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Grammy-winning global percussion collective Planet Drum reunite to make their first music in 15 years with In the Groove, out August 5th. Here is an inside look at the creation and inspiration behind In the Groove, featuring renowned global rhythm masters Mickey Hart (USA), Zakir Hussain (India), Giovanni Hidalgo (Puerto Rico) and Sikiru depoju (Nigeria) in the studio. Planet Drum's message of unity is needed now more than ever. In a world rife with conflict and division, Planet Drum leads by example with In the Groove, symbolizing the idea of bringing different cultures together to create one collective rhythm. Planet Drum's groundbreaking self-titled original release, which remains one of the most successful percussion recordings of all time, topped the Billboard Charts for 26 weeks. and won the first-ever Grammy Award for Best World Music Album, completely changing the perception of percussive world music. Their second effort, 2007's Global Drum Project earned their second Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2008.

1976 planten ex-Yardbirds-Sänger Keith Relf und seine Schwester Jane, Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo und John Hawken, die ursprüngliche Besetzung der Band Renaissance, eine Wiedervereinigung. Doch der damalige Sänger und Gitarrist Keith Relf verstarb, bevor das Projekt in dieser Form umgesetzt werden konnte. In der Folge übernahm Jim McCarty, die akustische Gitarre und einen Teil des Gesangs. Schlagzeuger der neuen Band wurde Eddie McNeill, dazu kam noch John Knightsbridge an der Gitarre. Da die Band Renaissance jedoch in komplett anderer Besetzung fortbestand, musste ein anderer Name gewählt werden. Die ursprünglichen Renaissance waren nun Illusion. Illusion veröffentlichten 1977 und 1978 zwei sehr schöne Alben auf Island Records. Sie werden nun erstmalig als LP wiederveröffentlicht.
Das Mastering von den original Tapes wurde im renommierten AIR Studio von Paul Samwell-Smith (für 'Illusion') bzw. Phil Kinrade überwacht. Beide Alben kommen mit teilweise Spotlack im Artwork sowie bedruckten Inner Sleeves!

1976 planten ex-Yardbirds-Sänger Keith Relf und seine Schwester Jane, Jim McCarty, Louis Cennamo und John Hawken, die ursprüngliche Besetzung der Band Renaissance, eine Wiedervereinigung. Doch der damalige Sänger und Gitarrist Keith Relf verstarb, bevor das Projekt in dieser Form umgesetzt werden konnte. In der Folge übernahm Jim McCarty, die akustische Gitarre und einen Teil des Gesangs. Schlagzeuger der neuen Band wurde Eddie McNeill, dazu kam noch John Knightsbridge an der Gitarre. Da die Band Renaissance jedoch in komplett anderer Besetzung fortbestand, musste ein anderer Name gewählt werden. Die ursprünglichen Renaissance waren nun Illusion. Illusion veröffentlichte 1977 und 1978 zwei sehr schöne Alben auf Island Records. Sie werden nun erstmalig als LP wiederveröffentlicht.
Das Mastering von den original Tapes wurde im renommierten AIR Studio von Paul Samwell-Smith (für 'Illusion') bzw. Phil Kinrade überwacht. Beide Alben kommen mit teilweise Spotlack im Artwork sowie bedruckten Inner Sleeves!

Omochi, (honorific “O” before mochi) in daily parlance is a rice cake, a dense glutinous product suited to many recipes, sweet or savoury. Stick one under the grill, watch it burst open, wrap it in crisp seaweed and dip it in soya sauce - a healthy snack, and a staple around Japanese New Year. Like everything, Omochi also has its dark side - each year it kills off a small section of the aged community, the gluey bolus a hard act to swallow - the unwary can quickly choke to death.

This Omochi is in fact Tadaki Matsunaga, of early 2000s Tokyo three piece Femini Flyers. The original Feminis were Tadaki (bass), Sachie (vocals) and Koji (drums) that was it, no guitars, no synths, Tadaki's bass being the rhythm and lead, and boy could he make it sing. Their 7” single Like You See / Masterbed was an early Ethbo release was the most requested track from Japan Blues’ Boiler Room Collections video - now pulled off the internet by The Powers That Be - since it was first aired, way back in 2014. Now the single trades for a collector's premium with those in the know. Since that recording, Omochi has built, and been working in, his home studio. The first release being his Ethbo 7” Devil, in 2019.

The follow-up is a roller-coaster ride, his own take on several genres in his forage bag, marinated to his own recipe. You'll hear his expert bass in amongst the fungii, some slick R'n'B guitar styling, several dollops of glitch-tronics, some falling-down-the-stairs drum'n'bass, a slice of kraut, Omochi's louche voice, and a spot of Sachie, the lead singer of the legendary Feminis.

This modern psychedelic omnibus, flying in the face of logic (an Ethbo template) was pressed by Omochi at Toyo Kasei, the last independent Japanese pressing plant, housed it in a tip on sleeve and shipped it to the UK, grill-ready for release. Itadakimasu!

Repressed !

Early February 2011: Decided to make an album inspired by the Japanese post-war economic miracle. While searching for more information I found an old photo of the Mihama nuclear plant. The fact that this futuristic-looking plant was situated in such a beautiful spot so close to the sea made me curious. Are they safe when it comes to earthquakes and tsunamis? Further reading revealed that many of these plants are situated in earthquake-prone areas, some of them are even located next to shores that had been hit in the past by tsunamis. A photo of Mihama made me narrow down my focus only to Japanese nuclear plants. I wanted to make a soundtrack to some of them, concentrating on the architecture, design and localizations, but also questioning the potential radiation danger (a cooling system being destroyed by a landslide or earthquake, etc). As the head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the plants were so well designed that "such a situation is practically impossible." The album was finished on February 13th. On March 17th I received the following message from a FB friend: "Geir, some time ago you asked people for a photo of a Japanese nuclear powerplant. Is this going to be the sleeve of your new coming album? But more importantly: how did you actually predict the future?"


“N-Plants is a master craftsman's reaffirmation of a fundamental but lapsed tenet of electronic ambient: You set up a conversation between the machines, and then you step out of the way.”

Brian Howe — Pitchfork

Since 2018, BBE Music has been leading the field in reissuing rare modern jazz from Japan’s golden period spanning the late 60s to the early 80s. The J Jazz Masterclass Series continues to present the finest in Japanese jazz with Planets by Masaru Imada Trio + 1. Originally released in 1977 as a private press album, Planets showcases the refined playing and sophisticated compositions of one of Japan’s leading pianists, Masaru Imada. In a fifty-plus year career he has released over 40 albums, including several that have won awards from some of Japan’s leading music publications and has recorded with leading US jazz artists such as David Sanborn, Brecker Brothers, Steve Gadd, and Grover Washington Jr. Imada’s Bosendorfer piano is joined by the drums of Tetsujiro Obara and the bass of Kunimitsu Inaba, augmented by Yuji Imamura on percussion. The opening title track on Planets (featured on J Jazz vol 3) is a wafer-thin modal waltz, beginning with gentle bells and shells, followed by Obara’s deft brush work and Inaba’s hypnotically pliant bass that gives a discrete yet steady support to the gossamer melody from Imada-san’s piano. The other standout track is the suite, Sea's Pasture, an epic piece that undulates and heaves, like the dark endless ocean, rich with mystery and each side of the album ends with a solo piece on the haunting Bosendorfer. Planets comes with full reproduction of the original artwork with obi strip, extra photos, a translation of the original sleeve note and a 3000 word new sleeve note by Tony Higgins including an interview with Masaru Imada himself. The J Jazz Masterclass Series is curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden for BBE Music.

Italian The Villains Inc. moves up a gear with its fourth release to date and already the second in less than a year!

Conscious “Time To Go Back EP” introduces the exclusive collaboration between label owner Gab.Gato (Dominance Electricity, Drivecom, SolarOne) and his partner in crime Jack Bags (La Sabbia) from Milan.
Together, they drop an untouchable dancefloor oriented five tracker based upon a terrific concept.
Coming from the year 2106 with a preventive message to save Earth from manhandled destruction, scientist Dr Boomer understands how much it’s too late to prevent the planet from Armageddon.

A side opens with insane “Man Of The Future”: a pure analogical time machine merging whispers a la Egyptian Lover to heading vocoder sequences over a sharp 808 programming.
Luminous and hypnotizing at the same, this oldschool anthem is instantly followed by enthusiastic “No Permission”.

A groovy bassline melt with acidic loops turns the song into a masterpiece enhanced by funny vocal scanding “You Have No Permission To Get Into My Head”.
Top notch! With its fierce rhythm and relentless beats, title track “Time To Go Back” coming next signs an ode to the glorious days of West Coast electro sound.
Vintage sonorities fuse into cutting-edge drums while a funky atmosphere will propel you through time and space. Ace!

The flipside goes deeper into the realm serving up what appears as the climax of the EP. Combining gloomy strings to progressive swirls and ethereal chords, well named “Darkness” delivers a scary yet prophetic message from the future that will spread guilty feelings to any listener: “There Will Be No Light, No Hope…”. You have been warned! Last cut “The Bad Place” concludes the 12” on a soulful note regarding the state of our world controlled by government and technology.
Completed by a fantastic comic style artwork, awaken and despair “Time To Go Back EP” offers an outstanding retrofuturist release from which no one will come out unscathed.

One of the best outings in The Villains Inc. so far, rush on it!

What It Means To be Human is the second in a series of four albums from Jasper Høiby’s Planet B, featuring saxophonist Josh Arcoleo and drummer Marc Michel, that focus on global topics of vital importance - Humanity, Climate Change, Artificial intelligence and Monetary Reform. This album seeks connection. A connection between humanity and the planet, between the problems we all face and about an opportunistic optimism to fix them. The mastermind is Jasper Høiby, the esteemed and revered Danish bassist and the deeply reflective, expressive and visionary artist. Whilst there are many moments that display the virtuosity and hard-hitting grooves of Phronesis, the long-standing band that shot Jasper to the limelight, Planet B offers additional rewards of subtle expression. The music is captivating and highly absorbing, enhanced by soundscapes of electronics and interspersed with powerful, emotive speech by some unique and forward-thinking female minds including Grace Lee Boggs, Ruby Sales and Jane Goddall. They all share a profound understanding of the world, only achievable through practical wisdom, each offering their individual take on where we are as a species and what we can do to improve. At the heart of the album is the trio. A group of like-minded and creative souls where the focus is all about the collective sound. As a whole, the music is a powerful, mesmerising and poignant display of musicianship, integrity and storytelling. What it Means To Be Human is an album at the forefront of the creative European scene.

Hate Propaganda's far too overlooked 2019 debut EP "World War 666" sees a much needed reissue on vinyl, remastered and enhanced by brand new artwork commissioned for the purpose by Xerox master P. Van Trigt. When it was first released on cassette tape back in 2019 by War Arts Productions, this war-torn debut offering of primeval warnoise by the mysterious Portuguese war criminals stood out immediately as a crown jewel debut for the genre and as one of the year's most definitive and underrated manifestations of extreme metal's most hateful and berserk fringe. Packing in nineteen minutes of absolute hatred, the annihilating MLP manifests as a nightmare hallucination of complete violence and negativity, evoking eons of perennial apocalyptic global planetary war and terror on the wings of its nefarious design of achieving maximum annihilation in the shortest amount of time possible. To harness this bleak pantheon of ruin, the Portuguese conquerors have assembled a weaponized and uncontrolled sonic chain reaction where grindcore, black metal, death metal and hardcore punk are all accelerated and instigated into an inescapable payload of death aimed straight at the vital sinews of humanity. A sonic maelstrom churned into shape by an onslaught of obscure violent riffs, psychotic leads and ominous laughter which, parallel to a pulverizing drum performance, emanates from oblivion with an antediluvian, negative aura. Comparisons to bands like Diocletian, Heresiarch, Tetragrammacide and Nuclearhammer will run abound, yet these would be only easy superficial conjectures as this is a manifestation of sonic extremism which dwells on a plain of excellence entirely its own. Its uniqueness transpires particularly in the maniacal drumming which underlines the band's hardcore and punk influences, and is exalted further by an unusually crystalline production and by a masterful onslaught of uber-audible riffs hiding behind nothing and seemingly going in the opposite direction of the homogenous and indiscernible sensorial smothering the genre usually opts to go in. Tracklisting: 1. World War 666 2. Neverending Mass Graves 3. Violent Nature of Human Annihilation 4. Welcoming the Nuclear War With Open Arms 5. Let the Sirens Signal the End of Times

For most of us, life is a series of human interactions; some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. But what would life be without those peripheral characters who plant themselves into our worlds through the sheer force of their presence? Whether we speak to them or not, those vibrant contrasts to the everyday tide of ordinary people are a magical part of the human experience. Oddballs and misfits, flamboyant instigators or low-key game changers, we all clock them on our own hectic journeys, and they make the day a little brighter. Everyone has their favourite people.

Following the runaway success of their first one-shot single in 2020, Favourite People reconvene for a full-length of blues-tinged cuts stemming from sessions at Selva Studios in Brooklyn. The project’s roots predate the studio, from scattered jams and sweaty nights in New York nightspots to impromptu recordings on cruise ships, but the flashpoint of inspiration that truly set the album in motion was the arrival of a blonde 1960s Fender Telecaster. From there, the motley crew of sharp-shooting string slingers and sticks men set about crafting paeans to those striking souls who make the world a more colourful place.

The emphasis here is on the kind of forward-facing, electrically charged mix you felt (whether you realised it or not) hearing early Sabbath or Priest for the first time. With their undeniable bias towards vintage soul, Favourite People are far from heavy metal, but the same lineage of blues and by extension jazz informs the music, while the tonal crunch of that 70s era guides the sound. Feasting on tasteful overdrive and leaning on the unmistakable flavour of tape for much of the recording, the deal was sealed on this purposeful exercise in vibe thanks to the near-mythical texture of Guy Davie’s EMI Nigeria console at Electric Mastering.

Across the album there are mellow shades and bursts of good-time get-down exuberance, but the lead singles capture the essence of the band in no uncertain terms.

‘Promise Of Nibbles’ brings the Favourite People MO into sharp relief with a low-slung, hard swinging blues confection full of overheating organ and duelling guitars in pursuit of Southern-stewed boogie (im)perfection.

‘We’ll Be Late To The Party’ turns up the tempo and dials in the fuzz, striking an anthemic note which lands somewhere between urgent highway escapism and euphoric communal revelation.

‘Mass and Mustiness’ leans in on the funk dimension of the group’s sound with the sweetest licks and chops on that fabled telecaster backed up by an acutely angled beat and the slinkiest of b-lines.

These are but three of the vibrant vignettes laid down by this quietly unassuming collective of heads down jammers, loose groovers and vintage sound freaks –heavy grooving instrumentals pulled from their own moments of pure musical magic and captured on disc for your listening, dancing, living, loving pleasure.

Following the Kota Motomura and Exterior debuts earlier this year, it’s another first from Hobbes Music. Maastricht Research is a brand new project from Scottish artist Jonathan Hunter producing ambient/drone style material. Jonathan was part of the quartet behind the much-loved Slabs Of The Tabernacle parties at Glasgow's now-legendary La Cheetah club back in the late 00s/early 10s. He's also one half of The Three Lives, whose debut EP, Mud & Flame and follow-up Across & Beyond were released recently by Glasgow's Full Dose label.

Written and recorded over a number of years, whilst living in Amsterdam, Glasgow and Dublin, the Maastricht Research vibe is about as horizontal as it gets and is the perfect soundtrack to long, lazy days and balmy eves in the park, by the pool, in the bath etc! There are zero beats. It's proper ambient / drone music and could well have been beamed in from another dimension, planet or century altogether, including field recordings, atmospheric fx, lush and eerie pads, with the occasional snatch of a weird vocal and generally other-worldly sounds.

The record owes a debt to the likes of Manuel Gottsching, Cluster, Susumu Yokota, Detroit Escalator Company, Astral Industries and Alessandro Cortini, among others…

Mastered by Keith 'Radioactive Man' Tenniswood, Idle Animation will now be out at the end of October on extremely limited edition 12" vinyl, with CMYK printed labels, contained in a plain white sleeve with 3mm spine (reverse board for natural finish) including full colour artwork plus titles* printed using a Risograph on 135gsm ‘Context Natural’ A3 paper and finally all packaged in a polyurethane bag. *printed on the ‘Obi flap’ - excess paper folded around the spine.

"Loving it. Beautiful stuff here - all tracks doing it for me" ROLANDO (UR)

"This is great! Will use in on Ambient Flo" AUNTIE FLO

"Really diggin the MaastrichtResearch release" INTERGALACTIC GARY

"Love this, thanks for sending" DOMENIC (Sub Club)

"This sounds fantastic!" NICK CRADDOCK (Gateway To Zen)

"Really liking the sound of the record. Dublin air tugging on his emotive side by the sounds :)" JOHN HECKLE

"Mesmerizing music, something we all need to listen to because of so much chaos and stress in the world...with this, just sit back and zone out for a bit and regain balance...." DAN CURTIN

"This is nice music, thank you for sharing it with me. A3 is the one for me, really nice vibe" ARIO (Astral Industries)

"More emotive and soulful ambience and drone from this red hot label. Maastricht Research have been reviving the Poolside revellers at Pikes morning sessions this summer" DRIBBLER (Pikes, Café del Mar, Ibiza)

Classic Black vinyl, Lyric insert + DL card. The Black Lips return with their 10th studio effort ‘Apocalypse Love’, scorched with their trademark menace, it cryogenically mutates all recognised musical bases; it spins yarns about vintage Soviet synths, Benzedrine stupors, coup de’ tats, stolen valor and certified destruction, all set against a black setting sun. Since the turn of the decade the band have transformed from austere country pioneers, into a set of Lynchian surrealists, hellbent on recalibrating the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Singer and saxophonist Zumi Rosow muses, “It’s a weird dance record, one that reflects the moment that the world’s in right now…” ‘Apocalypse Love’ is an album that emanates from a dive bar jukebox in the back of your mind; with a playlist that bends between tub thumping doom-glam, Plastic Ono singalongs, cocktail-shaken space age pop, Morricone reverberations and lo-fi outsider acoustic-punk, with mariachi horns, theremins, drum machines and harmonies filtering through the infectious melodies. Stand-out number ‘Among The Dunes’ is an amorphous platform-heeled anthem, a signature sax-fuelled stomper filled with trippy swagger. While opener ‘No Rave’ proffers a hypnotic locked groove, with Cole Alexander’s trademark snarl delivered over a sulphurous wall of distorted hedonism, a dystopian anthem for an apocalyptic manifesto. Meanwhile, the twisted exotica of ‘Whips Of Holly’ with its silver screen façade is like the soundtrack to a classic Theda Bara vamp-fest. As the band venture into their third decade, ‘Apocalypse Love’ is proof that The Black Lips show no sign of slowing down… “A wonderful new chapter… The world may be on fire, but at least we have Black Lips.” The Line Of Best Fit // “Simply masters in their field” NME // Track List A1 No Rave A2 Love Has Won A3 Stolen Valor A4 Lost Angel A5 Whips of Holly A6 Apocalypse Love A7 Operation Angela. B1 Crying on A Plane B2 Sharing My Cream B3 Among The Dunes B4 Tongue Tied B5 Antiaris Toxicaria B6 The Concubine

LP colour is Transparent Blue. Stu Spasm (Lubricated Goat) + Russell Simins (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) + Kate Bjelland (Babes In Toyland). One off garage-sleaze rock masterpiece. Remastered. Crunt began in 1993 as a kind of indie rock supergroup and had their 1994 debut album touted by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Crunt's members included guitarist/vocalist Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm) and bassist/vocalist Kat Bjelland. Gray was well-known in Australia by the start of Crunt for his past involvement in the bands Salamander Jim and the horn/guitar punk rock of Lubricated Goat, which included drummer Martin Bland who went on to play in the Monkeywrench. As for Bjelland, she was the frontwoman/guitarist for the Minnesota-based Babes in Toyland. Crunt was rounded out by drummer Russell Simins, who was the full-time sticksman for New York City's Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Each of Crunt's members were temporarily residing in Seattle when Gray conjured up the idea of starting a new group. After writing almost a dozen songs, the trio entered Seattle's Ranch studio in February of 1993 with Simins and Gray acting as the producers, and their friend John Dunleavy -- known for his work with the Supersuckers -- filling the role of engineer. A year passed before the group's self-titled album was released on February 15, 1994, on Austin, TX label Trance Syndicate, owned by Butthole Surfers' drummer King Coffey. The record was the imprint's first release from a non-Texas group. The debut of the full-length album coincided with the "Swine"/"Sexy" single on Australia's Insipid label, which was known for releasing singles by other bands such as the Cows, Urge Overkill, and the Jesus Lizard. Prior to the releases, there had been talk that the band was not going to just be a side project, but a full-time band in the same tradition as Babes in Toyland and the Blues Explosion. The trio had even planned a full-scale tour. By January of 1995, however, Crunt came to an end.

Panthera is a mysterious figure, and that’s how they plan to keep it. Arriving at the Bordello in a veil of secrecy, the four tracks of Synthesizer Hits do the talking for this unknown artist; and you better believe this music has something to say. The gloriously uplifting “Eurodrink” opens. Beaming bars border on pure elation and sullen sorrow, a tight drum keeping time in this space opera soundtrack. That same line of joy and sadness is maintained in the considered and reflective “20000” with its distant words and epic synthwork. “Bra” melts the pulsating energy of disco with complex percussions while a future vision melody descends. The close comes in the form of “Il Vizietto.” A daring work of astral electronics that takes its cue from the masters of silver screen and beyond. A stunning debut from an artist who music lovers will want to know.

In the summer of 2000, school friends Mark Lawton, Jon Pearce and Jamie Lenman won a battle-of-the-bands competition and used the prize money to record the five tracks that would become their first professional release, entitled Pilot. Then called Angel, before the EP was released on local label Badmusic they changed their name to Reuben and were over the moon when the record received notices in Kerrang and even a spin from Steve Lamacq on Radio One. “We were just a school band, but we definitely had grand plans,” says Lenman, now a successful solo artist in his own right. “We changed our name because we knew we’d have to do it at some point, and we didn’t want the EP to get forgotten.” Despite selling out several modest runs on CD, Pilot was never issued on vinyl, and so to celebrate the 21st anniversary of its release, the five original tracks have been re-mastered and pressed onto wax. But more than this – after a chance discovery of five extra tracks on a DAT tape in a loft, Pilot has been bumped up to album status with the inclusion of a second side. “I always thought we’d only recorded those five tracks before Mark left – I’d completely forgotten about the recordings from the end of the same year,” says Lenman. “They were just demos of new material, they were never meant to be packaged together with the tracks from Pilot – in fact, you can already hear how the sound was starting to change in just six months. But they do make a nice set, and I guess if that original line up of the band had made a full album before Racecar, this is maybe what it might have sounded like.” The album inlay itself boasts a hoard of unseen photos from both recording sessions, unearthed after two decades, as well as the original EP inlay and the unused cover art credited to Angel instead of Reuben – hence Pilot Angel.

HOAXED unveil their captivating and catchy debut full-length, Two Shadows! Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, HOAXED's superlative blend of styles—heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of americana - pave the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own. Two Shadows is as unique as it is memorable and catchy. The record thrusts, retreats, and beguiles across its melody-powered and hook-driven expanse, with earworms “The Call,” “Guilty Ones,” and “The Knowing” serving as the album’s crucial lighthouses. Formed in Portland, Oregon, in 2020, HOAXED's initial songwriting plan casts a wide net. The breach opened up considerably as Coffel and Keo explored the outer edges of their musical influences and artistic aspirations. After fruitful songwriting sessions, the twosome self-released their eponymous four- song EP in February 2021. Signaled by the whirring, diaphanous spell of video single "Candle Master", HOAXED caught the attention of Relapse Records, who signed the outfit in 2021. As a live act, the pair has already hit the ground running, rocking the stage with Unto Others, Blackwater Holylight, and Amorphis, and hailed as an “absolute riot on stage.” (Metal Insider) Shortform: HOAXED unveil their captivating and catchy debut full-length, Two Shadows! Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kat Keo and drummer Kim Coffel, HOAXED’s superlative blend of styles— heavy melodic rock with captivating hooks, gothic undertones, undeniable metal, and tinges of americana —paves the way for a singular expression that’s entirely their own. FFO: (Early) Ghost, Black Sabbath, Tribulation, My Dying Bride, Unto Others, Blood Ceremony, Katatonia

Recital publish an album of lost Derek Bailey sessions recorded with his friend and collaborator Charlie Morrow. In 1982, Bailey and Morrow organized a series of live concerts and studio sessions around New York. This new LP is a boiled-down rendering of the master tapes that lived dormant in Charlie’s archive, until now.

Throughout the album, Bailey and Morrow are joined by a rotating cast of New Wilderness players including frame drum percussionist Glen Velez, sound poet Steve McCaffery, publisher and artist Carol E. Tuynman, composer Patricia Burgess, and multimedia artist Michael Snow. The results are surprising and marvelous.

The energy of the live concert, which makes up the first half of the record is particularly exciting, with Morrow and McCaffery’s visceral sound poetry and Glen’s frame drum echoing off of Derek’s fret stabs, and Carol, Patricia, and Michael’s horns swirling through the air between. A very raw and intense recording.

The second side of New York 1982, is a session recorded at The Record Plant, and is clearly more ‘produced’ with panning and tape echo processing, plus experiments with water whistles and other devices.

Derek Bailey stands out for personal achievements as a guitarist and for his way of bringing together performance meetings ranging from duos to large ensembles. Working across style and genre, his music and musical unions have inspired the breakdown of boundaries, embracing all flavors of musicians as improvisers. Players focusing on the moment, “without memory.”

LP Edition of 400 copies on 175gram black vinyl, including an 8-page booklet with program notes and artwork.

Derek Bailey - Acoustic Guitars
Charlie Morrow - Trumpet, Ocarina, Voice
Glen Velez - Percussion
Patricia Burgess - Saxophone (1,3,6)
Steve McCaffery - Voice, Saxophone (1,3)
Carol E. Tuynman - Trumpet (1,3,6)
Michael Snow - Trumpet (3)

RUBY THE HATCHET liefern mit "Fear Is a Cruel Master" genau das siedend heiße, eingängige und doch voller roher Energie steckende Killer-Album ab, das sein gefeierter Vorgänger "Planetary Space Child" (2017) versprochen hatte. Fünf lange Jahre hat sich die amerikanische Psych Rock Truppe aus New Jersey nach der Veröffentlichung ihrer letzten Scheibe Zeit gelassen, aber das sehnsüchtige Warten hat endlich ein Ende. RUBY THE HATCHET haben in ihrem kollektiven Songwriting einen neuen Gipfel erklommen. Dies hat sich die Ausnahmetruppe durch zahlreiche Opfer sowie einen eisernen Willen, sich erneut zu steigern, hart erkämpft. Der Albumtitel "Fear Is a Cruel Master" spiegelt die Stimmung der Zeit, in der die neuen Songs geschrieben wurden, perfekt wider. Sängerin Jill Taylor, Gitarrist Johnny Scarps, Schlagzeuger Owen Stewart, Bassist Lake Muir und Organist Sean Hur hatten sich längst daran gewöhnt, als Gruppe zusammenzuarbeiten. Doch während der Arbeit am neuen Album konnten sie nur wenig Zeit miteinander verbringen. "Ich habe während der Pandemie viel gelesen und bin dabei auf den Satz 'Angst ist ein grausamer Meister' "Fear Is a Cruel Master" gestoßen", erklärt Taylor. "In dieser Zeit wurde die Angst sichtbar und wie sie die Menschen zurückhielt. Der Titel hat einen Bezug zur Musikbranche, denn alle waren verunsichert - von den Bands über die Booking-Agenten bis hin zu den Clubs. Angst lag in der Luft". "Fear Is a Cruel Master" wurde zusammen mit Paul Ritchie (THE PARLOR MOB) im New Future in New Jersey aufgenommen und war nicht so akribisch durchgeplant wie RUBYs vorherige Alben. Die Band ließ bewusst mehr Spielraum für Spontaneität und magische Momente. Das Hauptthema von "Fear Is a Cruel Master" ist letztlich die Selbstreflexion. Obwohl die neuen Songs im Schmelztiegel einer weltumspannenden Pestilenz geschmiedet wurden, besitzen sie doch eine Zeitlosigkeit, die weit über den Moment ihrer Entstehung hinausreicht. Alles, was RUBY THE HATCHET zu einem so herausragenden und selbst bei ihren Kollegen äußersten beliebten Act macht, findet sich auf diesem Album - von Jills üppigem Gesang voll rauchigem Honig, über die psychedelischen, aber dennoch knackigen Gitarren, bis hin zum Spirit der Rock'n'Roll-Orgelhelden. "Fear Is a Cruel Master" ist definitiv ein Album, das von einer Band geschrieben wurde, die nach einem Jahrzehnt ohne Bedauern auf all die Momente zurückblickt, die sie gelebt oder nicht durchlebt hat. "Fear Is a Cruel Master" ist sowohl Ergebnis als auch Zeugnis dieser Reise. Es ist Zeit, sich auf den Weg zu machen, um RUBY THE HATCHET in ihrem ebenso beeindruckenden wie mächtigen klanglichen Kielwasser zu folgen.

Die lang erwartete erste Wiederveröffentlichung eines Klassikers, dessen (einzige) Originalpressung innerhalb weniger Wochen nach der Veröffentlichung am 15. Oktober 2001 ausverkauft und seitdem nicht mehr erhältlich war.

Vielleicht das dynamischste und abenteuerlichste Album, das die Montrealer Szene der frühen Nullerjahre um Godspeed you black emperor! hervorgebracht hat.

Aufgenommen über einen Zeitraum von fünf Tagen, handelt es sich bei dem beeindruckenden Debütalbum des 13-köpfigen Kollektivs aus Montreal, dem auch Mitglieder von Godspeed you black emperor!, A Silver Mt Zion und Fly Pan Am angehören, laut TimeOut um 'eines der grüblerischsten, dramatischsten, emotionalsten und eindringlichsten Alben, die jemals an deiner Seele gekratzt haben.' Auch Pitchfork zeigte sich beeindruckt und attestierte: 'ein wunderbar einfallsreiches und kraftvolles Album.'

Remastered bei Dubplates & Mastering.