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When we started playing music together in 1997, we could spend a lot of time on each individual track. It would mutate, go through many phases, until we’d get to the point when we’d decide to capture it and mix it on the fly.

Twenty-five years later, we changed gears. This album was produced across a two year period, during several sessions in our studio (the third member of the band), following this process: we plug the machines, we start a musical conversation, we press record when it gets interesting.

In the studio, that moment always comes, when a fragile and magical balance happens. That’s when we record, usually in one take, sometimes all in the same stereo channel, the computer sitting in a corner, its presence not interfering with our ears.

La Folie Studio is the fruit of this process.

Let’s get numerologistic with this new age reactionary-philosophic strategy manifesto:

Playing electronic music, whether alone or not, must be joyous, funky, and make you feelgood.

The studio is not a sanctuary but a place of life. Technology must not be intimidating.

Welcoming friends and new objects in the studio should be an infinite source of inspiration.

If nothing happens in the studio, turn off the light and play a percussion record.

Techno heads of all ages need something more spontaneous and freer than little thumbnails shared on a pocket computer. Château Flight offers a musical experience carved on grooves.

With 25 years of experience, Château Flight can cure all your musical ills, instantly and painlessly.

The key to success: midi sync + din syc + external trigs.

The word Asapani is part of the artistic vocabulary of Paolo "Batà" Bianconcini, percussionist of the La Scimmia Records collective, founding member of the Circolo Psiconautico and part of the Neapolitan bands Parbleu, Funkin' Machine and Nu Genea. This ancient-sounding term is a creation of the artist, who defines it as a word of nature, but also the (italian) acronym of Listen to the Silence, Listen to the Peace, Listen to the Inner Nothingness. More than a simple term, an exhortation.

The music contained in Asapani was written and produced between 2022 and part of 2023 by Paolo “Batà” Bianconcini who together with the Circolo Psiconautico (Paolo Petrella on bass and synth, Pietro Santangelo on wind instruments and Roberto Porzio on synths) and takes shape from observation of time and the infinite possibility we have of blocking its fragments and making them our own and then sharing them in another form. The intent is to transport the listener outside of himself, through sound vibrations, during the span of four long tracks that melt into each other feeling like one singular body of work.

This album spans several genres, but at the same time is unique in its style. Spiritual jazz blended with primitive settings, achieving a sensation of sonic primitivism. The listener is projected into a circle of musicians who, sitting around a fireplace, are transported towards infinity by their internal vibrations.The research starts from the four elements of nature (water, fire, earth and air) and thus uniting and fusing with each other they make us question our existence, our depths.
As Batà himself explains, starting from the four fundamental elements in order to keep the search for the fifth element constant.

A location, Melizzano, on the western slopes of Monte Taburno, where the Batahaus stands, the physical and spiritual home of Batà, a magical place in which the Circolo Psiconautico meets, with the aim of navigating the waves of the unconscious and composing music which, through contamination and experimentation, captures the moods of the moment and projects images and colours from the inside out that speak to everyone. Like a real club, the Psiconauti come together to give each other the chance to explore together, create suggestions and get excited among friends.

The Knife’s Olof Dreijer continues his new adventure as a solo producer with a three-track EP, also marking a unique sonic chapter in his work.Olof has been pushing the borders of electronic music for two decades, both as a part of The Knife and with the secret pseudonym Oni Ayhun - releasing music that traverses experimental avenues, exploring themes surrounding gender.

The Coral EP draws inspiration from the lively steel-drum experiments featured in last year's "Souvenir" EP with Mt. Sim

Vibrant compositions and distinct melodies create an ambient progression where electronic and acoustic sounds delicately dance together, forming friendships and blending seamlessly, reminiscent of white magic.

Olof has recently co-produced several tracks on Fever Ray’s critically acclaimed 2023 album “Radical Romantics”, produced Tunisian multi-instrumentalist and composer Houeida Hedfi’s debut album “Fleuves De L'âme”, as well as helped create music with Planningtorock and Zhala.

THEODOR is a psychedelic sweet soul band formed by members with diverse musical backgrounds.

Whilst on a road trip to Italy Rob and Lui were listening to tapes of contemporary soul music. The idea was born to record an album channeling a moody and relaxed soundscape. „Right after our trip we called up our good friends Max and Greg, who were immediately on board. We wrote and recorded deep in the pandemic. Those weekend sessions captured this peaceful solitude“ The outcome was their self-titled debut album which will be released in February 2023 on the french label Broc Recordz.

The rich sonic texture and unconventional arrangements of their very first single SHEPARD’S LULLABY gives a hint on what is to be expected on their forthcoming LP. THEODOR created a perfect soundtrack for a hot and humid summer day having a magic dash in your twelve o’clock tea. Playful melodic bass lines and the soulful acoustic drums build the playground for the warm and dreamy keys such as farfisa organs, fender rhodes and 80's synths. The lush instrumentals are spiced by the very different yet complementary voices of Max and Lui.

Post-War: the fifth M. Ward album. Its songs unravel their world-wearied tales of life, love, and human kindness with an innate and special grace, helped in part by the very talented friends who join him on this record, such as Neko Case and Mike Mogis, as well as old Monsters of Folk touring buddy Jim James (My Morning Jacket

Post-War: the fifth M. Ward album. Its songs unravel their world-wearied tales of life, love, and human kindness with an innate and special grace, helped in part by the very talented friends who join him on this record, such as Neko Case and Mike Mogis, as well as old Monsters of Folk touring buddy Jim James (My Morning Jacket

Agrio is a duo from Madrid, Spain and using a "what if..." methodology they write instrumental songs that they send later to a revolving cast of their talented and generous friends so they can add their magic. With this in mind they sent music to MARK LANEGAN, Enablers frontman PETE SIMONELLI & to SCOTT MCCLOUD from Girls Against Boys, Soulside and so much more. 'El Amigo Americano' is the result of these collaborations, 10 tracks of some of the most beautifully striking music around. The work with Mark Lanegan and Pete Simonelli were originally released as two vinyl EPs and Scott McCloud as a digital EP. EP 1 - EP one 'La Murga Ep' with Mark Lanegan was their debut on feb. 2020. EP2 - followed it that same autumn with The Thin Man EP featuring Pete Simonelli (Enablers). Both were originally released on vinyl via the San Francisco based label Broken Clover Records. These records sold out fast. EP 3 - "Repeat to Infinity EP" (digital only), with Scott McCloud's (Girls Against Boys, New Wet Kojak, Paramount Styles) on voice and guitar. The three EPs are compiled together on one LP as "El Amigo Americano". La Murga Ep* + The Thin Man Ep** + Repeat To Infinity EP*** = EL AMIGO AMERICANO AA I. Nike Italy France *** II. Dj's In Heaven*** III. People Used To Dream*** IV. A Mayores * V. Nomeolvides ** B I. A Drink Of Poison Water * II. Cisnes * III. The Scales Of Embrace ** IV. Waking ∦ ∆** The album is mastered by John McBain (Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy) Agrio is David Flores and Jorge Fuertes with Mark Lanegan, Pete Simonelli and Scott McCloud.

he second Mandalaband album - The Eye of Wendor: Prophecies - took two full years to create. Recorded at Strawberry Studios with the help of Barclay James Harvest plus a plethora of musician friends and colleagues with whom David had worked with over the years including Eric Stewart (10cc), Maddy Prior (Steeleye Span), Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Graham Gouldman, Lol Creme & Kevin Godley (10cc) and Paul Young (Sad Cafe / Mike and the Mechanics).

The narrative is based on a Tolkienesque fantasy of a magical gemstone, set in prehistory, the music and lyrics telling the tale through different vocalists playing the roles of the leading characters in the story. The Mandalaband founder carefully created this classic symphonic rock album on a budget of just GBP 8,000.

As well as presenting the original album remastered, David gained access to the original 24-track analogue master tapes, having them restored and digitised at Abbey Road Studios before reinforcing the sound and instrumentation before remixing the entire album.

Listening to David's newly remixed version is a stunning sonic journey, with elements of prog, electronica, soft rock and instrumental soundscapes, the influence of these recordings on prog-music that followed is clear.

Format: 2LP 180g gatefold edition featuring the original album and David Rohl 2024 remix of entire album, newly remastered at AIR Mastering. Comes with the original 6-panel booklet telling the full Eye of Wendor story with beautiful illustration and newly written liner notes.

Hard- the third album from LA-based indie-pop-funk messengers Thumpasaurus - began in the studio. To capture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of their shows, the band tracked live as a full band, and then sprinkled further funk on top.

"We set out to seek what would be the natural evolution of our sound," says Lucas Tamaren of the new album. "It showcases our development as a live band as well as our members' individual growth as producers in their own right.

PRESSING OF 200 COPIES ON CLEAR VINYL.

RIYL Zero 7/ Plaid / Hot Chip / Weather Report / Isolee / Baby Fox

Old friends Julian Bates and Alex Gray —working together as Mighty Truth for the first time since 1995’s From The City To The Sea — filled a car with old analogue synths, kids’ noise toys, and collected field recordings took a road trip down to hole up in an old water mill in southwest England’s bird-twittery, bee-loud Quantock hills.

Things got cinematic: unequal measures of early Weather Report, Wim Wenders, and Serge Gainsbourg kept them wonderfully lost in their imagined world. Back in London with guest singers Allonymous (Paris via Chicago) and Wayne Paul (London), they completed the album and decided to just call it Mighty Truth. With an aim to present the live show at moonlight pop-up cinema venues, Mighty Truth are here for the next chapter in their epic saga.

Back then….

Old friends Julian Bates and Alex Gray first met through their shared obsession with classic cars (both owned old SAAB 96s). At the time, Julian’s band Nightrains was signed to ACE Records in the UK whilst Alex worked first as a session keyboardist for the likes of Edwyn Collins, Billy Mackenzie, and Busta “Cherry” Jones, and later as a mixer and remixer working with S’express producer Pascal Gabriel, Malcolm McLaren, and soul DJ legend Dr Bob Jones.

Working together in the studio for the first time producing Vanessa Freeman (4 hero), Alex and Julian decided to embark on a drop-tempo jazz trip project they named Mighty Truth. Dr Bob heard that first self-released vocal track “Rebirth” and started dropping it on Kiss FM (UK). After guest DJ slots on Coldcut’s Kiss show, Alex and Julian signed to Tongue and Groove records.

The album From the City to the Sea produced a number of singles and both “Rebirth” and “Is it a Wizard or a Blizzard” were licensed to many compilations both in the UK and internationally (eg. Dope on Plastic, Mole Listening Pearls, Eight Ball).
The Sound of Sinners is a NYC boutique record label focused on vinyl and digital releases by Indie, ambient, avant-garde and electronic artists.

Immerse yourself in the musical universe of ONE PIECE MOVIES - BEST SELECTION! Enjoy over 70 minutes of music from the One Piece films for the first time on vinyl, taking you on a journey through the adventures of the famous Straw Hat crew.

Fully licensed.

Luffy, a mischievous boy, dreams of becoming the king of the pirates by finding the "One Piece", a fabulous and mysterious treasure. But, inadvertently, Luffy one day swallowed a "magical devil fruit" that turned him into a rubber man. Since then, he is able to contort his elastic body in all directions, but he has lost the ability to swim, the height for a pirate! Over the course of ever more incredible adventures and chance encounters, Luffy will gradually compose his crew and multiply friendships with the peoples he discovers, while facing formidable enemies.

Kohei Tanaka worked on the composition and arrangement of this album.

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.

Hilton Felton's Family & Friends is a rare groove classic that now gets reissued for the first time ever courtesy of P-Vine. The master keyboardist has a cult following thanks to his magically mellow and sophisticated playing style. He was prolific, too, recording several great albums but none as definitive as this one, which is a sought after and pricey gem if you want an original. It has many highlights such as the fantastic jazz-funk cover of the Delfonic's classic 'La, La Means I Love You', groove-laden soul in 'The Power Of Love (It's In My Heart)' and the lively arrangement of 'Family Reunion.'

Retro house sounds from Italy on this release... tunes that still go down well with some of the big name festival dj's during their summer tour! A track that remained unpublished for 33 years until Devil Dee decided to make it public and bring his own voice to the spotlight joined by jazz-blues singer Joan Faulkner (former supporting voice of Boney M and Milli Vanilli, also known by her stage name 'Dee-Vah'). Devil Dee is Davide Mancori - a cinematograph with a flattering career as a club-dj from 80s-90s onwards - who lovingly produced this release which differs from most of the releases on Best Record by its housey vibe. 'And The Beat Goes On' was written in Germany in 1989 by Leonie Gane and Ryan Paris laying the crucial foundations for an evolutionary step of the italian disco music. A step forward for the 'Italo' movement considered obsolete and defunct. In fact, the track is also referring to the latest Italo-Disco which entirely covered the scene of the 1980s with furious activity, If the meeting between Devil Dee and the famous interpreter of 'Dolce Vita' - Mister Ryan Paris - creates the alchemy, the explosive mix is completed with the precious work of Marco Magrini. The arrangement by Pierluigi Cerin and the executive work of Claudio Casalini close the magic circle. Five friends and a great singer from Indiana to fill the dance floors all over Europe, while the images of the provocative and surreal video-clip capture the audience by splitting in two. There are those who do not want to see certain issues publicized and those who appreciate their cheekiness, such as Best Record which by publishing the vinyl printed at 180 grams celebrates the 40 years of activity.

For Fans Of... Magic Sam, Otis Rush, GA-20, Albert King, Elmore James. Never before heard blues from 1969! The 2023 RSD release is now also available on black vinyl and CD! Pressed right in Cleveland, Ohio at Gotta Groove Records. On Remined Records, Colemine's re-issue imprint. Produced by Eli 'Paperboy' Reed. Recorded by Eli's father in 1969. Tapes have been hidden for over 50 years, now being released for the first time ever. "Fred Davis was a legend, but only in my living room. As a teenager, I started digging deeper and deeper into the blues records in my Dad’s collection. That was when I started to get the Fred Davis story in fits and starts. Fred could play like T-Bone Walker and had a keen voice like J.B. Lenoir, he said. He used to front a jump band in Kansas City, before something went down that sent him to prison at Leavenworth. In the summer of 1967, he ended up working alongside my Dad at Harco, the Cleveland factory where my grandfather was an executive. They became friends, bonding over the B.B. King and Bobby Bland records blaring from the AM radio on the factory floor. Fred taught my Dad the rudiments of blues guitar, but his style. Instead of barring with his first finger, he wrapped his thumb around the back of the neck. That left his other fingers free to create big, ringing voicings that imitated the Kansas City horn sections he heard in his youth. Fred could play up and down the neck and, even when he played and sang just by himself, he sounded like a full band. Or, at least, so the legend went. These were only foggy memories from thirty years previous, passed down from a father to a son. But then we found the tape. A quarter inch reel in a plain white cardboard box, hiding on a shelf in the attic. My Dad explained how it came to exist: He found some friends (acquaintances really) who had a band and some equipment. They setup in my grandparents living room where the upright piano was, and he invited Fred over to record some of his songs with the band backing him up. We found a place nearby that could dub the tape and put it on a CD for us. When we finally got the transfer back, the legend became real. With this music now professionally transferred and remastered, I can only hope that Fred Davis can finally receive the acclaim that he deserves; that he never received in his lifetime. The legend can finally go behind the confines of my living room and, with any luck, to the whole world." Eli 'Paperboy'

For years Feeling Figures have tinkered away at the edge of the Montreal scene, never fitting neatly into the ebb and flow of the city's cultural trends or its more traditionalist camps. A geographer, a music therapist, a writer, and an underground arts biz maverick, the four Figures have long been friends and collaborators in various musical formations and continue to propel multiple projects. At the core of Feeling Figures is the Zakary Slax and Kay Moon songwriting partnership, which itself stretches back a decade, the pair first crossing paths in a vibrant period of musical upheaval in Sackville, NB - a college town on Canada's East Coast. In the big city, a series of self-releases, shifting monikers, and revolving live lineups eventually coalesced with Thomas Molander & Joe Chamandy as the ultimate rhythmic vehicle and spiritual consorts for Slax & Moon's unconstrained syntheses of multiple eras of indie rock, punk, psychedelia, folk, and outsider pop. Their debut 7" of 2021 was an early entry in Montreal upstart label Celluloid Lunch's catalog. We're nearly 3 years past the debut 7" from Montreal quartet Feeling Figures and in some ways it feels like 300, Such are the seismic changes that have occurred during that spell. But enough about Feeling Figures' musical depth and laser-like lyrical focus, I understand some things have happened in the real world, too. 'Migration Music' is not this generation's first ramshackle-as-fuckk art punk album and I'm not sure it's even the 30 thousandth. But I do know Feeling Figures have arrived fully formed, with a real voice of their own (several in fact, that must be a really good microphone). This album is simply too much fun to have been the product of years of serious study, though I'm told students occasionally have fun, too. I wouldn't know, i'm a university drop out. I did once see an episode of the television adaptation of "The Paper Chase" where one of the new Harvard Law hopefuls had a Kiss poster over his bed and that seemed highly implausible. The utter lack of affectation on 'Migration Music' may or may not be considered a selling point (affectation seems pretty huge — almost always) but Feeling Figures' rock'n'roll atom smashery is nothing short of astonishing. Maybe there will be a better record in 2023 perhaps two or three, even. But for now, this is the band to beat. 10 tracks 33RPM

‘A Concrete Pasture’ by Coen Oscar Polack is the follow-up to ‘Haarlemmerhout’ (2020), an album named after a park close to his home in Haarlem in the Netherlands. ‘A Concrete Pasture’ brings Polack’s interest in exploring the larger world around him back into his music. Polack is a magician in combining field recordings from all over the world, be it a temple in Bangkok, the Dutch Wadden Islands or a the percussive Gamelan instruments, and electronic processing of these recordings. With all these ingredients he creates a vivid, nostalgic, futuristic but familiar world of sounds and emotions.

At first, the colors of the recordings seem scattered, the sounds unrelated, but there is a deeper train of thought running through the music. It is the persistent impression of a travelogue; of places, family and friends, helping Polack in co-creating his music. In ‘Cuore Nero’, nostalgic powerchords are composed into tapestries of ambient-noise, ‘Unseen Shores’ uses a recomposed recording of Polack’s children on the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog and develops into visceral, almost spiritual music, and a field recording of Wat Po in Bangkok in ‘Phra Buddhasaiyas’ becomes a luminous homage that the incorporated guitar sound burns into your skull.

While listening, it becomes evident that Polack is being reflective in auditive images and memory, giving a meaning to a music that is liberated of its formalities and charged with a poignant imagery by transformation, one that is bright and lucid and respects the process from recording until ornamentation.

The longest piece of the album ‘Kraaiennest’, starts with the recording of a Hong Kong traffic light, later to be cut up and transformed into a technoid Musique Concrète piece, with a slow progression into a warm crescendo-decrescendo themed electroacoustic piece, which takes on a life on its own. The finale is Polack on this tenor saxophone putting a stamp on the completion of his work, a performance reminiscing of the raw expressiveness of Albert Ayler.

‘A Concrete Pasture’ points to a landscape, or to a person’s current situation in life. Coen Oscar Polack did himself justice by writing an elegant, vibrant album, a tribute to his reflection of reality, his aesthetics, and with raw authenticity and skill, leaving a great space for the audience’s imagination.

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Major Arcana, Speedy Ortiz will release a remastered edition, on Carpark Records.

On their debut full-length, Western Massachusetts' Speedy Ortiz manages a bit of magic by conjuring the spirits of classic American indie rock, while twisting those ghosts into new shapes. It's easy to hear the influences of Helium, Jawbox, and Chavez on this album, as well as nods to their contemporaries including Grass is Green, Pile, and Roomrunner. Sweet vocal harmonies run up against gnarly distortion, aided by basic, chunky bass parts and heavy, fill-laden drums.

The album was recorded in a few days in November at Justin Pizzoferrato's (Dinosaur Jr., Chelsea Light Moving) studio, Sonelab, a huge space in an old factory in Easthampton, Mass. The sessions went from very early in the day until very late at night, with the band taking its time to experiment. Pizzoferrato's collection of old distortion pedals were utilized on both the record's guitars and vocals.

The theme of the occult and the supernatural runs deep through Major Arcana, inspired by singer-guitarist Sadie Dupuis' reading on black magic. Dupuis' sometimes knotty and abstract lyrics bring to mind fellow wordsmith Stephen Malkmus, while referencing horror film tropes, chemistry, and neuroscience. Major Arcana's literal translation is 'major mysteries,' a phrase from tarot cards. 'I don't write in a narrative way and am more concerned with use of language than meaning,' Dupuis says, 'so I like the open-endedness of the title and the way it invites interpretation.'

After too much time freelance writing and watching re-runs in a windowless Brooklyn basement, guitarist and songwriter Sadie Dupuis left New York City for the wilds of Northampton, MA in order to pursue a master's degree in poetry. In doing so, she began Speedy Ortiz, a self-recorded lo-fi project named after a minor character from the Love and Rockets comic series. Speedy Ortiz soon became something else entirely as bassist Darl Ferm, guitarist Matt Robidoux, and drummer Mike Falcone teamed up to form a full band, balancing abrasive noise with infectious earworms. The newly minted Speedy Ortiz quickly found an audience in the Boston DIY scene, playing frequently with their friends Pile, Grass is Green, Fat History Month, Sneeze, Krill, and Arvid Noe.

Almost immediately, the band recorded a two-song single, 'Taylor Swift' and 'Swim Fan,' with Paul Q. Kolderie (Pixies, Hole) and Justin Pizzoferrato (Chelsea Light Moving, Dinosaur Jr.), and self-released it in March of 2012. Shortly thereafter they spent a few weekends at the dingy yet atmospheric Sex Dungeon Studios in Philadelphia recording the Sports EP, a five-track, loosely conceptual 10' released that June on Exploding in Sound Records.

The creation of Major Arcana, their full-length debut, marks the evolution of Speedy Ortiz into a wholly collaborative effort. Darl leans toward basic, chunky parts, while Mike, a talented songwriter in his own right, helped arrange while also providing aggressive, boisterous drums. And Matt is a classically trained guitarist, but his experience in noise and experimental music comes through in his anti-melodic guitar solos, which counterbalance Sadie's angular, scalar guitar riffs and poppy vocals.

The end result is a band able to distill their influences and creative impulses into something at once dissonant and melodic, noisy yet undeniably pop.

As a father and touring musician I made this album to keep my kids company in my absence, hopefully for them to sing along with in their mom’s car. These songs evoke memories of my mother playing her Martin parlor guitar and of my father, at the family turntable, telling stories about Furry Lewis and Gus Cannon or explaining a song’s meaning. I wanted to share these childhood favorites with my kids. This collection of childhood favorites was recorded for fun, at home, with family and friends in the spirit of sharing. Everyone is welcome. I wanted to share these songs with my kids and my friend’s kids as well as expose my daughters to the joy of learning, performing and recording music that my father shared with me. The recording was largely done in 2017 during dinner parties, sleep overs and play dates, either in a family style social setting or while the kids slept. After burning rough mix CDs for the family car, I set the project aside until 2023. Finishing the album with fresh ears album benefitted from my film score work done in 2020 and 21. I love letting projects simmer on the back burner until the time is right. The perspective of time can’t be bought or faked. My daughters sang on the album, both in 2017 and in 2023. Overdubbing my daughters on top of their younger vocals, 6 years later, was a unique sensation and document of their youth. You can hear my youngest daughter sneeze and improvise wordless melodies but my oldest daughter stole the show after her first overdub party, taking me aside and asking “don’t you get paid for singing on a record?” - Luther Dickinson

KOU is the new project by Apolline Schöser (half of Nina Harker) & Thomas Coquelet.

Apolline & Thomas have been performing since 2022 under the KOU guise with 24 electronic harmoniums. Producing dense layers of tones & overtones. On their debut album KOU steers in another direction. The harmonium appears occasionally, but more prominent are delicate guitar pluckings, distant vocal effects, synths, flutes, piano strokes, a touch of musical magic and Apolline’s jazz not jazz vocals.

As soon as the needle drops it’s clear we are jump-cutting straight to the other side of the mirror. Cats purr, a woman sings as if asleep, drum machines stutter and warp and Alvin Lucier is not 'sitting in a room that is not different to the one you are not in now’. If you’re already confused, join the club. But, it’s the good kind of confused, a bewildering experience akin to the first time hearing the Faust Tapes or watching Inland Empire. Wait though, as pigeons coo and the tape machine clunk-clicks a gorgeous weirdo version of Roger's and Hart’s Blue Moon emerges to let you know this isn’t just dada splurge, there’s a genius pop sensibility at work here too. Side two takes us further into the murk with mournful detuned brass, stoned Joan La Barbara-esque vocalese and a droning Farfisa hymn, before ending with another too-tempting snatch of DIY pop. Some of the references are recognisable. All kinds of 70s/80s European art prog - think early Battiato, Pierot Lunaire’s Gudrun, Lucia Bosè and Gregorio Paniagua's Io Pomodoro etc etc. There’s a strong whiff of 90s us goof-off surrealism too- Bongwater, Siltbreeze, Royal Trux’s Twin infinitives, the damaged folkier side of Alastair Galbraith, Half-Japanese, early Beck even all feel relevant.

Like an oddball group of friends you might meet by chance and end up weirding-out with for days, the minds behind this deliciously odd music allow you to stay for a while in their strange subcultural world. You might not want to live here forever but a short trip, while it lasts, rewires your brain for the better.

The Beatles 1962 – 1966 & The Beatles 1967 – 1970 (2023 Edition) 6LP BLACK

These landmark compilations have introduced generations of fans to the incredible history of the most storied band in music. For its 50th anniversary, the collections have been expanded: ‘Red’ has 12 additional tracks, including for the first time some of George Harrison’s earliest songs and some classic Beatles versions of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll hits that were so influential on the band. ‘Blue’ has 9 additional tracks including “Blackbird” and “Glass Onion” including the last new Beatles song, “Now And Then” for a total of 21 new additions which are all compiled onto the 3rd disc, effectively creating a ‘new’ LP for each set.

Together the 6LP’s contain 75 tracks, 36 of which have new mixes for 2023. The inserts contains new sleeve notes by journalist and author John Harris. For current fans and future generations alike, the new 1962 – 1966 & 1967 - 1970 collections are a joyous celebration of The Beatles’ timeless musical legacy.

Die legendären RED & BLUE Compilations der Beatles gehören seit fünfzig Jahren in jeden Plattenschrank und jedes CD-Regal. Um die Veröffentlichung des letzten Beatles-Songs "Now And Then" zu würdigen, erscheinen am 10.11. Neuauflagen mit erweiterten Tracklists im neuen Stereo- und Dolby Atmos Mix. "Now And Then" ist die Fertigstellung von John Lennons Gesangs- und Klavier-Demo aus den 1970er Jahren. Sowohl neu eingespielte Parts von Paul McCartney und Ringo Starr als auch alte Gitarrenaufnahmen aus den 90ern vervollständigen das emotionale Stück. Das RED Album („1962 – 1966“) wird mit 12 neuen Songs ausgestattet; mit dabei sind einige von George Harrisons frühesten Songs sowie Beatles-Versionen von R&B und Rock ’n’ Roll Hits, die prägend für die Band waren. Auf der BLUE Version („1967 – 1970“) werden 9 zusätzliche Songs zu hören sein, unter anderem auch "Now And Then".

Die Alben werden als Vinyl-Versionen, als CD und digital erscheinen. "Now And Then" erscheint am 03.11. als 7" und 12".

180gram vinyl album in cork covered deluxe box with hand-signed art print by Manfred Bockelmann, LP size booklet and digital download code. The album ‘Duo’ by Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny marks the start of a collaboration between two extraordinary partners: the label ACT and Château Palmer, one of the most important Grand Cru wineries in Bordeaux. And it unites the worlds of music, wine and modern art in a unique way.  This first, exclusive release brings together two icons of European jazz piano who are also close friends and mutual sources of inspiration. Two ever-alert and enormously creative minds, which possess the virtue of being able to listen, and also the confidence to do the right thing at the right moment. A magical encounter of two jazz piano greats

This final serving is a punishingly dense and saturated wall of twee.

A cursory glance at the tracklist - NO FRIENDS, I JUST CALLED TO SAY I HATE YOU, I SHIT ON YOUR GRAVE, YOU'LL PAY - is fair warning of the brooding resentment and alienation bubbling below the sprightly melodies. And just so we're all on the same page: There is no catharsis. The magic is gone and nothing is going to get better. If 2009's WITH TRUMPETS FLARING was the coronation of Gregory Pepper, NO THANKS is his funeral march.

Gregory Pepper & His Problems have received press and praise in PopMatters, Absolute Punk, Exclaim!, FLOOD Magazine, and Brooklyn Vegan. He is a longtime Fake Four Inc. artist who is deeply embedded in the underground hip hop world and even fronted a duo with super producer Factor Chandelier called Common Grackle which has released two albums on Fake Four Inc. Gregory Pepper has collaborated with Ceschi, AWOL One, MadadaM, Noah23, and Open Mike Eagle.

Sampha announces the full details of his highly-anticipated, sophomore album LAHAI, out October 20th on Young. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, LAHAI revels in the awe and magic of our existence, synthesizing the exquisite chaos that one experiences confronting the cycle of life and the beyondness. Spanning 14-tracks, with contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators including: Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey (Kokoroko), Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi), Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass, LAHAI, in contrast to Process, is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. On the album’s latest single “Only,” premiering today via a new music video directed by Dexter Navy in collaboration with Sampha, which follows the recent “Spirit 2.0,” we meet a newly energized Sampha, as he spits melodically over a fragmented hip-hop hued beat with co-production from El Guincho.

Not unlike its maker, LAHAI defies clear categorization. Spanning jazz, soul, rap, dance, jungle and west African music, LAHAI sees Sampha elevating his production and vocal ambition to great new heights. A notable singer, songwriter and producer, it’s no wonder that artists like Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Travis Scott and previously, Drake, Solange, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne and Alicia Keys have all tapped the artist for his inimitable voice plus songwriting and production contributions to their music. His work expands across multiple disciplines, with previous creative partnerships including the fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, the Shy Light zine with Durimel (who also shot the LAHAI artwork) his Process film with director Kahlil Joseph, and most recently creative director Jonny Lu, with whom Sampha worked to create the LAHAI album artwork and logo.

If Process, Sampha’s 2017 Mercury-Prize-winning debut album, was an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI is an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition, and the beauty in the journey itself. Welcome to Sampha’s next musical chapter: LAHAI.

Sampha announces the full details of his highly-anticipated, sophomore album LAHAI, out October 20th on Young. Taken from his paternal grandfather’s name, which is also Sampha’s middle name, LAHAI revels in the awe and magic of our existence, synthesizing the exquisite chaos that one experiences confronting the cycle of life and the beyondness. Spanning 14-tracks, with contributions from some of Sampha’s closest friends, peers and collaborators including: Yaeji, Léa Sen, Sheila Maurice Grey (Kokoroko), Ibeyi, Morgan Simpson (Black Midi), Yussef Dayes, Laura Groves and Kwake Bass, LAHAI, in contrast to Process, is a communal affair seeing Sampha explore the many ways in which we as humans connect to each other, and to something bigger than ourselves. On the album’s latest single “Only,” premiering today via a new music video directed by Dexter Navy in collaboration with Sampha, which follows the recent “Spirit 2.0,” we meet a newly energized Sampha, as he spits melodically over a fragmented hip-hop hued beat with co-production from El Guincho.

Not unlike its maker, LAHAI defies clear categorization. Spanning jazz, soul, rap, dance, jungle and west African music, LAHAI sees Sampha elevating his production and vocal ambition to great new heights. A notable singer, songwriter and producer, it’s no wonder that artists like Kendrick Lamar, Stormzy, Travis Scott and previously, Drake, Solange, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne and Alicia Keys have all tapped the artist for his inimitable voice plus songwriting and production contributions to their music. His work expands across multiple disciplines, with previous creative partnerships including the fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, the Shy Light zine with Durimel (who also shot the LAHAI artwork) his Process film with director Kahlil Joseph, and most recently creative director Jonny Lu, with whom Sampha worked to create the LAHAI album artwork and logo.

If Process, Sampha’s 2017 Mercury-Prize-winning debut album, was an artist figuring out his own place in the world, engulfed in the shadows of grief and loss, LAHAI is an exercise in the radical acceptance and joy in the human condition, and the beauty in the journey itself. Welcome to Sampha’s next musical chapter: LAHAI.

The eponymous debut disc from German-Swedish supergroup 4
Wheel Drive went straight to the top spot as Best-Selling Jazz Album
In Germany For 2019. And the media didn’t hold back with their
praise either: “Four first-league jazz musicians with pure joy of playing
and a love of good pop music,” said ZDF’s ‘heute-journal’ about this
spirited and enjoyable group that combines trombonist / singer Nils
Landgren, pianist Michael Wollny, bassist / cellist Lars Danielsson
and drummer Wolfgang Haffner.
 For ‘4 Wheel Drive II’, it is evident that things have shifted up a gear
right from the start, with the rocky, pulsating opening track, ‘Chapter
II’, straight from Wollny’s compositional workbench. Landgren likes to
let his trombone roar like a sports car engine. In similarly dynamic
vein are pieces like Danielsson’s final track of the album, ‘The
Wheelers’, which, thanks to Haffner’s nimble brushwork, makes you
think you’re on a high speed train.
 Compared to the first album, there has been another change, an
increase in the proportion of original compositions written by all of the
participants, as Lars Danielsson, who has contributed a sensitive,
poppy ballad to the new album, ‘Just Another Hour’, remarks.
“Interpretations of worldwide hit songs were a factor behind the huge
success of the debut album, but the ratio to original compositions
here is getting closer to 50:50. That said, the fuel powering 4 Wheel
Drive has remained the same: this band is all about creating music
from deep within, and with like-minded people whom you can
absolutely and implicitly trust to be in the driving seat.”
 “It just flows,” enthuses drummer Haffner, “we’re a group of close
friends with nothing we need to prove, we can just go for it. I've had
so many magic moments with this band, it really is incredible!”
 On the new album, listeners are treated to several new moments of
pure magic, continuing 4 Wheel drive’s illustrious story. For example,
their new instrumental version of the Simon & Garfunkel classic,
‘Sound of Silence’, has something mysteriously Nordic about it. Or
their newly-cast version of the surprisingly infrequently covered
Genesis ballad, ‘Hold On My Heart’, putting it into a jazz context. The
courage to approach pop tunes that have become so ingrained in
many people’s minds from a completely different perspective pays off
in full. Within 4 Wheel Drive are four originals at work, each of whom
can be recognised from the very first note they play or sing.

Guitar Legend! Songwriting Legend! Producer Legend! Blues Brother & Stax Legend!

Like the first words of a book, the opening notes of an album can make you lean in. Sometimes it’s like meeting a stranger who later becomes a lifelong friend, or on rare occasions, a spouse. Please drop your stylus on this record and say hello to your new best friend. Hear the confidence, hear the tone, feel the vibe.
—Robert Gordon (from his liner notes)

As a founding member of Stax house band Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Steve Cropper was involved in some of the most important music of the 1960s as a player, songwriter, and producer. The following decade introduced him to a new group of fans as guitarist for The Blues Brothers, appearing on both their records and film. A two-time Grammy® winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Cropper has been an integral thread in the cloth of American music, writing, playing and producing into the 21st century to this very day.

In 1969, Cropper released his first solo album, producing and arranging its eleven tracks himself. His backing band? While there is no actual record of who played on the album itself, Grammy® winner Robert Gordon’s liner notes point to his fellow M.G.’s, Buddy Miles, Jim Keltner, the Bar-Kay’s James Alexander, and more as candidates. From original tracks to its well-known covers (including The Beatles classic the release shares its name with), it is a tour de force of pure Memphis rock and soul.

The core eleven tracks now appear again on an all-analog cut, new pressing of the LP as With A Little Help From My Friends returns for a new generation to experience. The CD version contains a whopping eight bonus tracks, including four tracks not included on the original release and alternate versions of four that do. Add in Robert Gordon’s notes and this release is as much a history lesson as it is a timepiece of pure musical magic.

Prolific songwriter and guitar virtuoso David
Tattersall presents 11 new songs on themes of
memory, dreams, loneliness and love, featuring
nylon string guitar improvisations in the vein of
gypsy jazz legend Django Reinhardt.
 The David Tattersall Group are old friends who
rehearsed together for months in a small, smoky,
sweaty room, before recording the album on a
huge red boat moored on the River Thames, all
vintage microphones and wooden walls inside.
Friendship is a vital part of the record’s magic.
 Stylistic influences include Ronnie Lane, after
whom one song is named, and the nylon-string
guitar work of Jonathan Richman and Willie
Nelson. A pastoral mood prevails, with swells of
melancholic violin and Spaghetti Western
harmonica, backed by honky-tonk piano and the
dry drum sounds of Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ period,
while the golden voice of Holly Holden adds a
touch of glamour to proceedings.
 David’s process includes much musical
improvisation and stream of consciousness writing,
but his end goal is to couple classic songwriting
with the collective chemistry of musicians playing
live in the studio. His lyrical influences include Tom
Verlaine, John Cooper Clarke and the New York
School of Poets, particularly James Schuyler.
 Pressed on 140g white vinyl with OBI strip.
 Includes digital download code

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.

Miss Tiny is a brand-new musical project featuring acclaimed record producer and Speedy Wunderground label founder Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Slowthai, Fontaines D.C.) alongside Ben Romans-Hopcraft of Warmduscher / Insecure Men / Childhood fame.

A spiritually, and methodically united front, Miss Tiny’s universe is a thoroughly explored romance between heritage, rebellion, and years old friendship; a triptych of variables all gravitating towards one signalled output, with no real sense of time, or external pressures. Having spent the best part of a decade orchestrating haphazard jam-sessions, Carey and Romans-Hopcraft would eventually go on to discover a fundamental principle of their own. One which would come to define Miss Tiny, throughout her various forms and guises.

“We called it anti-recording,” continues Carey. “Only doing it for the pleasure of doing it”. When fully committing to this practice, the music meticulously follows two courses; refine, or degrade. Perfect the moment, or let it go; never to be heard, or re-lived ever again for fear that the action of pressing record, would inevitably take ownership of the occasion and lead the experimentation into a downward spiral towards something all-together tangible.

The irony of a seminal producer and critically revered musician banding together out of mutual distaste for recording, is not one that’s gone amiss. In fact, they’ll be the first to proudly call it into question- and yet still, Miss Tiny holds her own despite all peripheral associations, and would eventually go on to be documented. These aren’t ‘sit-down-and-write-a-song’ kinda songs. These spurts of spontaneity which would, in time, ultimately form the duo's debut EP ‘DEN7’, are years’ worth of trial and error. Trial and elation. A process in which strong technique and melodic-manipulation are the sole foundations required to reinvent the meaning of memory; be it guitar and drums, or flesh and blood.

Produced and recorded at Carey’s ‘Speedy Wunderground’ studio in Streatham, ‘DEN7’ is a masterful introduction to a group whose members need none. Through chopping, editing, and re-defining their improvised segments into songs which they could eventually go on to learn, Carey and Romans-Hopcraft by chance, stumbled upon gold-dust. Like Alice and her looking glass, our two protagonists effortlessly pass through all notions of engineered logic in order to see beyond the expected. The bigger picture perhaps. Or the magic in the small things that matter most.

It’s been a few years since Captain Mustache took a ride with Kompakt – 2021, to be exact, when he released the “Everything” single, and subsequently made an appearance on that year’s entry in the Total series. But this visionary French producer has been busy, indeed fiercely productive, ever since, appearing on Helena Hauff’s Return To Disorder and John Digweed’s Bedrock, collaborating with Dave Clarke, Popof, The Advent, Paris The Black Fu, Keith Tucker from AUX88... and two beautifully eloquent albums, Tourbillon Nocturne and Indigo Memories. But with The Super Album, Captain Mustache returns to Kompakt with his most sublime collection yet. On The Super Album, the Captain soundtracks an imagined “whole day for party people.” He welcomes friends old and new on board: opening with the poetic club banger of “About Love”, with guest appearance from Speakwave (aka dynArec), The Super Album shifts gears into the lush, sunny “Shifting Basslines”, where Captain Mustache’s pulsing electro-disco is the perfect fit for a third collaboration with electroclash pioneers Chicks on Speed. After the deep techno pulsations of “Laser Me” and the glitzy pop shine of “Gimme Ya Mustache”, more guests arrive: Arnaud Rebotini of Black Strobe on the slinky “I Love Watching U”, and then a spoken cameo from the truly legendary French disco diva Amanda Lear on “Mustache Of The Universe”, a glitzy glitterball of a song that’s shrouded in ghostly synths. All those tracks appear on the 12” version of The Super Album – download the digital version and you get six more slices of Mustache magic. Here, the narrative turns more insular, more dancefloor focused – the party people have moved through the daytime and they’re in their element, diving deep into the night-time economy. The album spirals, beautifully, into stark electro, driving techno, with great moments of beauty and melancholy – see the pointillist arpeggios of “Everything” (which features Play Paul), the disco stomp of “Acapulco Citron”, and a breath-taking double-bill of stripped back psychedelic electro on “Pulsions Organiques”, and the layered, luscious, swooning “Clair-Obscur”. From there, it’s an astral glide into the Dopplereffekt-ish “Galaxian Symbiosis” before Foremost Poets join Captain Mustache to wave the night goodbye with the brittle, brilliant “Floorwax”. It’s a day in the life, but all in service to the pleasures of nightlife; the dancefloor is The Super Album’s beacon, your body the pliable material moulded into evocative new shapes by this dense, hypnotic, brilliantly pop album.

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”), release their sophomore album ‘Silver’ on the heels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day.

The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and former backing singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York tale of friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through the

Lower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem.

‘Silver’ was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track

in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen their sound described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early '80s NYC” (The Guardian).

Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of the soul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writing with confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femmeforward sensibility.

Ultimately, ‘Silver’ oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She's fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers (C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!”), release their sophomore album ‘Silver’ on the heels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day.

The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and former backing singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York tale of friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through the

Lower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem.

‘Silver’ was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track

in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen their sound described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early '80s NYC” (The Guardian).

Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of the soul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writing with confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femmeforward sensibility.

Ultimately, ‘Silver’ oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She's fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.

Known principally as a smooth titan of blue-eyed soul, Bobby Caldwell transcended genre tags with consummate ease; he was a musical icon of real class and versatility, cherished the world over. Tragically passing away in March 2023 at the too young age of 71, it still feels as if Bobby's true artistry is profoundly under-appreciated. His double platinum self-titled album from 1978 is a timeless masterpiece of sophisticated jazzy soul brilliance and is strictly canonical. Yes, it's perfect, yet it's been out of press on vinyl for years. We're deeply honoured to present the long-awaited reissue this summer.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.

String-swept opener "Special To Me" immediately sets the tone with its lush instrumentation, rich harmonies, and Caldwell's velvety-smooth vocals. Next up, a huge one. The infectious, mid-tempo bounce of "My Flame" showcases Caldwell's ability to effortlessly blend catchy pop hooks with soulful arrangements. It's an exquisite, emotive ballad that, at the same time, absolutely SLAPS. Game recognise game, and all that, so, accordingly, Notorious B.I.G. memorably ran with “My Flame” for his 1997 single “Sky’s The Limit”. The rolling, disco-very "Love Won't Wait" is a slick, uptempo track containing heartfelt lyrics intertwined with elegant strings and a horn section to die for. Aching - and achingly cool - single "Can't Say Goodbye" is a real fan favourite, and it's no surprise. It's a laconic, slow-mo jazz-funk stepper, with fantastic, very deliberate playing that closes out the A Side quite exceptionally. "Come To Me" slows proceedings down elegantly to open Side B before the universally agreed-upon masterpiece enters proceedings.

"What You Won't Do for Love," the standout hit that became a classic in its own right, perfectly captured Bobby's ability to infuse a contagious groove with introspective and relatable lyrics. With its instantly recognisable horn riff and Caldwell's soulful delivery, this timeless, chiller anthem continues to captivate audiences and define his musical legacy. He scored huge with the track, taking over the pop and R&B airways with this mellow soul stepper. It has remained a perennial favourite and has been heavily sampled, such is its unique allure; Aaliyah sang over snatches of it on "Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number" and you can hear Caldwell’s vocal sample used for the hook on Tupac’s posthumously released “Do For Love”.

Upon submitting the finished album to his label, they requested more material in hope of a big single. As Bobby remembered to Wax Poetics a few years ago: “Now at this point, I’m mentally exhausted...and bear in mind that I got so close to all the songs I’d written. I gave each song a profound amount of thought, and maybe too much. So, in haste, I went in and cut this song, "What You Won’t Do For Love". Wrote it in a day, cut the rhythm track, overdubbed the horns, I sang the song, and literally turned it in three days after. And lo and behold, the one song I gave the least thought to,” Bobby laughed, “ended up being a national anthem.”

The mysterious, magical "Kalimba Song" is a cosmic, kalimba-driven melodic-funk instrumental - short but oh, so sweet. It's followed by the supreme tear-jerker "Take Me Back To Then", Bobby's otherworldly voice deeply longing for a simpler time, "when life was mellow". I think we can all get behind this sentiment. The final cut is arguably its deepest, its low-key finest moment. For us, it is, anyway. The glorious, driving, effortlessly funky guitar-soul jam "Down For The Third Time" is a huge melancholic Be With favourite and has been played by discerning genre-hopping DJs with significant glee for years. Hypnotic, melodic, beautiful. Like the album it elegantly rounds out.

Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of his wonderful eponymous album will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.

Bobby Caldwell's second album, Cat In The Hat, from 1980, is one of his greatest moments and another masterwork of soulful sophistication. Featuring the eternal "Open Your Eyes", brilliantly sampled by J Dilla for Common's "The Light", it's about as essential as records get. Like its eponymous predecessor, it's been out of print for far too long. To finally release the hugely-anticipated reissue is one of our sincerely proudest moments.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.

Right from the off, it's easy to tell that Cat In The Hat is a deeply special record. It's fantastically produced and incredibly well-rounded, carving its own lane with deep soul, warm jazz and a stunning vocal delivery that really helped Bobby reach out to some big new audiences at the time. Goosebumps at the ready for the rolling power-piano funk of "Coming Down From Love", opening up the album with a track as good as anything Steely Dan or The Doobies ever crafted, with a vocal performance from the heavens. Pumping AOR wonder "Wrong Or Right" is up there with the slick, classy rhythms of prime Ned Doheny whilst the cool, skipping soul of guitar-drenched "To Know What You've Got" is a funky ballad par excellence, with elemental traces of "What A Fool Believes". No bad thing. Closing out Side A, the folk-funk of "You Promised Me" is a bright, soulful strut with a wonderful vocal coda that just builds. Sensational.

The delicate bounce and falsetto self-harmonising of "It's Over" offers a truly delightful introduction to Side B, and serves as a great precursor to what follows. Bobby's dynamite "Open Your Eyes" is likely the reason you're all here. As if he needed it, the eternal J Dilla further immortalised Caldwell in the hip-hop canon with his production of Common’s epochal “The Light,” which heavily samples the magical “Open Your Eyes.” On a post paying tribute to Bobby in March 2023, Questlove claimed that he "got word Brother Bobby loved it". Bobby's original has seen new life even more recently from the likes of Dwele and Kendrick Lamar and deservingly so, as its insistent drums and staccato piano created a modern-soul classic. You'd think that would be hard to follow, wouldn't you? Not so, when you're Bobby Caldwell. Indeed, the horn-drenched stepper "Mother Of Creation" is absolutely ace, and, whisper it, possibly the album's finest track, all funky piano and guitars with horn lines to die for. Exquisite ballad "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" rounds out the album beautifully.

Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of Cat In The Hat will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.

It’s long believed that dreams are a way for our subconscious and conscious selves to interact. A chance meeting between cognitive thought and the expanse of imagination. Our dreams are often half remembered upon waking, leaving bits and shards of the story left to be pieced together. That process of pulling together fragments feels infused within Austin’s Neckbolt, a band with a radiant understanding of pairing disparate elements together to create something magnificent. Introduced back in 2021 with Midwestern Drawl, their self-released debut album, the duo of James Roo and Benjamin Krause formed the project with a specific energy and an alien sound. At its core, that record laid the blueprint for the band, a forward thinking mix of caustic noise rock and vivid psychedelic pop, combining to create something wild yet ingenious, reshaping common genre ideals.

At some point between the recording and release of their debut, Neckbolt expanded, reverse engineering their sound to form a live band that could pull off the music of their recordings. The line-up grew from a duo to the quintet, with Roo (vocals) and Krause (guitar) joined by longtime friends and collaborators, Bill Indelicato (bass), Brent Hodge (drums), and Kilyn Massey (guitar), forming an instant chemistry apparent in their earliest of live shows. With members split between Austin and Oklahoma City, the band adapted their approach to songwriting, opting to record in bits and pieces as they wrote, bouncing ideas back and forth, watching songs take shape in ways that none of the members had intended, but all were quick to embrace. Neckbolt are a freaky band and their second album, Dream Dump, seizes the opportunity to dial up the strange in their own vibrant way.

Michael Mayer’s IMARA imprint is proud to announce a reissue of German electronica maestro Schlammpeitziger’s second album, Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut. Originally released in 1996 by Köln’s A-Musik label, it was the first Schlammpeitziger release to signal to a much wider audience that there was something very special going on in the music of Jo Zimmermann, the mastermind behind Schlammpeitziger. And while he’s subsequently gone on to release a further eight albums for labels like Sonig, Pingipung, and Bureau B, Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut is where it really all started for this most singular musician, illustrator and performance artist. Named after the ‘Schlammpeitzger’ or Weather Loach, a fish that breathes through its intestines, moves through substrate, and is surprisingly sensitive to changes in barometric pressure – hence its name – Schlammpeitziger is a similarly remarkable, singular creature.

Like all Schlammpeitziger’s music, Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut is overflowing with melody. Using the simplest of set-ups – much of his early music was made with Casio keyboards – Zimmermann magics entire worlds of joy and melancholy. The nine songs here are both rich tributes to the joys of the everyday, and surreal fantasias. “Cosmic Fick” sails out to sea on clouds of taffy and spindrift; “Winterschlafsüßbärentraum” slips and slides around a dream aviary of the mind; the closing “Mango und Papaja auf Tobago” is a diorama spun from springs and Slinkys. Sometimes there are echoes of more peaceable Kosmische music – think Cluster circa Sowiesoso – and both the pacing and the amorphous, tactile textures sometimes recall Chris & Cosey. But Zimmermann’s unique signature is everywhere on Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut – simply put, no one else makes music quite as lovely and incandescent as this.

The album’s initial release coincided with an explosion of interest in the music coming out of Köln. This was a unique moment – one where pop, techno, house, ambience, avant-gardism, musique concrete, heavy DSP, and all kinds of other creative phenomena got muddied up in the ‘general jelly’ of Köln’s fast-moving, spirited musical communities. Zimmermann was closely aligned with the music coming out of the A-Musik and Sonig labels – a tightly-knit collection of artists centred around the A-Musik record store, making all kinds of weird and wonderful music, from the electronica of Mouse On Mars to the compositions of Marcus Schmickler, from the electro-acoustics of C-Schulz and Hajsch to the digitalia of FX Randomiz. Zimmermann himself would collaborate with the latter on an album under the name Holosud; friends such as Mouse On Mars and Kompakt’s Reinhard Voigt turned up on Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut’s remix EP.

Here, then, is one of the loveliest albums of its era, a pop-electronics album of serious play, one as moistly melancholy as it is melodically riveting. Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut is rare beauty indeed.

Michael Mayers Label IMARA ist stolz darauf, eine Neuauflage des zweiten Albums des deutschen Electronica-Maestros Schlammpeitziger, “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut”, bekannt zu geben. Ursprünglich 1996 vom Kölner Label A-Musik veröffentlicht, war es die erste Veröffentlichung von Schlammpeitziger, die einem viel breiteren Publikum signalisierte, dass in der Musik von Jo Zimmermann, dem Mastermind hinter Schlammpeitziger, etwas ganz Besonderes vor sich ging. Obwohl er seitdem weitere acht Alben für Labels wie Sonig, Pingipung und Bureau B veröffentlicht hat, ist “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut” der Ort, an dem alles für diesen einzigartigen Musiker, Illustrator und Performance-Künstler begann. Schlammpeitziger, benannt nach dem “Schlammpeitzger” oder Wetterbarsch, einem Fisch, der durch seine Därme atmet, sich durch den Untergrund bewegt und erstaunlich empfindlich auf Veränderungen im Luftdruck reagiert – daher der Name – ist ebenfalls eine bemerkenswerte, einzigartige Kreatur.

Wie alle Musik von Schlammpeitziger ist auch “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut” voller Melodien. Mit einfachsten Mitteln – ein Großteil seiner frühen Musik wurde mit Casio-Keyboards gemacht – zaubert Zimmermann ganze Welten voller Freude und Melancholie. Die neun Songs hier sind sowohl reiche Hommagen an die Freuden des Alltags als auch surreale Fantasien. “Cosmic Fick” segelt auf Wolken aus Karamell und Gischt hinaus aufs Meer; “Winterschlafsüßbärentraum” schlittert und gleitet durch einen Traum-Vogelkäfig im Geist; das abschließende “Mango und Papaja auf Tobago” ist ein Diorama aus Federn und Slinkys. Manchmal gibt es Echos von friedlicherer Kosmischer Musik – denke an Cluster circa “Sowiesoso” – und sowohl das Tempo als auch die amorphen, taktilen Texturen erinnern manchmal an Chris & Cosey. Aber Zimmermanns einzigartige Signatur ist überall auf “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut” zu hören – ganz einfach, niemand sonst macht Musik so lieblich und leuchtend wie er.

Die ursprüngliche Veröffentlichung des Albums fiel mit einem Aufschwung des Interesses an der Musik aus Köln zusammen. Dies war ein einzigartiger Moment – einer, in dem Pop, Techno, House, Ambient, Avantgardismus, Musique Concrete, Heavy DSP und allerlei andere kreative Phänomene sich in der “Allgemeinen Gelee” der schnelllebigen, lebendigen musikalischen Gemeinschaften von Köln vermischten. Zimmermann stand in enger Verbindung mit der Musik der Labels A-Musik und Sonig – eine eng verbundene Gruppe von Künstlern rund um das A-Musik-Plattengeschäft, die alle möglichen seltsamen und wundervollen Musikrichtungen produzierten, von der Electronica von Mouse On Mars bis zu den Kompositionen von Marcus Schmickler, von der Elektroakustik von C-Schulz und Hajsch bis zur Digitalia von FX Randomiz. Zimmermann selbst würde mit letzterem an einem Album unter dem Namen Holosud zusammenarbeiten; Freunde wie Mouse On Mars und Reinhard Voigt von Kompakt tauchten in der Remix-EP von “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut” auf.

Hier also eines der schönsten Alben seiner Zeit, ein Pop-Electronics-Album voller ernsthaftem Spiel, so feucht melancholisch wie melodisch fesselnd. “Freundlichbaracudamelodieliedgut” ist wahrlich eine seltene Schönheit.

Pianist, composer, arranger and musical director for the likes of Phoenix and Sebastien Tellier, the charismatic and talented Christophe Chassol gave birth to an unclassifiable artistic piece. His compositions articulate voices, music, sounds, images onto new audiovisual objects. The result has a name : "ultrascore".
The second volume of Ultrascores is a selection of unreleased musics composed by Chassol : ?Lamb, his last original soundtrack, Nola Chérie, and remixes of friends : ?Yuksek, Keren Ann,