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Worthy re-issue of Robert Cotter's second late 70's soul album! Comprising five songs, with four of them being quite lengthy and well-structured for the dance floor, was entirely recorded in the United States by top-notch American musicians. "Timeless", a fresh and lively expression of late 70s soul music, was recorded at the Sundragon Studio in New York. This studio was home to legendary bands such as Talking Heads and Ramones, as well as a few 'disco studio groups' like Andrea True Connection, Tony Valor Sound Orchestra, and Camouflage, who recorded songs that later became considerable hits. For this reason, it's believed that the positive outcome of the album can be partially attributed to Ned Liben, an eclectic New York musician and co-founder of the studio in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, served as an exhaustive interlocutor for any artistic and technical needs. He was also the arranger of "Rock Me With Your Love", the most significant song on the album. Ned's successful mission was to capture the maximum timbral fidelity of Robert Cotter's voice using appropriate recording techniques, assisted by Michael George Ewing, a talented engineer who had previously worked on similar projects with well-known artists like Carol Williams, Maryann Farra & Satin Soul, Touch and Tony Valor. In fact, the piece features original and melodious lines, coupled with an excellent steady rhythm, spanning approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds - in short, "a delightful sound for every beat." This ensured that the performance of the young singer-songwriter from New Jersey was faithfully reproduced without neglecting the overall musical landscape. The other four songs, arranged by Ben Lazzaroni with the same musicians as the first piece, are no exception. Best Record also delivered on the promise to Robert's older brother, Karl Potter, a powerful percussionist transplanted to Rome, for whom the roman label produced "Sweet & Salty Cha-Cha-Cha" (12", 1986). Robert Cotter, an artist about whom almost nothing has been written, is poised to gain recognition once word spreads about his album, which has been entirely remastered by Dom Scuteri and features a more congenial tracklist. This album is destined to be truly 'timeless', ready to captivate audiences around the world. Even the new cover artwork, created by Nerina Fernandez, pays homage to an artist who, despite expressing himself with elegance and simplicity, radiates energy and exudes love. "Timeless" is an inevitable revelation for anyone who missed it at the time, and for the next 40-plus years, it will remain an absolute must-listen for Robert Cotter's many fans, leaving them all in awe. In addition to the reissue on the classic glossy black vinyl, a strictly limited edition on red vinyl will be released exclusively by Clone Distribution.

Worthy re-issue of Robert Cotter's second late 70's soul album! Comprising five songs, with four of them being quite lengthy and well-structured for the dance floor, was entirely recorded in the United States by top-notch American musicians. "Timeless", a fresh and lively expression of late 70s soul music, was recorded at the Sundragon Studio in New York. This studio was home to legendary bands such as Talking Heads and Ramones, as well as a few 'disco studio groups' like Andrea True Connection, Tony Valor Sound Orchestra, and Camouflage, who recorded songs that later became considerable hits. For this reason, it's believed that the positive outcome of the album can be partially attributed to Ned Liben, an eclectic New York musician and co-founder of the studio in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, served as an exhaustive interlocutor for any artistic and technical needs. He was also the arranger of "Rock Me With Your Love", the most significant song on the album. Ned's successful mission was to capture the maximum timbral fidelity of Robert Cotter's voice using appropriate recording techniques, assisted by Michael George Ewing, a talented engineer who had previously worked on similar projects with well-known artists like Carol Williams, Maryann Farra & Satin Soul, Touch and Tony Valor. In fact, the piece features original and melodious lines, coupled with an excellent steady rhythm, spanning approximately 8 minutes and 30 seconds - in short, "a delightful sound for every beat." This ensured that the performance of the young singer-songwriter from New Jersey was faithfully reproduced without neglecting the overall musical landscape. The other four songs, arranged by Ben Lazzaroni with the same musicians as the first piece, are no exception. Best Record also delivered on the promise to Robert's older brother, Karl Potter, a powerful percussionist transplanted to Rome, for whom the roman label produced "Sweet & Salty Cha-Cha-Cha" (12", 1986). Robert Cotter, an artist about whom almost nothing has been written, is poised to gain recognition once word spreads about his album, which has been entirely remastered by Dom Scuteri and features a more congenial tracklist. This album is destined to be truly 'timeless', ready to captivate audiences around the world. Even the new cover artwork, created by Nerina Fernandez, pays homage to an artist who, despite expressing himself with elegance and simplicity, radiates energy and exudes love. "Timeless" is an inevitable revelation for anyone who missed it at the time, and for the next 40-plus years, it will remain an absolute must-listen for Robert Cotter's many fans, leaving them all in awe.

It's been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia reemerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival. Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player's powerful DC-based trio _ which practices each weekend in his basement _ featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA's expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities. Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like "Tizita" or "Anchihoye Lene") upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia's original compositions (like "Yegle Nesh") shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments _ often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age. "Pioneer Works Swing (Live)" brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents. Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he's been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

It's been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia reemerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival. Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player's powerful DC-based trio _ which practices each weekend in his basement _ featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA's expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities. Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like "Tizita" or "Anchihoye Lene") upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia's original compositions (like "Yegle Nesh") shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments _ often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age. "Pioneer Works Swing (Live)" brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents. Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he's been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

It’s been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia re- emerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the

New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival.

Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities.

Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like “Tizita” or “Anchihoye Lene”) upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia’s original compositions (like “Yegle Nesh”) shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments—often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age.

Pioneer Works Swing (Live) brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents.

Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he’s been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

Did you know there are horses on the cover of Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version? There are at least three in the right hand corner, gathered inexplicably near a white canvas tent, a human possibly perched among its folds. As widescreen and vast as the cover may seem, those little details-the horses, the possible human, the faint wisp of white clouds-give it depth and wonder, something to which the imagination can return. Did you know that the music on Earth 2-repressed now for its 30th anniversary, back in its original artwork, and accompanied by a riveting set of remixes that demonstrate the reach of what Dylan Carlson long ago called "ambient metal"-works much the same way? The surface is massive and obvious, the meatpaw riffs of Carlson and bassist Dave Harwell pounding and swiping and pawing at the speakers, a true bludgeon in three-dimensional sound. Listen, though, for the details in the corners, for the finesse beneath the force, and Earth 2 reveals new levels of depth and wonder. The widespread impact of Earth 2 suggests that others have indeed been leaning in, listening to these minutiae and making something new of them. A masterpiece without many genre precedents, Earth 2 surely helped send doom metal down its more modern drone, ambient, and avant-garde avenues. Those descendants are obvious. Perhaps more surprising and gratifying are the ways it has influenced electronic music, modern composition, and even hip-hop by realigning our senses of tempo, time, and texture. Earth 2 engendered a rearrangement of expectations, regardless of preferred form.

It’s time to deck the halls and put up the Christmas tree as the
yuletide season is upon us. Christmas Collected is the brand-new
compilation with both traditional and modern songs celebrating
the festive season. Artist and groups including Queen, Bruce
Springsteen, Band Aid, Paul McCartney, U2, The Teskey
Brothers, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Amy Winehouse, Ariana
Grande, Mud and many more are featured on the 2LP.
Christmas Collected is available as a limited edition on translucent
green (LP1) and translucent red (LP2) coloured vinyl and includes
an insert.

Tel Aviv’s Raw Tapes Records is celebrating 15 years of spreading the magic of music with Puzzles Vol. 5, a compilation gathering the best that the label has to offer, exclusively released here. Featuring
iogi, Amir Bresler, Buttering Trio and many more, this album is the fifth in Raw Tapes' legendary “Puzzles” series which gives a peek into the heart of the label, revealing the different pieces of the Raw Tapes puzzle in one big, colorful, soulful album festively printed on Raw Tapes' first-ever DOUBLE vinyl.

The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series . Entry #5: Dan Hastie and Terin Ector (Orgone) pick up where Piero Umiliani left off with Exotic Grooves and Lush Funk. This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs – listen, ponder, repeat.

Action Pact were a punk rock band from Stanwell, an isolated village right under the flight-path of London Heathrow Airport, inspiring this album title-song.àFormed in 1981 by guitarist Wild Planet, bassist & lyricist Dr. Phibes, and the then 15-year-olds drummer Joe Fungus and singer George Cheex, still school-kids when their Heathrow Touchdown EP was released in October 1981. BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel played the single many times and booked them for their first session, recorded February 1982.àSigned to Jungle's Fall Out Records imprint, Action Pact"s label debut Suicide Bag EP went to the top of the British punk chart in July 1982.àFive more singles entered the indie charts including Yet Another Dole Queue Song, and a reworked London Bouncers, along with two albums, 'Mercury Theatre - On The Air' and 'Survival of the Fattest'.àA second John Peel session in '82 and a David Jensen BBC session in '83 were also recorded and broadcast - all collected together here for the first time.

The GRAMMY® Award-winning band, Blues Traveler, is back with their fifteenth full-length album, Traveler’s Soul Round Hill Records/Black Hill Records. This album, similar to Traveler Blues, a blues covers album that earned the band a GRAMMY nomination, is a covers album paying tribute to R&B and soul classics with featured artists such as Pat Monahan from Train, Valerie June, Alisan Porter, Daisha McBride, and many more. The first single, “Fool For You” will be released along with the album announce and preorder launch on Friday, July 28th. “Fool For You,” originally popularized by The Impressions back in 1968, has a wailing harmonica that gives way to an understated guitar riff and a heavenly piano melody. This ebb-and-flow underlines a smoldering vocal performance from John backed by a rapturous choir.

Classic Wailers recordings done with Lee Perry, early '70s. Tuff roots rhythms with early stripped down versions to later well known tracks such as 'Sun Is Shining,' 'African Herbsman,' 'Keep On Moving' and many more.

Breezy headwinds, orange-tinged skies, hazy, serene bliss – just some of the profound feelings to be had on the latest release from Oath, a masterclass in melody and mood from one of the finest ever to do…..

Italian producer and DJ Jacy remains one of the stand-out musical characters from a dazzling ensemble of atmosphere builders who were so prevalent during the late 80s and early 90s. His craftsmanship is simply legendary, his music quite simply some of the finest to exude from this period of time, and of which is still making waves in the collective sands now. His dedication to the creation of emotive sweeps, gorgeous rippling tones and easy going, freeing atmospheres has remained a cornerstone of his sound, from the early days through to his excellent work on his imprint Home of House, along with sublime releases on Kalahari Oyster Cult and Hot Haus Recs. Jacy’s sound was broadcast to the world once again via Safe Trip’s ‘Welcome To Paradise’ compilations, where his inclusions were something that lingered long in the memory – an essential component of what is known as the ‘Dream House’ sound. It’s difficult to convey into words exactly how a Jacy record can take the listener, but perhaps it’s different for everyone – one thing can be agreed on though, it’s an experience like no other.

‘Night Fantasy’ is Jacy’s first EP in 4 years, and much like his other records, this one blesses us with warmth, delight and joy, in the softest and most subtle of manners. The title track, which opens up the record, greets the listener with a familiar drum pattern, one which then gives way to the rock-hard bass line, and then the pads arrive. Heavenly angelic in form, their presence is complimented by the arrival of the breathy vocal sample, which evolves to provide a wondrous narrative with the cascading synth line that comes soon after. As a combination its intoxicating, with the breakdown giving us time to get to know this mixture very well, indeed, before powering home with excellence. ‘Just Change’ comes on next, and this one opens up with that classic and explicitly dreamy chord sequence we all know and cherish, with Jacy allowing us to soak up this goodness before shifting the perspective to the rhythm. The interplay that occurs here between keys and drums is something different, before everything transitions into a sequence to close your eyes too. ‘Dat Tape’ shifts perspective to more of a swing in terms of the groove, with sweeping background pads doing much to tug at the heartstrings. The vocal sample is so very effective at crafting an audial narrative, inviting the listener to swim deeper into the goodness, with the subtle transitions doing much to keep things ticking over. Finally, we have ‘Come On’, and this one keeps a spacious feel between the keys and the drums, and it works ever so well. The bass line occupies the bottom ends superbly, with interchanges in chords and some ever-so-familiar vocal samples thrown into the mix – and its simply wonderful.

To convey deep set feelings is to have faith in musical dexterity, to understand the grooves in the record, to follow instinct and trust in the process and precedent. Jacy has always found the sweet spot in his music by following this approach, it seems, and this new record of his is an accumulation of a lifetime of dedication and passion to music and all of its many flavors. Soaring, effective melodic undulations and rapturous, fluctuating rhythms, coupled with atmospheres to drift into – what more could you wish for? Lets get lost within it once again….

Originally released in 2012 following unprecedented changes in the music industry, Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color found Brother Ali reborn and rejuvenated. Teaming up with famed platinum-selling producer Jake One (Drake, J. Cole, Wiz Khalifa, MF DOOM), Brother Ali was prepared to tell the American story from a very different viewpoint. Inspired by his first trip to Mecca, the 2011 uprisings in the Middle East, and the Occupy movements that were building steam worldwide, Ali linked with Jake One during a two-month sabbatical in Seattle to create this brave new phase in his remarkable discography. The album presented a scathingly honest critique of America and its many flaws while simultaneously presenting a hopeful outlook for the future and its possibilities. At a time when many felt powerless against an overreaching government with all its militarist and corporate interests, Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color provided the voice of a critical American consciousness, as well as a beacon of hope for those that hold fast to its ideals and potential. In honor of its 10th anniversary, we've pressed this limited edition 2xLP vinyl offering with redesigned packaging and layout that features a custom-built slash case with an illustrated flag, a full-color jacket housing tri-color red/white/blue galaxy effect vinyl, printed record sleeves and a 4-panel lyric booklet.

Vladislav Delay presents the fourth EP in his "Hide Behind The Silence" series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Intuitive and raw music, momentary and reflective, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.

Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.
Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’
The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such? Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.
A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.
It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Hide Behind the Silence”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

Exploration of inaction. Of many kinds. In arts and in personal life, or at bigger and more serious levels. Questioning myself as a human being as well as an artist. Acknowledging the growing activism all around, and the very clear need for it, and how it reflects my own inaction.
Musically speaking, after Rakka, Isoviha and Speed Demon, I finally found some relief, but more importantly lost the need to go musically ever more outward and intensive. I felt quite strongly certain periods/moods from the past and they made me revisit some musical ideas or states of mind I was exploring early on.
It’s about live moments being captured, not much premeditation or editing. More intuitive and raw, even though the end result (to me) feels and sounds quite introspective and calm. It’s not very ambitious. Momentary and reflective.

2) Your music doesn’t sound very silent. Does it come from somewhere behind the silence?

Oh, this time to me it sounds quite quiet and playing with space if not silence. I don’t know what’s actually behind silence, but I think silence is the source of everything. We just don’t understand it yet.

3) What kind of thoughts or experiences gave inspiration to this series?

Writing this in Nov ’22, it’s not a stretch to say the world has been really unwell. Sometimes, like Mika Vainio put it, the world eats you up. I feel a bit like that. And I try to hide in my studio and stay away from it all, but it’s getting harder by the day. I’ve been questioning myself and thinking if what us artists are doing is worth anything, and whether it’s just a selfish thing I’ve been doing for the past 25 years, running away from everything. I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.

4) Is it easy for you to be in silence, or around silence?

Absolutely. I not only hide behind silence but I also love silence. It’s only since I started going back to nature as a grown-up person that I sensed and was enveloped by silence, true silence. I have begun to appreciate it a lot. I think all the people should spend more time in silence.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork by Marc Hohmann, photography by Shinnosuke Yoshimori.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

For fans of Brian May, Slash, Zack Wylde, Classic Rock and Guitar Heroes! The Guitar Zeus 25th Anniversary 4LP/3CD set is a massive collection featuring the greatest guitar players ever including Slash, Brian May, Ted Nugent, Yngwie Malmsteem, Neal Schon, Richie Sambora, Zakk Wylde and many, many more. With 2 never released tracks featuring Tommy Thayer of KISS and Derek Sherinian (ex Dream Theater). This is the ultimate collection for any guitar enthusiast, there is nowhere else you can find this many guitar greats on one release! Curated by drum legend Carmine Appice who set the grooves for the groundbreaking psychedelic debut by Vanilla Fudge in 1967. Post-Fudge, Bogert and Appice formed Cactus (seen as an influence on King‘s X and Van Halen). Post-Cactus, the rhythm section found Grammy winning Guitar Hero Jeff Beck to form the first supergroup: Beck, Bogert & Appice (BBA). One of the premier showmen in rock, Appice became known worldwide for his astonishing live performances, in addition to becoming a highly sought-after session drummer, recording with countless artists throughout his career. In ‘76, he joined the Rod Stewart Band, touring, recording and writing two of Stewart‘s biggest hits, “Do Ya Think I‘m Sexy” and “Young Turks”. He would go on to form King Kobra, tour with Ozzy Osbourne and Blue Murder with John Sykes (Whitesnake) and Tony Franklin (The Firm)

In the 1950s and 60s, the blues was the dominant form of Black vernacular music throughout Texas and the surrounding areas In segregated neighborhoods, community members gathered in saloons, dancehalls, and each other's homes to hear their neighbors sing their stories of sorrow, heartbreak, jubilation, and triumph. Robert "Mack" McCormick, an academically untrained but fanatical devotee of the blues, stepped into this world and became one of its most devout advocates and documentarians. By photographing Black and Latino Texans and their neighborhoods, as well as recording and interviewing musicians, many of whom never stepped foot into a proper recording studio, McCormick endeared and eventually embedded himself into these communities. By the time he died in 2015, McCormick had amassed a collection of 590 reels of sound recordings and 165 boxes of manuscripts, original interviews and research notes, thousands of photographs and negatives, playbills, and posters. Because McCormick never published or released most of these materials, his collection became a thing of legend and intense speculation among scholars, blues aficionados, and musicians alike. 'Playing for the Man at the Door..' is the first compilation of music drawn from this fabled collection, which indelibly documents a pivotal moment in African American history. It features never- before- heard performances not only from musicians who became icons in their own right, including Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, but also, crucially, performers whose names may be unfamiliar to even the most devoted blues fans and scholars. Newly mastered recordings and accompanying photographs bring to life many of these forgotten figures: offering insight into their lives and illuminating in new, enlightening ways their joys and anguish, deep social connections, distinctive voices, and cultural networks. The collection spans gospel, ragtime, country blues dirges, the unclassifiable music of George "Bongo Joe" Coleman, and more, showing that no community, no matter how tight knit, is monolithic. Accompanying the music is a 128- page book, which contains breathtaking photographs by McCormick and his associates, as well as contextual essays by producers Jeff Place and John Troutman on McCormick's life, and by musicians Mark Puryear and Dom Flemons on some of the marginalized communities throughout "Greater Texas" to which McCormick devoted his life's work.

Repress!

First ever reissue of "A la memoria del muerto" (1972), Fruko y sus Tesos' second album, featuring the soaring and soulful vocals of Cali native Edulfamid Molina Díaz, aka "Píper Pimienta". Produced by Fruko's uncle Mario "Pachanga" Rincón, the LP has an uncompromisingly stark, hard sound that is appealing to today's collectors of 'salsa brava' just as it was impactful on the Colombian scene when it was made. Unlike the first Tesos album, with a two-trumpet line-up and fairly simple arrangements, this more mature recording added another trumpet and two trombones for a more robust brass attack. Additionally, instead of basic salsa, there are many different rhythms - guaguancó, bomba, plena, oriza, bolero, cha-cha-chá, descarga and Latin soul. Includes the bonus track 'Tihuanaco' (a cover of Peruvian pianist Alfredito Linares), which appeared on the US edition of the LP. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl.

Following on from the Primal Scream frontman’s brilliantly-received previous release for Ace, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’ (accolades included being short-listed for Rough Trade’s compilation of the year), Bobby Gillespie brings us another slice of the music that soundtracks his life. And in this case, it’s his touring life. Drawing on the experience of ‘the way that the noise and clamour of the road can tire you out, wear you down and frazzle your nerves to shattered fragments of jangled exhaustion’, these are the records Bobby turns to for solace, for comfort, for empathy and for resourcefulness.

The compilation features an introduction from the man himself, talking us through his personal choices as though he’s sitting cross-legged on the carpet going through records with you in his lounge. Also long-time cohort of the band, Kris Needs has written extensive liner-notes, serving up an intensive track by track insight and analysis.

Titled after and kicking off with the Willie Nelson track of the same name, ‘I Still Can’t Believe You’re Gone’ leads us through a darker and deeper exploration than its predecessor, featuring Nick Cave’s funereal version of ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and Ry Cooder’s sparse and beautiful reworking of ‘Dark End Of The Street’. And we get there via such greats as Bob Dylan, JJ Cale, Donnie Fritts, Crazy Horse, Lee Hazlewood, Al Green, Thin Lizzy and so many more.

In Bobby’s own words: ‘These songs are soul savers to soothe frayed and battered nerves and to ease and settle the heart. They work on me like medicine every time. I would like to share this wonderful music that has given me strength, joy and inspiration over the years with you the listener, so that you too might get the same feelings of protection and inspiration that I do whenever I listen to these songs. We're all travellers on some kind of road through this life, and we all need respite from time-to-time - the music on this compilation is soul food of the highest order - I hope you enjoy it.’.

Bread & Souls is an ensemble of musicians, singers, DJs, producers and, most of all, long term friends: a globally-spread family re-gathered by Franco Fusari – entrepreneur, music lover and dreamer.

“Find the Beauty” on 7″ is the project preview (which precedes the release of the whole project late 2023), featuring Detroit-based Paul Randolph on vocals, the amazing Tommaso Cappellato on drums, Marcus Machado on guitar and Taku Hirano on percussion, all directed by eclectic project leader and producer Mark de Clive-Lowe, a pianist and true electronic-jazz pioneer.

The complete Bread & Souls project will be released as 4×12” EPs, with original music produced by Mark de Clive-Lowe and featuring Tommaso Cappellato, Bembé Segué, Vanessa Freeman, Paul Randolph, Rich Medina, and many more; remixes from: Mr. Scruff with Kaidi Tatham, Domu, Volcov, LTJ Xperience, Alex Attias and G&D.

In the year 1900 a musical genius was born in New Orleans. This man
who has been aptly described as 'The man who revolutionised Jazz' is of course the King of the trumpet Louis Armstrong. Perhaps another Jazz great Duke Ellington sums it all up best when he said “Louis Armstrong is, of course, the man who, when heard playing trumpet, inspired thousands to play like him. Hundreds of thousands more were simply inspired to play the same instrument he played and who knows how many millions just loved to listen to him? Louis Armstrong is what I call an American standard, an American Original.”

Year of The Knife have announced their new album, No Love Lost, due out October 27th from Pure Noise Records. The album finds Year of The Knife at their most sonically honed with nine lean and vicious songs that clock in at a blistering 20 minutes. Recorded by Kurt Ballou (Nails, The Armed, Code Orange), No Love Lost sounds truly massive, a crushing amalgam of hardcore and death metal influences that demands your attention and stays with you long after its concise runtime. To mark the album's announcement, Year of The Knife have shared two new singles, the 86 second "Wish" and 48 second "Last Laugh," highlighting both the economy of songwriting and the level aggression found on No Love Lost. Both tracks also include guest vocals from some of heavy music's greatest, with the former featuring Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg and the latter featuring Dylan Walker of Full of Hell. In late June, Year of The Knife were involved in a car accident while on tour. All four members endured serious injuries, especially vocalist Madison Watkins, who suffered many broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. No Love Lost sounds even more urgent and defiant in light of the band's recent circumstances, and profits from the album's sales will be going directly to the members' ongoing recovery efforts.

There is no stopping the mighty SORCERER and in the autumn of 2023 the band will release their highly anticipated fourth album entitled ‘Reign Of The Reaper’. Again not content with repeating themselves the album features some of the darkest, heaviest and most aggressive material the band has ever recorded, and at the same time some of the most lyrical and beautiful. The band holed up in their home studios and wrote music all through 2022 and then once again headed to SolnaSound Recording in Stockholm, the studio owned, run and operated by Simon Johansson (Wolf, Soilwork) with Mike Wead (King Diamond). SORCERER are also known for their long title tracks with catchy and highly memorable choruses, and the second single ‘Reign Of The Reaper’ is no exception. Taking the listener through the realms of death and dread, this doom-laden epic with it’s many twists and turns will crush souls, leaving metal fans begging for more darkness and despair.

What we love about this compilation is that it’s not one of these boring best off type of stuff, but a gathering of all songs that were published on rare vinyl releases that Hooded Menace put out during the last 15 years. So, in case you had no chance to buy any or all of these 7”s or splits (that go for high prices these days) this compilation is a chance for you to hear some more splendid stuff from these masters of horror. All songs are presented in chronological order, so... The feast begins with two songs which also ended up on the debut album of Hooded Menace “Fulfill the Curse”, but recorded in different versions the year before the album was recorded. We all love how Hooded Menace combines heavy, Doomy riffage with that gloomy, horror atmosphere and some melody. And of course their Doom is strongly infected with old school Death Metal, so this is also why the music of Hooded Menace speaks to many of you so well. Later there’s some stuff from the split with Anima Morte, splits with Coffins, Asphyx and Ilsa. All in all, we have to say that “Gloom Immemorial” is a fantastic compilation of rare stuff from one of the best Doom/Death Metal bands ever. We would love to have them all as originals, as playing such music in vinyl format is simply pure magic and it always give you a special feeling, but if you cannot have what you want, you will be very happy with this substitute. The band and the label took it all seriously and came up with a fantastic booklet, which shows you each original release in details - with lyrics, original artwork and band photographs from that era. It cannot be done better, so this is just a near-perfection type of release with 75 minutes of horror soundtrack on a killer 2-LP.

Move into the Luminous is the debut album by the trio Makushin.

Double bassist Jon Thorne (Lamb, Yorkston Thorne Khan), guitarist Peter Philipson (Jane Weaver, Fenella) and singer Nancy Elizabeth (Leaf Label, James Yorkston) lead this inspiring collective whose work explores the intersection between folk, jazz and ambient music.

The album also features contributions from Andrew Wasylyk, Raz Ullah, David A Jaycock and more.

Nancy Elizabeth is a singer and multi-instrumentalist who has released three chamber folk albums under her own name on the Leaf Label. She has also previously played with James Yorkston and recorded with the late ambient composer Susumu Yokota.

Jon Thorne is a double bassist best known as a member of the pioneering electronic band Lamb and, more recently, Yorkston Thorne Khan. He has worked with many other musicians, including Jon Hopkins, Robert Fripp and his mentor Danny Thompson, as well as releasing his own music.

Peter Philipson is a guitarist who has previously performed with Jane Weaver as her guitarist for a decade and has collaborated with her and Raz Ullah on two ambient albums under the artist name of Fenella. He has also released a number of instrumental guitar albums under his PJ Philipson guise.

Chicago-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Ben Billington makes music under the name Quicksails.

A pillar of the Chicago experimental scene and its branches across the midwest and national DIY circuits, Billington has enriched his communities through overlapping roles as a musician and curator /
promoter of freak sounds for more than two decades. In addition to his work as a solo artist, he has performed with bands such as ONO, ADT, Circuit Des Yeux, Tiger Hatchery, and Ryley Walker’s
band. Billington’s solo recordings as Quicksails encompass everything from free jazz-inspired electro-acoustic production to rhythmic synth-pulse tapestries to music focused on what could be
considered one primary instrument among the many he works with: the drum kit and auxiliary percussion. Surface, his fifth release to appear on Hausu Mountain, combines all of these idioms into
one diverse program while also expanding his palette to rope in his more recent experiments with touch-sensitive custom synthesizers and modular systems. Surface shimmers with a sense of tonal
sophistication and emotional resonance that sets a high-water mark for the Quicksails project.

The album’s mind-bending juxtapositions of electronic and acoustic sound sources of contrasting fidelities charge each composition with energies at once alien and familiar — rooted in free improvisation and
jazz traditions while streaking off into realms of lush synth arrangement, and textural abstraction.


Within Quicksails’s dense fields of sound, one voice stands out with particularly bold contrast: the saxophone of modern experimental stalwart Patrick Shiroishi (Fuubutsushi, The Armed, a multitude of
improvised collaborations on labels like Astral Spirits and Touch Records), who guests on three of the album’s ten tracks. Shiroishi’s sax performances alternately burst out in squalling atonal spirals and
glow with neo-noir melodicism as if glimpsed in the smoke under a streetlamp on a darkened city corner.

Bill Seaman is a musician, media artist and media researcher int the field of interactive and generative music (he calls this recombinant music). He has been working on a series of works that combine elements of ambient, noise, experimental, new classical and more. He describes these works as being alt.genre. He has recorded five solo albums (on Eilean Rec. and Fluid Audio) and a numerous of collaborative albums with some music artists such as Craig Tattersall, John Supko, Offthesky, Rutger Zuydervelt, Stephen Vitiello, between others. Seaman has also often created video works to accompany a number of his solo and collaborative pieces. Seaman is self-taught as a musician and composer, and is a Professor in the Music Department at Duke as well as Art, Arth History & Visual Studies.

Since releasing a track on the RND034873349921 compilation on the Pause_2 label in 2001, Tim Diagram has released over thirty-five albums as a solo artist or as part of collaboration projects. he has appeared on many well-respected labels, such as; False Industries, Static Caravan, Nomadic Kids Republic, Fluid Audio, Time Released Sound, Chemical Tapes – to name but a few. Tim runs the Handstitched* label in the UK which specialises in bespoke, handmade packaging for the more electro-acoustic and drone-like elements of his and other artists work, and he is involved in audio-visual commissions, including art gallery installations and music videos for a global clothing brand. As well as Maps and Diagrams, Tim also records music under the Atlantis name and works in collaboration with Genoveva Kachurkova as Bluhm, with Charles Sage as Hessien, alongside Rob Lyon as Somme & with Arbee under the name Emba.

Stephen Spera is a New York based artist working in sound, photography, and plastic arts. His works have been released on some labels such as Handstitched, Tesselate, and Editions Vaché. In 2020 he began a series of collaborations with Bill Seaman, as the two artists admired each other’s work and found much in common. Their work together was graced with an ease which kept them composing an album- “Architectures of Light” -which was released on Britain’s Handstitched label. The project was very well-received. The two stay in touch and kept working, joined now by Tim Martin whose work as Maps and Diagrams was long-admired by Stephen and Bill. They too found instant understanding of each other’s work, and “ The World was turning Before” is the result of their collaboration. The three artists possess an almost uncanny communication that enables them to work whilst still enjoying each other’s individual voice, and this trio has come together so well that, in Spera’s words, “We no longer know who played what…”

Infernal Sounds bring their digital series to life with this spicy VA compilation, snipping four of the standout tracks from their first four EP's. The VA presents tracks from all over the world, spanning from Japan to the US, back home to Bristol and bouncing to Barcelona. Karnage, 'Spirit Bomb' kicks things off by slicing and dicing you with mid-range blades and tearing you apart with the heavy trap-style low-end ruckus. Switching things up completely on the A2 is Kodama with the wonderful 'Clear Your Head', entangling you in the beautiful melodies and uplifting mainframe, before Chief Kaya spins you all the way back to '06 on 'Ma'at'. The track brings about an essence of the old-school and a premium beat that you need to feel on a soundsystem. Finally, Khanum drops you in with and takes you under with 'Bun Politician', a strong message for the times, and a forceful track at that.

The tracks on this EP have had heavy support from the likes of Truth, N-type, BunZer0, Sicaria Sound, Deep Tempo, Hamdi and many more.

There is no stopping the mighty SORCERER and in the autumn of 2023 the band will release their highly anticipated fourth album entitled ‘Reign Of The Reaper’. Again not content with repeating themselves the album features some of the darkest, heaviest and most aggressive material the band has ever recorded, and at the same time some of the most lyrical and beautiful. The band holed up in their home studios and wrote music all through 2022 and then once again headed to SolnaSound Recording in Stockholm, the studio owned, run and operated by Simon Johansson (Wolf, Soilwork) with Mike Wead (King Diamond). SORCERER are also known for their long title tracks with catchy and highly memorable choruses, and the second single ‘Reign Of The Reaper’ is no exception. Taking the listener through the realms of death and dread, this doom-laden epic with it’s many twists and turns will crush souls, leaving metal fans begging for more darkness and despair.

Takeo Moriyama, Japan’s leading jazz drummer, loved by many new and old fans. Since the late 1960s, he has swept the free jazz world with the Yosuke Yamashita trio. After leaving the group, the radiating heat was condensed into an ensemble, evolving and deepening the musicality in a more melodic and rhythmic direction. And that activity will reach a peak in this work “Smile”.

For those who still believe prog is a four-letter word, Caravan remain a mystery - More fool them, for they are missing out on some of the sweetest and most tuneful melodies in 70s rock, whether it be the jazz- inflected vaudeville of the title track of If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You, the gentle celebration of Virgin On The Ridiculous from Caravan & The New Symphonia or the funky ambition of The Dabsong Conshirtoe on Cunning Stunts. Formed, like Soft Machine, from the group The Wilde Flowers, Caravan have much in common with UK 70s prog, punning titles, gatefold sleeves, many songs well over 10 minutes long, frequent line- up shifts, but they always had an innate accessibility – partly due to guitarist and lead vocalist Julian 'Pye' Hastings' easy- on-the-ear singing style. Recorded at Tollington Park Studios (Decca 4) in North London, Cunning Stunts was Caravan's final studio album for Decca; with a tweak in line-up, it produced some of the group's most mature, fluid music, especially in the 18- minute The Dabsong Conshirtoe. 'Have you heard our story, a mystery it seems, gather round come listen, see the spectacle within,' the group state on the album's opening track The Show Of Our Lives. Had the group not been called Caravan and the album Cunning Stunts, Lover could have been a Top 10 single. This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1975 Decca Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl

For those who still believe prog is a four-letter word, Caravan remain a mystery - More fool them, for they are missing out on some of the sweetest and most tuneful melodies in 70s rock, whether it be the
jazz-inflected vaudeville of the title track of If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You, the gentle celebration of Virgin On The Ridiculous from Caravan & The New Symphonia or the funky
ambition of The Dabsong Conshirtoe on Cunning Stunts.

Formed, like Soft Machine, from the group The Wilde Flowers, Caravan have much in common with UK 70s prog, punning titles, gatefold sleeves, many songs well over 10 minutes long, frequent line-up shifts, but they always had an innate accessibility – partly due to guitarist and lead vocalist Julian 'Pye' Hastings' easy-on-the-ear singing style.

Recorded at Tollington Park Studios (Decca 4) in North London, Cunning Stunts was Caravan's final studio album for Decca; with a tweak in line-up, it produced some of the group's most mature, fluid
music, especially in the 18-minute The Dabsong Conshirtoe. 'Have you heard our story, a mystery it seems, gather round come listen, see the spectale within,' the group state on the album's opening
track The Show Of Our Lives. Had the group not been called Caravan and the album Cunning Stunts, Lover could have been a Top 10 single.

This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1975 Decca Records UK release and is pressed onto
high quality 180g vinyl.

Orange vinyl, 100 only

Cardiff-based, DIY-folk-pop collective, Quiet Marauder, are set to release their 5th album at the end of October 2023. This follows on from their madcap 111-song debut album, MEN (2013), as well as the more recent Tiny Men Parts (2020) and The Gift (2021), and continues their long-established relationship both with their label, Bubblewrap Collective, and Canadian collaborators, The Burning Hell.
Recorded in a Snowbird Studios pop-up in Lourinha, Portugal, Introducing Malcolm Del Monte continues the band’s fascination with high concepts and musical, album-length storytelling. At its core, it is an album about self-identity, isolation, and our innate fluctuations as human beings. Set during the pandemic, the album's a very loosely autobiographical (read: almost entirely false) account of band leader Simon M. Read's day-to-day life during Covid lockdowns with partner, Kadesha Drija, and imaginary friend, Malcolm Del Monte.
Choosing to largely avoid the topic of the pandemic altogether, Introducing Malcolm Del Monte instead charts the highs and lows of these living arrangements. These range from outrageous daytime drinking (high) to disagreements on the nature of perversion (low), with the first half of the album covering Malcolm’s emergence and ultimate expulsion from the house. With his absence being sorely felt, the second half sheds light on the alternative voices looking to fill that Malcolm-shaped space: a murderous green giant; a despondent Milk Tray Man; and a broken-necked, hypersexual Jet from Gladiators.
As with their previous story-based albums, the foreground narratives act to enable background allusions to other core concerns: the power of nostalgia; advertising and cultural consumption; well-being and isolation; balancing acts of the self. Ultimately, the album’s message is of striking a balance between self-questioning and improvement, and most of all, not being too hard on yourself when things don’t feel quite right.
Sonically and seamlessly ranging from alt-folk to industrial synth to melodic indie-pop, Introducing Malcolm Del Monte covers a lot of ground. Injected with the musicality of Quiet Marauder themselves, as well as Canadian kindred spirits, The Burning Hell, instrumentation includes flute, piano, chunky bass, acoustic and electric guitar, programmed beats, synthscapes, bamboo clarinet, bongos, and a heap load of vocals. Indeed, alongside the main lead voices of Simon M. Read, Kadesha Drija and Malcolm Del Monte (Rowan Liggett) there are guest performances from My Name Is Ian and The Burning Hell’s Mathias Kom.
The album will be preceded by lead single and video Momma Mia! I Made You Some Sangria! on 22nd September,

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is 4 killer cuts from our latest repertoire.

Kicking off with another straight up, dance floor weapon, Essel lands back on the label with brand-new single, ‘Sweat’. Her toughest sounding record to date that captures the post-rave moment, cementing herself as one of the hottest new talents to emerge in the electronic music scene.

Next up, Parisian born and US based tech house producer Shiba San debuts on Toolroom with a seriously wonky affair alongside studio buddy, Ayarez, aptly titled ‘Twist It’.

Up next on the sampler, is the return of longstanding label favourite Friend Within with his rolling tech house banger ‘Pilka’. Having landed 2 of the hottest tracks on Toolroom last year with ‘Monkey Bars’ and ‘Bring It Down’ which saw sweeping support flood in from across the scene, including Paul Woolford (Special Request) Salute, LF System, Dom Dolla and many more, friend within is officially back for 2023!

Completing the EP, we welcome sola regulars and one of the freshest, most exciting dance music duos to come out of the UK in recent years, Maur who lock horns with chart topping US based Westend, for a label debut set to become 2023’s festival anthem - ‘Over’.


DJ support from Danny Howard, Annie Mac, Mistajam, Pete Tong, Charlie Hedges, Kraak & Smaak, Maxinne, Todd Terry, Alex Preston, Full Intention, Gw Harrison, Dj Rae, Rudimental, Alaia & Gallo, Illyus & Barrientos, Johan S, David Penn, Sam Divine, Riva Starr, Claptone, Nice7, Dario D’attis, Mousse T, S-Man, Huxley, Kc Lights, Friend Within, Dombresky, Gorgon City, Chris Lake, Format:B, Pirupa, Tcts, Alan Fitzpatrick, Low Steppa, Mat.Joe, Raumakustik, Eskuche

Polish jazz rebels sneaky jesus are back with their second studio album For Chaching Taphed.The highly imaginative quartet out of Wroclaw comprising Maciej Forreiter (Guitar), Matylda Gerber (Saxophones), Ben Łasiewick i(Bass) and Filip Baczyński (Drums) have won fans around the world for their restless, quirky brand of jazz which takes in breakbeats, twisting chord progressions and improvisation as well as a wealth of musical influences.

The band have been touring their asses off ever since they surprised the world with their debut album For Joseph Riddle in 2021. From out of nowhere their debut LP of 500 copies sold out in a month and they quickly went on to sell close to 1,000 CDs of the album. Fast-forward to 2023 and the band are sharing stages with artists such as Ill Considered and Theon Cross.

For Chaching Taphed was created in complete isolation. The group locked itself in a barn at the Museum of Agricultural Technology in Piotrowice Świdnickie. It worked on its sophomore output surrounded by machinery, trucks and carriages. These new compositions mirror the abstract conversations which the group frequently has just for fun. Contrary to For Joseph Riddle, this album is simple and does not rely on ongoing grooves. This enabled the group to be much more experimental. The band was joined by friends Flautist Mariya Mavko on Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) and her playing is sampled in Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace). Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) closes the album featuring EABS' Jakub Kurek on trumpet. His fiery solo is one of the most intense moments of the album.

Spacer Po Nadodrzu (A walk around Nadodrze) opens the album and is inspired by one of the districts of Wrocław. It is a sonic story depicting a walk through Nadodrze late at night. A steady bass rhythm imitates a careful pace and the responding sax line is a spooky theme that might pop to oneʼs head in a moment of uncertainty.

The album's first single Krztusiec (Whooping Cough) finds the group diving head first into their most recent influences. The trackstarts with drum improvisation, rolling into a solid hip-hop backbeat provided by Ben Łasiewicki on Bass and Drummer Filip Baczyński. Sax and Guitar weave steady but dissonant lines, written by Maciej Forreiter after many hours spent listening to the Ethiopian jazz greats. The track takes off right after that. Matylda Gerber delivers a fiery Sax solo, while the group picks up the tempo and quickens the groove. The essence is the middle section, a dubby collective improvisation. Forreiter, Gerber and Baczyński take turns playing both classic dub phrases and fierce avant grade lines. Łasiewicki keeps everybody in check with a steady bassline. The energy slows down until Baczyński's drum solo, which explores phrasing detached from the rest of the tune.

Second single Chiński Sprzedawca Smażonych Kasztanów (Chinese roasted chestnut seller) is a fusion of breakbeats, energized songo rhythms and motifs inspired by South African melodies. Presenting the group with spacious and rhythmic horn lines, guitarist Maciej Forreiter wrote a chord progression while Beniamin Łasiewicki and Filip Baczyński took care of the rhythm section. This first part of the track suddenly drops out and explodes into the dramatic main motif which includes double sax and fierce guitar playing in harmony, plus the rhythm section playing more and more jungle-esque. Powerful guitar and sax solos feature before we return to the main theme with a completely different rhythmic backdrop.

W Klatce z Bykiem (In a cage with a Bull), starts like a race. The music plays with an incredible nerve and when the theme is right on edge it suddenly stops. It is followed by an animalistic growl on the saxophone and a doom metal-esque bash of downtuned, distorted guitars and heavy drums. In this heavy fashion it slowly approaches the finishing line hitting one final metallic clang.

Piękno Niemożliwe (Impossible Beauty) features wonderful flute playing of Mariya Mavko (Kadabra Dyskety Kusaje). Her work in the opening motif evokes sounds of Polish and Ukrainian folklore. This brief mellow moment serves as a contrast to the usual frantic sounds of sneaky jesus. It is an appreciation of thepolish jazz music of the past, intrinsically-linked to folklore. The band took this idea and reworked it into their own unique style.

Hipotetyczny Taras (Hypothetical Terrace) is built on top of a lengthy vamp in an unusual 7/8 time-signature. The bass anchors the quartet in a simple line, while the rest of the quartet share an emotional conversation. This track is the most open of the whole project and it ends accordingly. The final burst is a call back to the basics ofspiritual jazzand the whole band shows every emotion simultaneously and gracefully fades out.

Pięciu Pszczelarzy (Five Beekeepers) is For Chaching Taphed's conclusion and is a non stop assault of heavy horn lines, punk rhythms and noise. The band is joined by the extraordinary trumpeter Jakub Kurek from EABS, who blends in perfectly with sax and guitar. His exchange of solos with Maciej Forreiter is a combination of classic jazz phrasing and discordant clatter. In the same fierce manner the whole group works within the motif, switching up accents and breaks.

In the short space of two years, sneaky jesus has gone from ambitious upstart looking to break out from its home city playing spit and sawdust venues, to touring Europe as well as prestigious Jazz clubs such as Jassmine in Warsaw. In the process, it has delivered two full-length albums that don't stay in lane or pander to established jazz sub-genres as so many groups do. Some artists make the same record twice or even more than that, but not sneaky jesus. For Chaching Taphed shows the band as restless, experimental, fun, irreverent but purposeful as never before.

“A lot of over-hyped improv / jazz projects out there at the moment and Sneaky Jesus are genuinely excellent and out on their own. Drawing on the expansive atmospherics of a barn as the recording's setting, the album immediately pulls you in with the unsettling 'Spacer Po Nadodrzu' and lifts off on 'Krztusiec', effortlessly moving from angular, abrasive jazz to trippy dub and cinematic intrigue. Tempos shift and intensities shift naturally. The whole set warrants a deep listen from start to finish and watch out for two great guest features from flautist Mariya Mavko and Jakub Kurek bringing some mad fuzz licks to the boisterous closer. Brilliant album.”
Quinton Scott — Strut Records

Heart's Ann Wilson is releasing a new record with Tripsitter, 'Another
Door'
Prior to starting the 2023 tour, Ann Wilson and her band Tripsitter finished
'Another Door', a record of all-original material, which marks the first time since
the '70s that Ann has written a full- length album collectively with a band.
Tripsitter features Tony Lucido (bass), Ryan Wariner (guitars), Sean T. Lane
(drums), and Paul Moak (guitars and keyboards). Tom Bukovac (guitars) was also
a primary contributor.
ANOTHER DOOR marks the first time in her career where Ann was the sole lyricist
and her presence on a record has never been greater. Ann says, "This is an
exciting time in my creative life; so much new and fresh to remind me of why I
love my calling!"
The cover for 'Another Door' was created by Storm Studio which began in the
early 1990s with Storm Thorgerson, Peter Curzon, Rupert Truman, and Dan
Abbott. Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell co- founded Hipgnosis, who
between 1968 and 1983 created artwork for the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin,
Paul McCartney & Wings, 10cc, AC/DC, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, and many others.
Following Storm's passing in 2013 Aubrey Powell has worked closely with Storm
Studio on numerous projects since.
** Widely praised as one of the greatest singers in the history of Rock, Ann's
extraordinarily powerful voice has been sending chills down her audience's
collective spine for over five decades, earning record sales of more than 35
million, an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award.
** "Barracuda," "Crazy On You," and "Magic Man" are among the many songs she's
written that now reside in the pantheon of Rock's greatest hits. "This Is Now" from
ANOTHER DOOR plays seamlessly alongside the classics in her current live set.
** Last year Ann sang with Disturbed's frontman David Draiman on the duet,
"Don't Tell Me," from their recently released DIVISIVE album, and lent her voice to
Dolly Parton's forthcoming rock record "Rock Star." Ann Wilson defies genre!!

The rising Tamil-Swiss artist Priya Ragu is set to release her long-awaited debut album ‘SANTHOSAM’ on October 20th.



‘SANTHOSAM’ (the Tamil word for ‘happiness’) is a standout dynamic album which takes her raguwavy sound – simmering R&B, masterful pop hooks, earthy soulful vocals, dance beats, and the warm tabla rhythms, and spiralling melodics of Tamil music – to even more adventurous heights. Defined by Priya’s contagiously positive spirit, it pulsates with gorgeously varied musical textures and urgent political themes. Once again crafted in collaboration with her brother and producer Japhna Gold, it’s an album that originates from Priya’s quest for self-discovery.



‘SANTHOSAM’ opens with ‘Ammama’s Note’, which features a voice recording in which Priya’s grandmothers is questioning why she isn’t married. Like many young South Asian women, Priya felt like she wanted to achieve much more before she settled down, regardless of other people’s preconceptions of what direction her life should take. That ability to write one’s own destiny continues the euphoric ‘School Me Like That’, set to a rumbling tambla beat and breezy synths. More universal issues are explored in the blazing anger of ‘Black Goose’, which was written in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, and ‘Let Me Breathe (Reprise)’, a spiritual call for freedom, emancipation, and peace.



Elsewhere, the record brims with highlight-after-highlight, taking in everything from the dancefloor disco energy of ‘One Way Ticket’ to ‘Power’ which features a rousing string arrangement that was written by Indian composer Bala and recorded with an orchestra in Budapest. It closes with ‘Mani Osai’, a song which continues a yearly family tradition in which Priya, Japhna and their father write a song together. Never intended to be a Priya Ragu track, it nonetheless felt like the perfect way to close the album – especially as the concluding “santhosam” chant conveys the meaning of the word with life-affirming zest.

Industrial music by two key figures of the Swedish scenes for metal, doom, prog rock, and experimental music: keyboardist Carl Westholm (Carptree, Avatarium, Krux, Candlemass) and bass player Gustaf Hielm (who has played with Pain of Salvation, Meshuggah, Mats/Morgan, Tiamat, and many more). For this album, instead of relying on their main instruments, they gathered a vast array of
synthesizers, machines, and other unpredictable electronic devices and sound sources. Coincidences and pure chance, rather than traditional composing, led the way to the result — a highly unique and
musically complex album. A much more ominous creature than they had ever expected, Westholm and Hielm had no option but to let ”Claim" have its way with both of them. Now it is coming for you. ”Claim” is published digitally, on CD, and on a very limited LP edition.

Going, Going, Going, Gone: The Rare Recordings of
Connie Cunningham and the Creeps Vol. 1
When Nick Kinsey moved into his farmhouse in New York's Hudson
Valley, he dreamed that he would stumble upon a trove of unreleased
music from some eccentric artist who'd previously lived there - If anyone
would be inclined to expect that kind of treasure, it would be the prolific
Kinsey, who in addition to his own music has produced and played on
Waxhatchee's St Cloud, toured with Kevin Morby, and drummed for AC
Newman, Hand Habits, and Cold War Kids, among many others
And with all those various styles and ideas swirling around his head, that
imaginary stash of songs appealed more and more. "I needed to create a fictional
character to get into the headspace necessary to finish this group of songs,"
Kinsey says. "I was able to escape my usual writing blocks and get away from any
need to sound 'cool' by pretending I was this fictional weirdo and failed session
musician." And after rounding out his compositions with some key collaborators,
the first volume of Connie Cunningham and the Creeps fulfilled Kinsey's dream in
the form of six brilliant, retro oddball pop planets circling one oddball songwriting
star.

Repress!

Last year's release of "The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One", saw the culmination of many years work spent tracking down artists and tapes to shine a light on one of England's greatest, yet most overlooked musical scenes, the home grown take on reggae that briefly flourished from the mid-seventies and had almost disappeared little more than a decade later.

Volume Two starts off in exactly the same way as its predecessor with Handsworth's biggest musical exports, the legendary Steel Pulse and "Bun Dem produced by the legendary Dennis Bovell. Our first act new to the series are Natural Mystique with their 1982 single "Generals" whilst tracks 3, 4 and 5 round off the missing A and B sides from some of the most popular artists we included last time with Iganda's "Mark Of Slavery", Carnastoan's "Sweet Melody" and yet another Generals, this one from Musical Youth featuring the same line up that caused so much surprise and positive feedback with their inclusion on Volume One.

"Africans" from Bass Dance featuring a second appearance from former Steel Pulse guitarist/vocalist Basil Gabbidon, is the first of four previously unreleased tracks. The other three that we've managed to track down on long forgotten tapes, are Leicester's Groundation with "Rebel" recorded a few years before "Fa Ward" which we included last time, "Cannot Take It Away", another lost gem from Handsworth's Mystic Foundation and "Equalisation" another lost slice of early eighties roots from Wolverhampton's Capital Letters.
The late Linton Haughton is another new name with his scarce Shield label 12" cut "Hustling Man". Also making their first appearances, are Afrikan Star with "Run And Hide" originally issued in 1980 on Black Vinyl Records and from the Crucial Music stable, Sledge Hammer with "Ruled By The Stone" released as a 7" single on the Crucial Music Inc. label. The remaining three tracks are provided by label favourites and key players in the Birmingham scene, Black Symbol, Sceptre and Eclipse and showcase songs from the individual albums we've previously released by each band.
British roots reggae at its finest.