quête:m i a us

Während die Lichter für 2023 ausgehen und wir ins Jahr 2024 vordringen, melden sich die Rough Trade-Shops mit ihrer jährlichen Counter Culture-Auswahl zurück. Die LP enthält 13, die Doppel-CD ganze 35 Tracks. Alles ist abgedeckt, von der chaotischen Partywut von Snooper über den aus den Fugen geratenen Metal von Pest Control bis zum biertrinkenden Spaßfest der Mary Wallopers. Du bekommst Lip Critic im Death-Grips-Style, ein elfminütiges Sludge-Workout von Slift, den Badu-Future-Soul von Liv.e und die 'new kids on the black' Lifeguard mit ihrer einzigartigen Interpretation von Post-Punk. Wie immer leben und atmen die Rough Trade-Shops neue Musik und diese Serie steht dafür.

Second ist der Nachfolger ihres selbstbetitelten Debütalbums von 2021. Dead Best nimmt die rohen, pandemischen Ausdrucksformen zweier Punk-Veteranen auf und verfeinert sie in 13 mitreißenden Tracks. Die LP ist ein kurzes, aber klares Profil der gemeinsamen kreativen Stimme von Goren und Sokel, die mit stampfenden Gitarren und verzweifelten, verzerrten Vocals tiefe Ängste zum Ausdruck bringen. Die langjährigen Freunde Adam Goren und Brian Sokel gingen Ende der 90er und Anfang der 2000er Jahre in der Punkszene von Philadelphia getrennte Wege.

Während Sokel Riffs in die Dub- und Hardcore-Mischung Franklin einbrachte und der primäre Songwriter und Multiinstrumentalist von AM/FM war, die eine Reihe von Alben auf Polyvinyl Records veröffentlichten, spielte Goren in den Punkbands Fracture und Armalite und erforschte die Verwendung von Sequenzern in seinem exzentrischen Soloprojekt Atom and His Package. Mit ihren jeweiligen Projekten tourten die beiden gemeinsam durch die USA und Kanada, veröffentlichten die Musik des jeweils anderen auf selbst gegründeten Labels, und Goren zollte sogar Sokels Band auf dem Atom and His Package-Track For Franklin" Tribut.

NORMANS was born on the dirty streets of LA and baptized in the punk rich waters of Hermosa Beach; the city that gave us Black Flag, Red Kross, Minutemen and more.

Years of exposure and participation in the myriad of genres and sounds that make up the vibrant music scene resulted in a multi-genre-bending, bass and synth fueled cacophony that pays homage to the ghosts of The Jesus Lizard, Suicide, Butthole Surfers and The Birthday Party.

NORMANS was born on the dirty streets of LA and baptized in the punk rich waters of Hermosa Beach; the city that gave us Black Flag, Red Kross, Minutemen and more.

Years of exposure and participation in the myriad of genres and sounds that make up the vibrant music scene resulted in a multi-genre-bending, bass and synth fueled cacophony that pays homage to the ghosts of The Jesus Lizard, Suicide, Butthole Surfers and The Birthday Party.

Producer / composer / multi-instrumentalist Angel Marcloid records music under the moniker Fire-Toolz. Though Marcloid’s output emerges in a litany of aliases and projects — from the jazz fusion / new age of Nonlocal Forecast to the vaporous nostalgia of MindSpring Memories — the Fire-Toolz catalog remains the central focus of the prolific artist’s musical universe and a home for Marcloid’s most ambitious work.

"I am upset because I see something that is not there.", the fifth Fire-Toolz album to join the Hausu Mountain catalog since 2017, follows 2021’s sprawling double-album Eternal Home and 2022’s self-released EP I will not use the body’s eyes today. I am upset… offers listeners a prismatic cross-section of juxtaposed genres and compositional contortions to explore, maintaining Fire-Toolz’s signature density and complexity while tightening the scope of Marcloid’s experimentation into the project’s most focused song cycle to date.

Perhaps more than any previous Fire-Toolz album, I am upset... presents some form of pop music, carried in Marcloid’s passages of clean vocals, in the bright synth tones that animate its tracks, in the yearning saxophone lines that pour into view and whisk the narrative onto a new path. The format of a one-person “band” carries a different weight in a landscape of solo artists crafting modernist productions that don’t allude in the slightest to various twentieth-century rock-related traditions. Fire-Toolz exists on both sides of this divide. The music of Fire-Toolz draws energy on a moment-to-moment basis from the constant fluctuation between seemingly disparate styles, yet Marcloid repeatedly pulls off the impossible feat of making chaotic deviations and improbable jump-cuts between ideas sound holistic, as if such compositional gambits were already logical to begin with. Bursts of harsh textural noise cut into drifts of new age synth bliss, while screamo verses bookend passages of hyper-technical jazz fusion.

Gianni Brezzo (213k Monthly Listeners on Spotify), the jazz affiliated band / studio project led by Cologne-based producer maestro Marvin Horsch, has a diverse musical profile that is reflected both in his genre-hopping as well as his creative output. Along with producing for Cologne bands like Keshavara, Woman and Xul Zolar, Gianni has released a number of EP and LP’s since 2017, including 2021’s “The Awakening” which featured vocal appearances from Berlin/Tel Aviv based singer / producer J.Lamotta and soul singer Otis Junior from Louisville, Kentucky. Gianni’s 2022 LP “Tutto Passa,” released on Jakarta Records, was a meditation around Marvin’s relationship to Italian culture, accompanied by research into Italian composers of the 60’s / 70’s such as Piero Umiliani, Stelvio Cipriani and Armando Trovajoli to more recent work by Sven Wunder. This was quicklya followed up with EP “Amoria,” an extension of the themes grown from “Tutto Passa,” along with the groovy baroque-jazz of LP “Soundscapes Vol. 1 – Music for Harlequins.” Gianni’s tracks have consistently placed on Editorial Playlists including Spotify’s “State Of Jazz” (908k Likes), “Lounge Jazz” (75k Likes) “Jazz-Funk” (316k Likes) and more, and most recently was synced in an episode of Gossip Girl for HBO US. Gianni Brezzo’s new project, “Filigrani” is a testament to the continued sonic growth and experimentation that pushes the music to new heights. The tracks, meticulously crafted, were born live in the studio, capturing the raw energy and creativity of Brezzo's jazz-driven genius. "Filigrani" introduces a unique fusion, seamlessly blending jazz progressions with touches of ambient electronics. Brezzo weaves a tapestry of sound, inviting listeners into a world where guitar melodies intertwine with subtle drum beats, dreamy harps, and the enchanting whispers of saxophones and flutes. The result? A groovedriven masterpiece that expands the boundaries of sonic artistry. The single and LP artworks by the esteemed Jason Jagel (MF DOOM, Madlib, JJ Whitefield) provide the perfect accompaniment to Gianni’s ever shifting grooves. The albums lead single is eponymous “Filigrani” due out Wednesday, November 22nd with LP pre-order announcement the following Friday, December 1st. This is to capitalize both on Gianni’s upcoming festival appearance at Linecheck in Milan on November 22nd and Bandcamp Friday on December 1st. With a guitar + drum progression that will have you swaying along, the track ebbs and flows as if your ears are gently skiing down fresh sonic powder. Recorded live in studio, the tracks lush horns and tranquil synth pads slide to and fro, combining the best of Khruangbin-style acoustics w/ Gianni’s unparalleled creativity. 2nd single is the lush, late-night vibes of “Milan Nights” out December 13th. Perfect for cozy evenings around the fire and slow dances with that special someone, the tracks harp, guitar, saxophone and slow, yet light and driving drums are a perfect groove to fall into the holiday vibe with. All you need is snow. Focus track is the effortlessly smooth, soulful jazz-funk piece, “Dreams of Sudden Clarity.” Certified 100% fresh, it’s a perfect way to kick off the year. The progression gives you a euphoric, elated feeling, like you’re finally arrived at that special place you never knew existed, but were always meant to find. Promotion will be handled via the label and artist profiles, along with further promotion by external agencies within Italy where Gianni has upcoming live events.

Black LP in reverse board sleeve, polylined inner sleeve
US based Finnish pianist Anni Kiviniemi debuts her trio featuring bassist Eero Tikkanen and drummer Hans Hulbaekmo (from Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra and Moskus). The new album "Eir", out on We Jazz Records 12 Jan 2024, is an introspective, moody, yet swinging trio set comprising of 8 Kiviniemi originals. Modeled for a classic jazz piano trio, Kiviniemi's music reaches far beyond, bringing together influences from classical music, Norwegian musical tradition and North African music.

Of her compositional process, Kiviniemi says:

In the 1970s, Robert Cahen turned to the burgeoning field of video art, where he became a pioneering artist. He was originally trained in musique concrète, his creative background, and joined the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in 1972. The pieces on this record were composed in the GRM studios between 1971 and 1974. They testify to a lively inspiration and imagination combined with a precocious formal mastery that already carries the seeds of later developments, which the artist cleverly and inventively deployed in the field of visual arts. (François Bonnet, Paris, 2022)

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«La nef des fous» (1974), 12’00

There are pieces of music whose title is obviously a mere label given afterwards to a finished product. And others, on the contrary, which develop in spiral around a bundle of images and impressions condensed into a few words. This is the case indeed with La nef des fous. However, this work by Robert Cahen oddly wraps itself around its title, with bends, breaks, and an impetus driven further every time to close a new circle, for such is the very essence of the spiral. This, at least, is the way I perceive the form of the work, with its theme-chorus which, in part one, both ponctuates and disrupts the emerging musical curve in various ways and at irregular intervals, as well as its broader and more open second part, which closes with a recollection of the beginning of the work. The challenge of a musical form justified by the topic it illustrates, right down to its gaps, its wanderings and its twists, and which would confer upon it the necessity of a profound logic, that of insanity, is the challenge attempted by Robert Cahen. In such a genre as tape music, so careful with respect to form, one can appreciate its audacity. La nef des fous, or Unity through heterogeneity, or Each to their own madness, but all in the same boat. This means that if we can listen to each of these sound characters, “broken chants”, which create the work for themselves, through the singularity of their delirium, we can also, from one to the other, trace the continuous chanting of a music that is inherently and spontaneously poetic, a music that carries “the unconscious under its skin” (Christiane Sacco). (Michel Chion, January 1976)

«Masques 2» (1973), 08’34

Concert version (for tape only) of an audiovisual work entitled Masques, in which the faces of old dolls and «masks», filmed during the Basel Carnival, were projected in 16mm. Masques 2 is a metaphorical version of Masques in which music is featured in its arcane musicality.
Through its concrete and suggestive music Masques 2 aims to bring to light hidden memories, buried within us, thus enabling an awakening, the resurgence of events from our own history. (R. C.)

«Plurielles» (1971), 08’35

Premiered at the Paris Biennale, 24 September 1971. Suite based on the score of a TV film directed by Sophie Talmon.

«Persona» (1971), 08’34

Premiered at the Paris Biennale, 24 September 1971.

«Passé composé» (1971), 05’29

A discreet but essential figure in the field of musical creation, Horacio Vaggione has been crafting an ambitious, precise and highly significant body of work for over the last fifty years, coupled with a demanding research activity. This disc offers four purely electroacoustic pieces which illustrate, each in their own way, this singular and fascinating grammar developed by Horacio Vaggione, a complex but fertile grammar which establishes a very special relationship between structure and texture, between matter and formula, to create a fascinating musical space, made up of polyphonies and metamorphoses. (François Bonnet, Paris, 2022)

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«Schall» (1994), 07’30

Schall exclusively uses piano sounds sampled and processed with various digital techniques. The sound palette focuses on several shapes of various sizes which reiterate, altered to varying degrees, throughout the process. The granular paradigm is clearly assumed here, as is also that of the interactions between various temporal scales. Basically, there is a concern for the articulation of micro-events. The piece essentially plays with low-intensity frames, composed of various planes and punctuated by stronger objects, in a kind of polyphonic dialogue between proximity and distance. (H. V.)

«Rechant» (1995), 15’51

Initially, a few brief sounds of instrumental origin — percussions, flutes, strings. Processed by means of various digital techniques, projected on various temporal scales, analyzed and re-synthesized, worked in their parts (in their saliences), articulated in their edges as well as in their interactions, these sounds show, as Bachelard would say, «pluralism under identity». I thus tried to compose morphologies by targeting properties contained in the material and by projecting them on temporal perspectives of all sizes. The title, an allusion to the old polyphonic technique, refers to the iterative content of these morphologies as well as to the modalities of their interweaving. (H. V.)

«24 Variations» (2001), 09’50

The word «variations» applies here to the morphological transformations of the material, as well as to the various contexts in which these transformations appear. The result can be heard as a continuous interaction between sound particles of different sizes, composed of several layers, reflecting a preoccupation with detailed articulation spanning different time scales. (H. V.)

«Gymel» (2002), 09’25

In Gymel I tried to compose a space-trajectory using layered sounds, produced by morphological operations (splits, clusterings) that spread out from location to location in variously dense objects. The space was treated through phase-decorrelation, a technique which I use extensively, both to create spaces and to locate sounds and movements within a polyphonic (stratified) context. (H. V.)

Alpha Omega is the third album by New York hardcore legends Cro-Mags, originally released in 1992. The album gave us "The Other Side of Madness," arguably one of the band's most well-known songs beyond its dedicated following. Alpha Omega is a piece of hardcore history that every fan must own!

LTD gold vinyl. Back On Black re-package and re-issue "A Holocaust in Your Head", the debut album by crust punk veterans Extreme Noise Terror - on gold vinyl! Never was a band and its first album both so suitably named as EXTREME NOISE TERROR and their seminal debut full-length, 1989's "A Holocaust in Your Head". Simply put, this is one of the key releases of both the crust-punk and grindcore genres, redefining British music's known limits of sonic extremity with its remorseless aggression, blinding speed, and none-more-raw recording.

Das legendäre US-Metal-Meisterwerk ist nach fast 40 Jahren endlich auf luxuriösem 180 Gramm Vinyl erhältlich!
Wir glauben nicht, dass es ein einziges Wort gibt, das diesem Album außer Perfektion gerecht werden könnte. Und wenn man sich dieses Album
einmal angehört hat, wird einem sofort klar, dass dies Vicious Rumors sind. Das ist ihr Stil, ihr eigenes Genre und ihr Sound, ihre Formel.
"Soldiers of the Night" setzte den Ton an, welches sie für den Rest ihrer Karriere gefolgt haben. Es gibt genug Geschwindigkeit, um sie dem
Speed/Power Metal-Genre zuzuordnen, es gibt genug Emotion und Vielfalt, um sie dem progressiven Genre zuzuordnen, es gibt genug technisches
Können, um sie unter dem Dach von Shrapnel Records landen zu lassen.
Alles, was Vicious Rumors ausmacht, ist hier in Stein gemeißelt. Die total abgehobene Atmosphäre zieht sich durch das ganze Album und steigt
manchmal ins Düstere. Das ganze Album ist qualitativ konsistent- Lückenfüller Tracks gibt es hier keine. Obendrein ist die Produktion für die damalige
Zeit phänomenal und es gibt immer noch eine raue Kante. Fans von klassischem Heavy, Speed, Thrash, Power, progressivem, technisch versiertem
Metal sollten sich sofort in dieses Album verlieben.

ECORDS
Born out of the creative genius of the two founding members, Alfred Morris III
and Kim Martin, FORCE's 12" EP is a landmark in the Maryland metal scene, in
addition to being a highly sought after record by collectors and Doom Metal
aficionados. Soon available in a limited replica edition, to which will be added
extensive liner notes written by Kim Martin himself, detailing the band's history,
creative process, musical background and much more!
This release will be eternally dedicated to the memory of Alfred Morris III, who
unfortunately left us in 2018. Rest in peace, Alfred! Keep on rocking forever!

Four essential cuts from Ghana & Cape Verde, compiled by Arp Frique...

Music is a great connector, bringing people together in many ways. On his journey in music so far, Arp Frique has been fortunate to meet many beautiful artists. The songs on this first edition of "Radio Familia" are deeply connected to the musicians he performs with. Join the music family on a trip through exciting sounds from Ghana and Cape Verde and listen to their story in both words and music.

Arp Frique never played a show without including Americo Brito’s epic song “C’est Dudu”. The song originally appeared on his album “Fidjo Di Mizeria” from 1989 but he had been performing his anthem for years and it came in many shapes and forms. After spending a lot of time in Paris, he (like many others in those days) got inspired by new records from Guadeloupe and Martinique, especially “kadans”. Incorporating latin piano motifs borrowed from salsa and merengue and a bold choice to sing in French, the song and album became an instant success for Americo in and outside the clubscene (note: DJs were not the primary source of dance music in those days, bands played all night to keep the dancers moving). The addition of C’est Dudu to this compilation became especially relevant since Americo recently passed away. Fortunately, his anthem just like all his other music will remain with us for decades to come.

While going through the archives with Americo Brito for the Radio Verde compilation, he introduced Arp Frique to a band called Imilux Star, of course again well connected with Americo. This Cape Verdean band residing in Luxemburg (where there is a substantial Cape Verdean community) definitely added a different flavor to the musical pallet the islands are famous for: heavy syncopated rhythms coming from the drum computer. They released two albums which both became very popular in their scene and the track “Yolanda” from their 1988 album “Jota Dê” got to Arp Frique’s attention too late to add to the Radio Verde comp. The band is still performing to this day in the Luxemburg-Cape Verdean live circuit.

While Arp Frique was on the road with his lead singer Mariseya, they talked much and deep about Ghanaian music (especially highlife) and he learned a lot about the community from Ghana in the Netherlands, mostly in Amsterdam and The Hague. Mariseya’s dad, Nana Adomako Nyamekye, came to see their liveshow while in the UK which was very special to them considering he is one of the highlife artists Arp Frique has grown to be very fond of. His deeply funky and bubbly bass driven song “Obra Twa Owuo” is about life and death, telling us we should all love each other as we still have life to live. Originally released on “Ano Plan” from 1982, the album is filled with philosophical advice. In his own words: “A message to all humans that something awaits us all at the end of life. Let’s live together with love.

Bnnyhunna, from the Ghanaian community in the Netherlands, joined Arp Frique’s live experience several times playing keyboards and synthesizers. His dad Elvis Kwasi Ankomah, just like him, developed a high level of musicianship while performing regularly in church. The song “Fa Wokoma Mame” (give me your heart) from his only studioalbum “Mfa Menko” released in 1995 is about showing his love to a lady but only if she puts her trust in him completely. The album talks about love, pain, relationships and life. Having worked with artists like Daddy Lumba, Nana Ampadu, Amakye Dede and many other hiplife and highlife legends, he still plays in church every week and has been doing so ever since he was 15 years young.

Elypsia welcomes Carl Finlow with a six tracks mini album. Fierce electro tracks in the wellkown signature sound of Carl Finlow who has been dropping classic tracks since the mid 90's using project names such as Random Factor, Silicon Scally, Voice Steale, IL.EK.TRO. Here is comes with a solid 6 track ep on Belgium techno mainstay Elypsia Records from Brussels.

Following their contribution to the 2022 International Women’s Day compilation, and a co-production credit on “Dreaming is Essential” by Byron Yeates, Eoin DJ drops their first release on Radiant Records, Total Body. The 4-track EP is replete with mind-bending, lustrous tracks waiting to be spun out to sweatbox dancefloors.

“Total Body” invites movement from its first seconds. Layers and layers of snares, shakers and rhythmic synth stabs build tension before the pulse of a rolling bassline cements the elements into a cohesive hard house groove. Fragments and chops of sensx’s vocals wrap in and around the sonic field, leaving wisps of reverb and echo in their wake before repeating the track’s Total Body mantra in the breakdown. The result is a lushly-scored density of sound, with a relentless stomp that never feels overcrowded or too heavy.

Angel D’lite’s remix takes a more skeletal approach to “Total Body”: a snare and clap march beneath chiming vocal stabs, rumbling low end and rolling breakbeats, flipping the original into a modern bass-heavy hybrid number. The rhythmic synth from the original, reversed and efex’d, ushers us in, and then out of the track, around extra bass stabs and pitch shifted “Total Body” chops.

On the B side, “Ultra Soft” lifts off with a firm kick and a rolling 3-note bassline. Despite the title, the track hits harder than “Total Body” and sings with Eoin DJ signatures: swirling funnels of processed vocals, rich, ear-itching textures, stripped back percussion and rave-ready samples are sprinkled with 303s, to create a track that sits comfortably with both classic trance and techno and contemporary “Progressive” dance music.

The EP’s closer, a remix of “Ultra Soft” by Byron Yeates, compresses the astrally-inclined scale of the original track into shining slices of sound. A playful, chiming melody starts off the track alongside the kick, working through precise grooves, knife-sharp snares, a throbbing bass and chopped-up, smokey vocals. The result: 6 minutes of total embodiment from the Radiant Records boss.

Detroit producer Apollo Brown has made a name for himself as one of Hip-Hop’s most legendary new producers while maintaining a golden era sound. His production credits are a who’s who of Hip-hop greats from Danny Brown to Ghostface Killah, Ras Kass to Westside Gunn. Even Chance the Rapper used a pair of Apollo beats on his debut mixtapes. Known for bringing the best out of musicians, Apollo has a knack for making timeless classics. Brooklyn’s Joell Ortiz started on none other than Dr. Dre’s Aftermath label and built a huge buzz in the industry. He’s worked with legends like Just Blaze among others. He then signed to Shady Records as ¼ of the supergroup Slaughterhouse. He’s worked with Hip-Hop titans Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Jadakiss, Akon, and Big Daddy Kane. Now the pair of Hip-hop luminaries are celebrating the 5 year anniversary of their first collaborative album on Mello Music Group with a deluxe edition including 2 new songs. It’s nothing short of a masterpiece: Mona Lisa.

After a two year wait, we proudly present Deepseries 1.3, the latest installment in our Deep compilation series featuring friends and family of the label. This atmospheric EP showcases the distinct sounds of Deeptrax, bringing together a curated selection of tracks that define the label's sonic universe.

Caim kicks off the journey with an unreleased gem, a calm and atmospheric track with a punchy kick. It sets the stage for an immersive experience, inviting listeners into its ethereal embrace.

Returning to Deeptrax, Mathijs Smit delivers a bass-heavy, emotionally charged track. A sonic return to familiar grounds, his contribution reflects the label's commitment to captivating, bass-driven soundscapes.

Joey Anderson makes a poignant return with a deep, emotionally layered track where instruments guide, inform, and inspire. His unique ability to infuse depth and emotion shines through in this standout contribution.

Rich P & Lee join forces for another V.A. installment, presenting a melodic house journey filled with dub chords. A perfect blend of melody and rhythm, their track is a testament to their signature sound.

Closing the EP is Pim Holthof's debut on Deeptrax with an atmospheric minimal house track. His contribution adds a distinctive touch to Deepseries 1.3, showcasing the label's dedication to sonic exploration.

Deepseries 1.3 is a culmination of artistry, emotion, and sonic innovation. Join us in this exploration of electronic music, where each track is a unique thread in the rich tapestry of Deeptrax Records. Welcome to Deepseries 1.3 - where the journey never ends.

"Impératrice" bedeutet "Herrscherrin" auf Französisch, und der Bandname ist für Nicht-Frankophone wohl am schwierigsten zu begreifen - musikalisch gesehen gibts es bei L'Impératrice nichts, was man übersetzen muss. Die Pariser greifen auf eine Reihe von Genres zurück, von Space-Disco der 70er Jahre bis zum Downtempo-Synthpop der 90er Jahre, wobei sie dabei auch die französischen Filmkomponisten wie François de Roubaix und Michel Legrand mit einbeziehen. "Albums that sold 500 copies in the 1970s are the records that interest us most," sagen L'Impératrice. "Matahari" ist das glitzernde, kinematographische Ergebnis der letzten sechs Jahre harter Arbeit, das auf einige der besten musikalischen Fundstücke und schon vergessene Schätzen zurückgreift, die sich in Plattenkisten im ganzen Land verstecken. Versehen wird das ganze mit L'Impératrice' eigenem, unnachahmlichen 21st century twist. Subtil und dennoch majestätisch, L'Impératrice haben eine strahlende Zukunft in ihrem Heimatland, aber wenn das sechsköpfige Ungeheuer drauf und dran ist, wirklich in die musikalische Königsklasse Frankreichs aufzusteigen, dann müssen sie auf ihre têtes, ihre Köpfe, aufpassen. Boisseguin hat alles richtig gemacht, seit er seinen Journalisten-Job vor sieben Jahren geschmissen hat. Wenn der leise und stetige Aufstieg von L'Impératrice zur Vormachtstellung in ihrem Heimatland Teil eines Plans wäre, dann könnte man erwarten, dass in Zukunft mit der Weltherrschaft zu rechnen ist.

After an international tour, the multi-instrumentalist FKJ presents his new 6-tracker jazz EP : Ylang Ylang

Produced in an intimate context, the project, both bright and melancholic, is a real journey within the artist's time capsule.

Its numerous instruments - often accompanied by warm choruses - between apotheosis and rhythmic lull, tell the different parts of his life. Story of musical and familial love, loneliness and passing time, this project spotlights his name, coming from a soothing local flower.

Full of influences, there is Bas - the first rapper signed on Dreamville, label created by J.Cole - on the single "Risk", which deals with similar themes. French Kiwi Juice introduces us to a sweet orchestral ballad. Finally, between gratitude and lightness, he states "I am still the same".

Mit der 7"-Single "Fairies Wear Boots" spendieren ZAKK SABBATH einen ersten Vorgeschmack auf ihren zweiten Longplayer, dessen Erscheinen für Anfang 2024 geplant ist.
Dieser amüsante Klassiker des Heavy Metal wurde ursprünglich im Jahr 1970 als letzter Track auf BLACK SABBATHs zweitem Album "Paranoid" veröffentlicht. ZAKK SABBATH sind aus purer Leidenschaft und Liebe zur Musik entstanden. Der Gitarrist, Sänger und Kopf von BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, Zakk Wylde, der sich auch als langjähriger Lead-Gitarrist bei OZZY OSBOURNE und nun auch noch PANTERA einen Namen machte, gründete die Band als Hommage an die "Erfinder" des Heavy Metal: BLACK SABBATH.
Anfangs spielten ZAKK SABBATH zunächst nur Live-Shows in wechselnder Besetzung, bis im Jahr 2017 die 12"-EP "Live in Detroit" erschien. Vom 50. Jahrestag des selbstbetitelten Debütalbums von BLACK SABBATH inspiriert, das bezeichnenderweise am Freitag, dem 13. im Jahr 1970 veröffentlicht wurde, ging die mittlerweile stabile Besetzung mit Zakk sowie OZZY OSBOURNE und ROB ZOMBIE Bassist Blasko und Joey Castillo am Schlagzeug (DANZIG, QUEEN OF THE STONE AGE) ins Studio, um jenem Album einen angemessenen Tribut zu zollen, dessen Songs die Geschichte der Musik entscheidend beeinflusst hat. Ein Jahr später erschien das ZAKK SABBATH Debüt mit allen Songs des monumentalen BLACK SABBATH Meilensteins unter dem Titel "Vertigo" (2020), womit die Amerikaner auf das legendäre Label Vertigo Records des Vierers aus Birmingham anspielten. "Vertigo" wurde von Kritikern und Fans gleichermaßen mit Lob überschüttet. Der Erstling des Trios wurde zu einem globalen Erfolg, was durch beeindruckende Platzierungen in den Charts unterstrichen wurde: "Vertigo" kletterte auf Platz 5 in den US Hard Music Charts, wo es auch Platz 7 in den Current Rock Albums Charts und Platz 27 in den Billboard Top Albums Charts erreichte. Im Ausland kaperte die Tributscheibe sogar Platz 1 der Metal Alben Charts in Frankreich sowie Platz 3 der deutschen Album-Charts und den 9ten Rang der UK Top 40 Rock/Metal-Charts. Mit "Fairies Wear Boots" setzen ZAKK SABBATH der legendären Metal-Band aus Birmingham nun ein weiteres Denkmal. Fortsetzung folgt!

Im Jahr 2022 änderten Paramore im Stillen das Cover ihres gleichnamigen Albums auf allen DSPs von einem Bandfoto zu einem Bild von Hayley mit ihrer "Grow Up"-Jeansjacke. Das Ergebnis: Die Fans forderten, dass wir (das Label) das Album mit dem neuen Cover auf Vinyl pressen. Am 5.

Januar werden die Fans ihren Wunsch erfüllen, denn wir bringen Self-Titled wieder auf den Markt - nicht nur in schwarzem Standard-Vinyl, sondern auch mit exklusiven, von Hayley Williams ausgewählten Farben. Die Farben sind Repliken der Farben, die Hayleys Haare während des Zyklus trugen. Paramore hat die Top-Ten- und Doppel-Platin-Singles "Still Into You" und "Ain't It Fun".

Paramore steht auf den Listen der besten Alben des Jahrzehnts von Kerrang!, Billboard und AllMusic. Es bescherte der Band ihre erste Nummer eins in den US Billboard 200 und war auch die Nummer eins im Vereinigten Königreich, Irland, Australien, Neuseeland, Brasilien, Argentinien und Mexiko. Derzeit ist das Album mit Platin in den USA, Großbritannien und Kanada sowie mit Gold in Australien ausgezeichnet.

Featuring compositions by Elmer Bernstein and Randy Newman and produced by Lenny Waronker, this soundtrack reminds us why music is as key a character to any film as an actor. Bernstein’s lush orchestrations that lend the true Western sound to this beloved comedy farce, contrasted with the unforgettable silliness of Randy Newman’s compositions like “My Little Buttercup” and “The Singing Bush” combine to deliver absolute joy alongside unforgettable tunes.

"UMR/Mercury are pressing 11 of Metallica’s studio album back catalogue on custom coloured vinyl for the first time for World ex North America; following the 2021 Walmart exclusive coloured vinyl series in the US.

Phase one will see their first 5 albums releasing one a month from November 2023 – March 2024. Phase two of the remaining 6 titles will be released throughout 2024 (dates TBC).

Metallica’s third album, Master Of Puppets (1986), will be pressed on 180g ‘Battery Brick’ limited edition coloured vinyl, featuring the 2017 remastered audio."

Die neue VERVE BY REQUEST-LP-Serie präsentiert rare Kultalben, die von den Fans immer wieder gefordert wurden, gepresst in audiophilem 180-Gramm-Vinyl bei Third Man Pressing/Detroit. „Ptah The El Daoud“, Alice Coltranes viertes Album, wurde 1970 im Kellerstudio des Hauses der ColtraneFamilie in Dix Hills aufgenommen und ist ein transzendentes Meisterwerk des spirituellen Jazz. Der Titeltrack ist eine Ode an den ägyptischen Gott Ptah (El Daoud bedeutet „der Geliebte“). Gatefold-Hülle, gepolsterte Innenhülle. „Beat“ wurde für Berry Gordys kurzlebiges Workshop-Jazz-Label im Hitsville-USA-Studio aufgenommen. Schlagzeuger Roy Brooks, zusammen mit seinen Detroit-Landsleuten George Bohanon und Hugh Lawson, sowie seinen Bandkollegen Blue Mitchell, Junior Cook und Eugene Taylor vom Horace Silver Quintet, mischt eine ordentliche Dosis Souljazz in die Hard-Bop-Wurzeln dieses mitreißenden Albums von 1964. Gemastert von den analogen Originalbändern, gepolsterte Innenhülle.

Known for his viral video series Sexta dos Crias, Ramon Sucesso is a virtuosic DJ who crushes, reimagines, and rearranges songs to such a degree that the original tracks become virtually unrecognisable. He has turned his controller into a particle accelerator, creating firework-like bursts of classic funk carioca samples, his own productions, mainstream tracks, nonsense TikTok sound bites, and tons of his trademark beat bolha. All contained within an unparalleled, mischievously non-linear rhythmic flow.

‘Ramon’s social network profiles are as outrageously unpredictable as his mixes. He posts interactive emoji games, bountiful fast-food feasts with his family, comments about the Flamengo football team, and videos of him playing FIFA. He has a prolifically restless mind, constantly riffing and improvising; he does whatever it takes to get by, to navigate the reality of life in Brazil and overcome the daunting challenges of the music industry.

‘Sexta dos Crias is the culmination of Ramon’s DJ work. A LP that embodies the newest in funk carioca, a faithful transposition of the bailes to vinyl. Ramon has unpretentiously ushered in a new age of experimentation for the genre – making a daring and unprecedented foray into a territory where extreme and radical sounds abound.’

All the music from the iconic Mr Benn cartoons, available for the only time. Recorded in two sessions - Olympic Studios in 1969, and Gateway Studios in 2004. All the music was written by Duncan Lamont, and featured some iconic session musicians including

Kenny Wheeler, Ray Swinfield and Duncan Lamont himself. Ray Swinfield used the same instruments as he used on The Beatles Penny Lane on these recordings. Mr Benn has an enduring popularity, and was shown on The BBC every year from 1971 - 1999, then on Nick Jnr till 2010. The sessions have ben fully remastered, and sound fabulous! It was due to Nick Jnr that a 14th Mr Benn cartoon was made, and the second session features re-working of some of the original tunes as well as lots of new tunes for Gladiator.

The packaging features an insert with Mr Benn dressed in all his adventure outfits, and a game to match all the souvenirs to each adventure. Not to be missed. A must for everybody that grew up with Mr Benn. All the sleeve notes have been written by The Mr Benn cartoon producer Clive Juster, and are full of insights from the recording sessions.

Lyra Valenza set the tone for their first full-length album ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ with an idyllic ambience, which then tumbles into feisty, heartfelt dance workouts. Across eight tracks, the Danish duo explore the pixellated euphoria of their previous ‘Scan, Deliver’ and ‘Nightshade Edition’ EPs with a more focused sensitivity. At the start of 2020, Lyra Valenza had been freshly nominated by music platform SHAPE. With the pandemic in hand, however, plans changed: instead of playing a slew of festivals, the duo spent weeks in a summer house in rural Sjælland, right at Denmark’s North Eastern coast, making early versions of the tracks in this album. ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ refers to the unusual calmness of that time, away from music industry stress and burnout; inspired by friendship. More than previous EPs, the album is shaped by the duo’s live set, which they’ve been performing in Denmark and Europe for many years now. The album breezes through different modes with confidence and ease, tracks morphing fluidly into one another to create a cohesive listening experience. A cool, expansive breakbeat on track two, ‘True Computer’, hints at the psychoactive journey to follow. ‘Truthwork’ plays with arps over a half time groove: subtle synths which reach their final form in ‘Joy Divided’. These agile swells and drops recall peers-in-precision Minor Science and 96 Back. On the flip, ‘Gameshow’ looks back over one shoulder to eurodance, while ‘Life on the Line’ goes out to the soulful junglists, but with a touches of trance in the samplework. On ‘Who Might Win’, the album’s ecstatic hyperactiveness melts into a slo-mo heartbeat, reminding us there’s a chillout room somewhere in the building. And just when we think it’s time to go home, the album gifts us with “one more tune”, and the soaring pop vocals of featured artist Saltmother on ‘Stretch Your Arms’.

This is the soundtrack to flipping through the filing cabinet at the mortuary in Return of the Living Dead. You are running out of time before ending up on the slab yourself at the end of a bad day at work. Wash away the blues with a pint and 12 tracks clocking in at just under 14 minutes whilst Stiff Meds take you on a journey to see the many faces of death. Starting in 2019, Stiff Meds arose from the grand tradition of fast as fuck music that has always been at the centre of UKHC from Napalm Death to Voorhees. Taking that history, along with some more US influences such as No Comment and Infest, vocalist Seth marries that with tales of the macabre as metaphors for daily life. Each song contains more riffs than most brains can compute in real time and is a testament to the skill level of the band. Not surprisingly they have grown a reputation as a ferocious live machine that blasts through 20+ songs with ease and without stops with wild crowd reactions to match. If you don’t believe us, then check out the Live at the Mersey Shore Set as an exclusive special feature of the physical vinyl release of Tales from the Slab. Don’t delay, it’s time to pick up your prescription. Check them out on tour in Europe, November-December 2023.

Repress!

Cassius Select returns to Accidental Jnr with another 12' to follow on from last years '90 / HERD' EP. He once again straddles the genres somewhere between techno, bassline and hardcore. ESSENCE is a huge rave cut of broken snare beats and shuffled kicks alongside Select's trademark idiosyncratic vocal snippets. The B-side offers up SHAOLIN SOCCER a post-dubstep wobble at a house tempo followed by HYPE HOUR another piece of broken suedo rave hardcore.

The EP is something of a gift to his brothers for their musical influence on him as the Australian based producer explains in his own words:

Much of my musical upbringing is related to my family, I owe my early influences to my two older brothers. skimming off their mix CDs, sculpting out what 'cool' meant. the eldest is a drummer and in retrospect, i think a lot of the Cassius project is maybe an attempt to impress him again. shaolin soccer is in reference to the 90s blockbuster of the same name, where we derived a lot of our own interpersonal humour. i keep going back to that world we built between the 3 of us. in the simplest way this is a gift to the both of them.'

The Drip EP brings together four distinctive producers and one set of sounds - The Drips. The result is a compilation of 4 tracks that bring the swing and sampling of some of Accidental Jnr's finest to produce a soaking wet dancefloor.

First up is label boss Matthew Herbert with a trademark groove that harks back to his Wishmountain moniker albeit found lurking in the swamp. Cosmo Sheldrake takes a slight departure from his usual multi-instrumentaling live-looping avant-folk to deliver a track that could only be described as travelling circus aqua-techno. Bahraini born, French / US bred and now Edinburgh dwelling video game builder, sound designer and sometime Scottish league football referee Yann Seznec opens the B-side with an absolute stormer of a rain drenched club hook. Sussex based producer Crewdson and builder of such electronic instruments as the Eggiophone and Concertronica closes proceedings with a drizzling evolving 2-step number.

The official new edition from this rare and great Afrobeat & Soukous masterpiece from Nigeria !

"Vibro Success Intercontinental Orchestra was an extraordinary group from the Central African Republic, founded by the sax player Rodolphe 'Beckers' Bekpa, also known as Master Békers, in the late 60's. The band achieved surprising domestic success after Beckers introduced the first drums to the Congolese Rumba rhythm. His innovation proved to be wildly popular so they were hired as the resident band of “ciel d’Afrique au Km5”, a night club in Bangui. The club was renowned as the temple of the Olympic Réal football team's fans and that visibility propelled them into becoming the official national orchestra.

1970 marked beginning of the band's international fame . Their fame spread beyond national borders until they became so popular that invitations began to arrive from nearby countries like Cameroon and Chad, the former of which the band would then tour that same year. The success of their performances prompted a further tour in 1972. According to Rodolphe Bépka, the audience enthusiasm Vibro encountered was bewildering. "We filled the old military stadium in Yaoundé in 1970, in 1972 the new Amadou Haïdjo stadium ... We are running with great success in the cities.” Their popularity was also growing in Chad, where they would tour several times through the early and mid 70's.

Towards the end of 1976, Vibro Success decided to take their music global and introduce Central African music to listeners worldwide. It worked. The turning point came in Nigeria. There the group achieved extraordinary success, with live performances followed by contracts with local labels like Scottie and Ben/Clover resulting in hit releases. Most of their LP's were originally released on this later label, Ben Limited, owned by Ben Okonkwo.

Ben, also known as Clover Sounds, brought a great number of the biggest bands from the country to market, bands like The Apostles, Akwassa,The Doves, Aktion, The Visitors, Mansion, Folk 77 and many others. Nearly all those groups started their recording careers in the label's studios based in the commercial heart of Aba, Abia State, one of Southeastern Nigeria’s largest cities. Aba at that time was a flourishing city, an important crossroads of people and culture with an intensive and active and cutting edge live music and nightlife.

But after that golden era the group began to lose its popularity. In the 1980's they returned to Bangui and resumed their old-time gigs in dance halls there - only to realize that their music didn't have the appeal it used to. Making matters worse, the domestic economic downturn accelerated, forcing the orchestra to slowly end its activities . Vibro Succès Intercontinental Orchestra disappeared at the end of the 80s and most of its members died in the 90s.

We discovered this LP during our first trip to Nigeria in 2016. While traveling in the east to meet up with a musician, we stopped for a night in a village. As often happens in Nigeria, information has a way of traveling fast. The news that a couple of white guys looking for records had arrived in the village the day before spread like light. When we awoke, we found a couple of elderly music lovers in the hall of our hotel with a little pile of records for sale. The nice cover of the “Drunkard” album was right on top!

At first we thought it was just another really good soukous album made by Vibro Success but after we heard “Drunkard” - we knew we had stumbled onto something very special. That was the “easy” part. Soon after, we had the idea of reissuing this LP and that was a bit harder. There were no credits on the cover and not much information about Vibro Succès. We started to ask to our friends to ask around, see if somebody knew them or the producer. That's when sadly we discovered that Ben Okonkwo had passed. So with no leads to follow and seemingly without any possibility of making progress on the matter, we "gave up" and returned to Italy.

A couple years later, in the summer of 2019, we found ourselves again in Aba. This time we had the chance to meet Nnamdi Okonkwo, the eldest son of the late Ben Okonkwo. After Nnamdi's mother and family agreed, he was glad to cooperate with us for the re-release of this special album."

Most southern soul fans will tell you that that the music produced in Memphis in 1967 and 1968 was the pinnacle of quality. So following on from our look at the River City’s soul output in 1967, we now turn our attention to an album covering the next year. As before, the singers here are a heady mixture of local Tennessee talent and welcome soulful guests who journeyed down south hoping that a little of the famous Memphis magic would rub off on their songs. There are soul genres to suit all tastes here – from the deepest ballads to upbeat tracks that will rock your socks off. Soul doesn’t get much better than the artists and their tunes on this LP!

THE CULT 1992 DEBUT OF DOOM-TINGED DEATH METAL SAVAGERY -
PRESENTED ON CD FORMAT WITH ORIGINAL COVER ARTWORK & FULL
LYRICS
Formed in 1989 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA & among the group of earlier death
metal acts to grace the label roster, Accidental Suicide released their one, sole
album in 1992, originally through Peaceville's Deaf Records imprint, which was
the initial home of other notable acts such as 'At The Gates' & 'Morta Skuld'. Being
much more than a pure "blast" styled death metal outfit, Accidental Suicide
introduced & utilised a doomier presence also, even recalling other classic
pioneers of the genre such as 'Paradise Lost', to lend a twisted & at times sombre
dynamic to the tracks, with this effective diversity to the compositions through
the tempo variations & deranged melodic passages scattered throughout the
album. The tortured & sinister vocals of Ed Jackson narrate tales of morbid
brutality & murder behind a wall of punishing riffs, for what stands as a prime
example of classic early 90's death metal execution.
'Deceased' was engineered & mixed at Mauer Brothers Recording Studio in
Milwaukee, with production work handled by Eric "Griffy" Greif.
Cover artwork was created by Chris Drew, also responsible for other early
Peaceville artwork on Impaler's 'Charnel Deity' & Baphomet's 'The Dead Shall
Inherit'.
This edition of 'Deceased' marks 30 years since the original release & is
presented officially on CD for the first time since the original 1992 pressing,
including the original artwork & full lyrics.

Repetitive actions, looping in your head forever. Forever? Never. Zero is endless. All flowers and fades. No permanence is ours. We are a wave, that flows to fit. And yet, “Music for a film”, a cassette tape by Swedish artists Sofie Herner aka Leda, inheres the power for perpetuity. A circulating dreamland, built on loop pedals, guitar, and tape manipulation.

The Malmö based artist, who is already famed in the global experimental, improvisational, lo-fi noise underworld for her own musical creations as well as being part of bands and projects like Enhet För Fri Musik, Källarbarnen, or Neutral, brings music made for the film “Dödfött“ - an interactive flick by director Niklas Hansson about failed online karate and caducity, screened with a stage art performance at Hypnos Theatre, Malmö, in early autumn 2022. Cinematic sounds for all the Velvets, that never awaken from their first DIY Super 8 dream.

Colorful, yet monochrome electrified and acoustic guitar melodies, monotonous, working like drones, getting all stranded in the zones. Six minimal compositions. Full of plenty, always friendly. Heavy, calm, dreamy, shredding, scratching, created for the woman of the world. And all other creatures, that seek features in unbroken repetition. As nobody keeps any of what he has, one day the eternal veil of forgetfulness will warp us all. Until that hour we dance in circles. Making karate moves, sidestepping caducity, reenacting ourselves, endless at the edges, through night and day, craving form that binds. As form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. Welcome to the world of Leda, riff, 7/4, loop, the young, the middle aged, the old…

Tape is hand-stamped along the top, in printed card housing, with

‘WAVES’ will make you dive deep in bodies of water, making you get lost in a mixture of downtempo, modern music with sounds of nature and passing time. The dualities of sounds were gathered on a sampler and used to produce beats, rhythms, deep reverbs and delayed echoes via a vintage drum machine.
The opposites of nature are felt through this release, side A containing Cosmic dance tracks and side B relaxing tunes to meditate to at any time. Take it easy and enjoy the slow, lapping atmosphere.

With lush seascape artwork on body and case insert, two inserts with download code.

Announcing the new cassette release from London based solo artist, Bubble People.

Both sides of this tape were recorded in continuous takes over the course of a few days. A mixing session was performed shortly afterwards, in order to preserve the moment that was captured here.

Jasper Sdougos performs using a DSI Prophet 12 and an array of borrowed, vintage drum machines, his melancholic vocals echoing through cascades of drones and synthesis.

Bubble People is a live AV electronica act based in London, UK. Jasper Sdougos performs alongside visual artist Mamoru Watanabe.

50 turquoise cassettes pressed exclusively by Squeeze Trip Records (JP).

This audio was written especially for cassette format.
Includes 2 continuous live recordings, timed to 22.5 minutes in length, for sides A and B.

EASYGOING PORTRAIT OF DOWN-HOME SOUL SINGER COMING INTO HIS OWN AND ESTABLISHING AN INDELIBLE BOND BETWEEN PERFORMER AND AUDIENCE
1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analogue master to DSD 64 to analogue console to lathe


On par with the most treasured concert albums of the 60s and 70s, Bill Withers' transformative Live at Carnegie Hall is a forgotten classic – an easygoing portrait of a down-home soul artist coming into his own in front of an audience eager to share every moment of his brilliance. Soothing with subtlety, charming with calmness, and healing with a vocal timbre as relaxing as his grooves, Withers uses the stage to expand the range of favorites and engage in dialog with the crowd. Distinguished with sonics that restore the performances' balance and improve the sound-staging, this reissue takes you inside the venue.

Moreover, aspects that really make this concert document unique – the energetic crowd, Withers and his band's willingness to extend arrangements, and the undeniable communicative bond between the performer and his fans – are brought into fuller relief. While most live albums give you the sense of what transpired, our reissue allows it to seem that what you're hearing and sensing is happening right now, in the moment. You are as much a participant as listener. For this reason and more, Live at Carnegie Hall ranks with James Brown's Live at the Apollo and B.B. King's Live at the Regal. No small claims, but the proof is in the grooves.

The antithesis of the sweaty R&B shouter that prowls the edge of stages, Withers deals in mellowness and vulnerability, qualities that come to fore. The songs here span soul, blues, and folk and often times, contain elements of all three styles. Live at Carnegie Hall also deals with serious subject matter with unflinching honesty and simple directness. Companionship, poverty, war, maturity, family, and love all crop up within Withers' tunes, yet the messages are never overly cumbersome or preachy. Credit goes to his easygoing style and relatable lyrics, not to mention a tight-as-a-vice band that on this night is simply "on."


"One more time?" Withers asks in response to a request for another stanza during "Use Me," and like the snap of fingers, his musicians are right back on cue, the crowd clapping along on every beat. This classic, as well as the instantly familiar "Ain't No Sunshine," poignant "Grandma's Hands," and all-time favorite "Lean On Me" are delivered with utmost soulfulness, passion, and electricity. Few, if any, live albums demonstrate such a bond between the crowd and artist as Live at Carnegie Hall. You'll definitely want to be there.

Northern Minimalism 3, the latest album from Mat Handley performing as Pulselovers, is a deeply personal “love letter to South Yorkshire, or at least to Doncaster and Sheffield”, not just the urban environment but the region’s post-punk and electronic-pop legacies.

Inspired by the concept of spreading a project over multiple formats taken from Virgin Prunes’ ‘A New Form of Beauty’, this is the first full album in Pulselovers’ on-going ‘Northern Minimalism’ series following a 7” and 10” release on other labels over the past few years.

Taking a different approach than the rurally-inspired ‘Cotswold Stone’ album, ‘Northern Minimalism 3’ delivers a sprawling, genre-hopping release that is less focused on melody but explores suburban drones and industrial rhythms.

“The term “Northern Minimalism” was coined by Simon Berkovitz of Sensory Leakage, who released my “Live at Doncaster College” tape in 2020,” adds Handley.

“I loved the description and wanted to use it to pay tribute to the early electronic and post-punk sounds I was listening to in the first two or three years of the 1980s, particularly The Human League (mk1), Cabaret Voltaire, John McGeoch (Magazine) and Eric Random.”

Trailblazing instrumental synth pop experiments created to soundtrack Japan’s booming 1980s cartoon and comic industries. The brightly futuristic instrumentals on this collection reflect the mindset of composers and musicians who believed in a technological future where everything was possible.

In the late 1980s Japan experienced a brief but heady period where societal changes combined with new-found wealth to open up a world of possibilities. A huge influx of cash - artificially created by slashed interest rates after an agreement with the US to weaken the dollar relative to the yen - resulted in the inflation of real estate and stock market at a rapid pace. While the economic bubble it created was unprecedented and impossible to sustain, for a while money was in plentiful supply.

The musical genre City Pop reflected the aspirations of the country’s booming leisure class. Video games flourished with Nintendo's 1983 launch of their Family Computer (or FamiCom). Studio Ghibli was founded 1985 to later became one of the most famous and respected animation studios in the world, and Anime and Manga were established as major forms of entertainment for all generations of the Japanese public.

Music was no mere footnote to the anime and manga boom: the two forms of media often went hand in hand, and not simply through the presence of background melodies. With generous budgets available, even two-dimensional static manga comics could be released with an accompanying soundtrack of original music known as an ‘Image Album’.

Composer and arranger Kazuhiko Izu was one such beneficiary of this open budget approach. Written to accompany artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga comic Domu, the composer and arranger took advantage of the world-leading (and wallet-busting) Japanese synthesiser technology available at King Records’ fully equipped studio. Featured on this compilation, A3: Act 2 Scene 26 reflected the story’s sci fi themes with a blazingly futuristic yet warmly funky slice of synth pop that presents a joyful celebration of synthesisers and their seemingly endless possibilities.

Kan Ogasawara was another composer who made early mastery of the litany of synthesisers, drum machines and sequencers that had become available. Two tracks written to accompany the 1985 period manga Yume No Ishibumi are featured here; Honowo’s experimental electronic textures add spice to a jaunty electro pop melody that recalls the Rah band’s 1983 hit Messages From Stars; the jazz-tinged Utage rounds out Ogasawara’s shimmering synth textures with beautifully crafted backing from legendary musicians Yuji Toriyama (guitar), Pecker (percussion) and Jun Fukamachi (piano).

Before becoming one of the pioneers of Japanese Kankyo Ongaku (Ambient Music), Takashi Kokubo worked on the proto techno track Kiki (Jungle At Night). It was put together for the 1984 anime film Shonen Keniya (Kenya Boy) using some of the most expensive music technologies available at the time. This Africa-Inspired dance track offers a contemporary parallel to the early techno music that young Detroit based producers were then creating using cheap Japanese Roland drum machines and synthesisers.

This is the first compilation of Japanese anime and manga soundtracks curated by Kay Suzuki and Rintaro Sekizuka from Vinyl Delivery Service (a Tokyo based online record shop which also operates in East London's renowned wine and hifi shop Idle Moments). With a cover by artist Kazuki Takakura and two pages of liner notes, this vinyl only compilation of music never before released outside of Japan, captures a vital aural snapshot of an era whose forward-thinking sounds went hand in hand with cutting edge technology.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!
Hello, I Must Be Going! — Phil Collins' second solo studio album
Featuring "You Can't Hurry Love" and "I Cannot Believe It's True"
180-gram 45 RPM double LP release
Mastered by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and cut to lacquer from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master tape
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing



On his first solo album, 1981's Face Value, Genesis drummer-singer Phil Collins showed that he wasn't about to be left behind in the mire of classical-rock sludge. That LP boasted shorter songs and demonstrated that Collins had a true pop sensibility. Hello, I Must Be Going! continues that trend, with some familiar patterns emerging, wrote Rolling Stone's John Milward.

"First, there are the dramatic rock dirges that use drums as a lead instrument; 'I Don't Care Anymore,' with Collins' one-man band playing alongside Daryl Stuermer's atmospheric guitars, wins in this category. Then there are the buttery ballads, of which "Don't Let Him Steal Your Heart Away" is the best by virtue of a Beatles-like melody that buoys Collins' anonymously sweet voice. Both of these styles were already Genesis staples; it was Collins' uptempo soul tunes on Face Value and Genesis' Abacab that surprised old fans and found new ones. 'I Cannot Believe It's True,' with Earth, Wind and Fire's Phoenix Horns casting out clean lines, clobbers the other soul contenders on Hello, I Must Be Going!, especially his remake of the Supremes' 'You Can't Hurry Love.' Collins took the golden-oldie route on that song and the result isn't soulful, it's superfluous. Despite its trend-bucking boast of an 8-track recording, the album's rich luster is of the old classical-rock school. In fact, the LP sounds like stripped-down Genesis, ornamental but not too ostentatious. — John Milward, Rolling Stone (3 Stars)."

This Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) reissue of Hello, I Must Be Going! has the essential elements that make it a standout for your collection. First, we turned to Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering to cut lacquers from a 1/4" EQ'd Dolby tape copy of the original master. Pressing on 180-gram vinyl is by Quality Record Pressings and RTI, and the album is housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Hello, I Must Be Going! was a triple-platinum-selling hit in the U.S. for Collins in the 1980s and it stayed on the U.K. album charts for more than a year, peaking at No. 2. For the fans it is a drummer's album, a record that expresses rage and desperation as well as loneliness and longing. Not an album for every day, but one that really speaks to you when you need it, wrote Martin Klinkhardt, in a review for genesis

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway — Genesis' gold-selling sixth studio album!
180-gram 45 RPM 4LP
Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Genesis' sixth studio album was released as a double album in November 1974 by Charisma Records and is the last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. The group's longest album to date, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway peaked at No. 10 on the U.K. Albums Chart and No. 41 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S..

The album is a concept album and tells the surreal story, devised by Gabriel, of a young Puerto Rican named Rael who embarks on a journey through a series of strange and bizarre events in New York City.

Musically, the album is a departure from the band's previous works, incorporating a wide range of styles including progressive rock, art rock, funk, and jazz fusion. The album features complex rhythms, intricate melodies, and dense layers of instrumentation, showcasing the band's virtuosic musicianship.

The album is notable for its use of storytelling, with each track contributing to the larger narrative of Rael's journey. The lyrics are often cryptic and abstract, and the album's surreal imagery has been interpreted in a variety of ways by listeners and critics.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway gained acclaim in the years after its release, reaching gold certification for sales in the U.K. and U.S.. In 1978, Nick Kent wrote for NME that it "had a compelling appeal that often transcended the hoary weightiness of the mammoth concept that held the equally mammoth four sides of vinyl together." In a special edition of Q and Mojo magazines titled Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, The Lamb ranked at No. 14 in its 40 Cosmic Rock Albums list. The album came third in a list of the 10 best concept albums by Uncut magazine, where it was described as an "impressionistic, intense album" and "pure theatre (in a good way) and still Gabriel's best work." A Rolling Stone poll to rank readers' favourite progressive rock albums of all time placed The Lamb fifth in the list.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is widely regarded as one of Genesis's most important and influential works, inspiring generations of progressive rock musicians.

Born in South Carolina and raised in Harlem, Etta Jones began her career in the mid-1940s, recording for Black and White and RCA, and performing with Earl Hines’ sextet. Further recordings for Decca and King helped solidify her reputation but Prestige truly upgraded her status with the million-selling album Don’t Go To Strangers, the most outstanding of her career. Her expressive voice is never short of excellent here, as heard on Fine And Mellow and an excellent arrangement of I Love Paris, and most especially on the title track, which hit the US top 40. Get your copy of this great LP now and savour every moment of it!

I see lucid blue flames moving before my eyes.
I hear voices melting. Voices somewhere from within.
Speaking words I do not know but feel connected to, almost as if I have known the meaning once..
Noises that obscures the multiple pictures hidden in these digital compositions.
Iku Sakan have created a set of five tracks that takes the listener on a
trip deep into the human psyché. Emotional flickering movements that twists and turns. The albums have a darker, much more intense feel than some of Ikus earlier magical and often hypnotic music. A myriad of different voices creates pulsing patterns and constantly morphing pictures for my inner eye. It's an album that might work as a hack to our lingual structures, pushing limits, pushing possibilities of meaning.

A pool of over-saturated information boils and out of the vapor new contours take form.
The magical and hypnotic is not gone, I still recognise the softer aspects of Ikus highly detailed hybrid sound design. But I no longer see where it takes me. It excites me. It feels like the world is expanding again, breathing. The sounds on the album asks us questions and points in several directions at once. In the shadows, weeds of lucid dreams grow deeper roots, reaching for my inner ear.

The faint sounds on the track Nature Morte reminds me of expeditions to the local witch house ruins as a child. Something almost not there, something felt. History, Memories and the connection between the two seems to have played a part in these compositions. Emotional reactions that plant reactions in other people, all around creating soft movements on the face of our planet.

Whether our collective psyché is an open field or an impenetrable dark forest, is of less concern with a key like Omnitopoeia, that works like an enhanced mirror, reflecting the dreams of the words we speak everyday, reflecting the emotional charges of significant places. Unrecognisable but still remembered.

A real soul gem from 1970 on the James Brown affiliated Deluxe label, the first and only album by this mysterious singer: Marie Queenie Lyons.
It is perhaps apropos that Queenie Marie Lyons’s best known song is titled ‘See And Don’t See.’ For all the acclaim that song has accrued, and all the times it has been compiled, reissued and, yes, bootlegged — for all the times it has been seen — Queenie herself has somehow remained unseen. How did a singer from Ashtabula, Ohio record one of the great female-led soul albums and then simply fall off the map, never to record or perform again? Queenie was a natural performer and a gifted singer. At the age of fifteen, she was doing three shows a week at a local venue. In early 1962, Queenie moved to Queens and was soon playing gigs across the city — an early engagement was with Gene Krupa at the famous Metropole Café in Times Square — as well as touring with established acts like Fats Domino and Ray Charles. The following year, Queenie made her debut recording, for a subsidiary of RCA called Groove, credited to an entirely fictitious “Shelley Shoop and the Shakers.” It remained Queenie’s only presence on wax until early 1968, when a Nashville-based label called Sims gave her her first accurately attributed single, “A Minute Of His Goodtime / Good Soul Lovin’.” Although the 45 is now a highly collectible part of the Northern Soul and Lowrider Oldies pantheons, it made no impact at the time, as Sims was focused on more typical Nashville sounds. A few months later Queenie was back in New York City, performing R&B and pop covers with her band when a man passed her his business card at a performance. The card read James Brown Enterprises. James Brown “was my idol,” she says, and someone whose business acumen and stage presence she strove to emulate. Although Queenie ended up on tour with James Brown for only a month or so, when the group reached Cincinnati in mid-’68 she entered the King Records studio there to record what would become the
album you hold in your hands. The songs were a combination of covers, some of which she’d been doing in her live shows, like ‘Fever’ and ‘Try Me,’ and originals written by producer Henry Glover and pianist Don Pullen, who was the bandleader on the session. The album opener, ‘See And Don’t See,’ was also recorded by the veteran R&B singer Maxine Brown, but Queenie’s version blows hers away. “Soul Fever” is a supremely funky and soulful affair, with Queenie’s powerful and captivating voice magnetically attractive, with an urgency that is impossible to ignore. ‘Your Thing Ain’t No Good Without My Thing,’ ‘Your Key Don’t Fit It Anymore,’ and ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Have It But You’ are as funky and soulful as the best of Tina Turner and Aretha — a statement not to be made lightly!
The album was critically acclaimed — the October 10, 1970, issue of Billboard listed it as their sole “four star” pick in the Soul category — but perhaps due to the tumult at Starday-King, whose stewardship had turned over several times in only a few years, it never seemed to be able to break through to a larger audience.

Muireann Bradley is a young blues, ragtime, roots and folk guitarist and singer based in Ballybofey in County Donegal Ireland. “This is my first album. Most of these tunes were originally recorded by the great blues men and women who were making records from the 1920s and 1930s right up in some cases to the early 1970s. I have also found inspiration for the renditions recorded here in the playing of some of the musicians who began recording this music in the 1960s and later, and who in some cases learned at the feet of the greats. Many of these guitarists played pivotal roles in the 1960s blues revival and subsequent “rediscovery” of many of the greats of country blues. I grew up steeped in these old blues in the hills overlooking the valley of the River Finn just outside the town of Ballybofey in County Donegal. My father would play this music constantly at home and wherever we went in the car and talk about it endlessly whether anyone was listening or not, telling stories about the lives of these musicians as if they were legend, mythology or the evening news. My father could of course play all this stuff on guitar, I remember watching him when I was very young and thinking “I want to be able to do that”. When I was nine he agreed to teach me and bought me my first little travel guitar. I worked hard to learn how to play but as time wore on I seemed to have less and less time to practice as I became more and more invested in the combat sports I was regularly training and competing in. Then in March 2020 the first Covid lockdowns happened and all contact sports were shut down. I was lost for a while but soon found my way back to the guitar. I was now listening, playing and practicing with a new intensity and focus. In a very serious moment, I wrote out a list of tunes I was going to learn. The first tune on that list was Blind Blake’s “Police Dog Blues”. I’m not sure now how long it took to get that arrangement together but when it was ready we videoed me performing it and posted it on YouTube. It ended up getting a lot of attention, I remember my parents being quite shocked and soon after that Josh Rosenthal got in touch… and here we are! Each individual track on this album was recorded live in the studio and represents one entire take with me singing and backing myself up on guitar simultaneously. Most are either first or second takes. Nothing has been added or taken away, no overdubs or modern recording tricks of any kind have been used at all so at least in some respects this album has been recorded in the same way as those classics of the 1920s and 1930s

The second incarnation of the mythical band of the eighties mod revival, active since 2013 under the leadership of Chris Pope. The English band offers us 4 tracks full of power-pop, punk 77 rage and classic melodies. The Chords UK are back in action with a new EP that keeps the bar high when it comes to punk-influenced power pop. The title track of the EP was originally composed and worked on in 1985 for the Arista label, with the collaboration in production of Tony James (Generation X, Chelsea...). It finally remained unreleased and is now, at last, seeing the light of day once re-imagined, re-arranged and re-recorded in April 2023. It's a fearsome shock of rock'n'roll rhythm and sharp, angular guitars with more than a nod to late 70's The Clash, all wrapped up in infectious vocal harmonies and anthemic choruses. "Veronica Jones" is a new mix of the celebrated cut from the band's 2022 album "Big City Dreams". This track was born as a punchy modern folk song, as it tells the story of a girl who is clearly out to have a good time, but this version is elevated with a garage rock approach, ably assisted by the keyboard talents of Mick Talbot, formerly of The Style Council and Merton Parkas. "Before Elvis" has its origins in a 2014 demo that eventually remained unreleased and is a raging rock track with a Stones-style beat and amps pushed to the limit. The EP closes with "All I Want is Everything" a high-tempo rock'n'roll reworking of the song that previously appeared on their 2018 album "Nowhere Land", with the bass-driven beat rising several notches as the guitar screams and wails.

Reissue of this super hard to find self-released Brazilian garage-beat 7" from 1965. Still very unknown even among hardcore collectors of the genre, but surely an amazing example of genuine teenage garage rock from 60s Brazil reissued for the first time The band would later become Loyce e os Gnomos, a cult band featured on the compilation Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas. The reissue includes an insert with liner notes and a previously unseen photo of the band. Unearthing a forgotten chapter in Brazil's musical scene, Gatos Malucos emerges as an enigmatic garage/psychedelic band from the small city of Limera, in the Sao Paulo countryside. Comprising friends aged 14 to 16, Gatos Malucos combined their admiration for iconic acts like the Beatles and Yardbirds with an unmistakable Brazilian essence. Years later, two band members went on to form the amazing proto-punk band Loyce e os Gnomos. "I literally went crazy. I became a fanatic for the Beatles and proceeded on collecting everything related to them. Records, clothes, newspaper clippings and magazines and song lyrics. Even the Gretsch guitar, similar to the model that George Harrison played, I had the opportunity to pick up in the US. Then when the movies came up, it was pure bliss. The mood was set and, to assemble our band, it was a no brainer. After all, the music flowed harmoniously through our veins." Raphael (Gatos Malucos Guitarrist)

Repress of Hey Colossus' twelfth studio album from 2019 on a limited coloured edition to mark the bands 20th anniversary. This edition is on transparent lime w/ marbles smoke effect and limited to 200 copies. Genre: Alternative / Noise Rock Hey Colossus are one of Europe's great live bands. Since 2003 the 6-piece has been driving around the continent with their "pirate ship" backline of broken amps and triple-guitar drang, elevating audiences in every type of venue imaginable; a doctor's waiting room in Salford, an industrial unit in Liege and a vast field next to a river in Portugal. Four Bibles is their twelfth studio album and the first to be released by London label Alter. Recorded by Ben Turner at Space Wolf Studios in Somerset, it's their most direct album yet and follows a well-documented trajectory of evolution that began (in the truest sense) with 2011's RRR for Riot Season and continued across three albums for Rocket Recordings. Lead vocalist Paul Sykes sounds more in focus than before, dialling down the effects and using reverb / delay to carry his lyrics rather than smother. The band has also fine-tuned to leave some room for extra depth. Piano, electronics and violin (by Daniel O'Sullivan of This is not This Heat / Grumbling Fur) all find a way in amongst a familiar mesh of interlacing guitars, wrapped round a taut rhythm section. Like every other Hey Colossus record before, the line-up has altered and the sounds reflect this. From the weight of "Memory Gore", to the subtlety and swag of "It's a Low", via the sonic extremes of "Palm Hex/Arndale Chins" this is exactly as the band are live; raging & rail-roading but somehow in control. Grooves for those who want to dance or for those who want to hug a wall and nod...bleak dystopian imagery submerged in relentless rhythms and low-end rattle. The songs breath life and soul - Hey Colossus have never sounded fresher or more on point.

David Tattersall, the Wave Pictures guitarist and frontman releases a solo album of interpretations of John Fahey tunes, recorded live in the studio. "I have been a fan of John Fahey's music since I was very young; it has always been with me and I can't remember a time when I wasn't affected by it. It is weird music, and very good. Of course, Fahey is an important cult figure in the history of music: as the first man to find a language for steel string guitar that can stand proudly alongside the established tradition of nylon string classical guitar; as one of many men who rediscovered obscure old blues musicians and recorded them for a new generation in the 1960s; as one uniquely able to reconcile 20th century avant-garde music with folk tradition; as an early indie-label DIY pioneer. For me personally, Fahey went beyond technique, and to some extent beyond historical or intellectual justifications for his work. He explored his emotions through his instrument of choice, and in so doing made the case for the guitar as the ultimate conduit for emotional expression. While there are many imitators who try to play ''like Fahey'', I avoided using his fingerpicking style or sense of rhythm, and tried instead to use his music to explore my own emotions, my own dreams and memories. I was more interested in the lyrical and expressive aspects of Fahey's music than in the techniques of it. I tried to find myself within his compositions and without composing anything I feel that I have managed to make a David Tattersall record that says as much about me as any of the many albums that I have written. John Fahey's beautiful discography shows that the guitar can carry as much mystery and soul as the human voice, and simply put, I wanted in on a little of this action. This is my second all-instrumental solo acoustic album, and where this differs from my first attempt, Little Martha, is that here I improvised freely. I used Fahey's originals only as guides. I'm not sure what I was looking for, perhaps something beyond explanation, but I tried to be as free as possible, and I am delighted by the spontaneous results. Hopefully, they will make the listener feel happy and dreamy, just like the effect that Fahey's many albums have on me. One of the most important things that Fahey ever said was his advice to guitarists to try to feel the emotions that each chord they play on a guitar brings forth. He is telling guitarists to not only play the guitar, but to let the guitar play them. I did my best to follow this advice. I hope you enjoy listening to the album, that it brings you some dreamy moments, and that it sends you back to happily explore the originals. I had a great time recording it. Naturally, I can't put the experience adequately into words but that's the whole point. I think Fahey was a genius of the kind that creates a whole genre single-handedly. There could be thousands, millions, of reinterpretations of his compositions. In fact, there probably already are. And long may this continue. All tracks were recorded live with no tampering."

Erstmals auf Vinyl: Das Debütalbum der US-Pop-Punk-Band Hit The Lights, 'This Is A Stick Up... Don't Make It A Murder' aus 2006, auf rotem Vinyl. Produziert von Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco), enthält es frühe Hits wie 'Bodybag' und 'Speakers Blown', Titel ihrer EP 'Until We Get Caught' (2005), sowie den zusätzlichen LP-exklusiven Bonustrack 'Her Eyes Say Yes'.

INTRODUCING OAKS23, FROM HAVEN'S LABEL BOSS KEEPSAKES. AFTER YEARS OF PLAYING HIS RECORDS, I AM PROUD TO INTRODUCE THIS SPECIAL RELEASE FROM HIM. IT DIVERGES FROM HIS USUAL INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT AND BRINGING IT MORE TO THE OAKS STYLE, SURE WEAPON FOR DISC-JOCKEYS.

EXPLORING NEW DIMENSIONS TO HIS SOUNDS WITH A FOCUS ON FUNK AND GROOVE, SPRINKLES OF EUPHORIA, ZANY ACID AND HIS USUAL DARK ATMOSPHERES.

Van Halen did more than announce to the world the earthshaking arrival of a revolutionary guitarist. Performed by an enterprising California quartet that took its name from two of its principal members, the 1978 debut ripped headlines away from punk, injected fresh energy into a then-moribund rock 'n' roll scene, reimagined how heavy music and throwback pop could coexist, and invited everyone to experience the top-down pleasures of a beach-front Saturday night every day of the week no matter where they lived. Painstakingly restored by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and the first of a multi-album series in an exciting partnership between the famous reissue label and Van Halen, Van Halen delivers feel-good thrills and hormonally charged desires like never before.

Limited to 12,000 numbered copies, pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original analogue master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition pays tribute to the record's merit and allows fans to experience Van Halen's original blend of raw power, Hollywood flair, and vaudeville fun for generations to come. Playing with reference-setting sonics that elevate a 10-times-platinum landmark whose importance cannot be quantitatively measured, this definitive version provides a clear, clean, transparent, balanced, and turn-the-volume-up-to-11 view of an album that birthed entirely new styles. Since MoFi's unique SuperVinyl compound allows you to crank the decibels to your wildest desires without risking noise-floor interference, prepare to not only hear but feel Van Halen in your chest, no fifth-row concert seat necessary.

The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S Van Halen pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the iconic cover art to the meticulous finishes and, yes, of course, Eddie Van Halen's pioneering fretwork and his brother Alex's double-bass percussion.

Indeed, could a piece of music that transformed how countless guitarists approached their instrument be more fittingly named than "Eruption"? Likely not, and in just 102 seconds, Eddie Van Halen rewrote, reimagined, and reconfigured a vocabulary last significantly updated a decade earlier by fellow six-string wizard Jimi Hendrix. Akin to the Washington State legend, Eddie Van Halen developed his own techniques and tones all the while making his seismic accomplishments seem effortless. Devoid of the pretence, ego, and showiness that infected many of his imitators, the Dutch native sticks to a straightforward approach that underlines the authority, prowess, and visionary scope of his playing and then-unheard-of finger-tapping skills. Throughout Van Halen, he establishes himself as an instant idol – a savant whose otherworldly combination of breadth, poise, feel, speed, force, and melody seems beamed in from another galaxy.

As does nearly every song on the record, whose cohesiveness and dynamic put into perspective the advanced chemistry and one-for-all spirit the youthful band had out of the gates. Having paid its dues for years in bars and clubs – going as far as recording a 24-track demo for Kiss bassist Gene Simmons at Village Recorders only to be spurned by management companies that felt its music wouldn't go anywhere – Van Halen finally got a deserved break when Warner Bros. executives signed the group in 1977. The subsequent recording sessions further testify on behalf of the band's synergy and alignment. Completed in just a few weeks with producer Ted Templeman, Van Halen was primarily cut live in the studio with minimal overdubs and edits. The explosiveness, energy, and electricity remain definitive, and as heard on this UD1S set, put the group on a private stage – humming amplifiers, Frankenstrat guitar, bright spotlights, sweaty headbands, and then some.

Van Halen yielded just one hit in the form of a Top 40 single (a breathless cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me") but practically every song on the revered LP has become a staple. Named the 202nd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone and considered by countless experts as one of the best debuts in history, the record displays what can happen with four distinct talents gel and strive for the same purposes. In Van Halen's case, the latter almost always involved partying, freedom, sex, and, in the immortal words of singer David Lee Roth, living "life like there's no tomorrow." The celebration manifests from the opening notes of the strutting "Runnin' with the Devil" – announced with the blare of droning car horns, Michael Anthony's robust bass line, and Alex Van Halen's thumping drumming – and continues through the conclusion of the white-hot "On Fire," goosed by Eddie Van Halen's race-track-ready lines, Roth's flamboyant deliveries, and the rhythm section's cat-like pounce.

Picking out individual highlights on Van Halen is akin to trying to count all the stars in a clear nighttime desert sky: There are far too many to identify, once you see one you notice another dozen you didn't spot before, and the cluster is best enjoyed as a whole. What's evident over repeat listens is the sheer diversity, a fact that's often overlooked: The high harmonies and background funk of "Jamie's Cryin'"; the insistent cane-and-a-tophat shuffle and doo-wop shoo-bop vocal break on "I'm the One"; the throwback acoustic blues that spreads into fast-paced, single-entendre wildfire on the Roth-led standout interpretation of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man." Like the man says, on Van Halen, all the flavours are guaranteed to satisfy.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior


Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master recordings, painstakingly transfer them to DSD 256, and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl


Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

Listen Here Limited-edition double green/ red vinyl. 12 tracks spread across three sides and a screen-printed fourth side. We are very pleased to announce a special 10th anniversary vinyl version of this classic Dean Wareham live album, recorded over two nights in London back in December 2013 and featuring a mix of songs by Galaxie 500 and Luna as well as solo material. It is pressed on double red and green vinyl, with the 12 tracks spread across three sides and a screen-printed fourth side. The recordings were mixed by Britta Phillips and have been remastered especially for this release by Mikey Young (of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Total Control and others). The new artwork by Marc Jones includes a printed insert featuring photos from the shows, which almost didn’t happen at all after Dean and his band got stuck on a train between Manchester and London. “We left Piccadilly Station at 12:15 but stopped rolling after just 20 minutes,” he recalls. “A voice informed us that a tree had fallen on the track somewhere up ahead, and this tree was on fire. We sat there for a couple of hours and started to think about alternate ways to get down to London, someone sent out a plea on Twitter and one kind fan did offer to drive us, if only there was a way to get off the train. But at around 3 o’clock the train lurched forward at last, we made it to Euston and cabbed it straight to St Pancras Old Church. “I’m not a believer but there’s something special about playing in churches, especially one that dates to the 12th century; the cavernous spaces and wooden pews make you speak softly and play quietly too – if you play too loud the sounds will just bounce all over the place. And the engineer doesn’t need to add reverb to your vocals – it is there already. “Nat from Sonic Cathedral promoted the shows and had the presence of mind to record them to multi-tracks, and I’m so glad he did. When we got back to Los Angeles, Britta mixed the live tracks, and the result is this record

The history of Black, Brown & Beige began on June 23, 1943, when Duke Ellington premiered this extended work at Carnegie Hall. It wasn't Ellington's first attempt to create an extended work, which was longer than a typical jazz song and more related to the classical forms than to popular music.
While the soundtrack he made for the short 1929 movie Black & Tan Fantasy included works from a number of previously recorded songs, it was presented in a kind of suite form, with the themes from these songs coming and going and presenting a dialogue with the images on screen. His 1931 Creole Rhapsody' was a composition that went beyond the usual three-and -a-half-minute duration of a standard 78 r.p.m disc, and thus had to be divided onto two sides. A few years later, in 1935, his Reminiscing in Tempo' would occupy four sides and had to be divided onto two discs.
However, those were never his best selling records, and the reception of his 1943 suite Black, Brown & Beige was cold at best. This is due to the fact that apart from being an ambitious extended composition, it was thematically related to racial issues regarding the history of Afro-American people. Most critics could not accept the idea of Ellington composing long musical works
and preferred to confine him to simple jazz songs (even though Ellington's songs were never simple).

2024 Repress

For Frenzy's 5th installment, we'll take the fusion of the past and the present even further. We present you a 6-track EP by Swedish DJ and producer 'The Miller', who was amongst the Nordic wave of early 2000s techno pioneers like Cari Lekebusch, Adam Beyer, and Joel Mull. Coming from an era where rave and nightlife escapism were blooming, The Miller possesses a vast backlog of old-school productions that embody the true Frenzy sound. We invited him to compile an EP with old and new material, accompanied by remixes from the up-and-coming generation to truly intertwine generations of dancefloor exquisiteness. Allow yourself to surpass the linear alignment of time within the next collision of decades on Frenzy 005. It's time to dance.

Starting out slow but steady on the A side, 'Kartong' gradually builds up the pressure with a playful mix of reversed phrases and thoughtful alignment of pitch levels. Tension transforms into motion as 'Apex' kicks in with big airy basslines and exotic drum elements that keep the early-day spirit alive. To complete the A-side, Stuttgart-based Rove Ranger presents a dub-influenced remix of Apex, accelerating the 00s story straight into the next decade. On the flip side, we go back to the old days as 'Complied' grabs hold of hips and minds with catchy repetition and a straightforward bassline. The Miller got us spellbound as 'Gate' follows up with a stripped-down steamy groover. To end the journey in full force, a powerful remix of Gate by the Greek-based ANNE is delivered, converting stripped down into the contrary for those big-room dancefloor moments.

A collaboration between two prestigious Italian bands, the wizards of dub and the masters of big-band ska-jazz, in perfect symbiosis. An album full of dub atmospheres mixed with orchestral patterns; compelling rhythms of the ska and reggae traditions together with dilated and hypnotic electronic sounds. A recording fruit of a challenge and a celebration of music, something that is undoubtedly reflected in the spectacular outcome. 22 musicians locked in a large studio to rediscover the beauty of sharing after months away from the stage due to the pandemic, without even being able to rehearse.

The decision to record a live album was instantaneous, it was just about enjoying the energy of the moment. All tracks were recorded strictly live in the studio, without overdubs, with the aim of apprehending something unrepeatable.

The electronics, the melodies of the wind section and the vocal power come together in this work, recorded live at Deep Studio in Treviso (Italy) and mastered by Ibon Larruzea (Bilbao), full of dub atmospheres mixed with orchestral patterns.

All this merges into a unique and explosive sound in which the strength of the big band meets the deep and hypnotic beats of dub music. The instrumental "Cascade Dub" opens the album with a rootsy, majestic brass-led track.

From there on, Michela Grena, Rosa Mussin and Freddy Frenzy jump into their vocal games, inducing a trance-like state from which you can't (don’t want to) get out. A succession of untamed riddims and expansive sounds in which, in many cases, the wind section remains crouched in the background leaving the creative element in the hands of the dubmaster unit. As small depth charges "You Can Fly", "Lion", "Moon", "Beating Heart", generate submission to the beat and texture. "Mama", the successful first collaboration between the two bands, celebrates the bright sounds and colours of mother earth, a glorious song to our home. In the face of inequality, the senselessness of war, injustice, it becomes necessary to "Shine a Light" that offers hope and, at the same time, to "Give Thanks" for what we are fortunate enough to enjoy. The power of the big band merges with the heavy and deep step of the dub.


A progression of organic, pressing cadences, as in the solidest of the ska and reggae traditions and, at the same time, electronic resonances, dilated and deep. "Sinking Sand" closes the album in a sort of sonorous fencing of styles that makes us guess (as well as the title of the album itself) that WDD and NESJO still have a lot to debate. WDD began their journey as a quartet in 2014 and prior to Studio Session #1 they had already released two albums and several singles. NESJO formed in 2012 and have previously released two albums (both available on Brixton Records) and are working on what will be the recording of their next full-length.

Northeast Italy is a border area and it's easy to connect with each other in those territories made of enchanted landscapes. That energy, that desire to experiment and get involved, have made possible this ambitious project in which a ska-jazz orchestra and a dub band, each with its own language, are assembled in an amazing sonority

A1 - Healing Properties
Opening his Spatial account with Healing Properties, Eusabia immediately throws down the gauntlet showcasing an inimitable versatility with breakbeats, permeated with a jungle flex so rarely captured in the atmospheric D&B landscape. Pivoting effortlessly as the track progresses from drumloop to thunderous drumloop with a simmering haunted atmosphere and deep, weighty basslines to yearning filtered vocal samples, this track has it all.

A2 - The Space Between
Smooth jungly synthwork seizes the foreground before crisp breaks begin to reveal our direction through The Space Between, jittery key stabs and familiar old school FX create a unique sci-fi style backdrop as the breaks drive the vibe forward, switching and weaving in style, constantly mixing it up to ram the point home that you cannot fully appreciate a Eusabia track until every second has been consumed - many times over, as The Space Between demands.

AA1 - Scope of Understanding
A more contemplative piece, Scope of Understanding strips things back with a synthwave-esque vibe tinged with intrigue and allure. Soon the breakbeats leap into gear and develop with an incredible level of refined detail, expertly edited, chopped and cut to a darkly undertone of sub bass and subtle micro melodies. Scope of Understanding will leave you in awe of the quickfire ideas Eusabia can conjure in the space of 6 minutes.

AA2 - Self Reflection
A smooth atmospheric introduction ushers in a thumping drum tools workout, somehow perfectly in sync with the calm harmonies dancing around in the composition. Certainly a track to enjoy both on the discerning dancefloor and while driving home with rain lashing at the windscreen at 2am, Self Reflection's synths and breaks conclude the EP in style leaving a long lasting memory of a Spatial debut you will not forget.

Words by Chris Hayes.

African Queen is a departure from the sound of the Amarra’s debut Ariwa release. This time Toots Hibbert’s Bam Bam provides the template for African Queen. Over the past 30 years this rhythm track has been associated with several hits including Sister Nancy’s Bam Bam and Chaka Demus and Pliers Murder she wrote.

African Queen has a catchy chorus with a touch of modern day electronics using the warbler and filter effects. An interesting song, drawing from some unlikely quarters of the 21st century, and blending them together.

Clear Vinyl

On Rock Island, their second LP, Palm produces evidence of a distinct musical language, developed over time, in isolation, and out of necessity. On the island, melodies are struck on what might be shells or spines. Rhythms are scratched out, swept over, scratched again. Individual instruments, and sometimes entire sections, skip and stutter. There is the sense of a music box with wonky tension or a warped transmission in which all the noise is taken for signal.

Like other groups so acclaimed for their compulsive live show, Palm has been burdened by the constant comparison between their recorded material and their touring set. On Rock Island, they render this tired discussion moot, using the album form to present that which could never be completely live, reserving for performance that which could never be completely reproduced.

Despite appearing behind the instruments typical of rock music, Palm trades in sounds of their own making. On these songs, one of the guitars and the drum kit are used as MIDI triggers, producing an index that can be combed through later and replaced with new information. The percussion is sometimes augmented so as to suggest a multiplication of limbs. The strings are manipulated to choke, crack, and hum like other instruments, or other bodies, might.

Working again with engineer Matt Labozza, the band spent the better part of a month in a rented farmhouse in Upstate New York. With the benefits of time and space, Palm recorded the various elements piecemeal, only rarely playing together in groups larger than two or three. While some members tracked, others holed up in the next room, experimenting with quantization, beat replacement, and other methods borrowed from electronic music. Even accounting for the many labors that brought them to be, these materials seem produced by an organic logic. Their complex friction forms a habit of thought, scores a network of grooves on the floor of the mind.

This is music with dimensionality. Sonic objects are deployed, developed, and dissected in various states of mutation. The listener flits about between the field and the lab. The tone is warm in a way only the sun could make, the pace as forceful and as variable as a gale. Whether one locates Rock Island in a sea or in a refinished attic (as in Greg Burak's album cover), whether one escapes to there or is banished, its psychic environs are charted clearly enough. Only at this remove from the mainland can we sense the conditions necessary for such a strange species of sound.

Music On Hold's second album raises to its climax an altogether well-cultivated ambiguity between new ambitions and the waiting posture of a band which has never lived up to its name so well. Produced in a cellar in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, supported by Ray Jane and "surrounded by a group of people who manage to concentrate on something for more than 15 minutes", "MOH4Ever" is one of the most personal things that Emile Cartron-Eldin delivers today, "from the salt-dough workshops in kindergarten". Opening, "His Master Voice" transforms the tribute to a recently deceased loved one into a sad clown's dancing homily. With no surprise follows "Wander" and roaming in a Paris traveled up and down at least ten thousand times already. "Music On Hold 4 Ever" then releases the title of this album in a cry accompanied by an invitation to "unplug" his singer. We hear a bit of the group's very first single, "Bread", taken through the prism of Beck's "Up all night". "Citadel", 6'30" end of side A, loudly proclaims as a chain-breaking the nostalgia of truant school and a desire not to die (at least not like Darby Crash). Mixed in - like this entire album - are the versatile ingenuity of LCD Soundsystem and Gorillaz with Italo-disco arrangements from Roberto Zanetti (aka Savage). With "Over", "Home", "Taming a Tiger" and "Last Laugh", side B prolongs the tightrope walker's delirium by summoning in no specific order, memories in Vienna, resumption of excessive consumption, the fact that "the director of the US Federal Reserve is a real fake-ass" and the cynical humo(u)rous swings of a guy overwhelmed by them in an everlasting after-party. From the first LP, "30 Minutes Of..." and its already delayed release, its chopped tour, "Music On Hold 4 Ever" digs a refined pop, no longer as "solar" as some could have described it when everything seemed to be going quickly. Retaining a semblance of immediacy, the 8 pieces of this second album open up new perspectives with their elegant sophistication, in a quite French and truly original touch of DIY and experimentation that the group can pride themselves on. " I'm twenty-nine, and i don't wanna die ".

It would be difficult to find a band that is more self-aware than longtime touring band Lucero. Since forming in Memphis in the late 90's, Lucero’s base musical hallmarks have remained similar to the band’s initial sound established with their first record The Attic Tapes. In the history of their expansive discography, Lucero has evolved and embraced everything from southern rock to Stax-inspired Memphis soul, whilst simultaneously maintaining their distinctive sonic foundations. Years later, dedicated fans of the group still flock to hear the band's punchy driving rhythms, punk-rooted guitar licks, and Iyrics that evoke the whiskey drenched sentimentality of Americana singer-songwriters. For their twelfth record, Should've Learned by Now, Lucero drew on a lot of work from their past. Literally. By adapting songs and guitar parts that had been left over from the group’s previous two albums, Lucero was able to construct one of its most comprehensive works to date. “I had a particular sound | was looking for on each record and there was no room for any goofy tock & roll or cute witticisms or even simply upbeat songs.” Said primary lyricist and frontman, Ben Nichols. “But now finally, it was time to revisit all of that stuff and get it out in the world, That's how we got to the appropriately for-us titled album Should've Learned by Now. The album is basically about how we know we are fuckups and I guess we are ok with that.” Produced by Grammy Award-winning engineer, Matt Ross-Spang, the album is a punchy, rock and roll record that utilizes the more mature production stylings the group developed over time, and combines it with the first-person introspectiveness that the band is known and loved for. From its original Ben Nichols-designed cover art to its credits, the album is a reflection of a band that knows itself, Should've Learned by Now bridges the gap musically between “old Lucero” and “new Lucero” in a manner which affixes the band’s position as the perfect intersection of punk initiative with hard-earned artistry. It's an album that recognizes the past in its sound and content, but leaves the door wide open to the future and for the lessons still in store

The entity known as ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES, would like to express its excitement to be working with the Seattle, WA based BAND Sandrider, and enjoyed the previous relationship of Damm and Weisnewski in their former entity known as AKIMBO. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES is very much a fan of previous work from the BAND on Satanik Royalty Records and highly recommend new listeners investigate the discography further. The upcoming 2-song single by BAND, hereafter referred to as AVIARY/BALEEN has a limited-edition initial pressing on blue and white splatter vinyl pressing of 300 copies, and successive runs will not be as colorful. Immediate orders are encouraged. This cheeky duality of Sandrider is also captured perfectly in the subject matter of the EP’s two tracks: The explosive first track, “Aviary,” portrays the modern hellscape of social media as sinister, soulless mama bird, willfully vomiting disinformation into the eager mouths of enthusiastically consenting participants. “PLEASE MOTHER, FEED THEM YOUR BILE. DOUSE THE BABES WITH YOUR WHOLESOME RETCH,” vocalist/guitarist Jon Weisnewski wails over massive, frenetic riffs, rounded out by bassist Jesse Roberts’ warm low end and drummer Nat Damm’s ultra-hard, punch-like beats. The song concludes in a frenzy of danceable beats, with Weisnewski doing his best Painkiller-era Halford screams as he commands you to flood the whole damn thing – drown those who wish to destroy us. As pissed off as the song is, you’ll feel triumphant by the end anyway. Side B’s “Baleen” on the other hand (while ironically the angrier-sounding song of the two), is about a lighter thought that keeps Weisnewski up at night: Do you ever think about how fucking weird whales are? They’re enormous floating creatures that can't handle gravity, and they hang out in the deepest oceans. Yet they can’t breathe underwater, so they have to stay near the top and come up for air all the time. Seems inconvenient. And you’d think that the biggest mammal that ever lived would be a brutal carnivore, right? But no. They eat the tiniest creatures, through a bunch of hair in their mouths. What the fuck? Anyway, ponder on that while you bang your head along with Sandrider’s signature primal, hypnotizingly heavy riffs.

Sieben bisher unveröffentlichte Songs. Hardcore-Punk im besten Sinne, Energie pur! Studio-, Proberaum- und Live-Material, darunter zwei Coverversionen. Kommt im 300g full color hardcover.

Communique Records USA re-issues Timeblind aka Chris Sattinger "Ouija Board Through A Vocoder" from 1995

Official Reissue of the Rare Sophomore LP by Cloud One. Rare Disco-Experiments from the legendary Patrick Adams. Cloud One was always a studio outlet for Patrick Adams to experiment. Even after the success of Atmosphere Strut, Adams continued to experiment with synthesizers (in particular the minimoog) to make this his signature sound or 'voice' as he called it. An indeed his usage of the synth was completely different from some of his contemporaries. With titles like Jump, Jump, Jump, Funky Track, Stomp Your Feet and Dance or Music Funk, it was clear the spirit of this music was in Harlem. It's no surprise Adams felt at home in the many P&P subsidiaries. 'P&P became this place where artists could be free, as opposed to an Atlantic Records or a Columbia Records, where everything is high spit and polished...We never told anybody on P&P what they could or couldn't do, what they should or shouldn't do. It was like, 'Go for it, if you want to bang pots and pans together, that's your sound.' And what a Funky Sound it was. 'I was trying to get the most out of the instrument. I was experimenting.' - Patrick Adams

KID FRANCESCOLI, leader of the French Riviera Touch is back with the stellar album SUNSET BLUE out Sept 22nd 2023.

After a first sold-out world tour (over 200 concerts in Europe, USA, Asia...), and successful hits such as Nopalitos, Blow Up or Moon (now certified diamond, with more than 200 millions streams), the Marseille-based producer, crooner and multi-instrumentalist, Mathieu Hocine, is eager to share his most accomplished LP ever. This fine collection of soulful songs honor his Mediterranean roots, with elegant and pop melodies. His most recent success and the creation of his first original soundtrack with AZURO, installed him as one of the best French songwriters of his generation, with a unique signature sound.

"I live in Marseille, I spent my childhood in Corsica, I have Algerian origins, my first vacations with friends were in Barcelona, vacations with my first girlfriend in Roma,... Then, I had the chance to perform in Morocco, Greece, Turkey and Egypt: each time I spent time in the Mediterranean region, the people I met there made me feel like I was part of the same country. This shared multiculturalism is really comforting, it has its own poetry and strength, bringing uniqueness and empathy to the people. It is essential for me. I love my city: it’s the perfect place to feel good with sun, sea, family, friendships, love... It gets me emotional, bringing tears with a smile".

With his new musical gem, Mathieu Hocine unveils 11 elegant tunes of his finest craft: sunbathed French Touch (Run Run, 1986), romantic chillwave (Corsica), uplifting synthpop (You Are Everywhere, Like Magic), electronic-soul (Casino Soul), cinematic disco (Solaris), cosmic R&B (Sweet and Sour, Take Time), … Everything is in this record.

For the first time ever, Kid Francescoli paid tribute to his mixed origins with his collaboration with world-renowned lute and mandolin player Hakim Hamadouche (Rachid Taha, Patti Smith, Brian Eno, Tricky...), whom added Algerian patterns to the introspectives songs Drift in Blue and The Morning After.

"My ambition is to create pictures in people's heads with music, to transport them instantly into a movie"

SUNSET BLUE is an instant-crush album: crystal-clear, strong, personal but universal at the same time.

It's an ecstatic soundtrack for this moment when time is suspended, the golden hour when everything seems possible. It feels like Love is in the air, you're living your best life and you're at the right place at the right time. This album embodies this magic moment where we would like to last forever… Like an epiphany, Kid Francescoli's new album is a moment of pure pleasure, a soothing way to escape reality.

"I see myself as a melodist.I would like my music to feel like velvet. There's something cinematic, classy about it, and yet comforting. It's very simple, popular and synonym of love and passion"

His friend French 79 co-produced the album, while the american rapper Bamby H2O brought his NYC swag (on Sweet & Sour), Stan Neff (Polo & Pan, Kungs, Christine and the Queens...) took care of the mix and Alex Gopher (Daft Punk, The Blaze, Bon Entendeur...) added a final touch of magic when mastering. Nicolas Despis (known for his work with Etienne Daho, Hoshi, Juliette Armanet... and many famous French rappers) later joined this dream-team to craft custom-made artworks. SUNSET BLUE is a deeply personal quest, a human adventure for Mathieu Hocine (whom explores his maghrebian origins, his feminine side, his subconscious space, ...). It's a male's work, but don't get it wrong, this LP would be nothing without women’s touch : Julietta (on Run Run and Take Time), Sarah Gaugler from Turbo Goth (on You Are Everywhere and Like Magic), and iOni (on Drift in Blue).

“Music has this magical power to broaden your vision of the world. It's fascinating because, like dreams, it's the kind of irrational things science can't explain and that makes life exciting."

Planets aligned perfectly on this project and thanks to this five-star cast of collaborators, Kid Francescoli achieved his personal holy grail : he orchestrated a great 21st century pop-music album.SUNSET BLUE is a new turning point between organic and electronic, both a mediterranean travel and a Californian dream, a bridge between Ennio Morriconne and modern electronic music.

Also, while it might be called SUNSET BLUE in honor of the sea and the Portuguese / Brazilian concept called “saudade”, but it is a really optimistic album, whose true colors would rather be "yellow-orange-red" in nod to the sun.

Created in the midst of the world tour, SUNSET BLUE is a direct result of the lives’ energy and fans’ joyful vibes: going back in the studio after smiling, singing and dancing with people all around the world inevitably gave Kid Francescoli the desire to retranscribe this ecstatic feeling in music. This album is a sensitive experience, from sunrise to sunset, from first track to last one. It’s an exploration of an everlasting summer, reaching its climax in the very final seconds of the track Corsica, making us want to press play and dive into this jewel all over again.

A beautiful cosmic trip, whether you like to stay in bed cocooning, to travel far, far away or to dance ‘till dawn, to catch the first rays of light.

Make sure to catch Kid Francescoli on his next world tour to have a good time.

Kallaikoi is the term used to refer to all the Celtic clans settled in ancient Gallaecia (northwest of the Iberian Peninsula). They were skilled in metallurgy and the production of tools and weapons, and worshiped a variety of deities, some of them related to nature
and war. Although they disappeared as an ethnic group in antiquity due to Romanization and subsequent consequences, their cultural legacy and Celtic influence in Galicia persist until today. Somehow, that ancestral legacy lingers between the grooves of this
release you have in your hands.

The double EP opens with The Transhumans: Techno, syncopated bass drums and industrial nuances appear in 'Ánima'. Ian Axide proposes robust and percussive Techno in 'Antro', while Obseth lets arpeggios fly in 'Pink Pills'. These tracks are indebted to that
Techno reminiscent of the late 90s golden years monolithic sound.
Side B opens with the local heroine and co-founder of Archaic, Proyecto Inopia, who opts for resounding rhythms and synth sequences sharp like shark teeth, seemingly paying homage to earlier decades in 'Hécate'. Mist Gasp also follows a metallic monotrax line in 'Standarte'. And the first 12” closes with Brai’s '75', where he unleashes Techno meets New and Synth Wave with a nod to the 80s.

The second EP lowers the intensity and tempo, opening with the calm and nostalgic Electro from Synth Alien in 'Pakhum'. Local artist Lefrenk raises the tempo and intensity in arpeggios in a propulsive Electro-Techno wave in 'Fenix'. And also from A Coruña, Roi controls the beats in an electro base that advances later towards obsessive and lacerating synths in 'Melusa'.

The last side of the double album is opened by David Karro with 'Ionosphere', a track with unsettling synths that doesn't need beats to shape its hypnotic and nebulous character. 27 003 delves into the sounds of classic Electro drum machines in 'Sweet', also with clear IDM and dreamy evocations. Corrosivo continues in that vein, with marked Sheffieldier echoes in 'Fast Food'. The EP is closed by Death Whistle with one of his usual opuses where darkness, beauty and epic coexist.

Limited release.

After “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser” directed by Davide Manulli, Vitalic is once again putting his music to moving images with “Disco Boy” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (awarded a Silver Bear at the 2023 Berlinale). Electronic, intense and navigating between a variety of different atmospheres, the soundtrack - much like the film it accompanies - is full of promise and mystery. “The Swamps”, “La Guerre” and “Helicopter” are reminiscent of the intense, dark and foreboding productions of Thomas Bangalter for “Irreversible” by director Gaspar Noé. In contrast, “Winter is Coming” and “Lost Time” are places of melancholy and sweetness where all bass has completely disappeared. As for the eponymous theme for the film, “Disco Boy”, it pays true electronic homage to the sound of disco. The retro-futurist soundtrack to “Disco Boy” oscillates between devastating kick drums, moist ambient and dreamlike swathes. Vitalic has created uncharted sonic landscapes that invite us on a voyage of initiation and self-discovery.

Originally released in 1991 via their own Triple Helix Records, Automation brings us 'The Remixes' EP, featuring 4 tracks that have stood the test of time, bridging the gap between Hardcore, Breakbeat, and Techno. Reissued via MPS!

Repress!

We were planning the release of the NUfrequency new single when the terrible news of the sudden death of Cristiano Massera, one half of the duo, has left us without breath. We are still shocked, because Cristiano was not only a great musician and producer but a friend and a wonderful person. The production of the album 'Connected', and songs such as 'Go That Deep' and 'Fallen Hero' will remain in our hearts forever, because the music he produced with NUfrequency is timeless !
'Promised' features again the beautiful and touching vocals of the legendary Shara Nelson, A soul singer with a voice from heaven, who achieved the success as member of British dance collective and trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack. Shara wrote and sung one of the biggest and most memorable anthems, and the group's biggest hit, 'Unfinished Sympathy' and also co-wrote several other songs on their groundbreaking debut album 'Blue Lines'.
Recorded in 2010, 'Promised' gets a vinyl only release, with remixes from Adesse Versions and Charles Webster.The mysterious Adesse Versions, hot on the heels of his releases on Prime Numbers and Make Love In Public Places, delivers a strong vocal version, in his own inimitable style. Charles Webster, works out a super dubby version bringing back the gold days of deep house music. A precious and special release ! Rest in peace Cristiano.

The Mighty Riders were an American funk group whose 1978 album Help Us Spread The Message is a stone-cold classic for rare groove lovers. It has been famously sampled by De La Soul and now this new 10" release includes the original version of the track the pillaged, namely 'Evil Vibrations'. It comes as an original, an instrumental edit version of the song, and an extended edit. This is a must cop for funk fans as well as hip-hop historians and a standalone tune that still gets the floor going so do not sleep.

It’s rare to come across new talent that hits the spot with their music at just the right time. But then again you never know when it will happen, when that right one comes along, and for Vega Records that time is now. Mr. X a young new talent from Northern Jersey, USA takes it to the raw underground with driving electronic stabs and a deep pulsating bassline with swinging beats and unique perc sounds that pop in and out abruptly within the arrangement on the track entitled “The Curse” on Side A1.

Early distribution of the track to impacting djs in the dance scene, Honey Dijon, Kenny Dope, Anané, Luke Solomon, Melvo Baptiste, Joseph Capriati, & Louie Vega have all been championing the new hot track entitled “The Curse”. Side A2 “The Underground” has a hooky flip flop keys action happening with vocals saying “Thank You” creating a hypnotizing groove ala Mr. X Style. The B-side of the 12” starts with a steaming revisit to “The Curse” giving it another life on the dance floor along with the sample hits and catchy groove on “B-Side Only” created only in the way Mr. X can to make you jump on the dance floor. All hot club bombs, CATCH THE FIYAAAH

1STEP Process 180g 45rpm Double LP Pressed on VR900-Supreme Vinyl!
Mastered From The Original Analogue Master Tapes by Bernie Grundman!
Super-Luxe "Monster Pak" Jacket with a Rich 36-Page Booklet & Striking Outer Slipcase!

New lacquers cut for every 500 pressings!

Strictly Limited To 7,500 Numbered Pressings!

There have been more than 40 U.S. releases (and hundreds more worldwide) of Stan Getz's cultural touchstone album and for good reason: few recordings better capture the breezy warmth and easy-going sophistication of Brazilian bossa nova for an American jazz audience. Fewer recordings can replicate the you-are-there presence and flawlessly tight studio acoustics. Only Getz/Gilberto has Billboard Top-10-charting singles like "The Girl from Ipanema." When Impex Records jumps into this densely-populated fray with our own production, we need to bring maximum value and prestige to it. Challenge accepted. We worked directly with Stan's wife Monica Getz and their son Nicolaus to create the most authentic, best-presented Getz/Gilberto ever.

Exclusive to Impex's 1STEP Getz/Gilberto includes an insightful new interview/essay by Charles Granata featuring Monica reminiscences of the making of this record, the subsequent cultural phenomenon, and Stan's battles with some pretty heavy demons. Also unique to this release are two bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" (without the added echo, thank you very much) and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall. Finally, the large-format, 36-page booklet features dozens of rare photos, the original album notes, and a fascinating personal remembrance from Monica Getz herself, celebrating her late husband's work and an inside look at Stan's family life while making the record!

Using the original analog master tapes and no computers at all, Bernie Grundman at Bernie Grundman Mastering sought to keep the sense of space and tone on the master tape intact without unnecessary embellishment. Impex 1STEPs get you closer to the source, not the ideal.

We know you have many choices when it comes to enjoying this singular album. The Impex 1STEP of Getz/Gilberto cuts above all other releases with added-value content that takes you deeper into Stan Getz's life and process in a way never previously possible.

The 1STEP Process:



The Impex 1STEP process relies on short, tightly-controlled runs that require a new lacquer after each 500 pressings. This unforgiving format has the lacquer skipping the regular father-mother process, going right to a single convert and then pressing. Though this dramatically increases mastering and production costs, it also assures each run is more consistent from disc to disc, with less noise, clearer details and deeper bass.

Reducing production complexity to just a single "convert" disc between the lacquer and the press greatly improves groove integrity, diminishes non-fill anomalies and increases signal integrity from the master tape to your system.

Features:



The only release of this fundamental jazz classic crafted with the full participation of the Getz family, including never-before-seen photos and notes from Monica and Nick Getz
Exclusive new interview essay about Getz's life and the recording of the album by noted producer and historian Charles L. Granata
Exclusive ultra-luxe Impex 1STEP packaging featuring a deluxe 36-page booklet within a heavy-stock two-sleeve Monster Pack jacket and striking colour-matched slip case
Two all-analogue bonus tracks: an alternate mono 7" mix of "The Girl from Ipanema" and a live recording of "Corcovado" from Carnegie Hall
Limited to 7,500 copies

Gaucho — Steely Dan's Grammy-winning seventh studio album now on UHQR!
Definitive reissue Ultra High Quality Record, the pinnacle of high-quality vinyl!
45 RPM LP release limited to 20,000 numbered copies
Mastered by Bernie Grundman from a 1980 analogue tape copy originally EQ'd by Bob Ludwig
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings using 200-gram Clarity Vinyl®
Purest possible pressing and most visually stunning presentation and packaging!
Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing


Gaucho — the iconic seventh studio album by Steely Dan, released in November 1980 — and Grammy-winner for Best Engineered Non-Classical Recording, was also Grammy-nominated for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The album represents the band's musical evolution towards a more polished and sleek sound, featuring a collection of meticulously crafted songs that blend jazz, rock, and pop music, while exploring themes of decadence, longing, and disillusionment.

Gaucho opens with the title track, a jazzy instrumental piece that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The standout tracks on the album include "Hey Nineteen," a catchy and upbeat tune that features a memorable saxophone riff and lyrics about an older man's attraction to a young woman, and "Babylon Sisters," a funky and groovy track that showcases the band's impeccable sense of rhythm and melody.

The sessions for Gaucho represented the band's typical penchant for studio perfectionism and obsessive recording technique. To record the album, the band used at least 42 different musicians, spent more than a year in the studio, and far exceeded the original monetary advance given by the record label. Still, the album features multiple layers of instrumentation, carefully crafted arrangements, and the use of top-notch session musicians to create a lush and sophisticated sound that is uniquely Steely Dan.

Despite its critical and commercial success, Gaucho was a challenging album to make. During the two-year span in which the album was recorded, the band was plagued by a number of creative, personal and professional problems. MCA, Warner Bros. and Steely Dan had a three-way legal battle over the rights to release the album. After it was released, jazz musician Keith Jarrett was given a co-writing credit on the title track after threatening legal action over plagiarism of Jarrett's song "'Long As You Know You're Living Yours."

Gaucho marked a significant stylistic change for the band, introducing a more minimal, groove- and atmosphere-based format. The harmonically complex chord changes that were a distinctive mark of earlier Steely Dan songs are less prominent on Gaucho, with the record's songs tending to revolve around a single rhythm or mood, although complex chord progressions were still present particularly in "Babylon Sisters" and "Glamour Profession." Gaucho proved to be Steely Dan's final studio album that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker would make together until the year 2000.

Gaucho reached No. 9 on the U.S. album chart and was certified platinum-selling. "Hey Nineteen" reached No. 10 on the U.S. Singles Chart and went to No. 1 in Canada. Pitchfork, in its review, describes the almost "pathologically overdetermined production" as elegant, arid and a little forbidding. "Every last tinkling chime sounds like it took 12 days to mix, because chances are, it did." The New York Times deemed Gaucho the best album of 1980, beating out Talking Heads' Remain in Light and Joy Division's Closer.

Founded by core members Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards), Steely Dan's popularity rose throughout the late 1970s on, and their seven albums throughout that period of time blended elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. Steely Dan created a sophisticated, distinctive sound with accessible melodic hooks, complex harmonies and time signatures, and a devotion to the recording studio. Becker and Fagen, with producer Gary Katz, gradually changed Steely Dan from a performing band to a studio project, hiring session musicians to record their compositions. The duo didn't perform live between 1974 and 1993. But their popularity nevertheless grew throughout the '70s as their albums became critical favorites and their singles became staples of Adult Oriented Radio and pop radio stations.

After a brief battle with esophageal cancer, Walter Becker died on September 3, 2017 at the age of 67. Steely Dan has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2001. VH1 ranked Steely Dan at No. 82 on their list of the 100 Greatest Musical Artists of All Time. Rolling Stone ranked them No. 15 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.

This stereo UHQR reissue will be limited to 20,000 copies, with gold foil individually numbered jackets, housed in a premium slipcase with a wooden dowel spine.

Gaucho remains a testament to Steely Dan's enduring musical legacy and their ability to create timeless music that transcends genre and style.

Repress!

Listeners familiar with Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith's previous album Euclid (an album that prompted Dazed to call her "...one of the most pioneering musicians in the world.") will no doubt notice her heavier use of vocals on her new album EARS. On all but one song, her gently ecstatic swells of vocals emerge to soar over a dense jungle of synths and woodwinds. After initially composing on a Buchla analog synth, she wrote arrangements for a woodwind quintet, added vocals, and further refined the pieces with granular synthesis techniques she developed in her sound design work (she contributed sound design to Panda Bear's "Boys Latin" video, and handled sound design and original compositions for Brasilia co-written by and starring Reggie Watts).

Kinetic arpeggios of synths pulse, often buoying her graceful vocal mantras, while woodwinds breathe and flutter, emulating the wildlife Smith observed while growing up on the West Coast (she even studied recordings of slowed down bird calls prior to composing these pieces). Though some of her gestures echo the musical tropes used by early minimalist composers, the world she creates on EARS is uniquely hypnotic and full of life, not unlike Miyzaki's film Nausicaä, which she cites as an inspiration.

EARS is a masterful articulation of Smith's vision, which she achieved in part by spending time preparing her mind prior to composing the album.

Having firmly re-established his underground roots, through a series of killer EPs on his newly birthed imprint, 49North - the Spooky and Animated legend now turns his attention to solo album number 1 - his first ever, as Duncan Forbes.

Laying its first foundations some 5 years ago now - ‘Return Of The Strobelight Kid’ has been stealthily taking shape and developing organically ever since. And as a result, the 8 tracks which now make up the final running order, feel very much a direct reflection of all that was experienced during that time; as someone who - whilst having well and truly bought the t-shirt several times over by now - nevertheless finds themselves back on the starting grid, having to do it all over again from scratch.

But embarking on new adventures from way back on square one - is something Duncan’s no stranger to; and on this album, he invites us to join him on this journey of his, and experience all the ups, downs, twists and turns that come with such intrepid territory.

TASTEMAKER/DJ SUPPORT: Axel Boman, Steve Bug, Baikal, Ame, Len Faki, Red Axes, Agoria, DJ Sabo, Anja Schneider, Alex.Do, Oliver Huntemann, AFFKT, Smash TV, The Revenge, Joshua James, Nicole Moudaber, Tim Sweeney, John Osborn, Powel, Alexi Delano, Davide Squillace, Kasper Borke, Iron Curtis, Optimo, Musumeci, Klose One + more.