vocal snippets.

Vocals are a prominent defining feature of ‘Solar’ that mark it out as a departure towards more of a home listening, experimental album. ‘Indigo’ marries Maceo’s characteristic signature sounds with a slower tempo and gritty male vocals for a stirring, downbeat piece of indie electronica, whilst following track ‘Separation’s breathy vocals and subtle DnB cymbals feel more relaxed.

‘Kepler’s Journey’ marks a stylistic break midway through the album, before the vocoded vocals of ‘Solar Wind’ and ‘Wash Away My Tears’ (the 12” mix of which was included in the Solar Sampler) bring to mind a forward thinking, indie take on French touch. Elsewhere, the lilting, dub techno influenced ‘Swan Dive’ sees this effect take on a more eery, thoughtful tone.

The release of ‘Solar’ sees Maceo Plex enter a new, more developed chapter of his long career - taking the sounds that have made him so popular and building upon them to push himself forward artistically, the album is a very personal use of the long format and an education in the producer’s musical influences.

Second release from Takashi Nakazato on Ten Lovers Music following last years amazing Clandestina album which had some incredible guest appearances from Luisito Quintero and Roberto Quintero amongst others. This time Takashi introduces his band Galavanters where he is joined by his fellow member: Soncho - Trombone and Shakuhachi, Toshitaka Shibata - Keyboards, Kenichi Fukushima - Tenor Saxophone, Ryozo Obayashi - Bass, Ippei Sawamura - Drums.

Takashi provides the percussion and also wrote, produced and mixed the whole EP which is an amazing journey through Japanese inspired modern jazz fusion. All four tracks showcase the wealth of talent in this sextet of musicians.

Clear Vinyl

Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's documents a very special concert recorded at the iconic Manchester venue during lockdown.

Released in November 2020, Matthew's Halsall's Salute to the Sun was the trumpeter's first album since 2015's Into Forever, and marked the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester's finest young musicians. The album drew it's energy from the band's weekly sessions and was inspired by Halsall's love of nature. Lush and spiritual it received universal praise, but Halsall and his band were frustrated that they were unable to share their beautiful new sound live with an audience.



On November 25th 2020, Halsall took his band into the iconic Manchester venue, Hallé St Peter's, for a concert recording in aid of the charity Mind, that was streamed on January 21st 2021 to a global audience in the thousands. The concert was also recorded for posterity.



"When we recorded Salute to the Sun, I wanted to create something playful but also quite earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. It seemed to strike a chord with people and I was blown away by the response to the album. Our concert film, recorded at the height of last winter's lockdown was a special moment for us all and I feel that the concert recording captured something beautiful that we wanted to share".



Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's features Matthew Halsall– trumpet, Matt Cliffe- flute & saxophone, Maddie Herbert– harp, Gavin Barras– bass, Liviu Gheorghe– piano, Alan Taylor– drums and Jack McCarthy- percussion



The recording has been mixed by Matthew Halsall and George Atkins at 80 Hertz and is mastered by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works. The vinyl was cut at Calyx in Berlin and the album is pressed at Optimal in Germany. It is presented in the form of a limited edition 2LP set with artwork by legendary designer Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.



Spread over three sides of the vinyl LP for maximum fidelity the fourth side of the LP (side D) features an etching of Daniel Halsall's now iconic artwork for the album Salute to the Sun and copies are strictly limited with just 3000 available in total. The album will also be available for download and on streaming platforms.

This is the first instalment in a series of three 7" records in luxurious packaging which see Stefan Goldmann probing the upper temporal reaches of techno. Clocking in at 150 bpm, these tracks are
bold and blazing signals for a collective return to highly energised club experiences. 'Badger' is a breaks-infused peak time weapon while 'Sawhorse' morphs more subtly through hypnotic and
seesawing synth patches. More bouncy than harsh, this material shows impressively how different tempos allow for their own variety of joyful expression.

KiNK is back with number six on his sometimes experimental, often exemplary, but always exciting Sofia outfit. The driving force of Clap On 2 are the tropes of acid and its numerology (101/202/303/). The opener Disco Spectrum shows why the sound rose from the shards of smashed mirror balls in Chicago – updated and optimized for today. Turbo – nomen best omen – takes it even further, faster and fiercer, while the theme song completes the pogo picture. Finally, Almond Break lulls you into a false sense of security (think yoga camps, namaste cults, kale drinks and Balearic sunsets), before it turns into a pagan ritual to complete this acid test. Remember: wo wants to own the future needs to conquer the past!

SOFIA: Founded by Strahil Velchev and Konstantin Petrov, Sofia is not only the physical location where this music was made, the city where they met and developed as artists, but also a paradox that is reflected in the art and music that comes from the place. Beautiful and ugly at the same time, clean and dirty, brutal as well as romantic, it’s a place where aesthetically seemingly incompatible styles come together in a twisted, yet unifying form. The photographs for the sleeves are made by influential local selector DJ Valentine, effortlessly capturing the local reality.

The original Environments album was conceived and written back in 1993. It became one of the great lost albums by The Future Sound Of London before the guys took in back to the studio to complete and issue in 2008. Since then has come the success of further instalments and following additional studio work during a period of extreme creativity comes two further volumes. Released separately but simultaneously, Environment 6 and accompanying Environment 6.5, when combined, create two CDs of 46 tracks. Sweeping between luscious dreamscapes to delicately melodically compositions to intensely highly programmed electronics sculptures Environment 6 and Environment 6.5 continue the journey towards the boundaries of the future of sound.

Dave Lee dons his Sunburst Band trousers and calls in the vocal talents of Wayne Hernandez with this slice of Brazilian flavoured Jazz Funk ‘Listen Love’ - yes the Jon Lucien jazz dance favourite. The sizzling drums & percussion blend perfectly with the pulsating bassline that allows Wayne to scat and weave his way into the blissed out yet uptempo jazzy keys. For those thinking this would be an even better track if it had a flute solo, we’ve got you covered! with Dave Lee’s ‘Flute Reboot’ for that maximum Latin edged jazz-funk feel.

On the flip two people who need not introducing, Louie Vega & Josh Milan get frenzied on the drums and piano, as they up the ante and deliver a jazz dance fusion clocking in at 9 minutes. Their mix really works up a sweat in the second half as the groove and scatting lock together for an intense rhythmic workout. All in all a very impressive outing.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce Live Hubris, documenting the hypnotic and electrifying live performance of Oren Ambarchi’s 2016 LP Hubris by a fifteen-strong band at London’s Café Oto. Over three days in May 2019, Oto toasted Oren Ambarchi at 50/Black Truffle at 10 with Ambarchi and a large group of close friends and collaborators in a series of performances that interspersed existing projects with new collective endeavours, culminating with this: fourteen members of the extended Black Truffle family together on stage, joined by one special virtual guest, to translate the intricately studio-constructed layers of Hubris into a muscular live band workout.

Operating with only the bare minimum of pre-gig preparation after the planned afternoon rehearsal had to be wrapped up prematurely due to noise complaints, the gargantuan group lurches into motion with a 21-minute rendition of ‘Hubris Part 1’, powered by the pulsating electronics of Konrad Sprenger (the ‘ringmaster’ at the ensemble’s core) and no less than seven electric guitars spinning a web of intricately interlocking palm-muted polyrhythms. The layers of closely related but metrically distinct lines create ripples of shifting accents, flickering changes in emphasis that ricochet along the endless central pulse. Gradually building in density, this motorik continuum becomes the backdrop for the haunting tones of Eiko Ishibashi’s processed flute and an extended feature from long-distance guest Jim O’Rourke on guitar synth.

After the brief interlude of the second part, where Albert Marcoeur-esque guitar arpeggios accompany a halting attempt at phone conversation, the full ensemble gears up for the epic side-long rendition of ‘Hubris Part 3’. Now joined by the astonishing triple drum line-up of Joe Talia, Will Guthrie and Andreas Werliin, the layered pulse of the opening piece becomes a burning funk-fusion groove. Beginning on a medium simmer, the ensemble initially stick to its pulsating one-note mantra, over which Ambarchi unfurls a beautiful example of his signature shimmering Leslie-toned guitar harmonics, eventually joined by Ishibashi’s flute and some brooding, distorted dissonance from Julia Reidy’s guitar. Building steadily for the first nine minutes, the heat then rises dramatically with a first, gloriously loose chord change: with the all drummers now rolling and tumbling like a twice-cloned Jack DeJohnette circa 1970, Mats Gustafsson enters on baritone, his tortured roars and shrieks driving the band to peaks of insane intensity. Finally, the exhausted ensemble drops out, leaving only the jagged, skittering fuzz of Ambarchi’s guitar, brought to an abrupt conclusion at the command of crys cole. Arriving on hot pink vinyl with artwork by Lasse Marhaug and an extensive selection of live photos by Ivan Weiss and Fabio Lugaro, Live Hubris brings this ambitious and outrageous evening of music to the safety of the home stereo.

Tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, one of Finland's leading jazz artists, is back with a new album release "Trio" on We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 27 August, introduces Lassy's new combo with bassist Ville Herrala and drummer Jaska Lukkarinen – both We Jazz Records roster artists on their own right.

The new Lassy sound is tight, swinging and funky, led by the strong and riff-ready sax of the tenorman. That being said, the album's sound is not limited to that of the swinging trio. Lassy's new vision also brings in some subtle electronics (played by Lassy, Dalindèo frontman Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen and Ilmiliekki Quartet pianist Tuomo Prättälä) and lush strings performed by Budapest Art Orchestra as arranged by Finnish artist Marzi Nyman. It's a new sound for Lassy, but one which keeps true to his no-nonsense cookin' on the tenor.

This combination proves to be a winning one on the album, ranging from the more solemn moments on tracks such as "Sunday 20" and "Sointu" to the all out groovers like "Pumping C" and "Subtropical". The basic three sylinders of the band tenor sax, bass and drums, are strong throughout and the strings add air beneath the wings to really lift things off. Electronics are used as a tasty condiment, not taking over the main course but adding to it just right.

"We began the process with the bare bones trio but along the way, the sound started evolving into something else" Lassy explains. "That's how I like to work, anyway, while the trio can take this music to great lengths live, on the album I like to paint a fuller, more colourful picture sonically."

Speaking of painting, the sleeve of the album features the original artwork "Subtropic" by Finnish artist Ilari Hautamäki. "Trio" by Timo Lassy will be released by We Jazz Records as blue and black vinyl editions complete with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve, on CD and digitally. The special BUNDLE version includes the LP with a 7" featuring two non-LP tracks, available with blue LP + blue 7" or as black LP + black 7", bound together in a re-sealable "Japanese styled" sleeve, plus a We Jazz sticker.

Tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, one of Finland's leading jazz artists, is back with a new album release "Trio" on We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 27 August, introduces Lassy's new combo with bassist Ville Herrala and drummer Jaska Lukkarinen – both We Jazz Records roster artists on their own right.

The new Lassy sound is tight, swinging and funky, led by the strong and riff-ready sax of the tenorman. That being said, the album's sound is not limited to that of the swinging trio. Lassy's new vision also brings in some subtle electronics (played by Lassy, Dalindèo frontman Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen and Ilmiliekki Quartet pianist Tuomo Prättälä) and lush strings performed by Budapest Art Orchestra as arranged by Finnish artist Marzi Nyman. It's a new sound for Lassy, but one which keeps true to his no-nonsense cookin' on the tenor.

This combination proves to be a winning one on the album, ranging from the more solemn moments on tracks such as "Sunday 20" and "Sointu" to the all out groovers like "Pumping C" and "Subtropical". The basic three sylinders of the band tenor sax, bass and drums, are strong throughout and the strings add air beneath the wings to really lift things off. Electronics are used as a tasty condiment, not taking over the main course but adding to it just right.

"We began the process with the bare bones trio but along the way, the sound started evolving into something else" Lassy explains. "That's how I like to work, anyway, while the trio can take this music to great lengths live, on the album I like to paint a fuller, more colourful picture sonically."

Speaking of painting, the sleeve of the album features the original artwork "Subtropic" by Finnish artist Ilari Hautamäki. "Trio" by Timo Lassy will be released by We Jazz Records as blue and black vinyl editions complete with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve, on CD and digitally. The special BUNDLE version includes the LP with a 7" featuring two non-LP tracks, available with blue LP + blue 7" or as black LP + black 7", bound together in a re-sealable "Japanese styled" sleeve, plus a We Jazz sticker.

Tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, one of Finland's leading jazz artists, is back with a new album release "Trio" on We Jazz Records. The album, to be released on 27 August, introduces Lassy's new combo with bassist Ville Herrala and drummer Jaska Lukkarinen – both We Jazz Records roster artists on their own right.

The new Lassy sound is tight, swinging and funky, led by the strong and riff-ready sax of the tenorman. That being said, the album's sound is not limited to that of the swinging trio. Lassy's new vision also brings in some subtle electronics (played by Lassy, Dalindèo frontman Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen and Ilmiliekki Quartet pianist Tuomo Prättälä) and lush strings performed by Budapest Art Orchestra as arranged by Finnish artist Marzi Nyman. It's a new sound for Lassy, but one which keeps true to his no-nonsense cookin' on the tenor.

This combination proves to be a winning one on the album, ranging from the more solemn moments on tracks such as "Sunday 20" and "Sointu" to the all out groovers like "Pumping C" and "Subtropical". The basic three sylinders of the band tenor sax, bass and drums, are strong throughout and the strings add air beneath the wings to really lift things off. Electronics are used as a tasty condiment, not taking over the main course but adding to it just right.

"We began the process with the bare bones trio but along the way, the sound started evolving into something else" Lassy explains. "That's how I like to work, anyway, while the trio can take this music to great lengths live, on the album I like to paint a fuller, more colourful picture sonically."

Speaking of painting, the sleeve of the album features the original artwork "Subtropic" by Finnish artist Ilari Hautamäki. "Trio" by Timo Lassy will be released by We Jazz Records as blue and black vinyl editions complete with a heavy duty tip-on sleeve, on CD and digitally. The special BUNDLE version includes the LP with a 7" featuring two non-LP tracks, available with blue LP + blue 7" or as black LP + black 7", bound together in a re-sealable "Japanese styled" sleeve, plus a We Jazz sticker.

The multi-talented Shay Hazan fuses rubbery North African Gnawa grooves, with haunting jazz horns and hip hop inflected beats on 'Reclusive Rituals'. His first project for international groove artisans, Batov Records. Tel-Aviv based musician Shay Hazan is a composer, producer, bassist & bandleader. His versatile bass is frequently heard on national radio, providing the hits of tomorrow with a foundation in the groove. Hazan's presence has been felt on major international stages having toured with popular hip hop ensemble, Lucille Crew, and Batov fans will have heard his bass lines propelling the grooves of Sandman Project's breakthrough EP, 'Royal Family'. Moreover, Hazan's straight jazz project, the Shay Hazan Quintet has been heavily playlisted across Spotify editorial playlists and recently released a fast-selling 7" on Jazzman Records.

Aeon Station’s ‘Observatory’ is an epic statement more
than a decade in the making, with miles of timeless
melodies and the kind of overpowering songwriting
that will reaffirm your belief in life itself.
 Band leader Kevin Whelan co-founded and was a key
songwriter for New Jersey indie-rock legends The
Wrens. The Wrens’ landmark 2003 album, ‘The
Meadowlands’, received a 9.5 Pitchfork review and
made Pitchfork’s Albums Of The Year list. Since that
album, fans and press have been eagerly awaiting
new material from The Wrens members.
 Whelan’s scope of musical vision on ‘Observatory’ is
wide open and free with possibilities - at once recalling
the reflective wisdom of Bruce Springsteen, Broken
Social Scene’s huge anthemic burn, and the Wrens’
own pulsing-with-life take on rock music. Above all,
this is music not only for dreamers but for those who
realize and appreciate the enormity of every moment.
“It’s about never letting go about those dreams and
your passion,” he states. “The album starts from a
place of realizing that everything is temporary, what we
love eventually changes or leaves us, and regardless
we continue to search and find our way back home.”
 If you’ve ever caught air in your lungs or felt your heart
beating in your chest, there’s no doubt that you’ll find
some level of connection with ‘Observatory’’s openhearted, instantly classic-sounding rock.
 LP pressed on cloudy blue vinyl.

Bria is an intimate and incisive labour of love from multi-instrumentalists Bria Salmena
and Duncan Hay Jennings. Catapulted by a deep sense of dread and confusion in the
depths of 2020, Salmena decided to forgo writing her own music. “I wanted to listen for
what might reflect my life back to me,” she says, “six tracks that could be my mirror.” The
result is a pointillistic knockout of a release that weaves a landscape both luscious and a
little rogue; showing us exactly what good songs can do.
 Bria’s internal turbulence seemed to mirror last year’s external instability. When Jennings
and back-up singer Jaime McCuaig moved to The Outside Inn, a hobby farm in Hockley
Hills, Ontario, Bria soon joined. The farm’s living-room-turned-studio proved an ideal
setting for the long-time friends to compile a record of handpicked country covers. They
went searching for songs that could speak to our everyday loneliness, outside and in.
‘Cuntry Covers’ houses it all: well-worn favourites and lesser-known gems.
 The record opens with ‘Green Rocky Road’, as performed by Greenwich Village legend
Karen Dalton. Jennings’ twangy guitar carries Bria’s original inflection and richly textured
vocals, complete with dreamy overlay. ‘Dreaming My Dreams With You’, a rendition of the
Waylon Jennings hit, is followed by John Cale’s ‘Buffalo Ballet’, a lyrical journey through
Abilene, Texas, the endpoint of the Chisholm Trail.
 Engineered and mixed by Duncan Hay Jennings, each song brings desire and sexuality
front and centre, with all the swagger you’d expect – and more. Bria hopes the record will
be understood as a small contribution to the subversion of a genre with deep patriarchal
roots. Mistress Mary’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Love Ya Now’, from the 1969 album ‘Housewife’,
served as the original inspiration. “It was the first song Duncan and I worked on,” Bria
notes. “It definitely set the tone for the other tracks we picked.”
 Bria’s voice - described as wavering between “sultry and howitzer” - shines on ‘Fruits Of
My Labour’, written and performed by country great, Lucinda Williams. The Walker
Brothers’ ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ is a harmonic (and hypnotic) standout. A
musical explorer who moves fluidly between styles, Bria doesn’t consider herself a
country artist: “I feel as though I’m a visitor here, paying respect to a style that has
informed a part of my musical identity. Country music, as much as any other art form,
should be an arena for representation, expression and provocation. I have a ton of
reverence for artists who came before me and challenged the primarily whiteheterosexual status quo.”
 Salmena and Jennings have toured for years as members of Toronto four-piece FRIGS,
whose 2018 debut ‘Basic Behaviour’ was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Making a
mark in diverse genres from country to punk, both play as permanent members of Orville
Peck’s band.
 ‘Cuntry Covers’ was recorded on the territories of the Anishnaabe, the Haudenosaunee,
the Wendat and the Mississaugas of the Credit. The release also features contributions
from FRIGS drummer Kris Bowering and vocals by Ali Jennings.
 LP pressed on opaque breeze blue vinyl.

Bria is an intimate and incisive labour of love from multi-instrumentalists Bria Salmena
and Duncan Hay Jennings. Catapulted by a deep sense of dread and confusion in the
depths of 2020, Salmena decided to forgo writing her own music. “I wanted to listen for
what might reflect my life back to me,” she says, “six tracks that could be my mirror.” The
result is a pointillistic knockout of a release that weaves a landscape both luscious and a
little rogue; showing us exactly what good songs can do.
 Bria’s internal turbulence seemed to mirror last year’s external instability. When Jennings
and back-up singer Jaime McCuaig moved to The Outside Inn, a hobby farm in Hockley
Hills, Ontario, Bria soon joined. The farm’s living-room-turned-studio proved an ideal
setting for the long-time friends to compile a record of handpicked country covers. They
went searching for songs that could speak to our everyday loneliness, outside and in.
‘Cuntry Covers’ houses it all: well-worn favourites and lesser-known gems.
 The record opens with ‘Green Rocky Road’, as performed by Greenwich Village legend
Karen Dalton. Jennings’ twangy guitar carries Bria’s original inflection and richly textured
vocals, complete with dreamy overlay. ‘Dreaming My Dreams With You’, a rendition of the
Waylon Jennings hit, is followed by John Cale’s ‘Buffalo Ballet’, a lyrical journey through
Abilene, Texas, the endpoint of the Chisholm Trail.
 Engineered and mixed by Duncan Hay Jennings, each song brings desire and sexuality
front and centre, with all the swagger you’d expect – and more. Bria hopes the record will
be understood as a small contribution to the subversion of a genre with deep patriarchal
roots. Mistress Mary’s ‘I Don’t Wanna Love Ya Now’, from the 1969 album ‘Housewife’,
served as the original inspiration. “It was the first song Duncan and I worked on,” Bria
notes. “It definitely set the tone for the other tracks we picked.”
 Bria’s voice - described as wavering between “sultry and howitzer” - shines on ‘Fruits Of
My Labour’, written and performed by country great, Lucinda Williams. The Walker
Brothers’ ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ is a harmonic (and hypnotic) standout. A
musical explorer who moves fluidly between styles, Bria doesn’t consider herself a
country artist: “I feel as though I’m a visitor here, paying respect to a style that has
informed a part of my musical identity. Country music, as much as any other art form,
should be an arena for representation, expression and provocation. I have a ton of
reverence for artists who came before me and challenged the primarily whiteheterosexual status quo.”
 Salmena and Jennings have toured for years as members of Toronto four-piece FRIGS,
whose 2018 debut ‘Basic Behaviour’ was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Making a
mark in diverse genres from country to punk, both play as permanent members of Orville
Peck’s band.
 ‘Cuntry Covers’ was recorded on the territories of the Anishnaabe, the Haudenosaunee,
the Wendat and the Mississaugas of the Credit. The release also features contributions
from FRIGS drummer Kris Bowering and vocals by Ali Jennings.
 LP pressed on opaque breeze blue vinyl.

Rough Trade Records announce the release of the
15th Anniversary edition of The Long Blondes’
debut album, the acclaimed ‘Someone To Drive
You Home’.
 The home of a host of indie disco classics with its
noir atmospheres and vivid storytelling - qualities
that saw the record inspire recent, generationcapturing movie ‘Giddy Stratospheres’ which takes
its name from The Long Blondes’ iconic single -
the Sheffield band’s first album managed that rare
trick of capturing the 2000s zeitgeist while leaving
a timeless artistic mark for the ages.
 Initially inspired by the frisson of the indie disco -
now, fittingly, a classic of low lit dancefloors
everywhere - ‘Giddy Stratospheres’ is The Long
Blondes’ sophisticated calling card. A swirl of
razor-sharp guitars and vivid storytelling, waltzing
melodies and burning vocals, the Sheffield band’s
2000s single fizzes with dancing, desire and the
most stylish sing-a-long you’ll ever hear.
 The Anniversary edition of ‘Someone To Drive You
Home’, which was originally released in November
2006 and was produced by Pulp member Steve
Mackey, comes as a gatefold double LP, pressed
on to red and yellow vinyl to mirror the album’s
artwork - a picture of actress Faye Dunaway
painted by frontwoman Kate Jackson. The edition
features the original record, plus 11 additional
tracks that the band used on B-sides.

The multiple award winning action-adventure game God Of War was first released in
2005, but became such an instant hit, that Santa Monica Studio created seven more versions of the game. The most recent one, released in 2018 for the PlayStation
4, focusses on main character Kratos’ journey in the Greek world together with his son Atreus, following a path of vengeance as a result of being tricked into killing his family by Olympian gods.

God of War received universal acclaim for its story, design, graphics, combat system, characters and music. It was awarded ‘Game of the Year’ by numerous media outlets and award shows. God Of War (2018) performed well commercially, selling over five million copies within a month after its release. It became one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games.

The official soundtrack won a BAFTA Award and is composed by Bear McCreary. It is set up around themes he created around primary characters in the game. Inspired by Viking folk music, McCreary used exotic instrumentation and languages from various Northern European folk traditions. It resulted in a score featuring deep choirs, pounding drums, shrieking brass and features Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør (Pálsdóttir). The American composer Bear McCreary is best known for his work on TV shows like Battlestar Galactica, Outlander, The

NOW Music is delighted to introduce our new sub-brand ‘NOW Presents…’. This new series starts with ‘NOW Presents… The 1970s’, the first-ever NOW vinyl boxset featuring 5 LPs uniquely designed to reflect the era.

The boxset is a musical time capsule of the decade that saw so many different genres find chart success. Across its 74 tracks over 10 sides of vinyl, the massive hits sit alongside enduring classics from each year. The set not only includes 5 beautifully designed front covers on the individual albums (that slot into a rigid slip case), but also features track by track annotations with chart positions and facts about the artists and songs.

Each year, 1970-1979 is presented as 1 side of each LP… Kicking off with the iconic ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon & Garfunkel from the biggest selling album of the year, and of the decade. 1970 also includes Motown classics from Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and the debut hit ‘I Want You Back’ from the Jackson 5.

1971 includes the seminal ‘What’s Going On’ from Marvin Gaye, alongside Elton John’s breakthrough – the timeless ‘Your Song’, Rod Stewart’s breakthrough ‘Maggie May’, and The Who’s defining rock anthem ‘Baba O’Riley’.

The charts in 1972 began to reflect the popularity of ‘Glam Rock’ – and ‘Virginia Plain’ by Roxy Music, and ‘Metal Guru’ by T. Rex are included, as is the David Bowie-produced ‘Perfect Day’ from Lou Reed.

‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’ – one of the most beautiful songs, and vocals ever from Roberta Flack opens 1973’s side – and is joined by, amongst others, Billy Joel’s signature song ‘Piano Man’ and Bob Dylan’s ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’.

1974 celebrates Queen having their first Top 5 single with ‘Killer Queen’, and title tracks from two of the decades’ biggest selling albums: Paul McCartney & Wings with ‘Band On The Run’, and ‘Tubular Bells’ from Mike Oldfield.

John Lennon released ‘Imagine’ in 1971 – but it became a UK hit in 1975, and so, starts this side… and finds space for some of the year’s perfect pop from Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel, David Essex, 10cc, and the biggest hit ‘Bye Bye Baby’ from Bay City Rollers, at the peak of their popularity.

ABBA enjoyed 7 UK Number 1’s in the 1970s, and their biggest was the enduringly popular ‘Dancing Queen’ which leads into 1976. Electric Light Orchestra had a huge hit with ‘Livin’ Thing’, as did Thin Lizzy with ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ – plus Joan Armatrading emerged with ‘Love And Affection’.

1977 saw Fleetwood Mac release their mega-selling album ‘Rumours’, and from it ‘Don’t Stop’ is here, as is Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ – one of the most influential dance tracks of all time – and one of 1977’s favourite TV stars, David Soul, enjoyed a #1 single with ‘Don’t Give Up On Us’.

With ‘Wuthering Heights’, Kate Bush not only had 4 weeks at number 1 in 1978, but became the first female artist to achieve this with a self-written song. The Jam, The Boomtown Rats and Siouxsie And The Banshees all found consistent success as Punk & New Wave established new chart stars.

1979 concludes the set and opens with the iconic ‘London Calling’ from The Clash, and includes two of the biggest bands of the era, The Police and Blondie. A couple of years later the first video played on MTV would be ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ from The Buggles – and it’s fitting that this is the final track on the collection, a #1 in late 1979 – it signposted the synth-pop wave that would define the early 80s…. (but that’s a different box set).

‘The Alienist: Angel Of Darkness (Original Series
Soundtrack)’ is now available on vinyl.
 The album features music by Ivor Novello Awardwinning composer Bobby Krlic (The Haxan Cloak).
 The album is pressed on blue vinyl, with a deluxe
spined sleeve with deboss artwork and the vinyl itself
housed in its own double sided inner sleeve. Digital
download card included.
 Bobby Krlic is an award-winning British artist,
composer and music producer based in Los Angeles.
Over the past decade, Krlic has created music under
the The Haxan Cloak, releasing two critically
acclaimed full-length albums (2011’s ‘The Haxan
Cloak’ and 2013’s ‘Excavation’) and touring
extensively as a solo artist building a devout fanbase.
As a producer, Krlic has worked with artists including
Björk, Khalid, Troye Sivan, Goldfrapp, serpentwithfeet,
The Body and noise-rock band HEALTH.
 Krlic scored Ari Aster’s 2019 horror film ‘Midsommar’,
earning him an Ivor Novello Award for Best Original
Film Score. Last year, he made new music for ‘Red
Dead Online’ and also co-produced Father John
Misty’s ‘To S.’ and ‘To R.’.
 An unflinching, gripping, turn-of-the-century murder
mystery that traverses both New York’s wealthy elite
and the struggling underbelly of the city’s ‘Gilded Age’,
‘The Alienist’ follows Dr. Laszlo Kreizler (Daniel Brühl),
a brilliant and obsessive ‘alienist’ in the controversial
new field of treating mental pathologies.

London exploratory industrialist Luke Younger characterizes the creation of his latest collection, Axis, as a liberating return to roots: “It felt like going back to the beginning, it felt freeing.” Begun before the pandemic as a soundtrack to a dance performance, the initial vision was for something “visceral, with physical movement in mind.” When the project shifted to indefinite hiatus, he reimagined the material in the context of an LP, while retaining its sense of dynamic physicality. The result is grim and gripping, seasick throbs lurching in a low-ceilinged space, strafed with fractured clanging, hissing steam, and grinding spirals of granular haze. Noise in its most elevated and compelling form, from and for the body as much as the mind.

London exploratory industrialist Luke Younger characterizes the creation of his latest collection, Axis, as a liberating return to roots: “It felt like going back to the beginning, it felt freeing.” Begun before the pandemic as a soundtrack to a dance performance, the initial vision was for something “visceral, with physical movement in mind.” When the project shifted to indefinite hiatus, he reimagined the material in the context of an LP, while retaining its sense of dynamic physicality. The result is grim and gripping, seasick throbs lurching in a low-ceilinged space, strafed with fractured clanging, hissing steam, and grinding spirals of granular haze. Noise in its most elevated and compelling form, from and for the body as much as the mind.

London exploratory industrialist Luke Younger characterizes the creation of his latest collection, Axis, as a liberating return to roots: “It felt like going back to the beginning, it felt freeing.” Begun before the pandemic as a soundtrack to a dance performance, the initial vision was for something “visceral, with physical movement in mind.” When the project shifted to indefinite hiatus, he reimagined the material in the context of an LP, while retaining its sense of dynamic physicality. The result is grim and gripping, seasick throbs lurching in a low-ceilinged space, strafed with fractured clanging, hissing steam, and grinding spirals of granular haze. Noise in its most elevated and compelling form, from and for the body as much as the mind.

Back in 1994, when Lambchop first lurched lackadaisically into public view, they seemed to many people freakish, outlandish, destined at best for the pages of photocopied fanzines and the graveyard hours of specialist radio stations. A sprawling collective of Nashville musicians —eleven were credited on the sleeve of I Hope You’re Sitting Down / Jack’s Tulips, one of them apparently responsible for “open-end wrenches” —they’d named themselves after a sock puppet, inexplicably given their album two titles, and stuck a painting on the cover of a small, barefooted child holding a dog whose cock and balls are on proud display. Perhaps to counteract this bold depiction of canine masculinity, the inner sleeve offered a black-and-white shot of what the more refined sometimes call a “lady garden.” The back cover offered a painting detail of a wedding dress. So far, so weird.

Where Lambchop brought us was somewhere so singular and bewilderingly gripping that — to perhaps no one’s greater surprise than
the band themselves, whose homeland remained baffled for quite some years to come — the album ended up in British music paper NME’s Top 50 Albums of the Year. In case anyone were to consider this an anomaly, France’s similarly influential Les Inrockuptibles placed it at number 25 on their own list. Not bad for a band who had gathered since the mid-1980s, once a week, purely for pleasure, in that smoky, dimly lit basement. Not bad, either, for a record whose sessions were initially only expected to produce enough material for a handful of 7 -inch singles. Disheveled yet tender, anarchic yet intricate, I Hope You’re Sitting Down / Jack’s Tulips instead provided the springboard for a career — still ongoing, despite repeated reinventions, and still compelled by stubbornly freakish, outlandish intentions — during which Lambchop’s ever-changing line-up has continued to confound expectations. Wagner, meanwhile, remains one of our most cryptic but crucial voices, an authentic poet of the magical banal. Sure, it was weird here, but it was wonderful, too. Over a quarter century later, it still is.