As funny as it may sound, Anaïs Mitchell has spent the past 15 years in some kind of hell. OK, not actual hell, but the multi-faceted world of Hadestown, a musical project she began in Vermont in 2006 that has grown into a Tony®- and Grammy®-award-winning Broadway phenomenon with touring editions now delighting audiences as far away as South Korea.
“I experienced so much joy working on Hadestown, but it just kept ramping up and up and requiring more and more attention,” Mitchell admits. “I had to become so single-minded and really put blinders on to my other creative life.” As it did for many artists, the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly offered Mitchell a blank slate to reconnect with her own music. The result is a new self-titled album made with close collaborators from Bon Iver, The National and her own band Bonny Light Horseman, Mitchell’s first collection of all-new material under her own name since 2012’s Young Man in America.
“I was nine months pregnant when the pandemic reached New York, so we made an 11th hour decision to leave and have the baby in Vermont,” Mitchell recalls. “We left the city and had the baby a week later, and then like everyone, we were in the midst of this unprecedented stillness. It felt like I could see behind me: oh, there’s New York City. There’s Hadestown. There’s my life with just one kid. A certain kind of stress and expectations. In Vermont, we moved onto my family farm and lived in my grandparents’ old house, with a new baby. I’d look at pictures on my phone from a few months earlier and wonder, whose life was that? This record, and the songs that are on it, came out of that time. I got into a flow again that I hadn’t felt in a really long time.”
Dubbed by NPR as “one of the greatest songwriters of her generation,” Mitchell is a master of the worlds of narrative folksong, poetry and balladry. Those talents are evident from the first moments of the new album, as Mitchell narrates what she calls “an unbearably romantic” trip over the Brooklyn Bridge colored by Bon Iver member Michael Lewis’ heartstring-tugging saxophone accompaniment. “Having left New York, I was able to write a love letter to it in a way I never could when I was living there,” she says. “It was like, fuck it. This is how I feel. There is nothing more beautiful than riding over one of the New York bridges at night next to someone who inspires you.”
Produced by Mitchell’s Bonny Light Horseman bandmate Josh Kaufman, the album proceeds to chronicle Mitchell’s reconnection with the Vermont roots that have been so formative in her life and music. “Bright Star” finds her making peace with the idea of being at peace in the familiar setting of her grandparents’ house, while “Revenant” was inspired by paging through a box of journals and letters belonging to herself and her grandmother — “a very pandemic activity,” she says. “That house is literally my happy place. I can picture myself as a kid, in this house, laying on the carpet with a sunbeam coming through the sliding glass door. There’s something about it that is really connected in my mind to my childhood and a very free, imaginative, creative time. “Revenant” has a lot to do with that house and reconnecting with my childhood self.”
Mitchell concedes that she tends “to be someone who thinks it has to be hard in order for it to be good or beautiful,” but that feeling has changed, partly thanks to her deep connection with musicians she’s met through the 37d03d collective established by The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. During the pandemic, some of those artists participated in a “song a day” writing group — an idea Mitchell says is usually “totally opposite of how I roll. But it really helped me to gain access to some kind of trust and intuition and flow. I began a bunch of these songs while doing that.”
“It unlocked something that allowed me to finish a bunch of songs I’d been sitting on, and feeling a bit paralyzed about how to finish them,” she continues. “Because no one was touring, it’s not like I was playing them for anyone before we were in the studio. In other times, I’ve trotted things out in advance. Here, it was like, here’s all these brand new songs. Let’s discover what they can be. That was really exciting.”
That discovery process took flight at Dreamland Recording Studios outside Woodstock, N.Y., which Mitchell describes as “this weird, janky, beautiful church - it’s my favorite studio in the world.” Kaufman, Lewis and Big Red Machine drummer JT Bates formed a core band around Mitchell, while Aaron Dessner and Thomas Bartlett joined the sessions mid-week on guitar and piano, respectively.
After the appropriate COVID tests came back negative, “it was a pretty extraordinary feeling to hug, kiss and share the same space playing together,” Mitchell says. “We went into that world for a week and didn’t leave the studio for any reason. I felt very safe with all those guys. It was warm and joyful.”
Mitchell says this environment brought out unexpected details in the material, which was recorded almost entirely live together in the room. “Sometimes we tried separating things out, like vocals, but we always ended up back in the room together,” she says. Indeed, after spending the better part of a day recording overdubbed versions of “Little Big Girl” that nobody loved, the musicians gave up and tracked it again live. “We got so frustrated that we went in and I was like, I’m just going to sing this as hard as I fucking can. It felt like that’s what the song wanted to be,” Mitchell says. “It felt like all those songs wanted to be recorded as live as possible.” The exception to the rule was Nico Muhly's arrangements for strings and flute, which were added from New York City afterward.
Mitchell will debut the new material during various headline tours in the U.S. and Europe in 2022, at which she’ll be accompanied by players from the album. On stage, she can’t wait to further hone the sights, sounds and scenes that bring the songs to such vivid life. “I’ve spent a lot of time trying to write in the voice of other characters, especially with Hadestown. It’s fun for me, but these songs are not that,” she says. “Weirdly, they’re all me. The narrator is me. That’s why it felt right to self-title the album. It felt like after so many years of working on telling other stories, now here are some of mine.”
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As funny as it may sound, Anaïs Mitchell has spent the past 15 years in some kind of hell. OK, not actual hell, but the multi-faceted world of Hadestown, a musical project she began in Vermont in 2006 that has grown into a Tony®- and Grammy®-award-winning Broadway phenomenon with touring editions now delighting audiences as far away as South Korea.
“I experienced so much joy working on Hadestown, but it just kept ramping up and up and requiring more and more attention,” Mitchell admits. “I had to become so single-minded and really put blinders on to my other creative life.” As it did for many artists, the COVID-19 pandemic unexpectedly offered Mitchell a blank slate to reconnect with her own music. The result is a new self-titled album made with close collaborators from Bon Iver, The National and her own band Bonny Light Horseman, Mitchell’s first collection of all-new material under her own name since 2012’s Young Man in America.
“I was nine months pregnant when the pandemic reached New York, so we made an 11th hour decision to leave and have the baby in Vermont,” Mitchell recalls. “We left the city and had the baby a week later, and then like everyone, we were in the midst of this unprecedented stillness. It felt like I could see behind me: oh, there’s New York City. There’s Hadestown. There’s my life with just one kid. A certain kind of stress and expectations. In Vermont, we moved onto my family farm and lived in my grandparents’ old house, with a new baby. I’d look at pictures on my phone from a few months earlier and wonder, whose life was that? This record, and the songs that are on it, came out of that time. I got into a flow again that I hadn’t felt in a really long time.”
Dubbed by NPR as “one of the greatest songwriters of her generation,” Mitchell is a master of the worlds of narrative folksong, poetry and balladry. Those talents are evident from the first moments of the new album, as Mitchell narrates what she calls “an unbearably romantic” trip over the Brooklyn Bridge colored by Bon Iver member Michael Lewis’ heartstring-tugging saxophone accompaniment. “Having left New York, I was able to write a love letter to it in a way I never could when I was living there,” she says. “It was like, fuck it. This is how I feel. There is nothing more beautiful than riding over one of the New York bridges at night next to someone who inspires you.”
Produced by Mitchell’s Bonny Light Horseman bandmate Josh Kaufman, the album proceeds to chronicle Mitchell’s reconnection with the Vermont roots that have been so formative in her life and music. “Bright Star” finds her making peace with the idea of being at peace in the familiar setting of her grandparents’ house, while “Revenant” was inspired by paging through a box of journals and letters belonging to herself and her grandmother — “a very pandemic activity,” she says. “That house is literally my happy place. I can picture myself as a kid, in this house, laying on the carpet with a sunbeam coming through the sliding glass door. There’s something about it that is really connected in my mind to my childhood and a very free, imaginative, creative time. “Revenant” has a lot to do with that house and reconnecting with my childhood self.”
Mitchell concedes that she tends “to be someone who thinks it has to be hard in order for it to be good or beautiful,” but that feeling has changed, partly thanks to her deep connection with musicians she’s met through the 37d03d collective established by The National’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. During the pandemic, some of those artists participated in a “song a day” writing group — an idea Mitchell says is usually “totally opposite of how I roll. But it really helped me to gain access to some kind of trust and intuition and flow. I began a bunch of these songs while doing that.”
“It unlocked something that allowed me to finish a bunch of songs I’d been sitting on, and feeling a bit paralyzed about how to finish them,” she continues. “Because no one was touring, it’s not like I was playing them for anyone before we were in the studio. In other times, I’ve trotted things out in advance. Here, it was like, here’s all these brand new songs. Let’s discover what they can be. That was really exciting.”
That discovery process took flight at Dreamland Recording Studios outside Woodstock, N.Y., which Mitchell describes as “this weird, janky, beautiful church - it’s my favorite studio in the world.” Kaufman, Lewis and Big Red Machine drummer JT Bates formed a core band around Mitchell, while Aaron Dessner and Thomas Bartlett joined the sessions mid-week on guitar and piano, respectively.
After the appropriate COVID tests came back negative, “it was a pretty extraordinary feeling to hug, kiss and share the same space playing together,” Mitchell says. “We went into that world for a week and didn’t leave the studio for any reason. I felt very safe with all those guys. It was warm and joyful.”
Mitchell says this environment brought out unexpected details in the material, which was recorded almost entirely live together in the room. “Sometimes we tried separating things out, like vocals, but we always ended up back in the room together,” she says. Indeed, after spending the better part of a day recording overdubbed versions of “Little Big Girl” that nobody loved, the musicians gave up and tracked it again live. “We got so frustrated that we went in and I was like, I’m just going to sing this as hard as I fucking can. It felt like that’s what the song wanted to be,” Mitchell says. “It felt like all those songs wanted to be recorded as live as possible.” The exception to the rule was Nico Muhly's arrangements for strings and flute, which were added from New York City afterward.
Mitchell will debut the new material during various headline tours in the U.S. and Europe in 2022, at which she’ll be accompanied by players from the album. On stage, she can’t wait to further hone the sights, sounds and scenes that bring the songs to such vivid life. “I’ve spent a lot of time trying to write in the voice of other characters, especially with Hadestown. It’s fun for me, but these songs are not that,” she says. “Weirdly, they’re all me. The narrator is me. That’s why it felt right to self-title the album. It felt like after so many years of working on telling other stories, now here are some of mine.”
CELESTE have been breaking the outer boundaries of heavy music for over fifteen years. When they first evolved from the Lyon hardcore punk scene, they were absolutely brutal and entirely unique, delivering extremity on their own terms that they pushed further and further with each successive album. “We just wanted to get darker and more violent,” says drummer Antoine Royer, until 2017’s Infidèle(s) saw the incorporation of a more melodic streak. Their most focussed record yet, it was tremendously received, critically adored, and backed with the band’s biggest shows to date.
Its follow-up was always going to be something radical. Even by their own inordinately high standards, however, new record Assassine(s) is one hell of a step forward. Even if this album still contains cyclonic walls of guitar, of battering rhythm, and passages of blissful, rushing release. it’s unlike anything the band have ever released; embracing a modern and forward-thinking production, they're just as complex but more direct, diverse and accessible than before. “Our leitmotif here was to open our minds,” says guitarist Sébastien Ducotté. “We made a real effort to think outside of our box.”
During lockdown CELESTE’s members were forced to each write individually. “We each went further into our personal, inner views of what the songs were,” says bassist and vocalist Johan Girardeau. When eventually they began sessions under producer Chris Edrich, it was gruelling. “We ended up exhausted, physically and mentally” says Johan. “There was no break in two weeks. We didn’t see the sun at all during that time. Every night we were so tired that we didn’t enjoy being together as much as we’re used to.” Nevertheless, in the same way the hardships of isolation led to richer and more complex songwriting, it’s that relentlessness that led to the record’s razor-sharp edges.
Above all else, CELESTE are innovators. Whether by pioneering French avant-garde metal when they formed at the turn of the millennium, by making their boldest leaps despite being seven albums deep into their career, or using two years away from live shows to tightly finetune their stagecraft, they refuse at all costs to rest on their laurels. There can be consequences to this instinct – fans of the band’s older work might be thrown off by their constant shifts of pace – but they’re throwing caution to the wind. A bit of backlash “would be a good thing, because it would mean that we’ve really changed,” says Guillaume . “It's not disrespectful, it's just that we never made music to please people, but just to enjoy what we're doing.” In the end, CELESTE are a band so forward-thinking that they can only be judged on the strength of their latest work. And when it comes to a record as bold as Assassine(s), they’ve hit a whole new peak entirely.
A musical journey with Emile Parisien is an adventure, something way out of the
ordinary. The soprano saxophonist’s sound is instantly recognisable - as is the way
with the greats - and you know that you are in the best possible company to set off
for a destination shrouded in uncertainty.
For the past twenty years, the one-time child prodigy of Marciac has found ways to
astonish, to shake up and to enchant listeners with colourful and productive
experiments. His driving force is a passion which seems physically to take hold of
him as he plays.
Anyone who has seen his development as a performer knows what he’s about; there
is an element of the dance but also the tension of a coiled spring. And among the
musicians who seek him out are not only the very best of his own generation but also
the jazz masters, such is his reputation both as a leader and as an inspirational
partner.
As a musician he is one of a kind, with a power to be evocative and to bring
convincing shape to the unpredictable. His musical language can express sudden
frenzy, keeping the listener completely on tenterhooks, but there are also outbursts of
tenderness and a palpable emotional honesty.
‘Louise’ takes its title from Louise Bourgeois and more specifically her sculpture of a
spider, ‘Maman’. Her monumental work has motherhood as its theme, also conveyed
through the metaphor of weaving, an underlying thread that runs through Emile
Parisien’s creation.
He has assembled a group of musicians who bridge the two sides of the Atlantic. The
saxophonist has set out to combine the essence of jazz with his own purposes; so,
what shines through here are both his kaleidoscopic imagination and his appetite for
breaking down barriers. Three American musicians are in the group, all of them
friends whom he has got to know over time.
Their eagerness to engage in fruitful conversations with a trio consisting of Parisien
himself and two of his closest colleagues from France is miraculous. All kinds of
nuances and a confluence of influences are to be heard here. We find variations of
pace from skittering syncopations to the softly majestic.
Textures are meticulously calibrated, with a broad palette of instrumental colours
both in the original compositions and in a burning cover of Joe Zawinul’s
‘Madagascar’. This collective endeavour leaves plenty of room for individual
inventiveness, yet there is a happy balance between the different personalities as
well. Emile Parisien, always hyperalert, knows when to step back and to leave the
initiative to his partners, but will then re-enter authoritatively and be the catalyst who
completely re-energise them.
‘Louise’ is just magnificent in its twists and turns, and in the way it celebrates the
sheer joy of the groove. ACT have taken a path towards intoxicating freedom with a
team of artists in complete balance both individually and collectively. Through its
subtle amalgamation of diffidence and affirmation, this pellucid music tells us the
truth about life.
There’s an ancient Japanese legend in which a horde of demons, ghosts and other terrifying ghouls descend upon the sleeping villages once a year. Known as Hyakki Yagyō, or the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, one version of the tale states that anyone who witnesses this otherworldly procession will die instantly—or be carried off by the creatures of the night. As a result, the villagers hide in their homes, lest they become victims of these supernatural invaders.
Such is the inspiration for the latest album from EARTHLESS. “My son is really into mythical creatures and old folk stories about monsters and ghosts,” bassist Mike Eginton explains. “We came across the ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’ in a book of traditional Japanese ghost stories. I like the idea of people hiding and being able to hear the madness but not see it. It’s the fear of the unknown.”
Whereas 2018’s Black Heaven featured shorter songs and vocals from guitarist Isaiah Mitchell on much of the album—an unprecedented move for the San Diego power trio—their latest is a return to the epic instrumentals EARTHLESS made their unmistakable name on. Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons is comprised of two monster songs—the 41-minute, two-part title track and the 20-minute “Death To The Red Sun.”
The scenario that allowed for this kind of exploration was a stark contrast to that of Black Heaven. At that point, Mitchell was living in the Bay Area, which made it difficult for the band to get together and work on the type of long instrumental pieces they’re known for. But in March 2020, the guitarist moved back to San Diego. More specifically, he moved back the night the pandemic lockdown kicked in. Bad timing, perhaps—or maybe perfect timing.
Plus, they were all on the same page about not wanting to do another record with vocals. “In a way, I think this album was a reaction to our last record,” Eginton says. “Black Heaven was outside our comfort zone. I think it was a good record, but it was challenging to write songs in a more traditional verse-chorus-verse format. This one was more enjoyable. I’m sure we’ll do more vocal tracks in the future, but for the time being I see that album as a one-off.”
Given the record’s inspiration, it should come as no surprise that Night Parade of One Hundred Demons strikes a more sinister tone than the rest of the band’s catalogue. “It definitely has a darker, almost evil kind of vibe compared to stuff we’ve done in the past,” Rubalcaba says. “There’s more paranoia and noise, and some of Isaiah’s whammy-bar stuff kind of reminds me of these Jeff Hanneman moments in Reign In Blood, where it just seems like everything is going to hell. It’s pretty fun.”
Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was recorded in San Diego with Rubalcaba’s childhood friend Ben Moore, who’s worked with everyone from DIAMANDA GALAS and BURT BACHARACH to CEREMONY and HOT SNAKES. When Eginton wasn’t tracking his bass parts, he worked on the album’s incredible sleeve art. “He really dedicated himself to the project,” Rubalcaba says. “He’d be drawing in the studio with, like, a coal-miner’s lamp on his head while we were doing overdubs. He really knocked it out of the park.”
All told, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons isn’t just a return to the band’s traditional format—it’s a return to their very beginnings. “This album actually has the very first Earthless riff in it,” Eginton reveals. “We just recorded it 20 years after we wrote it. But we’re really happy with how this record came out. We feel it might be our finest to date.”
- A1: Roberto Musci - Kami Shintai (Lion's Drums Edit)
- A2: Vasilisk - Awakening (Lion's Drums Edit)
- B1: Budi Und Gumbls - Tanz Der Korperlinge (Lion's Drums Edit)
- B2: Freddy Spins - Journey To Middle Earth (Lion's Drums Edit)
- C1: Roberto Musci & Lion's Drums - Alap On Benares
- C2: Manos Tsangaris & Lion's Drums - Crying Tafel
- D1: Tullio De Piscopo - Fastness (Lion's Drums Edit)
- D2: Suzanne Ciani - Paris 1971 (Lion's Drums With Roberto Musci Lost Tapes Remix)
Lion's Drums full length exists as en exploration in multiple dimensions. First by challenging the notion of the album format by presenting a body of work that lies snuggly between remixes, edits and original works and secondly as a means to delve into the transcendent potential of the drum. The album sets the tone by putting these two concepts fully on display with its hypnotic chant, swaying one into ease over the first two songs. In orderly cue folding and unfolding, meditatively through, melodies as muddied pastelle whispers cast over the measured language of the drum. Breaking away from the musing themes of the opening songs we find an ecstatic ritual in "Tanz der Korperlinge" and "Journey to Middle Earth", two distinct varieties but both of the same perennial species. Inky ether seeps back in through the second half of the album with a peak of frenzied tumbling toms and incongruous textures hovering above in the Manos Tsangaris' collaboration "Crying Tafel" and his re-imagining of Tullio De Piscopo's unhinged drum excursion "Fastness". The closing exemplifies the edit/remix/original ethos proposed for this work with Lions Drums drawing from tapes and original material of electronic pioneers Suzanne Ciani and Roberto Musci. Drawing from unreleased music and song sketches by the original artists as well as field recordings from travels & studio sessions made by Roberto Musci & Manos Tsangaris in the 80's and early 90's he constructs a side winding journey through playful textures and ethereal moods.
Outernational Sounds very proudly Presents The Mallory-Hall Band "Song of Soweto" & "The Last Special".
Limited, fully licensed digital and vinyl reissues of two crucial South African sessions led by Charles Mallory and Al Hall, Jnr., featuring Kirk Lightsey, Marshall Royal, Rudolph Johnson, Billy Brooks and more! Essential companion pieces to Kirk Lightsey’s legendary ‘Habiba’.
Featuring tracks:
Song Of Soweto: Side A – ‘Song of Soweto’, ‘Hamba Samba’; Side B – ‘Cape Town Blues’, ‘Moroka Rock’, ‘The African Night’
The Last Special: Side A - ‘The Last Special’, ‘Princess of Joh’Burg’; Side B - ‘Amafu (Clouds)’, ‘Blue Mabone’
Never released outside South Africa, and out of print since 1974, Outernational Sounds presents two long-lost Johannesburg sessions from the Mallory-Hall Band – an all-star review of West Coast jazz stars who toured apartheid South Africa in the mid-1970s.
Sanifu Al Hall, Jnr. is a musician’s musician. During a storied career stretching across six decades, Hall has recorded with the greats of the music including Freddie Hubbard, Doug Carn, and Johnny Hammond, and leads his own Cosmos Dwellerz Arkestra. But until recent years, the only records on which he had appeared as leader were a brace of rich, funky LPs, Song Of Soweto and The Last Special, issued only in South Africa under the moniker of The Mallory-Hall Band (named for Hall and his co-leader, guitarist Charles Mallory – musical director for Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Mallory was conductor for Dusty Springfield touring bands, and had worked with John Lee Hooker, Stevie Wonder, and many others). Neither LP had any wider release, and both have remained out of print since 1974. How did a young stalwart of the Los Angeles jazz scene end up in a recording studio in apartheid South Africa?
Al Hall, Jnr. and Charles Mallory had arrived in South Africa as part of the touring band for the singer Lovelace Watkins. Sometimes billed as ‘the Black Sinatra’, the Detroit-born Watkins sang standards and ballroom classics on the Las Vegas circuit. He never made it big in the US, but in his 1970s heyday he was a huge star in southern Africa, and 1974 he hired a jazz big band to accompany him on a tour of South Africa – Hall and Mallory were part of the line-up, alongside Mastersounds bassist Monk Montgomery, pianist Kirk Lightsey, tenorist Rudolph Johnson, drummer Billy Brooks, and Marshall Royal, musical director of the Count Basie band. The tour was a huge success, and during downtime from performing, members of the group managed to independently record no fewer than three albums. Lightsey and Johnson’s stunning Habiba was the first (reissued as Outernational Sounds OTR.013), and it was followed by two crucial sessions led by Hall and Mallory – Song of Soweto and The Last Special, issued on the local IRC imprint.
Visiting apartheid South Africa in 1974 was a controversial choice for any artist. Numerous artistic and cultural bodies around the world had already announced that their members would boycott the country in solidarity with the struggle against apartheid, and working in South Africa was severely frowned on by anti-apartheid activists everywhere. For a Black band, touring the country to play to mostly white audiences could have been seen by many both inside and outside South Africa as a questionable decision. ‘It was a batch of mixed reactions when I choose to visit South Africa whilst apartheid policies were in place,’ Hall recalls. ‘To me the choice was a simple one – “I wanna see for myself!” I also wanted to be a part of breaking down racial barriers, having been down some of the same roads in my own country.’
The albums were recorded by a twelve-piece band at Johannesburg’s Video Sounds Studios in December 1974, and feature the legendary pianist Kirk Lightsey, Black Jazz recording artist Rudolph Johnson, and the rest of the touring band. Both records are superbly arranged slabs of peak 1970s funky big band soul jazz, with tasteful Latin inflections and more than a nod to South Africa’s upful township jazz sound. They are the sonic traces left by a seasoned African American band who were touring South Africa in the depths of the apartheid era, and who immediately moved beyond the segregated hotels and ballrooms to build links with local South African players and audiences.
Never previously available outside South Africa, Outernational Sounds’ new editions of Song of Soweto and The Last Special (alongside our edition of Kirk Lightsey’s Habiba) represents the first time these albums have been in print for nearly fifty years. Fully licensed from Gallo Records and pressed at Pallas in Germany from Gallo’s original masters, they feature new sleeve notes from Francis Gooding (The Wire) based on interviews with Al Hall, Jnr., and a reminiscence from pianist Kirk Lightsey.
- A1: Elle Cato - I Feel Love
- A2: Ultra Nate - I Can Dream
- A3: Michelle Perera - Never Give Up
- B1: Mr V - Dj Rae - Scott Paynter - The Feels
- B2: Blondewearingblack - What Can I Do
- B3: Blakkat - Second Chance
- C1: Joe Roberts – Easy
- C2: Dj Rae - Come Undone
- C3: Blakkat - Can’t Get Enough
- D1: Michelle Perera - Life Is A Song (Philly Mix)
- D2: Lea Lorien - Never Looking Back
- D3: Michelle Perera – Addicted
There is nothing quite like an evening under the rhythmic spell of the legendary David Morales. Stepping on the dancefloor while he's behind the decks requires full trust and surrender. You agree to hand the reins of your mind, body, and spirit to his intuition and ability to guide you to where you need to be at all times. It will occasionally be cathartic and intense. It will often make the hairs on your body stand on end, and make you sweat more than you ever have before. The endorphin release will be powerful. You will feel like you can touch joy and euphoria it in the air around you. As he gently brings you back down to reality, you will feel renewed and ready for anything life brings your way. This is more than a night of dancing. This is an experience at the hands of a magical maestro of music. How is this possible from a night on the dancefloor? Well, it begins with the brilliant mind of an artist at the peak of his creative power, imbued with the empathy necessary to connect with what has become a global legion of fans. "If there is any secret, it's really simple: I love what I do with all of my heart," Morales says. "I'm a DJ first. I thrive on human interaction. I am always adjusting my sets based on what the people in the room need. Each night, we form an emotional connection that inspires the music as it comes."
For Morales, "working in the studio is important, but it exists as a way of supporting the DJing experience. It's all to inform how it will work on the dancefloor."
To that end, you're reading these words as you dive into a new collection of Morales classics. Ever the collaborator, he has enlisted the input of a wide range of voices and talent. There is the diva power of fellow legend Ultra Nate, who brings her signature sass to "I Can Dream," while Michele Perera's explosive chemistry with David is all over the inspiring "Life is a Song" and "Never Give Up", as well as the impassioned "Addicted."
Morales reminds the listener of his ever-evolving musical scope in collaborations with blondewearingblack ("What Can I Do"), Lea Lorien ("Never Looking Back"), and Blakkat ("Can't Get Enough"). There's the clubland supergroup of David with Mr. V, Scotty P. and DJ Rae on "The Feels." Rounding out the set is a reunion with longtime muses Elle Cato ("I Feel Love") and British soul icon Joe Roberts ("Easy"). Just be sure to listen closely, because there's bound to be a surprise tucked between these grooves to tickle your ears and move your body.
The beauty of this sparkling new foray into electronic music is the heightened intimacy between Morales and the music. What you are hearing here is almost exclusively from the man's own fingertips. "The technology has evolved in the most extraordinary and liberating ways," he says, adding that he is now able to be far more directly hands-on during the building of each track. "Back in the '90s, I had to have more people involved, With the changes and growth in technology, I can now do it, myself. I don't even have to be in the studio anymore. It's smart, financially, but it's also way more fun and creative."
David adds, "I don't have to wait to manifest an idea anymore. I can just build my ideas as they come to me." In fact, he reveals that many of these new tracks were born in unique places, like planes, cars, his bedroom, and a host of other settings. "Music is always spinning around my mind. I no longer worry about losing an idea."
Surviving the highs and lows of an ever-changing world has also brought Morales back to the basic essentials of life and music. "The pandemic has brought things full circle for me," he says. "I love what I do and I still have the passion of a kid who is just getting started"
Yet, we know that Morales has been in the game for longer than a minute. He's a Grammy award-winning producer, remixer, and songwriter. He has lent his skill to countless of records by icons that include Mariah Carey, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Seal, and Jamiroquai. As a turntable artist originally from New York City, he earned his bones of credibility back in the '80s and '90s in clubs like the Paradise Garage, Red Zone, Tunnel, and Club USA. He initiated the concept of DJs touring beyond their hometowns with countless, wildly successful treks that have taken him the farthest-reaching corners of the world. As electronic music thrives on pop radium, David tops the list of every young artist and DJ as a primary influence.
Even with such a staggering legacy, Morales never looks over his shoulder.
"That is how you stumble and fall," he says. "If you get all caught up in the past, you're going to lose sight of what is right in front of you. You lose the excitement of discovery. That is what gets me off; taking what I know and combining it with what I don't know as I learn it. There is nothing better than experiencing how it all comes together. It's different every time."
And that is the ultimate secret to that extraordinary spell that David Morales casts over us all every single time.
It’s been ten years since Sadie Dupuis recorded the first Speedy Ortiz songs, a solo experiment that quickly became her full-time band. Since then, Speedy has produced an expansive and critically revered discography, toured worldwide, and inspired next generations of bands with inventive songwriting and advocacy to better the music industry. But in 2011, the younger Dupuis was struggling through concurrent traumas: heartbreak from first love, leaving her hometown of New York for Massachusetts, and the grief of losing several young friends. Speedy’s first songs glowed within the contrast of noisiness and intimacy, raw sonic elements that came with closely processing vulnerabilities and Dupuis’ insistence on performing and recording each instrument alone. As the new project fielded show offers from favorite show spaces like Death By Audio and Shea Stadium, these early tracks became the springboard for the playfully melodic and cleverly distorted style for which Speedy Ortiz as a full band is celebrated. Now, ten years later, Speedy’s first self-released collections will be widely available for the first time and reissued as a double LP The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever, alongside previously unreleased tracks, reflective liner notes penned by Dupuis, and unearthed photos and journal scans from that era.
The tracks on The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever were written after student-created prompts while Dupuis was teaching a songwriting class at the same summer camp where she’d first learned guitar. "Hexxy Sadie” was written in an hour, like the rest of the songs, and on Dupuis’ twenty-third birthday; using explosive riffs and distorted harmonies, she explores her uncertain yearning as a twinless twin. "Frankenweenie" came from the prompt “dog,” and over brooding piano, spry tambourine, and eruptive snare, Dupuis sings from the perspective of a dead childhood pet about forgiveness. “Cutco,” which navigates tricky chord changes with deft guitar passages and ironic deadpan, grins at the bitterness of friendships gone awry. These early songs highlighted Dupuis’ remarkable talent at dissecting specific emotions and moments, analyzing the many ways the pieces fit together, and scrutinizing the places where they don’t.
During the recording process, Dupuis was inspired by the impulsive DIY methods of artists like Elliott Smith and Sparklehorse; a mixing note from September 2011 read, “It's important for the 'concept' of this 'album' that I don't redo anything.” The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever still holds onto the magic immediacy of lo-fi recordings, but this reissue is helped by the technical know-how gained through Dupuis’ solo production work as Sad13 (Lizzo, Backxwash). Remixing in 2021, Dupuis cleaned up edits on her triple-tracked drums, made space for instrumental flourishes performed on eclectic instruments like cello, banjo and timpani, and rewired digital sounds to warm up the layers of intersecting guitars. Co-mixer Justin Pizzoferrato (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh), who worked with Speedy on Sports EP, Major Arcana, and Real Hair, further clarified the mix with analog compressors, and mastering engineer Emily Lazar (Liz Phair, HAIM) added a glossy sheen to the stratified bombast.
As Dupuis’ cult-beloved early material finally re-enters the world in a substantive way, The Death of Speedy Ortiz & Cop Kicker…Forever is a seamless fit to the Speedy Ortiz discography that succeeded it, and evidence that Speedy’s biting lyrics, intricate compositions, and daring performances have been inherent to the project since its outset.
Rare Groove Spectrum Vol. 2 is another solid collection of re-works and re-imaginings taking in a broad range of classic tracks, traversing jazz funk rarities, balearic digs, latin groovers and more. Backed by a stellar group of Melbourne musicians including members of The Bamboos & Menagerie, Lance continues the tradition of creating "live re-edits" demonstrated on the initial volume - all pulled off with an inimitable style and playfulness, though always with an obvious love for the foundations.
As Lance says: "Some of these versions can almost be looked at as DJ re-edits, sometimes we're extending what may be a really short track into something longer, or teasing out the elements in a song that really make it work on a dance-floor. It's essentially what someone does with a club re-edit, except we went the extra step and re-recorded the whole thing with a live band"
From Carly Simon through to Mongo Santamaria via Marcos Valle and Pat Metheny - and following the championing of Rare Groove Spectrum Vol. 1 by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Craig Charles, Jazz FM and more - this second volume of Lance Ferguson's Rare Groove Spectrum is sure to hit the sweet spot.
NYC-based collective MICHELLE release their debut album,
‘AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS’, via Transgressive
Records.
MICHELLE recently announced new 2022 US tour dates with
Mitski. The band also toured with Arlo Parks and followed with a
string of dates with Gus Dapperton in November and a UK and
European headline tour in February.
Born-and-bred New Yorkers, MICHELLE formed in 2018 and
are comprised of Sofia D’Angelo, Julian Kaufman, Charlie
Kilgore, Layla Ku, Emma Lee and Jamee Lockard. The
predominantly POC and queer collective mix and match the
writing and production groups amongst the six of them.
The hallmarks of MICHELLE’s music - layered vocal harmonies,
analogue synthesizers, vibrant percussion, smouldering hooks -
dominate the sonic landscape of their upcoming album, with the
four female vocalists pushing the boundaries of their
considerable singing talents while Charlie and Julian fine tune
the production. Despite all the tinkering elsewhere, it is
important to note that the vocals remain largely untouched and
appear in their organic state.
Songs hop across genres, from funky R&B to bedroom slow
jams to amped-upbeat-heavy anthems and more. The
songwriting on ‘AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS’ has been
elevated, as there is a depth and prowess at work that makes
good on the promise of the band’s early songs, something they
admit was learned by reflecting and allowing room for artistic
growth.
“crisp R&B with a bright indie flourish… musical serotonin you’ll
want to bathe in for hours” - NME
“A formidable new collective with a genre-bending approach to
songwriting” - The Line of Best Fit
“like an aural hit of Vitamin D” - DIY
“we can’t get enough” - Gay Times
LP pressed on Ocean Blue vinyl.
Watford quartet The Spitfires are extremely pleased to announce that their second album ‘A Thousand Times’ will be released on 26th August 2016 via Catch 22 Records. The album is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed debut ‘Response’ which saw the band enter high in the UK Album Charts and reach #6 in both the independent and vinyl charts, with their recent single ‘So Long’ charting at #1 in UK Vinyl Singles Chart. Building on the success they’ve managed to establish so far, ‘A Thousand Times’ looks certain to cement their reputation as one of the most vital young bands of their generation. Their work ethic and powerful song-writing mixed with their acute social commentary and lack of mainstream industry support has made this fiercely independent band one of the most popular underground success stories in the UK today. This DIY attitude and independent spirit has earned them a dedicated following and sold out shows across the whole of the UK and Europe. Across the 10 tracks on ‘A Thousand Times’ it’s possible to detect a sharper, deeper vision for the band and a more honed song-writing craft than we’ve previously seen.
The latest addition to Chick Corea's remarkable discography is Chick
Corea Akoustic Band 'LIVE', the long-anticipated reunion of his beloved
Akoustic Band with bassist John Patitucci and drummer Dave Weckl,
together as a trio for the frst time in more than two decades
Under any circumstances, these thrilling live recordings would be a welcome
addition to Corea's prodigious discography. With the news of his passing still so
fresh in listeners' minds, its release comes as an opportunity for fans to bid
farewell while cherishing the communal energy and playful vigor that made the
pianist a favourite of jazz lovers around the world for nearly 60 years. 'LIVE', the 2-
CD/3-LP set was recorded January 13, 2018 at SPC Music Hall in St. Petersburg,
Florida. The trio's intricate interplay and highwire jousting refects more than 30
years of collaboration between Corea's Akoustic and Elektric Bands and serves as
a celebratory reminder of Corea's singular genius, with more than two hours of
inspired playing and spirited camaraderie.
Chick Corea attained iconic status in music. The late keyboardist, composer and
bandleader was a DownBeat Hall of Famer and NEA Jazz Master, as well as one
of the most nominated artists in GRAMMY Awards history with 68 nods - and 24
wins, in addition to 4 Latin GRAMMYS. From straight-ahead to avant-garde, bebop
to jazz- rock fusion, children's songs to chamber and symphonic works, Chick
touched an astonishing number of musical bases in his career after playing with
the genre-shattering bands of Miles Davis in the late '60s and early '70s
Many of you will be aware of the band Homegrown Syndrome (we released the single a few years ago). They were also known locally as Homegrown Funk & the band Memphis that put out one extremely rare two sider. A party Side 'Shake and Rock' flipped with a top of the rung ballad 'Inside My Love', it has everything collectors want, Rarity & Quality so sells for 500+ all day long, below Robert Garcia gives us the history....
"Memphis" were members of the Memphis based group "Home Grown Funk." Home Grown Funk was also known as "Homegrown Syndrome," a controversial name bestowed to them. Before heading to LA they gigged all over Memphis. Some of the members were from an earlier 70s group called "Brothers Unlimited" and had earlier ties during the 60s with the "Memphis Invaders" (a peaceful civil rights activist group).
With aspirations of pushing Homegrown further, a few members including Jerry Jones made the move out west. It was LA 1977 when they were introduced to Ike Tuner through a mutual friend "Ricky G". It was a casual meetup. Then one night Ike had his son Ike Jr. go check them out while performing at the Soul Train hangout spot "Maverick Flats". Ike Jr. praised their performance to Ike and he had them come out to his Inglewood studio. The group walked into the studio with a funky track already playing and that's when Jerry Jones improvised this opportunity and started singing. Ike then turned and said… "Who is that singing?" Jerry said, "Thats me." Then Ike replied " YOU BIG MUTHAF***A! You could be my new Tina." From that point the group cut bunch of tracks with Ike over the years up until they're feature on his 1980 album "The Edge."
In 1981 Perry Kibble (Keyboardist for Taste Of Honey) was at "Concerts In The Park" and heard Home Grown Funk performing. He linked up with the group and got them a deal with Arista. During this time they recorded their hit track " Confrontation." Perry suggested that the group change their name because he didn't want another group with the work "Funk" in it and hence "Homegrown Syndrome." They also use the Arista studio to cut an unreleased acetate with tracks "Got the love" and "Party Vibes" soon to be reissued on ATON.
Around the same time they were introduced to a fella named Roger Green. Green asked the group to come over to his home studio to cut the track "Inside My Love." Upon naming the record Roger Green suggested to go by "Memphis" since they were all from there. This record was eventually pressed in 1982 as small run becoming extremely hard to find.
Words by: Robert Garcia
Many of you will be aware of the band Homegrown Syndrome (we released the single a few years ago). They were also known locally as Homegrown Funk & the band Memphis that put out one extremely rare two sider. A party Side 'Shake and Rock' flipped with a top of the rung ballad 'Inside My Love', it has everything collectors want, Rarity & Quality so sells for 500+ all day long, below Robert Garcia gives us the history....
"Memphis" were members of the Memphis based group "Home Grown Funk." Home Grown Funk was also known as "Homegrown Syndrome," a controversial name bestowed to them. Before heading to LA they gigged all over Memphis. Some of the members were from an earlier 70s group called "Brothers Unlimited" and had earlier ties during the 60s with the "Memphis Invaders" (a peaceful civil rights activist group).
With aspirations of pushing Homegrown further, a few members including Jerry Jones made the move out west. It was LA 1977 when they were introduced to Ike Tuner through a mutual friend "Ricky G". It was a casual meetup. Then one night Ike had his son Ike Jr. go check them out while performing at the Soul Train hangout spot "Maverick Flats". Ike Jr. praised their performance to Ike and he had them come out to his Inglewood studio. The group walked into the studio with a funky track already playing and that's when Jerry Jones improvised this opportunity and started singing. Ike then turned and said… "Who is that singing?" Jerry said, "Thats me." Then Ike replied " YOU BIG MUTHAF***A! You could be my new Tina." From that point the group cut bunch of tracks with Ike over the years up until they're feature on his 1980 album "The Edge."
In 1981 Perry Kibble (Keyboardist for Taste Of Honey) was at "Concerts In The Park" and heard Home Grown Funk performing. He linked up with the group and got them a deal with Arista. During this time they recorded their hit track " Confrontation." Perry suggested that the group change their name because he didn't want another group with the work "Funk" in it and hence "Homegrown Syndrome." They also use the Arista studio to cut an unreleased acetate with tracks "Got the love" and "Party Vibes" soon to be reissued on ATON.
Around the same time they were introduced to a fella named Roger Green. Green asked the group to come over to his home studio to cut the track "Inside My Love." Upon naming the record Roger Green suggested to go by "Memphis" since they were all from there. This record was eventually pressed in 1982 as small run becoming extremely hard to find.
Words by: Robert Garcia
German multi-instrumentalist and producer, The Micronaut has made a name for himself through his richly textured and enthusiastic compositions. His 2016 album, "Forms" has been described as a true melting pot of sounds and it caught the attention of the electronic music scene with its very playful and original amalgamation of rhythms and samples. Last year, The Micronaut released Olympia (Summer Games) - an album that continued to draw on his elaborate production style as well as on the values of camaraderie and solidarity of the Olympic Games. Continuing on this Olympic journey, the German producer now releases the second part to the project, Winter Games, containing a fresh twelve tracks that capture the essence of winter sports. Winter Games is an eclectic ride, but far from chaotic; transitions are fluid, the momentum uninterrupted and the direction cohesive. Behind the music's energetic flow are sophisticated arrangements and quasi-scientific constructions which crush stylistic boundaries and give birth to a new collage-based genre of music. The music is all the more impressive considering that every sound contained therein is crafted by The Micronaut himself, who has been called a one-man-orchestra for exactly that reason. In the EDM-influenced track Bobsleigh, which contains samples from a DJ describing the state of his own profession, The Micronaut seems to be drawing a line between what he's doing, a true Olympic feat in some regards, to a lot of the lazy productions around today. 'He thinks it's cool to just play with an iPod or a USB stick,' we hear a voice say over a hyper-synthetic beat. It's The Micronaut's critical statement on the superficialness that much of dance music has come down to, "Of course there are exceptions, but unfortunately there are only a few," he notes. At times, Summer Games veers towards techno and at others it seems to be inspired by electro-pop. Towards the end of the album, 'Curling' is a refreshing vocal piece filled with warm chord progressions. "Bernhardt's vocals are really touching, they give warmth to the minimalistic structure of the song," says the Micronaut. The track offers a comforting counterpoint to the high-energy feelings of competitiveness present in the rest of the album with lush pulsating synths and a laid-back groove. "Every time, when I wanted to continue working on "Curling" I was afraid of destroying its very fragile initial structure, but in the end, I think it worked," adds the producer.
- A1: Ain't Gonna Stop
- A2: You Can't Miss Something That You Never Had
- A3: A Love That's Worth Having
- A4: Good To The Last Drop
- A5: That's What I Call Lovin' You
- A6: You Gotta Try
- B1: Let Me Give You The Love You Need
- B2: Lucky To Be Loved By You
- B3: Keep On Doin' What You Do
- B4: Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me Higher
- B5: Do What You Wanna Do
2022 re-press, 180g vinyl
A monumental force firmly rooted in the soul canon, Willie Hutch is most notable for recording two of the best Blaxploitation soundtracks, The Mack and Foxy Brown. Yet his legacy is much greater. Outside of Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, Hutch was arguably Motown's top male solo artist of the 70s. Prior to his association with Gordy et al, Hutch crafted his opening statements for RCA, two vital LPs that Be With Records is honoured to present today.His debut, Soul Portrait (1969), is an incredible slice of gritty, Southern-fried soul. Think Stax with a touch of Detroit sparkle. As a whole, the album demonstrates the self-contained act Hutch was, he wrote every tune on the album while also arranging and conducting for it. It features 11 timeless grooves, with a blend of beat ballads and undeniable dancers.
The album's centrepiece is undoubtedly the iconic, brooding minor-key masterpiece "A Love That's Worth Having". The album's most recognisable track, it's a towering ballad drenched in stylish, sliding horns and elevated by its stunning backing vocalists. It was famously sampled by Madlib to augment his soundtrack for Stones Throw's Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton as well as 9th Wonder for the Murs classic "Dreamchaser". Whilst one can understand these iconic beatmakers for leaning on the work of a master, you really need to own the track in its full, unedited glory.
Horn-heavy opener "Ain't Gonna Stop" is a funk-fuelled monster, Hutch's fatback vocal aided by a vicious drum 'n' conga rhythm whilst the bumping uptown soul of "You Can't Miss Something That You Never Had" anticipates the Motown-vibe that Hutch went on to create. Supple guitar licks propel the loping, head-nod breaks of "Good To The Last Drop" whilst "That's What I Call Lovin' You" features gospel piano and plaintive, tender vocal turn. Rounding out Side A, the blazing horns of "You Gotta Try" hints at the Blaxploitation that was to come.Ushering in the flipside, the thundering proto-70s-Motown rhythm of "Let Me Give You The Love You Need" segues neatly into the bouncing Northern Soul favourite "Lucky To Be Loved By You" whilst Hutch's gutbucket guitar stylings are all over the smouldering "Keep On Doin' What You Do". "Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me Higher" is not a rendition of the Jackie Wilson classic, rather, it's a powerhouse original that indicates where Hutch would take his sound on The Mack. Closing the album, the anthemic "Do What You Wanna Do" name-checks contemporary dance fads before instructing the listener to just get up and dance.Brilliantly supported by a heavy roster of studio cats who combined to create a winning combination of horns, strings, and gorgeous female background vocalists, Soul Portrait is as complete a soul album as the decade's very best. Tricky to find for a number of years, this lovingly produced reissue is certainly welcome. Paired with the soaring follow-up, Season For Love, these recordings shine a new light on the early work of a soul legend. Officially licensed and remastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, it has been pressed on audiophile 180g vinyl for the first time and features the original artwork and liner notes.
ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN was originally released in 1987 as a hand-made micro-edition of about 40 cassette tapes. It was only the third ever release on the short-lived now near legendary SDV label which had been established that same year by Konrad Kraft, Bernd Sevens and Dino Oon in Düsseldorf.
Finally finding a more substantial and appreciative audience on vinyl over 30 years after its original limited release, ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN is a strong testament to the explorative experiments of Detlef Funder a.k.a. Konrad Kraft, whose homebuilt studio sound attempted to bridge the clinical roughness of Severed Heads and the psychedelia of Coil with the density and force of industrial, post-punk and prototechno. Concurrent with his ever-expanding production skills, KONRAD KRAFT's sound work in the second half of the 80s stayed firmly rooted within a highly stylised underground spirit. Both his music and also the freshly launched SDV label first and foremost served as a medium for communication. The vital urgency of ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN underlines the record's core narrative which arguably sounds even more futuristic today than it did 30 years ago.
Hallmarks of ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN are an 8-track tape recorder, a Yamaha DX7 synth and a Roland 707 drum computer and the late 80s’ internationally ubiquitous shift from analogue to digital music production. Whilst its predecessor ARCTICA (another cassette-only release from 1986/87, previously reissued on TAL in 2018) was significantly more experimental and almost an in-between-states affair, ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN was the point at which Konrad Kraft really began to experiment with beat structures, sequenced synth pads and the framework of 'dance' music. However, the rhythmic elements are submerged so far beneath his expertly crafted drones it's almost impossible to label these sounds as “dancefloor oriented” work at all, as the tracks on the album joyfully disrespect the rules and boundaries of that or indeed any other genre.
ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN also epitomizes the decade's ending energy and sharp momentum with its successful merging of highly individual production and irresistible rhythm tracks.
The rich wealth of references is mirrored within the silhouettes and the graphics of the album’s unique artwork, which was created by Dino Oon. The new mastering has all sounds on ACCIDENT IN HEAVEN emerge in fresh shades and three dimensional plasticity, inviting the listener not to merely revisit the full palette of KONRAD KRAFT’s creation but offering an entirely new sound experience.
10” black vinyl with download code. File under: Indie, UK. It’s been four years since we last heard from Tigercats, with the 2018 album Pig City marking the expansion of their sonic palette from indie-pop and alt-rock, to include highlife, afrobeat, and scuzzy West African psych. The New Works EP is another step into the new for Tigercats, the sound of an increasingly political band, unbound by the records they’ve made previously, and enjoying the freedom of exploring and experimenting for these 5 new tracks. “We’ve been a band over 10 years and it felt like all of our previous recordings have been leading up to this one. After Duncan switched from guitar to kalimba a few years back, and we welcomed a horn section into the line-up, the sound has been getting denser and grittier, particularly live. With this recording we’ve finally managed to capture some of that energy on record.” The opening track New Work, a song about the relentless tyranny of labour in the 21st century, grows from the synth bass riffs and riotous brass lines with production inspired by industrial techno like JK Flesh, to display lyrical ferocity not often heard. The Space came together completely improvised in the studio, and reflects on the fight for space to create art - in a world fighting for your attention 24-7, and the depletion of available arts spaces. The intensity subsides for The Picture, a track whose origins date back to the writing of the band’s second record. More reminiscent of Tigercats’ indie credentials, drawing on the textures of Low or Yo Lo Tengo, it is developed here by a band confidently hitting their stride. New Works was written in 2019 and recorded at Lightship 95 on the Thames, and at Big Jelly in Ramsgate. Originally scheduled for a spring 2020 release, we’re excited to finally bring you these 5 tracks and the promise of a return to blistering live shows from Tigercats. Tigercats are a kalimba-led psychedelic pop band from East London. Having honed his songwriting craft in the short-lived but much much-missed Esiotrot, in 2010, Duncan Barrett went about forming a new band and recruited sibling/long-time producer Giles Barrett (bass), talented songstress Laura Kovic (keys), as well as Paul Rains (guitar, of Allo Darlin’). The band have performed throughout the UK and Europe and have supported The Wave Pictures, Allo Darlin and Darren Hayman among others. They have also performed at the End of the Road and Primavera Festivals and have appeared on Spanish TV (RTVE Radio3) and Indietracks. A tour of the USA and Canada included a headline appearance at NYC Popfest. New Works harks a return to Fika Recordings, having released the debut Tigercats album Isle of Dogs back in 2012, bookending albums with Fortuna Pop! (2014’s Mysteries) and El Segell Del Primavera (2018’s Pig City). Tigercats are: Duncan Barrett - Vocals, Kalimba. Giles Barrett - Bass, Production. Laura Kovic - Keys, Vocals. Paul Rains - Guitar, Vocals. Will Connor - Drums, percussion. Seb Silas - Baritone saxophone. Meridyth Dickson - Alto saxophone. Thom Punton – Trumpet.
- A1: Move D / Dman - Badboy (Remix For Mc Uproar)
- A2: Sinoesin - Demiconductor
- A3: Robi - Two Spheres
- B1: Dogpatrol - South Side Pool Hall
- B2: Retrogott - Suckerdeejayz
- B3: Форм - Dve Gory
- C1: Ron Trent - 25 Strings (Remix For Dve)
- C2: Am Kinem - 4 Ava
- C3: Paradise Grey - 873
- D1: Lowtec - Roaming The Street
- D2: Jürgen Ratan - Display
- D3: U-I - Noon At Lagoon
- E1: Lauer - Pioneer Housing Area
- E2: Andy Hart - Water
- E3: Tito Wun - Thewayo
- F1: Paingel - Blind Backen
- F2: Will Saul - Avalon
- F3: Jus-Ed - Cachupa (Original Mix)
- G1: Axel Boman - Don’t Breathe Yet
- G2: Damiano Von Erckert - Desert Scorpion
- H1: Cinthie - Ibiza Rave Tune 3000
- H2: Wolfey - Optimism Bias
AVA. Records celebrates its 10th anniversary with 52 artists. “10 Yahre” is a 4LP compilation housing 22 tracks, a printed 30 pages magazin and a mixed CD. All wrapped in a custom made silkscreen sleeve, also including a textile keychain and stickers. Sonically spanning from ambient to techno, 10 Yahre carries new and exclusive material, all woven around the label’s decade focus on dance floor culture, started 2011 in Cologne, Germany.
The 4LP vinyl includes music by: Am Kinem, Andy Hart, Axel Boman, Cinthie, Damiano von Erckert, Dman, Dogpatrol, форм, Jürgen Ratan, Jus-Ed, Lauer, Lowtec, Move D, Paingel, Paradise Grey, Retrogott, Robi, Ron Trent, Sinoesin, Tito Wun, U-I, Will Saul and Wolfey.
The mixed version of the entire compilation is contributed by Sally C.
The full color magazin and video includes works by: Alina Bader, Andy Kassier, Angel, Anna Beil, Ata Macias, Bailey Keogh, Damiano von Erckert, Dirk Jeans & Lou de Bètoly, Funkycan, Guido, Jana Marei, Jana Maria Dohmann, Joana Pratschke, Johannes Wohnseifer, Juri Bader, Kuchenbaum, Manuel Fischer, Maria Sécio, Martin Fengel & Public Possession, Mathias Schmitt, Maximilian Schweizer, Michael Satter, Naum Hirsl, Nicolas Wenz, Peter Wolff, Rein Vollenga, Rucksack Leer, Stelan Mergenthaler, Suzanne Caroline de Carrasco, Twit One and Yves Taron Harouche.
Compiled by Juri Bader and Damiano von Erckert, mastered by Enyang Urbiks. Design and concept by DVE 1989.




















