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* Remastered At Abbey Road * Ltd Colour 180gm Vinyl * Die Cut Sleeve * Two New Sleeve Designs * Fold Out Poster. When the mysterious masked collective calling themselves Goat first emerged in 2012, armed with an incendiary debut album ‘World Music’ and a backstory for the ages – the band’s anonymous members hailing from the remote village of Korpilombo in northern Sweden, where inhabitants had for centuries been devoted to a form of voodoo introduced by a travelling witch doctor – there was, and there still isn’t, anyone else on earth quite like them. Their mythology enticing, their music full of sinuous grooves and manic explosions of fuzz, Goat were outliers from the very beginning. ‘World Music’ received an avalanche of acclaim with critics, psych heads, outernational crate diggers etc, all left enraptured by its thunderous intensity, conjured from a singular mix of sounds from across the globe.Now, exactly a decade later, Rocket Recordings and the band have decided to dust-off the original recordings of ‘World Music’ and pass them over to the capable hands of the team at the legendary Abbey Road Studios to remaster the tracks and make them shine like they have never before. The results are better than we could have hoped. New details within the tracks have been revealed and - most importantly - the fuzz is even more explosive than before. You hear every crackle of electricity as it flows through the pedals. ‘World Music’ s famous die-cut sleeve has been updated too, the colours of the eye-popping pattern have been reversed from the original, making this package even more desirable. The album is brimming with tracks now seen as ‘classic’ Goat live favourites. Tracks that have been wowing audiences all over the world; the afrobeat stomp of ‘Disco Fever’ , the fuzz abuse of ‘Goathead’, the post-punk groove of ‘Let it Bleed’, the sing-along repetitive pop of ‘Run to your Mama’ ...From the first note to the last, ‘World Music’ oozes with a sonic confidence rarely seen on a debut album. Over the last 10 years many bands have tried to recreate the addictive ingredients which make up Goat ’s cosmic soup, but none have ever come close to getting the recipe right. What Goat have is unique. They have an unsurpassed level of authenticity and honesty that makes them stand head and shoulders above all their imitators. They’ve managed to create a sound unrestrained by genre boundaries. There literally is still no other band on earth that sounds quite like them

* Remastered At Abbey Road * Ltd Colour 180gm Vinyl * Die Cut Sleeve * Two New Sleeve Designs * Fold Out Poster. When the mysterious masked collective calling themselves Goat first emerged in 2012, armed with an incendiary debut album ‘World Music’ and a backstory for the ages – the band’s anonymous members hailing from the remote village of Korpilombo in northern Sweden, where inhabitants had for centuries been devoted to a form of voodoo introduced by a travelling witch doctor – there was, and there still isn’t, anyone else on earth quite like them. Their mythology enticing, their music full of sinuous grooves and manic explosions of fuzz, Goat were outliers from the very beginning. ‘World Music’ received an avalanche of acclaim with critics, psych heads, outernational crate diggers etc, all left enraptured by its thunderous intensity, conjured from a singular mix of sounds from across the globe.Now, exactly a decade later, Rocket Recordings and the band have decided to dust-off the original recordings of ‘World Music’ and pass them over to the capable hands of the team at the legendary Abbey Road Studios to remaster the tracks and make them shine like they have never before. The results are better than we could have hoped. New details within the tracks have been revealed and - most importantly - the fuzz is even more explosive than before. You hear every crackle of electricity as it flows through the pedals. ‘World Music’ s famous die-cut sleeve has been updated too, the colours of the eye-popping pattern have been reversed from the original, making this package even more desirable. The album is brimming with tracks now seen as ‘classic’ Goat live favourites. Tracks that have been wowing audiences all over the world; the afrobeat stomp of ‘Disco Fever’ , the fuzz abuse of ‘Goathead’, the post-punk groove of ‘Let it Bleed’, the sing-along repetitive pop of ‘Run to your Mama’ ...From the first note to the last, ‘World Music’ oozes with a sonic confidence rarely seen on a debut album. Over the last 10 years many bands have tried to recreate the addictive ingredients which make up Goat ’s cosmic soup, but none have ever come close to getting the recipe right. What Goat have is unique. They have an unsurpassed level of authenticity and honesty that makes them stand head and shoulders above all their imitators. They’ve managed to create a sound unrestrained by genre boundaries. There literally is still no other band on earth that sounds quite like them

This album marks the debut recording for Venezuela's Velvet label by pianist Ray Pérez and his trombone-led salsa band Los Dementes. Heavy dance numbers and the distinctive vocals of Perucho Torcat make this historic 1967 rarity a sought-after collector's item. Now the LP has been lovingly restored, mastered from the original tapes, with its original artwork intact, preserving the legacy of Los Dementes for today's generation of salsa lovers everywhere. First time reissue. Salsa pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger Ray Pérez, acquired his nickname "Loco" by being a free, independent spirit, an innovator and iconoclast who was initially branded as "crazy" for the freshness and audacity of his sound. Amazingly, he is not that well known in the US, where he spent some time in the late 1960s and salsa was king during the 1970s. Yet he was quite popular in his home country from the beginning, especially amongst the working class of Caracas and Maracaibo, who adopted Cuban music played by New York Puerto Ricans as their own and called it "salsa" years before the term was employed by US labels like Fania as a marketing tool. Pérez is revered in Venezuela, as well as in Mexico and Colombia, and his storied career, which spans seven decades and thousands of concerts, has yielded more than 35 albums recorded by his various bands, including Los Dementes, Los Kenya, and Los Calvos, all of which are collector's items today. At the start of 1967 Pérez debuted Los Dementes, with vocalists Claudio Zerpa and Perucho Torcat backed by an ace band featuring only trombones in the brass section. Titled "¡Alerta mundo! Llegaron los 'The Crazy Men'" the record was released on the small Venezuelan label Prodansa. Soon after, Prodansa folded and Los Dementes were left without representation or much compensation for their efforts, being paid only in records. In the end of February of that year, Pérez returned to Caracas from a stint in Maracaibo in order to finish his first LP with the well-established and larger Velvet label, entitled "Manicomio a locha". In the first quarter of 1967, Velvet unleashed a trilogy of salsa records in order to compete with rival label Palacio and their recent success with Federico y su Combo Latino: "Porfi '67 Salsa & Boogaloo" by Porfi Jiménez y su Orquesta, "Guasancó" by Sexteto Juventud and lastly "Manicomio a locha". The LP begins appropriately with the boisterous title track, written by the band's conguero Carlos "Nené" Quintero, who would become a legend in coming years. Torcat describes a jam session in mental institution and introduces the band, with tasty solos by trombonist Rufo García followed by Ray on piano. Already you can hear something was different about Ray and his "Crazy Men"-a sound as wild and innovative as what was happening in New York with Eddie Palmieri, but with a more unhinged, raw feeling in line with Willie Colón and other younger Nuyorican bands. Next up is an intriguing track sung in a mix of Italian, English, Spanish and Papiamento by Pérez himself, performed in the complicated rhythm of the mozambique, an Afro-Cuban carnival beat developed in the early 1960s. This is followed by the heavy dancer 'Rico guaguancó', penned by Angelito Pérez, which changes from the guaguancó to the mozambique rhythm mid-way through, proving that Los Dementes were "different from the rest" as the lyrics say. 'Puerto Libre', sung by Torcat, is dedicated to the Venezuelan island of Margarita in the Oriente region, and the independent spirit of its working people. The rhythm changes from guaguancó to guajira and back again but remains danceable all the way through. The side closes out with a "3 in 1" medley inspired by the popular formula of the mosaicos of Billo's Caracas Boys, seamlessly knitting together several different tempos, rhythms, moods and compositions. Side two starts strong with the fierce yet satirical 'Corte e' patas', then 'Alma Cumanesa', a typical folk song refashioned as a guaguancó. This is followed by the funky 'Guajira con Boogaloo'. The tune echoes the sound of young Latin New York, pointing out the connection between Cuban and African American soul music. The pace picks up again with 'Fiesta de trombones', a hot descarga and then the album closes with another medley. Though this marks the end of a rather short album, it also signaled the emerging success of Los Dementes and their involvement with the salsa boom in Venezuela, quickly selling out of its initial run of 1000 records and making for a memorable debut on the Velvet label. Now this rare and sought-after LP has been lovingly restored, mastered from the original tapes, with its original artwork intact, preserving the legacy of Los Dementes for today's generation of salsa lovers everywhere.

Here’s artist Max Kuhn on hearing the new Ralph White recordings for the first time: “I was driving a familiar round trip across the high desert when I first put it on. It immediately spoke to me. In the lyrics there's a familiar geography for me, a familiar emotional landscape for all of us. And maybe it was driving an almost 40 year old truck on sun baked & cracked asphalt in July, but it's like you can hear his songs coming apart- the cadence, the rhymes stumbling & defying expectations, consistency but they just keep moving. You have no choice but to go with it. Probably a good lesson for how to live in this era we're in, cracking up but keeping it all running somehow, trying to make something pretty with the time.” Recorded in Austin, Texas in March of 2020, just days before the city and the rest of the world shut down, Ralph White spent two days with producer, Jerry David DeCicca (Will Beeley, Ed Askew) and recording engineer, Don Cento, capturing a raw and wild set of performances. Ralph, having recently converted his van into a mobile living and touring quarters equipped with a wood-burning stove, left Austin, the city where he was born 70 years ago, and retreated to an Arizona commune where he began building a new house in the desert hills to escape the virus and insanity of daily living. Ralph takes us on a journey through his myriad of travels: from Dock Boggs to Syd Barrett to William Faulkner to Stella Chiweshe to Blind Uncle Gaspard…scratching banjo, rasping train whistle hollers, rolling kalimba, rousing accordion, taut shimmers of guitar, caustic fiddle and lyrics - that could have been hidden amongst the dusty inner groove of a lost Harry Smith 78 - weaving in and out of streams of consciousness, time and place. In addition to his solo work, White has recorded or performed with a diverse group of folk and avant-garde musicians: Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Jandek, Jack Rose, Eugene Chadbourne, Michelle Shocked, Sir Richard Bishop, and Michael Hurley. “This is what Ralph White really sounds like. It’s what time passing really sounds like. It’s what a look really feels like. This record is someone touching you all over!” --Bill Callahan “Striking, electrifying acoustic music from an underappreciated legend of the American Southwest. Here, tight song structures meet open, unadorned instrumentation: guitar, banjo, kalimba, accordion, fiddle, and White's elastic voice, unspooling pitches and syllables. White draws listeners in on his terms. Lyrics wind and twist and pull back: "Motel 6, Motel 6, Altoona, Altoona; missing you, missing you so, great big hole in my--..." Brave, beautiful, a high point in White's long career. And this is just Volume 1!” - Eli Winter. "What Ralph White puts on albums and onstage is so mind-boggling and vast, it forces those of us in the description business down a treacherous path." --Darcie Stevens, Austin Chronicle. “White was a member of well-loved punk bluegrass outfit Bad Livers, but his solo work is possessed of a much more lonesome spark, exaggerating the implied drone at the heart of the music of Dock Boggs and The Stanley Brothers…White plays wooden six-string banjo, violin, button accordion and kalimba and his voice has a high, eerie quality to it…extremely psychedelic.” --David Keenan, The Wire Tracklisting: 1. Gun Barrel Polka 2. Misinformation Shuffle 3. El Golfo 4. Something About Dreaming 5. Rye Straw 6. The Stovepipe Blues 7. No Stranger 8. Morning Sickness 9. Lord Franklin

A decade is a long time in music, but it feels less epic when the music in question is timeless, picturesque, and immersive. Founded in London, run from Bali for a period, and now based in Ibiza, NuNorthern Soul has grown from humble roots to become one of the most popular outlets for Balearic music on the planet.

NuNorthern Soul started in the late 1990s, long before the label launched, NuNorthern Soul was a regular Sunday session in a bar in Chester, UK where label founder Phat Phil Cooper and school friend Jim Baron (Ron Basejam, Crazy P, JIM) sat behind the decks and played laidback, eclectic musical selections to wind down the weekend. The name was suggested by one of the event’s regular punters, who likened the community feel of the event to his experiences as a Northern Soul dancer.

Fast forward to 2011. Following a move to London, Cooper was introduced to Ben Smith, a singer-songwriter and producer whose music he’d long admired. After bonding over a few pints of Guinness, Smith offered to hand over a hard drive full of unreleased tracks; together, the pair put together what would become the NuNorthern Soul label’s first ever release: a fine album of beautiful, boundary-free music entitled The Movedrill Projects.

Another EP from Smith, Dedications to the Greats, followed in early 2013, with the sometime Fug and Akwaaba band-member recording emotive, life-affirming cover versions in his signature style. It was followed by an EP of opaque, sunset-ready songs from Ragz Nordset, and NuNorthern Soul was on its way. While the label has subtly moved around musically since, offering up EPs and albums that incorporate elements from a multitude of becalmed and blissful styles, the core ethos remains the same. Significantly, those early Ben Smith and Ragz Nordset releases still stand up to scrutiny all these years on.

Smith has remained a big part of the NuNorthern Soul family ever since, and it’s fitting that two of his tracks – the stunning, undulating downtempo epic ‘Over Land & Sea’, from improvised 2019 album From The Ash, and Jonny Nash’s glistening, shuffling 2015 rework of ‘Hold On To It’ – are featured on this 10th birthday celebration of the NuNorthern Soul story so far.

It’s right, too, that Jim Baron, whose stints behind the decks with Cooper in Chester began the NuNorthern Soul story, also makes two appearances. His chugging, jangling, wide-eyed 2014 Ron Basejam rework of Ragz Nordset’s ‘You Started It All’ – a track that has so far racked up over three million streams on Spotify – was an early label hit, while his fragile, softly spun masterpiece as JIM, ‘Whisper in the Wind’ (featuring none other than Ben Smith on guitar), features here via a deliciously stretched-out, sunrise-ready remix from James Holroyd under his Balearic-friendly BEGIN guise.

Sentimentality aside, the success of NuNorthern Soul is rooted in Cooper’s ability to pick music to release from a wide variety of artists that fits the label’s colourful, atmospheric, and tactile sonic vision. This lovingly curated box set is testament to that, with immersive, yearning efforts from veteran musicians such as Jon Tye (here appearing as Captain Sunshine, via the breath-taking ‘The Oceans Inside’) and the late, great Ryo Kawasaki (remixed by Mancunian, former Body & Soul NYC resident DJ Andi Hanley) being joined by wonderfully on-point productions from relatively recent signings such as Torn Sail (the Balearic folk swell of ‘Disconnected’), George Koultalieris, My Friend Dario and Tambores En Benirras.

10 Years, 5 EPs, 10 tracks, exclusives, previously unreleased and hard to find NuNorthern Soul treasures. Packaged in a full colour commemorative designed box with full colour inner sleeves. 1 track per side of vinyl for maximum audio pleasure. Comes with 4 page NuNorthern Soul insert. Limited edition.

SECOND TITLE IN THE LOCKDOWN TRILOGY 'CLAUSTROPHOBIC
UNIVERSE' NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL.In 2020, Polish Prog multiinstrumentalist Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Lunatic Soul) decided to
conduct an experiment
He set out to create a third music world, independent of his band 'Riverside' &
solo project, Lunatic Soul. A world which would differ stylistically from the
previous two & underline the first steps he took in music.
30 years ago, a certain shy boy fascinated by the works of Jean Michel Jarre,
Vangelis & Tangerine Dream, locked himself up in his room & started to think up
his original music stories. He recorded them on cassette tapes, created covers
for them & arranged them on the shelf next to those of his masters. 30 years
later, when the world was taken over by a pandemic & an international lockdown,
Mariusz was beamed back to his childhood bedroom, where he was reading &
drawing comic books, playing games, listening to lots of music from cassette
tapes... & recording his own electronic sounds. "Why not do it again?" he thought
to himself, feeling inspired. "Why not create a new project where I will play only
the keyboards? And why not sing it just like I used to when I was a kid? Simply
'Mariusz Duda'".
And that's exactly what he did. Between 2020 & 2021, he recorded & released
online three electronic albums that make up the "Lockdown Trilogy".
'Claustrophobic Universe' is not an album inspired by books about astronomy &
astrophysics. It's an album about a journey into our mind. The universe here is a
metaphor for our escape from reality, escape to the place where we soothe our
response to stimuli.
MARIUSZ DUDA'S SECOND IN THE TRILOGY IS OUT VIA KSCOPE

Been Stellar is what you get when you leave the youth alone in a
metropolis; they grow up, they make noise
Crackly, bright and distorted - stories of violence, love, and a new, un-glamorous,
New York City. 12" EP pressed on red transparent vinyl. Hailing from the suburbs
of Detroit, the beaches of Los Angeles, and Brazil by way of Sydney, Nando Dale
(guitar), Laila Wayans (drums), Sam Slocum (vocals), Nico Brunstein (bass) and
Skyler St. Marks (guitar) have positioned themselves at the glimmering rotten
center of tonight's rock and roll. Each member so distinctly themselves, it must
be assumed that such a diverse and unlikely gang were drawn tight together in
their first year of university by nothing short of serendipitous fortune and a
shared, waggish sense of humor.
They are a band of friends - sharing, crying, fighting, and kissing - wreaking havoc
together and laughing like how only the jaunty youth can afford to. Been Stellar's
arrangements come textured, swooping - pushing past you at a downtown pace
and off to find a better night. The songs are of their own time and space, offering
a New York City - Been Stellar's New York City - the sounds of growing up young.

Drush emerges from the pixelated haze to make his debut on Fast Castle. "Archipelago" is a collection of three versatile and playful post-dancehall hybrids with plenty of bass and full of creativity. Recorded in improvised live takes in Drush's NK hideout, the cuts feature signature progressive arrangements and an unpolished live feel.

Taking up the full depth of Side A, "Birds and Bass" kicks things off with pitched percs, sharp drums and a pulsating bass before a psycho-bird melody lifts you to a lucid dance craze. The flip shines light on a sunnier vibe with "Archipelago" and "Flat Earth Dub" both hoovering and modulating around soothing melodies, generous bass swells and occasional dub-outs.

Mastering comes courtesy of Isabel at Olo Mastering while artwork duties are once again with Jonas at 200 Kilo

"Tommy Womack has been a revered and fearless leader among his
generation of fellow artists and kindred spirits for a long time now
Even the stories he makes up are true" — Todd Snider."Tommy Womack is a multihyphenated treasure: what you get when you put Keith Richards, Billy Graham,
and Hunter S. Thompson in a blender and turn it on high." — Marshall Chapman,
author of Goodbye, Little Rock and Roller and They Came to Nashville"One of
Nashville's finest singer-songwriters. For round pegs in square holes everywhere."
- John Hiatt

"With a catchy indie-pop sound and her elegant songwriting the 24-yearold Austrian OSKA is capturing everybody´s hearts
Born as Maria Burger, the talented artist took her rich musical upbringing to
Vienna where she has now crafted her debut album My world, My love, Paris.
Through its various themes like love, family and legacy the record is ultimately a
snapshot of a young woman attempting to make sense of getting older in an
increasingly uncertain era. Despite that, she always manages to put a smile on
her listeners faces."

In 2020 Starry Skies released their third album "Do It With Love", 36
minutes filled with great storytelling and harmonies that are all centered
around the very thing that defines our core as humans - love - But not
only in a romantic way, the songs celebrate friendship and everything we
love as human beings
"Do it with Love" is the perfect title, because you can hear the love and joy that the
band poured into creating this album in every note played and sung. Now you
might argue that the album filled with too much love to bear, to which I would
reply with "there can never be too much love". So put on your headphones, close
your eyes and let this uplifting piece of music make your day a little brighter. -

The "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of a celebrated impromptu
session that brought rock & roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry
Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins together for the first and only time
2LP set in gatefold sleeve edition - 180g coloured vinyl (disc 1 red, disc 2 yellow).
On December 4, 1956, these four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in
Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever. This essential
double LP edition (gatefold open cover) presents that legendary event in its
entirety, while maintaining the original recording sequence.
Rock & roll was born of gospel, country, doo-wop, blues, pop, and cowboy songs,
all of which can be heard here. Included here are several popular numbers from
that period, such as "Rip It Up," "Don't Forbid Me," and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind,"
plus some of Elvis' own songs ("Don't Be Cruel," "Love Me Tender," and
"Paralyzed"), and covers of Chuck Berry's "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man" and "Too
Much Monkey Business," as well as traditional tunes, and some classic country
and bluegrass songs penned by Hank Snow, Faron Young, Gene Autry and Bill
Monroe.
The joyous spontaneity and the fly- on- the- wall feel of the occasion make for
fascinating listening. This set represents a memorable slice of American culture
and allows listeners to experience a historic moment of the original rock & roll
era.

What do notions of freedom and movement mean to us as we experience unprecedented restrictions on travel, culture and socialisation? Henry Keen’s Freedom In Movement offers a soundtrack to both remember and look forward to freedom through music, movement and community.

The memory and feeling of the Plastic People dancefloor were often in Henry Keen's thoughts as he produced the tracks on this new LP. Inspired by the London club nights he frequented – Balance, CDR, and CoOp – Freedom in Movement is Henry’s first vinyl self-release, an embodiment of self-expression that compliments his contributions to projects Electric Jalaba and Soundspecies.

The soulful tracks on the album pick up where Henry Keen’s 70's Baby (Maddjazz Recordings, 2017) record and EPs as The Room Below on the Don't Be Afraid label left off, bringing a range of tempos to get heads nodding while hips and feet work out. Lovingly made, the collection of songs offer meditations on questions evoked by the record's title and respite from the heaviness of challenging times.

The lead single from the album is Dexter’s Breakfast, featuring London-based woodwind expert, and previous collaborator Ben Hadwen on baritone/tenor saxophone, and flute.

Dexter’s Breakfast was released digitally on 25th June 2021 and gained support from the likes of Adam Rock (Jazz Re:freshed), Kev Beadle (Mind Fluid), Simon Harrsion (Basic Soul), Psycut (Music Is My Sanctuary) and Laani and Papaoul (Worldwide FM) amongst others

Micah is a special one. His playing has a restlessly inventive and futuristic tilt while simultaneously remaining deeply rooted in the history of the music – all delivered with curiosity, patience, humor and care. I make a point to hear him as often as I can, as he always inspires and is constantly evolving. Micah is one of the most exciting musicians of his generation. One who has a unique style as well as all the tools needed to make a major contribution to the world of jazz piano.

"When we decided to produce Micah Thomas, the project involved a recording of five titles only. In the first part of an approximately one hour session, Micah beautifully played first takes of up to ten titles, with fantastic artistic fervor and great freshness. Taken by surprise, joy and admiration, we decided on the spur of the moment to change our initial plans, so we could capture the magic of that


session for a little longer. Here is the result, a 12 titles double vinyl that takes you back to October 31st, 2020 at Big Orange Sheep studio in Brooklyn, NY. Twelve songs when we encountered the art of Micah Thomas as a solo pianist for the first time."

The combination of big riffs, driving rhythms, thick yet lithe bass lines and rich vocal melodies has made for some of the greatest music of all time, and in the hands of Kings Of Mercia this recipe is intoxicating. Best known as the founding guitarist for Fates Warning, Jim Matheos is incapable of stifling his creativity. In early 2021, he started working on the songs that would become Kings Of Mercia’s self-titled debut album, bringing his distinct style yet doing something a little different. Churning out songs, Matheos’ next concern was to find the musicians who would help him realize the material, and his first priority was a vocalist. Enter FM vocalist Steve Overland. The combination of Matheos’ riffs and Overland’s vocals makes for perfect bedfellows. Behind the kit for the record is the legendary Simon Phillips (ex-Toto, Derek Sherinian), one of Matheos’ favorite drummers. Rounding out the group is bassist Joey Vera - Matheos’ Fates Warning bandmate - who brings his trademark style and professionalism to the table. With these players involved it was an easy, stress-free process throughout, making music for the love of it, and coming up with something that sounds familiar yet new, expanding the repertoire of all involved. This means songs like the half-acoustic ballad, half-swaggering “Too Far Gone” or the beautiful “Everyday Angels”, and the soaring “Wrecking Ball”, which opens the record on a high note, all brought to life in dynamic style. The hardest part of the whole process was coming up with a name for the band. It made sense to self-title the record due to it being the band’s debut, and given how much life there is in the songs it would not be surprising if it did not become the first of many, the combination of those involved creating something special, and with Matheos’ permanent creative hunger you may well be hearing a lot more from Kings Of Mercia.

LIMITED 180GM BLACK VINYL INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CARD WITH 8 BONUS TRACKS. GATEFOLD + BOOKLET INCLUDED.

During this feverish time, founding member Guy Smith was motivated to make music that reveled in always trying out different things. Normil Hawaiians was a very fluid ensemble at this point, Guy often accompanied by Kev Armstrong and Jim Lusted encouraged saxophones, violins, synths, pianos and a select pack of female backing singers to take their post-punk sound into wilder directions. One of the earliest line-ups of Normil Hawaiians featured a 15-year old Janet Armstrong on vocals alongside Guy, ‘Ventilation’ best showcases her deadpan digressions. Janet went on to sing alongside David Bowie a few years later on his breathtaking mid-80’s gem ‘Absolute Beginners’. By this point Kev Armstrong was also guesting for Bowie on guitar duties too.

Another guest to join the ranks of Normil Hawaiians during this fertile time of cross-pollination was Bertie Marshall (aka Berlin of the proto-punk Bromley Contingent). ‘Sang Sang’ is a good example of how he was inspired to deliver his poetic treatises over the band’s atmospheric, floating improvisations. Bertie’s impressionistic influence helped the group uncouple further from rock tropes, as they became restless and more rhythmically-focused. ‘Still Obedient’ fidgets, soars and careens across the dancefloor, “if you’re ahead close your eyes, you won’t notice the subtitles” chants Guy.

By the end of this transformative two years Normil Hawaiians had spun an exceptional chrysalis around themselves. The dark world surrounding wouldn’t win out, they’d eaten-up the music and grown continuously, wrote and recorded rapidly, covered Zappa & even David Lynch and could feel the light beginning to shine through. ‘Dark World’ is a snapshot of a band in flux, finding their feet, stretching their limbs. Normil Hawaiians cover an awful amount of ground in such a short time-frame on this record and these tracks document all the glittering debris from their magpie’s nest. Emergent, hopeful and resistant in sound and ethic.

Lindenberg Support is the man behind 'Ode To Gallantry', a complex and emotional tale of mistaken identity, trust and honor.

The story begins with the beggar Shi Po Tian, aka the Bastard, stealing a bun which contains the Black Iron Token, created by skilled pugilist Xie Yanke, which grants the holder one wish. 'C20/25' and its pounding and pacy rhythmics, carrying pads and heavy hitting vibe, perfectly set the journey's energetic and warm tone.

Xie appears yearly, demanding that the clans repay in blood for any heinous act they committed throughout the year. The only way that a rude clan can avoid the cull is for the clan's leader to sacrifice himself for them. With 'SKS (101)' and its soothing and floating pads carrying the gentle lo-fi drums, the story heats up and evolves to a deeper intricacy.

Fearing that Bastard might make him promise to stop his annual harvest of death, Xie spirits him away and trains him in martial arts so powerful that he is certain it will kill him, but instead, it makes him strong and resilient. The uplifting pads in 'Gate', supported by a reckless broken beat and pinging vocals, create a celestial vibe that pushes Bastard to his limits.

He is rescued by the Chang Lo Clan that mistakes him for their villainous leader Shi Zhongyu and then treats him as their boss. With each case of mistaken identity, he becomes drawn into a number of heated conflicts between several rival schools and gangs - a dilemma that he just isn't prepared to deal with. The dreamy ambiance of 'Kinda Weak' and its well-wrought drum pattern slowly shroud the memories of his old life.

The final point is set with 'Pol-1 (For Stefan)' - an emotive and profound ambient piece to close the story. He's sure to learn some valuable lessons about brotherhood and honor, but at what price?

THE MARCH VIOLETS came out of Leeds in the early 80"s, label-mates of Sisters of Mercy. Releasing six singles, they were a constant presence in the UK indie charts, hitting the top two spots with Snakedance, Deep and Walk Into The Sun. They never got around to recording an album - their only "80"s long-players, Natural History in the UK and Electric Shades in the USA, were compilations. Eventually they signed to a major label and were groomed for a USA breakthrough, performing in the 1987 Some Kind of Wonderful movie. However they were asked to make too many compromises and split up. Their early eighties career was thankfully well-documented by the BBC, who broadcast six sessions between 1982-86 - three for John Peel, and one each with Kid Jensen, Janice Long and Richard Skinner. Chronicling their development with lead singers Simon Denbigh, Rosie Garland and Cleo Murray and backed by bassist Lawrence Elliot and guitarist Tom Ashton, these sessions include nine unreleased songs and alternative versions of their indie hits. Here is the unheard history of The March Violets.

Temples is a tempting invitation into another world, full of light and movement. From the second the synth comes in this track has got us deep in its pocket. Shotter manages something that is hard to achieve - he has us floating completely, yet steadily carried by tip-toeing metallic rhythm elements and the relentless swells of bright synths. The game changer in the second half is a new, gritty bass quality, which couldn't roll in any more fiercely. At its fullest the track has us in an uncompromising trance, a relentless movement that we don't ever want to escape from. Breaking back down to pleasantly gentle hi-hat reverb-tails and inducing synth patterns Temples lets us down easy, with the unspoken promise to return.

Ueno claims the room to itself completely and immediately. The rise and fall of melodic synth lines lead us through a labyrinth at first, leaving plenty of space for imagination. Before we notice playful call-and-response rhythms are teasing our ears, until the track surrenders itself to an ever-growing wave of synth patterns and their behind-the-beat-delay. It climaxes into a haunting silence with tenuous high-pitched sounds and a clear outer space feel. Finally, all elements lock into a comforting groove, driving us forward, not too fast, not too slow - exactly right.

The track starts off with a blissfully nostalgic vintage-feel - slightly muffled, like the humbling quality you get from an old Technics playing your favourite LP. But don't be fooled, Cube March is bold. And unexpected. Stomping rhythms take over quickly and full-blown gritty synth-stabs cut the air effortlessly, like blades. An unapologetic and careless pumping bass line makes us want to move with every cell in our body. Shotter demonstrates his fearlessness in experimenting with heavy contrasts and elements from different genres here. A break with tastefully placed repetitive rhythm elements is complemented by the constant ebb and flow of melody lines. Both in volume and presence they fluctuate, one handing over the spotlight to the other seamlessly, keeping us hooked until the very end.

This remix lures you away from reality in a matter of seconds, with Definition's signature heavy hitting bass dominating. He expertly weaves shimmery fills into buoyant synth lines and brings us a skilful mix of dark minimal techno, breaks and infectious monster synth lines. Every so often, he adds a new layer, increasing the depth of the track, before letting it all crumble in a breakdown where time stops and tension grows, as we impatiently await the next rise to carry us away. The lengthy build-ups give this remix the energy to fill any room, easily. It is subtle, yet propulsive, too - a lane that Definition seems to manage regularly.

Oslo's Ultima Festival for contemporary music in 2014. The idea was to give revered Norwegian experimental electronic musician Helge Sten, aka Deathprod, access to seminal avant-garde composer Harry Partch's self-designed, custom-made, specialized, invented instruments - an orchestra tuned to just intonation, using up to 43 intervals instead of the standard 12 for the most commonly used Western equal temperament. An artist with a 30+ year career and an uncompromising reputation that reflects the emotional specificity of his uneasy, yet compelling sound, maintained throughout his expansive discography, Sten was an intriguing choice for such a project. Although he attended art school, training in electronic music and sound art, he had little experience with acoustic instruments and can neither read nor write music notation. Yet he's been engaged with Partch's music, and outsider art more generally, since he was a teenager. His resulting piece/composition for the project was originally intended only for performance by Cologne-based Ensemble Musikfabrik, for a series of concerts in five European cities between 2015 and 2018. It's Musikfabrik that undertook the painstaking, expensive process of building an entire set of the composer's creations - the second only to the originals built by Partch himself. They are the professional musicians and virtuosic instrumentalists that had to re-train and re-educate on these unknown and experimental sound sculptures in non-standard tunings. And they house this large, gorgeous physical instrumentarium and deal with the enormous logistics of working with it, sometimes shipping the fragile pieces to other locales via semi-trucks or ships. Because of such monumental efforts, Musikfabrik are notoriously guarded with recordings of the instruments. And rightly so. They're the only ones allowed to perform on them, too. But Sow Your Gold isn't Musikfabrik playing. Instead, Sten spent days and nights alone with the instrumentarium in Cologne. He played the instruments himself while recording, layering the recordings and editing without effects to compose an `audio score' for Musikfabrik to work from in order for the ensemble to perform the piece. (Partch also regularly worked this way, although he would transcribe afterwards. Likewise, Sten worked with a professional arranger to create a detailed score, too.) So, that makes Sow Your Gold an even less likely rarity - partly why its release comes seven years after its creation. If you ask Sten about the album's title, he'll point you to the text he borrowed it from - Michael Maier's Atalanta Fugiens by H.M.E. De Jong, a 1969 study of a 1617 book of alchemical emblems - and notable passages dealing with alchemy, chemistry, and agriculture, all transformative processes. And while that may sound complicated, his takeaway is simple: "You have to break something down to create something new," - a lesson he felt related strongly to his own musical process, especially in this project. So, while Sow Your Gold in the White Foliated Earth is a piece written for specific, oddly tuned, extremely rare and unusual instruments, and for a certain ensemble - namely, some of the finest contemporary musicians in Europe - Sten grew fond of the audio score, recognizing it as coming directly from the creative process in its purest, most natural form. And so from a foliated earth, where obscure tradition, treasured scarcity, immense effort, and patient certainty layer and criss-cross, comes rugged gold, polished to shining by one outsider for another.

Black White Splatter Vinyl

When two musicians intensively work together for a period of time, at some point the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. If Paul Boex and Dave Miller hadn't already reached that status under their Abstract Division moniker, they certainly have now, with the release of Midnight Ensemble, their first full length album.

Those who have followed the duo since their early days of playing dj-sets together, know that it's hard to define their style anywhere beyond techno or even electronic music, as it is ever evolving and always dependent on the time of the day or night. When listening to this album, the resemblance between their unpredictable selection behind the decks and the eclectic range of subgenres on this album is more obvious than ever before. Midnight Ensemble could be interpreted as an ode to nightlife; a reminiscence of all that happens between dusk and dawn, captured and compressed into about one hour of music. An hour in which they so delicately time their changing of styles and tempos, always reading the room and always being one step ahead of the crowd.

This album is a reflection of that skill, starting its journey with soothing, moodsetting ambient, followed by timeless pieces of Detroit and dubtechno. A daring electro cut providing a refreshing break from the four to the floor tradition, only to be followed by the stripped down sound the duo is so comfortable with.

The final minutes consist of experimental breaks, one last banger to pull out the last bits of energy that is left and a beautiful outro, which concludes the allnighter vibe. There are no open endings, it doesn't make you want to stay in the dark forever. Rather it makes you want to close your eyes one last time before walking outside to see the sun come up again before going home, overwhelmed and satisfied.

Popa Chubby stands before a sold-out crowd in Paris at l'Olympia - The
theatre where Hendrix, Miles, The Beatles and so many greatsplayed - He
tells the audience : "Je T'aime Mes Amis" !"I love you my friends" and in
that moment it's like the pandemicnever happened.Popa has not stopped
working
He followed the 2020 release celebrating his 30thanniversary ("It's A Mighty Hard
Road") with an introspective outing reflecting his timeat home : "Tinfoil Hat". The
year that has followed has lead to more upbeat themes andtimes. This is strongly
reflected on his latest recording, "Emotional Gangster", out worldwide on
Dixiefrog records on March 2022.And indeed the emotions run high on this
recording. 11 tracks featuring The Chubbfatha on many instruments and doing all
the mixing and recording duties. "Thisrecord definitely reflects happier times and
good solid dose of classic blues !" Says Popafrom his studio full of guitars in the
Hudson Valley. "I specifically included covered like"Hoochie Coochie Man" and
"Dust My Broom" to show respect for the Fathers. WillieDixon has always been my
idol you know".But the real gems here come in Popa's original compositions.
"Equal Opportunity"is a light-hearted sing along that celebrates the feminine at a
time when it is seriouslyneeded. And songs like "Fly Away" and both French and
English versions of "Why YouWanna Make War?" are big standouts !There is more
than an ample amount of pure guitar bliss on this record and slideguitar on tracks
like "Tonight I'm Gonna Be The Man" add flavor to a savory mix ! For an added
bonus Harmonica Wizard Jason Ricci joins Popa on the Blues Rockanthem "New
Way Of Walking" and the swing shuffle "Best For Last".Popa has been given many
accolades in a 30 years career. He shuns recognitionand has little use for awards
as he says it just gets in the way of the music. This has notstopped his last 3
outings from reaching the Billboard Blues Charts. He has also beengiven the
prestigious Red Rooster Award by Willie Dixon's family and been nominatedfor a
Grammy and a W.C. Handy Award.With "Emotional Gansgster Popa puts his heart
on the line and makes a play tosteal yours !

Known for her time as vocalist in Fairport Convention and respected
globally , Sandy Denny left a beguiling, ever-evolving body of work - Kate
Bush was to namecheck her in song, and Denny's influence can be heard
in generations of singer-songwriters
After leaving Fairport Convention in late 1969, Sandy Denny formed Fotheringay
with husband Trevor Lucas. After one UK Top 20 LP in summer 1970, the band
split while recording a follow up, leaving Denny free to make her first solo album.
A beguiling mixture of covers and originals, The North Star Grass Man And The
Ravens is one of THE essential British folk-rock albums. From the dreamlike Late
November to the plaintive Next Time Around to her reading of the traditional
standard Blackwaterside, the album is a near perfect capture of the talent on the
scene at that juncture: including Richard Thompson's unmistakable guitar playing,
John Wood's production and Harry Robinson's string arrangements. Released in
September 1971, its reputation has understandably grown exponentially over the
years. Out of print on LP for a number of years, this re-issue faithfully replicates
the original 1971 Island Records UK release with gatefold sleeve and is pressed
onto high quality 180g vinyl

Combining powerful and heartfelt vocals with thundering guitar riffs, Essex-based Blues Rock band When Rivers Meet offers originality with both talent and winning personalities. Grace Bond leads with her incredible vocals, as well as bringing ranched-up mandolin and violin instrumentals. Her husband Aaron Bond commands attention with his imaginative guitar and cigar box playing and complements with compelling vocal harmonies… a winning formula. Since bursting on to the UK music scene with their debut The Uprising EP in April 2019 followed by their second EP Innocence of Youth in May 2020, husband and wife Grace and Aaron Bond have released two critically acclaimed studio albums We Fly Free (2020), followed by their sophomore album Saving Grace (2021). When Rivers Meet were the first band to win four awards at the UK Blues Awards 2021 and another three awards in 2022, including “Blues Band of the Year” on both occasions. Last year WRM were voted Best New Band at Planet Rock’s The Rocks Awards 2021, and in 2022 won the “Blues Power Award” and “Album of the Year” (Saving Grace), beating Iron Maiden who came second place. In 2021, the husband-and-wife duo show their chemistry on stage, performing 17 dates along with powerhouse bass and drums on their first UK Headline Tour to mostly sold-out crowds, receiving rave reviews for their captivating stage presence and blistering performances. Tour dates: 14-Oct / Cardiff Clwb Ifor Bach - 16-Oct / Gloucester Guildhall - 21-Oct / Huddersfield The Parish - 23-Oct / York The Crescent - 27-Oct / Southend-on-Sea Chinnerys - 29-Oct / Liverpool Arts Club - 30-Oct / Milton Keynes The Stables The E.P


Track listing:
(The Uprising EP): Freeman; Like What You See; Tomorrow; Kill For Your Love

(Innocence Of Youth EP): Innocence Of Youth; A Dead Man Doesn’t Lie; My Babe Says That He Loves Me; Fire; Want Your Love We Fly Free: Track listing: Did I Break The Law; Bound For Nowhere; Walking On The Wire; I'd Have Fallen; Battleground; Kissing The Sky; Breaker of Chains; I Will Fight; Bury My Body; Take Me To The River; Friend of Mine; We Fly Free Saving Grace: Track listing: I Can't Fight This Feeling; Never Coming Home; He'll Drive You Crazy; Don't Tell Me Goodbye; Do You Remember My Name; Have No Doubt About It; Eye of The Hurricane

(Friend of Mine pt.2); Testify; Shoot The Breeze; Lost & Found; Talking in My Sleep; Make A Grown Man Cry Flying Free Tour Live: Track listing: Did I Break The Law; Walking On The Wire; My Babe Says That He Loves Me; Battleground; Don't Tell Me Goodbye; Free Man; Lost & Found; Innocence of Youth; Bury My Body; Tomorrow; Kissing The Sky; Want Your Love; Testify

Perpetual Doom is proud to present a special double-LP from Mountain Brews. Spearheaded by Jake Longstreth, Los Angeles-based painter and co-host of Apple Music’s Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig, Mountain Brews was founded around a vital American tradition: sippin’ cold ones to the “tasteful palette of seventies rock.” Full of warm melodies and guitars that evoke a Mojave glow, Mountain Brews occupy the sunny spot right between the studio-slick hits of early Eagles and the laidback jams of the Grateful Dead. And now that their four previous EPS are available in a single package, there’s nothing left to do but grab a seat, turn up the music, and crack one open.

Mountain Brews are pros at keeping things loose and light. Recorded by the same group of old pals that make up a LA based Grateful Dead cover band, Richard Pictures—including Longstreth, Aaron Olson, Ryan Adlaf, and John Nixon—these seventeen tracks celebrate the early seventies’ spirit of easy-going collaboration. You can hear it when a guitar slide greets the opening strum on the title track, an assuming ode to the pleasures of drinking and hiking: “As we get to the top of the mountain, there’s a view,” Longstreth sings. “Take a load off and crack a few mountain brews.” And while the song boasts virtuoso playing worthy of Desperado, the vibe is less barstool machismo than six-pack camaraderie.

It’s a self-aware R&R mindset that pulses through tracks like “You Eagled,” which ponders both a great golf score and the trials of becoming “classic,” and “It’s My Masterpiece,” with its tightly coiled licks and breezy nonchalance with regards to inevitable civilizational demise. Sure, the Brews know there’s a down for every up. “Raised in a Place” and “Big Bummer Hotel” acknowledge that even the chillest California cowboys get the middle-aged blues, resurrecting the heartland synthesizers of late eighties Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby to find a little meaning in the madness. And Ezra Koenig and Danielle Haim contribute vocals to help “The Worst Margarita of My Life” go down just a little easier.

These four EPs were recorded between 2019 and 2021 in various bedrooms and studios across California. “Uphill From Here” brings it all back around as guitarist Aaron “Bobby” Olson sings about meeting Jake on the trail once again: “And it’s all uphill from here,” he sings. “We may have to stop and down these beers.” But whether it’s uphill or down, Mountain Brews makes it clear—the journey is better with company.

Remastered rarities by the late Susumu Yokota under his 246 and Prism monikers. Go Up was originally a defective release which has since been corrected and remastered and Vol 3 - 02 was not released. It also features a megamix of Ambient Love and Squeeze Up (which feature on Cosmic Soup 005) by Gene On Earth and a remix of Flare's Grip - Prism Remix by Matthew Herbert titled "Herbert's Make It Right Dub". Three legends on this EP. Superbly remastered and cut by Mike Grinser at Manmade in Berlin. Artwork by John Williams.

The Blackploid resurgence of recent years continues to gather steam. After laying dormant for some time, Martin Matiske's project roared back into life in 2021 with a pair of EPs for Central Processing Unit. It doesn't look like he'll be taking his foot off the gas any time soon - not only does the new Blackploid collectionPlanetary Sciencecomplete Matiske's hat-trick for the Sheffield label, but it also serves as a prelude to the full-length album which Blackploid will deliver on CPU in 2023.

If that LP is as good as the tracks we get here, then it's safe to say that we're on to a winner. This EP contains a quartet of top-tier machine-funk productions, the kind of crisp post-Drexciya joints we've come to know and love Blackploid for. Each track onPlanetary Sciencemakes good on the record's title by delivering club tackle flecked with FX which sound distinctly like spaceships blasting off into the cosmos.

There is also progression acrossPlanetary Science. While it still aims for the dancefloor,Planetary Scienceis a somewhat more textured listen than eitherStrange StarsorCosmic Traveler, Blackploid's previous CPU drops. Most notable is the increased use of synth pads, with Matiske draping chord progressions over all of these tracks in order to give his music a newfound depth.

Blackploid's subtle evolution is clear from the opening track. 'Dimension Unknown' may begin with a precision-engineered groove reminiscent of an early Legowelt joint, but things soon soften with the introduction of some rich keyboard chords. A few well-chosen bleeps and bloops flit in and out of the mix, but whereas some would use these to scuff up the track further here they are warm and playful.

The more confrontational stance of following cut 'Magnetron' makes it a yin to 'Dimension Unknown's yang. Blackploid works with similar tools here - machine-gun beat programming, chords playing off boinging bass - but there is a tension and buzz to the track which isn't apparent on its predecessor. The synths have a slight Eighties deep space thriller vibe about them, and the FX cut through the mix with more bite.

'Magnetron's energy carries through to 'Wire', the first track on thePlanetary ScienceB-side. Here a big, brutish bassline takes centre stage from the off, a chunk squarewave equal-parts Dopplereffekt and early Eskibeat. Around this swirls a queasy brew of synthesised tones, with the component parts all arranged in order to channel 'Magnetron's sense of unease.

Planetary Sciencecloses out with 'Neurotransmitter'. On this cut, Blackploid returns somewhat to where we started off, finding a midpoint between 'Dimension Unknown's more spacious feel and the livewire flavour of 'Magnetron' and 'Wire'. Tension remains, particularly when Matiske serves up one of the EP's snakiest basslines, but there's also a deftness to the synth pads here which makes 'Neurotransmitter' a little softer around the edges.

Blackploid limbers up for a forthcoming full-length on Central Processing Unit withPlanetary Science, an EP of stargazing electro joints that quietly expand the project's sonic world.

RIYL:Drexciya, Dopplereffekt, DMX Krew, I-F, Annie Hall

Think about the classic from MAW "Work", Reel to Real "I like to Move it"... TROPICAL FLASH "Get up" has the same vibe and the same kind of potential on the dancefloor !

This is a truly essential for the coming summer, percussive rhythm and expressive Jamaican vocal style. Funky, efficient and with an organic feel due to the bass guitar and percussion.

Along both original mixes features a really cool remix by the NYC Legend DJ Spinna, this time Spinna did not produce a soulful house track but a real massive House Remix with some heavy 90’ influences, really sick! The 12'' has been cut by Mathieu Berthet so expect a very nice cut, the full picture sleeve has been manually designed by Felix Godefroy and is really colourful, it makes a very nice 12'' with good pressing quality on 140g from Vinyl de Paris.

M-High makes his LOCUS debut with his four-track EP, ‘Enchant Me’.

With Amsterdam’s house scene continuing to flourish, M-High has seen his stock surge in recent months. Still young in the game, his releases and remixes via labels such as META, Moxy Muzik and Politics Of Dancing have seen him flying high alongside his fellow compatriots while also evolving from a label regular to A&R duties at PIV alongside founder Prunk. Having featured for the label’s New Year’s Day party in London, the Dutchman touches down on LOCUS for the first time with four fresh productions via his ‘Enchant Me’ EP.

Title cut ‘Enchant Me’ is a slick and classy effort fusing rich chords and skipping drums with zipping acid lines, while ‘Do You Even Groove’ pairs things back as rolling drums and sweeping electronics zig-zag through sparse textures. Next, ‘Endless Whispers’ combines sharp organ stabs with breezy pads and warm basslines, with the low-end heavy ‘Faded Senses’ closing the show and offering up yet more late-night dancefloor grooves.

AM006 is by Berlin's ML, titled 'Life always breaks your heart'. Two 30-minute pieces were written, constructed, collaged and fixed together by himself. It's an important story, so there's a copy from ML below and also ours was written by Bokeh Version Industrial to do it justice.

Hallucinated Brazilian poetry read by text to voice engines, supernatural thrillers ripped from Youtube, the clang of cutlery and distant canteen conversation, that noise wire fencing makes when you rake it with a stick, crickets chirping over odd dance emotions, a sample you think your recognise but can’t name…..

The trivial is cosmically important, the cosmically important is trivial. ‘It’s about the product’ - all of life’s a sample. You contain universes.

Alice in Wonderland, late night sessions with kosmische guitar legends, ethnographic chants from an unknown land, “There’s no monopoly of knowledge / there’s no monopoly of power”: forecasts from global political trends, China will be important they say, someone’s whistling a tune that doesn’t exist, I’m thinking of times long before I was born . . .

Growing naturally like a beautiful montage from his field recordings (a rich library of personal psychoacoustic details) and his 150 Session on NTS, ML's Life Always Breaks Your Heart is mixtape-concrète:

Gamelan of the soul, Bio-Curry-Wurst in Kreuzberg, zither overlays the booms of the squatter’s homegrade grenades…

Mark Leckey vs. Alvin Curran, Gustav Flaubert vs Cabaret Voltaire, free association flashbacks with the timestamps mixed up, with added bass guitar, OP-1, Ableton, distinguishing the ‘real’ instruments becomes unimportant….they’re absorbed by memory foam….

No country, no flag – outernational without a cause!

There is no purpose, there is only reverie.

ML -

"A useless ruin, things are falling apart, even in our deepest, we long for harmony. A hypothetical path, for obscure reasons, fades into transparency. The mediocrity of Western culture, sicken by P.R., life offers a chance, a place for enthusiasm. The texture of the world, them can read it in your eyes. In the heart of schizo-culture, distance, suddenly shortened, forms characters as symbols. Deafen by mass media, embittered by unsettled chemistry, the willing body, forever in transition. The pre-invented existence, owned by language, creates a passage towards chaos. Paragraphs of currents, amplify the feelings, while silence leaks into the new luxury of time. Gentrification of sentiments, beneath our palms, all these memoirs. A modern consciousness, stretching over years in narcissistic differentiation. In touch with another human spirit, blowing backwards, beneath dark waters. We put our hands on your body, onto a new landscape, employed by metaphysical mutations. At the edge of the cosmos, prairies and mountains hide the truth in tactical silence. Apparently so, a number of months ago, above our head, a landscape of journals. Mystical content, statistically insignificant. A new patio, them crawled through the walls."

Our second sound-clash instalment sees Panix lock heads with Dj Snowy Buffet.

Based out of South London, Panix made a name for himself in the dubstep scene, before emerging as one of the most exciting producers of UKG and breaks.

The A1, "Premium Dubz" combines moody bass-lines with ravey stabs to make the ultimate 2-step dance floor killer. The A2, "Hefty" does exactly what it says on the tin.. Hefty basslines and squeaky clean 4 to the floor drums.

Dj Snowy Buffet is another veteran of the dubstep game, producing under the well known WZ. Surfacing as his new alias, the Czechoslovakian producer shows depth to his game with a bouncy UKG sound.

The B1, "Can I Tell" provides skippy garage drums and synths certain to light up any set. The B2, "Club Life" showcases the darker side of UKG, with warping basslines and amen breaks.

Micah is a special one. His playing has a restlessly inventive and futuristic tilt while simultaneously remaining deeply rooted in the history of the music – all delivered with curiosity, patience, humor and care. I make a point to hear him as often as I can, as he always inspires and is constantly evolving. Micah is one of the most exciting musicians of his generation. One who has a unique style as well as all the tools needed to make a major contribution to the world of jazz piano.

"When we decided to produce Micah Thomas, the project involved a recording of five titles only. In the first part of an approximately one hour session, Micah beautifully played first takes of up to ten titles, with fantastic artistic fervor and great freshness. Taken by surprise, joy and admiration, we decided on the spur of the moment to change our initial plans, so we could capture the magic of that

session for a little longer. Here is the result, a 12 titles double vinyl that takes you back to October 31st, 2020 at Big Orange Sheep studio in Brooklyn, NY. Twelve songs when we encountered the art of Micah Thomas as a solo pianist for the first time."

It’s common knowledge that KOMPAKT’s TOTAL series serves as our yearbook, a musical wrap up of the past 12 months. Therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that this year’s edition is informed by another pandemic year, where dancefloors were still mostly deserted and the devastating developments in Eastern Europe. Kompakt’s A&R team still kept on foot on the imaginary dancefloor, while scouting different realms apart from the big room euphoria. Anyway, brain dance has always been a key ingredient to our catalogue.

The Voigt brothers are opening this years vinyl edition in an unusually romantic fashion. ‘Why’ combines a bubbly FM bassline with lush washes of looped guitars. High off the (presumably high) heels of her recent album ‘Jesus Was An Alien’ she delivers a spanking new excursion into her sonic world, ‘The Hill’. Our Mexican friend Rebolledo makes his first ever solo appearance on TOTAL with his trademark hypnotic desert sound. Jürgen Paape is calling a spade a spade with ‘Le Monde À Changé’ – The world has changed indeed. Our prodigal son, Matias Aguayo, returns to the mothership with ‘Cinco Y Rojo’. An exercise in Chicago-esque groove theory paired with a cheeky visitor from Denmark. Spot the reference and win a pair of hooves. It’s hard to find a quality party around Cologne without Jonathan Kaspar on its bill. Rightly so, as he continues to hone his craft as an impeccable DJ and producer. Michael gives the tremendously talented Danish singer songwriter eee gee a proper Mayer treatment and Kompakt founding member Jörg Burger closes off the festivities with a groovy midtempo chugger that reminisces ‘Blue Lines’ era Massive Attack as much as the late Andy Weatheralls low slung psychedelia.

Es ist allgemein bekannt, dass die TOTAL Reihe eine jährliche Positionsbestimmung des Kölner Labels KOMPAKT darstellt und der Jahrbuch-hafte Charakter war ja auch immer beabsichtigt. So wundert es wenig, dass man TOTAL 22 die Irrungen und Wirrungen des zweiten pandemischen Jahres 2022 deutlich anhört. Die A&R Abteilung des Labels hatte zwar – trotz geschlossener Clubs – weiter mindestens einen Fuss auf dem imaginären Tanzboden, aber man spürt, dass es ein eher verhaltener Jahrgang geworden ist. Dance Tracks brauchen einen entsprechenden Resonanzraum – und der war zumindest bis zur Deadline dieser Platte kaum gegeben. Aber Kopfdisco gehörte schon immer zum kompakten Repertoire. Letztlich entsteht in diesem vom Big Room los gekoppelten Bereich meist die interessanteste Musik.

Die Gebrüder Voigt eröffnen TOTAL 22 auf einer unerwartet romantischen Note. Quirlige FM Bässe schmiegen sich an verhuschte Gitarrenloops, so dass es eine wahre Freude ist. Perel hat gerade ihr fulminantes Album “Jesus Was An Alien” abgeliefert und spurtet bereits mit Siebenmeilenstiefeln (oder vielleicht auch Pumps?) zum nächsten Ziel: ‘The Hills’. Unser mexikanischer Freund Rebolledo ist erstmals solo auf einer TOTAL zu finden und beschwört mit ‘The Sharper Image’ seinen hypnotischen Prärie Sound herauf. Jürgen Paape nennt das Kind direkt beim Namen: Le monde a changé… Die Welt hat sich verändert – ein Kommentar zum Zeitgeschehen, der keiner Erklärung bedarf. Nach längerer Abstinenz hat Matias Aguayo wieder am Mutterschiff angedockt. ‘Cinco Y Rojo’ ist ein Lehrstück in Sachen Chicago-esquen Grooves, kombiniert mit einem frechen Besucher aus dem Dänemark der 80er. Findet die Referenz und gewinnt ein paar nagelneuer Hufen. Es ist derzeit schwer eine qualitativ hochwertige Party im Rheinland zu finden, auf der Jonathan Kaspar nicht spielt. Zurecht, denn er schärft seine Skills als DJ und Produzent wie ein Sushi Chef sein Messer. Michael Mayer dreht die überaus talentierte Singer Songwriterin eee gee auf links und überlässt seinem Weggefährten Jörg Burger das letzte Wort. "Crawling Up That Hill’ ist ein slicker Midtempo Groover, der in seiner behutsamen Psychedelik irgendwo zwischen Massive Attack in der ‘Blue Lines’ Epoche und Andy Weatherall changiert.

2022 sees Turin Brakes release their ninth studio album - Wide-Eyed Nowhere. Of Wide-Eyed Nowhere the band say "We surprised ourselves with what came out; a sweeter, groovier set of songs in no hurry to be anything but themselves. The South London 4-Piece comprising Olly Knights, Gale Paridjanian, Rob Allum and Eddie Myer recorded this new set of songs at Twin Palms - Olly"s garden studio - over the summer of 2021, choosing to let time infuse into the music and mature in a way it couldn"t in a pressurised commercial studio setting. "Friends would visit, kids would add a voice or two, bees would buzz and we"d get to sit in the South London sun while the music poured out of the speakers and floated across the lawn. Sometimes we decided it"s okay to just let it happen naturally, not to try too hard - just get out of the way let the songs take shape, and that maybe you don"t have to be in a bad place to make the deeper cuts." Turin Brakes released Mercury Prize shortlisted the Optimist Lp in March 2001 (achieving gold status in the UK), followed up by 2003"s Ether Song which featured the top 5 hit single Pain Killer (Summer Rain). The band has since moved on to rack up seven top 40 singles, seven top 40 albums and over a million record sales worldwide.

2022 sees Turin Brakes release their ninth studio album - Wide-Eyed Nowhere. Of Wide-Eyed Nowhere the band say "We surprised ourselves with what came out; a sweeter, groovier set of songs in no hurry to be anything but themselves. The South London 4-Piece comprising Olly Knights, Gale Paridjanian, Rob Allum and Eddie Myer recorded this new set of songs at Twin Palms - Olly"s garden studio - over the summer of 2021, choosing to let time infuse into the music and mature in a way it couldn"t in a pressurised commercial studio setting. "Friends would visit, kids would add a voice or two, bees would buzz and we"d get to sit in the South London sun while the music poured out of the speakers and floated across the lawn. Sometimes we decided it"s okay to just let it happen naturally, not to try too hard - just get out of the way let the songs take shape, and that maybe you don"t have to be in a bad place to make the deeper cuts." Turin Brakes released Mercury Prize shortlisted the Optimist Lp in March 2001 (achieving gold status in the UK), followed up by 2003"s Ether Song which featured the top 5 hit single Pain Killer (Summer Rain). The band has since moved on to rack up seven top 40 singles, seven top 40 albums and over a million record sales worldwide.

The ground- breaking, unique jazz/R&B/pop group Brian Auger & The Trinity were formed from the ashes of Long John Baldry’s and Brian Auger’s previous group bandThe Steampacket, an R&B Revue collective, which also featured a then barely known Rod Stewart and Julie Driscoll.

Adding the UKs then greatest soul/pop singer Julie Driscoll to this new collective meant that not only did the band have a unique, beautiful voice and face to front the group – Driscoll also embodied everything about the 1960s fashionable It Girl; her sound, her clothes, hair styles and make up assured that nearly as many column inches were dedicated to her stylish demeanour as much as the band’s genre bending music.

The group were the one of the first too to intentionally set out to break down musical barriers – Brian himself specifically stated in the sleeve notes for 1968s ‘Definitely What!’ album that his concept “lies along a straight line drawn between pop and jazz and aims at the ‘fusion’ of both elements”. ‘Fusion’ at that time was not even a recognised musical term, reinforcing Auger’s credentials as an originator and innovator.

“Back then the jazz audiences were purists. They really looked down on rock and pop,” he explains. “I had people cross the road when they saw me coming, I was persona non grata at Ronnie Scotts because of themusic we were doing and the clothes we were wearing”.

Happily – audiences of the time didn’t take the same dismissive approach, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity toured the US and had exploded onto American TV screens as guests of The Monkees, and also scored hits across Europe's pop charts via the singles ‘This Wheels On Fire’ & ‘Save Me’ – but simultaneously appeared on the UK’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ in the same month as headlining major European Jazz Festivals – a feat no other act has equalled since.

Between 1967 and ’70, Brian Auger experienced a four year run of unprecedented creativity – 1967’s Open with Julie Driscoll, 1968’s Definitely What!, 1969’s Streetnoise again with Driscoll and 1970’s Befour – taking the Hammond Organ in new directions with their thrilling fusion of club R&B, jazz and psychedelic cool, engaging both the underground and the mainstream, and bringing the group chart success in the UK and Europe. “I look back on my years with The Trinity as aperiod of discovery,” Auger concludes. “I didn’t know what would happen or where it would take me but we were breaking down barriers and going someplace new.”


King Britt “The Multi-Genre Maestro, Brian Auger is every producer and DJ’s secret weapon. A hero who deserves his flower now”

DJ Format “I have more Brian Auger records in my collection than any other British artist, which says more about my love of his music than words ever could"


FOR FANS OF:
Jimmy Smith, Aretha Franklin, The Spencer Davis
Group, Nina Simone, Georgie Fame, Traffic. Sly &
The Family Stone, Jimmy McGriff.

First thought, best thought. Until the next thought: a guiding principle for No Age in the 16ish years they've been around. Constantly responding to their own streams of consciousness with reductive flexibility, they've taken the basic duo of guitar and drums with vocals WAY farther than anyone listening in halcyon Weirdo Rippers days could have guessed. Expounding on those larval possibilities, they've zig-zagged in serpentine precision, in and out of the teeth of the wringer - ranging outside and back in again, as befits the present thought. And now, six albums into it, these principles have led them to make People Helping People. Composed in their studio of ten years in the "pre pandemic" times, then an eviction from said space, and finished deep in the midst at their new basecamp: Randy's Garage. It starts with an instrumental, too. First counter-intuition, best counter intuition! Nearly five minutes prelude Dean's debut vocal interjection - a zoom in from the upper atmosphere, Randy's guitar clouds pulsing with radiation, paced by spare, percussive accents. When the first song with singing ("Compact Flashes") bounces in on an insane synthetic beat, the only recognizable sound of No Age is a sputtering of enchanted clicks and creaks - muted guitar strings and drumkit rattlings that cycle for a full minute before voice song and snare fall into place. This is the sound of People Helping People: No Age, deep in the lab, scraping available nuclii together to see what new compound they find next. Erasing the starting points, reordering the pieces and beginning anew. It's an everyday mindset - and as the first No Age album recorded entirely by No Agee, People Helping People is a broadcast of entirely lived-in proportions. Side one ricochets expertly back and forth between magisterial instrumentals and sing-song forms cut up on the mixing desk, as with the undeniable hitness of "Plastic (You Want It)", winningly rewired to MIDI-mangled beat squelches. They don't really land on a straight up punk-style riff until it's almost time to flip the side, and even once they've got off on a run of rockers on side B, their aesthetic choices continuously reframe the norms, enhancing their inherent power. People Helping People finds their disparate desires operating in perfect sync; prolegomenic weirdness fused immaculately to classic rock propulsion, transforming the energy pouring out from their hands and feet with electronics. Dean's lyrics are like pieces taken off the belt at the factory and put together into a John Chamberlin-esque sculpture, meant to sit out in the rain. Randy's guitars, collaged into arrangements that reflect, again, boundless curiosity and exquisite restraint. This is People Helping People: unpretentious, suspicious, inviting, confident, left field. The most accurate display of the No Age ethos put to record. Yet!

Tape

The third LP from the New Zealand quartet houses 12 jewels of tight, guitar-heavy songs that worm their way into your head, an incandescent collision of power-pop and skuzz. With Expert, The Beths wanted to make an album meant to be experienced live, for both the listeners and themselves. They wanted it to be fun -- to hear, to play -- in spite of the prickling anxiety throughout the lyrics, the fear of change and struggle to cope.

Most of Expert was recorded at guitarist Jonathan Pearce’s studio on Karangahape Road in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand) -- and sometimes in the building's cavernous stairwell at 1am -- toward the end of 2021, until they were interrupted by a four-month national lockdown. They traded notes remotely for months, songwriting from afar and fleshing out the arrangements alone, the first time they’d written together in such a way. The following February, The Beths left the country for the first time in more than two years to tour across the US, and simultaneously finish mixing the album on the road. That latter half felt more collaborative, with everyone on-hand to trade notes in real time, until it all culminated in a chaotic three-day studio mad-dash in Los Angeles. There, Expert finally became the record they were hearing in their heads.

Expert is an extension of the same skuzzy palette the band has built across their catalog, pop hooks embedded in incisive indie rock. The album’s title track “Expert In A Dying Field” introduces the thesis for the record: “How does it feel to be an expert in a dying field? How do you know it’s over when you can’t let go?” Stokes asks. “Love is learned over time ‘til you’re an expert in a dying field.”

The rest is a capsule of The Beths’ most electrifying and exciting output, a sonic spectrum: “Your Side” is a forlorn and sincere love song, emotive; while “Silence is Golden,” with its propulsive drum line and stop-start staccato of a guitar line winding up and down, is one of the band’s sharpest and most driving. “When You Know You Know” skews a bit groovier, pure pop and a natural addition to the band’s live set. “Knees Deep” was written last minute, but yields one of the best guitar lines on Expert. There’s a certain chaos across the 12 tracks, the palpable joy of playing music with long-time friends colliding with the raw nerves of pain.

Stokes strings it all together through her singular songwriting lens, earnest and self-effacing, zeroing in on the granules of doubt and how they snowball. Did I do the wrong thing? Or did you? And are we still good people at the end of it? She isn’t interested in villains, but instead interested in just telling the story. That insecurity and thoughtfulness, translated into universality and understanding, has been the guiding light of The Beths’ output since 2016. In the face of pain, there’s no dwelling on internal anguish - instead, through The Beths’ musi