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A four-piece band based in Tokyo.

Initially playing reggae/dub music, the band gradually developed into an innovative fusion of diverse musical influences, such as jazz, soul, psyche pop, new age, and exotica. A sound is based on groove and euphoria, with nostalgic melodies.

They have performed at iconic events in Japan such as Fuji Rock Festival, and also have been looking overseas since they performed in Canada(Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver) in 2019. The new EP "Ramble In The Rainbow"(2024) is their first international release on the US label Peoples Potential Unlimited.

The work shows their musical maturity, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra, Lee "Scratch" Perry, and Yasuaki Shimizu.

Special tour only numbered 3 cd package. (Albums Inc: Joan Of All / Get Well Soon / Sarabeth Tucek) #33 MOJO AOTY 2023 #28 UNCUT AOTY 2023 Sarabeth Tucek emerges from a decade-long hibernation with a new double-album Joan of All under the new moniker SBT – a longtime nickname given to her by the many musicians she has worked with throughout her career. After retreating from the fevered pace of the record business to concentrate on other creative endeavors, Sarabeth began to piece together the music that would eventually become her most ambitious, personal project yet – the sprawling double-album Joan Of All, which will be released world-wide on 19th May 2023 via her own freshly-minted imprint Ocean Omen. Sarabeth Tucek officially broke onto the music scene 2003 performing a series of spellbinding duets with Bill Callahan on the acclaimed Smog album Supper. This was swiftly followed by a memorable appearance in the prize-winning Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary DiG! Sarabeth also contributed material to their 2005 EP release, We Are the Radio. One of Sarabeth's compositions covered by the band on that EP, "Seer," would later be retitled and released in 2006 as Tucek's debut single, "Something for You”, which became Steve Lamacq’s Single Of The Week on BBC Radio 6 Music. Her self-titled debut album produced by Luther Russell and Ethan Johns hit stores the following year and garnered rave reviews in the press, leading her to supporting Bob Dylan and unfaltering support at the BBC. In 2011, Sarabeth followed up her extraordinary debut with a raw, uncompromising album entitled Get Well Soon, praised as an unflinching meditation on the subject of grief. This release made many year-end lists and the title track was featured on the first season of HBO’s Girls.

Two years after the release of his first self-titled album, DJ producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea presents the new 'Sacred Love', in which he once again avails himself of the collaboration of his friend producer and bass player Salvo Dub, as well as a combo of respected musicians: singer Kadi Koulibaly - originally from Burkina Faso - already featured on the first album, Giulia La Rosa, author of the lyrics and performer of the title track, pianist Mario Pappalardo, percussionist Sergio Spitaleri and drummer Luciano Cantone.
'Sacred Love' is definitely a more mature, intense and profound journey than the previous album of the same name, which enhances the magical dreamlike and spiritual atmospheres of a certain African culture.
The album guides the listener along a path of multi-ethnic contaminations: "Divinité", "Ouaga" and "Koloko", well interpreted by Kadi, touch on the sacredness and mysticism of the African continent and blend well with the Spiritual Jazz sounds that have evolved in the West.
"Divinité", through the spoken word of French poet Diego Hernandez, tackles the themes of faith, life and the relationship with one's 'self', with references to French chanson productions, in which Kadi's spiritual song, at times 'Saharan', intersects and expands into cosmic space.
The title track, the first single from the album, also released on 7" (45rpm) in two versions, is an Afro-American gospel with a typically afrobeat rhythm, vaguely reminiscent of Nina Simone's 'See-Line Woman'.
North Africa is represented by "Equator", while we climb further north into the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with "Medican Blues", to land in Stromboli with the Deep Jazz of "Ginostra", whose title recalls the village of the marvellous island in the Aeolian archipelago.
Then we have the Cuban track "Caminito", a sort of Cha-Cha with a romantic piano melody (à la Chucho Valdez) well performed by maestro Mario Pappalardo; and then again "Eos", strongly Balearic with a Brazilian mood; "Impression", a dreamy journey of impact; "Sirens", already present on the first album and here reworked in a new Spiritual-Ambient version produced by Agosta.
"Sacred Love" is thus an original and musically borderless album, which expands a certain African sacred culture and naturally blends Afrobeat, Jazz and Blues atmospheres with the Balearic sounds of Mediterranean culture.
Enjoy listening!

Wonderwax returns with yet another 12″ filled with the distinctive soulfulness that has been a stand out point for the label since its inception.

DJ Spinna has been a fan of R&B/Neo-Soul queen Carmen Rodgers since her debut album 20 years ago, so it was just a matter of time before the two teamed up for something special. The result is an epic soulful house journey on Side A, where Spinna gives his typical Galactic Soul touch to Carmen’s jam “Again and Again”. The og version of the song was released originally in her “Hello Human vol. 1” EP together with “Say So”, which also gets Spinna’s twist on Side B: a progressive Hip Hop/Soul flip for the downtempo heads. Classic!

"The organ dates back to 1790 and was made by Venanzo Fedeli, who came from a prestigious family of organ builders. This particular organ is tuned in the ancient way at 430 Hz. Tuning relies on pure thirds that aim to create dissonances within the instrument itself.

Since the organ is an instrument modeled according to the principles of nature, the intonation of the pipes was performed according to an incompletely equal system that reflects the natural intonation based on mathematical ratios.

This produces a purer sound for the thirds but slightly harsher and more difficult to listen to. The hardness of the intervals of the organ is a metaphor for the hostile climate that prevails in the Potenza valley during winter and autumn.

The sound of the organ with the register of the flute returns a particularly sweet and penetrating sound but, at the same time, a very complex timbre with intricate harmonic texture, given the numerous fluctuations and beats. The warm tones of the organ reflect the good and welcoming sould of the people who inhabit these lands. The absence of dynamics inside the instrument allows the listener to focus and understand the harmonic texture and timbral differences between the various notes more clearly.

Trombone and trumpet played by Matteo Paggi on track 2 and 3 were recorded during a hot summer day at Elefante Bianco Studio in Rome by Matteo Scarchilli. Sax, effects and noises in track 6 played by Giulio De Asmundis and Pietro Rianna were recorded in Fauna53 studio.

Many thanks goes to Marco and Giuseppe for making this happen. Thanks Federico, Sami, Marisa, Romeo and everyone involved in this project. You know who you are."

Mastered by Alessandro Caldarola.
Photos and color grading by Filippo Corsi.
Graphic project and design by Flavio Mancini.
Vinyl pressed by AFG Record Manufacturing.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! 180-gram 45 RPM double LP Mastered by Bernie Grundman from the original analog tape Contains Otis Redding's posthumous hit "Sittin' On the Dock Of the Bay" Appeared on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, rated 161/500! Pressed at Quality Record Pressings Gatefold old-style "tip-on" jacket by Stoughton Printing Hybrid Mono SACD Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman The guts of the story are this: While on tour with the Bar-Kays in August 1967, Otis Redding's popularity was rising, and he was inundated with fans at his hotel in downtown San Francisco. Looking for a retreat, he accepted rock concert impresario Bill Graham's offer to stay at his houseboat at Waldo Point in Sausalito, California. Inspired, Redding started writing the lines, "Sittin' in the morning sun, I'll be sittin' when the evening comes" and the first verse of a song, under the abbreviated title "Dock of the Bay." He had completed his famed performance at the Monterey Pop Festival just weeks earlier. While touring in support of the albums King & Queen (a collaboration with female vocalist Carla Thomas) and Live in Europe, he continued to scribble lines of the song on napkins and hotel paper. In November of that year, he joined producer and esteemed soul guitarist Steve Cropper at the Stax recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, to record the song. Cropper remembers: "Otis was one of those the kind of guy who had 100 ideas. ... He had been in San Francisco doing The Fillmore. And the story that I got he was renting boathouse or stayed at a boathouse or something and that's where he got the idea of the ships coming in the bay there. And that's about all he had: 'I watch the ships come in and I watch them roll away again.' I just took that... and I finished the lyrics. If you listen to the songs I collaborated with Otis, most of the lyrics are about him. ... Otis didn't really write about himself but I did. Songs like 'Mr. Pitiful,' 'Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)'; they were about Otis and Otis' life. 'Dock of the Bay' was exactly that: 'I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay' was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform." Redding and Cropper completed the song in Memphis on Dec 7, 1967 with tragedy, unknowingly, looming. Just two days later Redding lost his life on a routine commute to a performance when the small plane he was in crashed. The other victims of the disaster were four members of the Bar-Kays — guitarist Jimmy King, tenor saxophonist Phalon Jones, organist Ronnie Caldwell, and drummer Carl Cunningham; their valet, Matthew Kelly and pilot Fraser. Cropper and bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn completed the music and melancholic lyrics of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay' which was taken from the sessions — Redding's final recorded work. Cropper added the distinct sound of seagulls and waves crashing to the background. This is what Redding had wanted to hear on the track according to Cropper who remembered Redding recalling the sounds he heard when he wrote the song on the houseboat. One of the most influential soul singers of the 1960s, Redding exemplified to many listeners the power of Southern "deep soul" — hoarse, gritty vocals, brassy arrangements, and an emotional way with both party tunes and aching ballads. At the time of his tragic death he was 26. ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ was released just a month following Redding’s death and became his only ever single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1968. The album, which shared the song's title, became his largest-selling to date, peaking at No. 4 on the pop albums chart. "Dock of the Bay" was popular in countries across the world and became Redding's most successful record, selling more than 4 million copies worldwide. The song went on to win two Grammy Awards: Best R&B Song and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. With the album, Redding confirmed himself as a talent lost far too soon. All the hallmarks of a top-notch Analogue Productions reissue are here for you to savor: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

FOLLOWING THEIR RECENT REUNION, THE DELGADOS REISSUE THEIR FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM HATE ON COLOURED VINYL AND CD TO MARK ITS 21st ANNIVERSARY

Ushering in a new era of emotionally vulnerable and cinematic songwriting for celebrated Glasgow group The Delgados, 2002’s Hate is the group’s most ambitious recorded statement to date. Recorded amidst a backdrop of personal change and international crisis, Hate’s internal alchemy transmogrifies darkness into light. It’s an enclosed universe full of tragedy and magic, a swirling galaxy of lush orchestration, misanthropy dealt with kindness and black humour. Above all it showed a band coming to terms with their fragility with a new power and grace.

In Hate, the band’s ambition saw them striving to reflect the breadth of human experience, both the joy and tragedy of living in tumultuous times. Initially commissioned by The Barbican in London to compose music for a film about artist Joe Coleman, the instrumental music that instigated Hate was laden with darkness from the outset. The Delgados’ worldview has always been informed by nuance, an oblique but incisive lyrical perspective but on Hate a new rawness is woven throughout the songs. Coleman’s original subject matter - portraits of troubled historical figures like Ed Gein, Mary Bell and Jayne Mansfield - influenced the tonality of the music but the songs were written against a backdrop of international tumult and personal life changes for the band members. Beginning writing sessions following a family bereavement in drummer Paul Savage’s family, Hate was then recorded while both Alun Woodward and co-singer/guitarist Emma Pollock were expecting new additions to their young families, the latter with drummer Paul Savage. In the background to the recording process were the attacks on the World Trade Center of September 2001 and their aftermath. In this context, it’s remarkable that an album was made at all, let alone one so grand and compassionate. It’s a masterclass in restraint and imagination.

Hate sounds like the world in all its ugly glory. Recorded in Glasgow and New York with Tony Doogan, Dave Fridmann and the band as producers and using over 20 additional musicians, Hate grabs the baton from the group’s breakthrough critical and commercial success The Great Eastern. Bolder, broader and more all-encompassing than anything the band had previously attempted, the album’s palette is furnished by a string section, brass and reed instrumentation, a choir and electronic elements augmenting the core group of Emma Pollock, Alun Woodward, Paul Savage and Stewart Henderson. Far from being over the top, the group’s skill is in attention to detail, in honing and refining each arrangement, allowing each element its space.

It’s a fine balancing act that pays massive dividends. Woodward’s new lyrical vulnerability is spotlighted on tracks like The Drowning Years, which throws elegiac string arrangements against the narrative of characters living in darkness, punctuated by couplets that bring a real-life documentary feel to the narrative. All Rise brings a black comedy to the idea of a confessional before a transcendent, choir-led refrain brings ecstatic resolution to Woodward’s vocal in its highest register. On the single All You Need Is Hate, Woodward’s trick of subverting the Beatles standard showcases the dark humour at the centre of Hate. Here The Delgados’ perversity is in full flow, nurturing a glowing light from darkness, the resolving melody and Fridmann production recalling contemporaries The Flaming Lips (whose Michael Ivins assisted in mixing) or Mercury Rev. The perversity is the surging serotonin induced by the group while singing the lines “Hate is everywhere, inside your mother’s heart and you will find it there. You ask me what you need? Hate is all you need.”

It’s a dark magic that pervades Hate, indeed it’s almost the driving force throughout the album. Flipping minor to major and back again, Favours is fuelled by fear and violence before blasting into the heavens with the gauche line “and you’re feeling fine,” operating in stark contrast to the verses’ tone. Album opener The Light Before We Land finds Emma Pollock in the aftermath of recent family trauma. Her vocal is effortless; a study in steady restraint against the massive, Fridmann-patented drum sound powering Savage’s playing and Henderson’s instantly recognisable melodic basslines. Coming In from the Cold is Pollock in full flight, lifted to the heavens by wide-screen, instrumental texture. Her presence on Hate highlights her knack for lyrical impressionism, the timbre of her voice lending itself to drama while always retaining a mystique. Never Look At The Sun, inspired by the Coleman painting The Big Bang Theory (itself an explosives-themed study), revels in paranoia, her performance ringing out in the eye of the storm conjured by the swirling arrangements. It reaches the peak of a redemptive arc while seemingly parodying the very idea of redemption.

Hate was the sound of The Delgados completely fulfilling their potential, a fully realised vision buoyed by the weight of coming through a darkness into light. For its 21st anniversary, the album is being reissued on the band’s own Chemikal Underground on coloured vinyl and CD. Hate is all you need

Das zweite und letzte Studioalbum der Punk-Ikonen - X-Ray Spex. Das heiß begehrte Album wurde 1995 in einer sehr kleiner Auflage nur auf CD bei Receiver Records in Großbritannien veröffentlicht und war in den letzten 27 Jahren offiziell nicht erhältlich! Das Album vereinte die original X-Ray Spex-Sängerin Poly Styrene mit der ursprünglichen X-Ray Spex-Saxophonistin Lora Logic und dem Bassisten Paul Dean sowie dem Kula Shaker-Frontmann Crispian Mills an der Gitarre unter seinem damaligen Pseudonym Red Spectre. Das Reissue wurde von den Original-Masterbändern neu gemastert und ist zum ersten Mal überhaupt auf LP erhältlich! Mit dem originalen und erweiterten Artwork, einschließlich bisher unveröffentlichter Texte und originaler Cover-Notizen von Poly. Die Popkultur ist voll von klassischen Alben, die iregndwie durchrutschen. In den letzten Jahren haben die verstorbenen Poly Styrene und X-Ray Spex mit ihrem 1978er Debütalbum "Germfree Adolescents" Kultstatus erlangt, aber das 17 Jahre später veröffentlichte Nachfolgealbum "Conscious Consumer" ist im Sand der Zeit untergegangen. Heutzutage wissen die meisten Leute nicht einmal, dass X-Ray Spex ein Nachfolgealbum hatten. Diese liebevoll zusammengestellte Neuauflage rückt ein verlorenes Juwel ins Rampenlicht, das viele Merkmale des Debüts aufweist, aber durch eine andere Brille betrachtet wird. Conscious Consumer" war eine Weiterentwicklung des klassischen Debüts mit derselben Punkrock-Dringlichkeit und denselben Konsumthemen, aber mit einer poppigeren Kante und einer durchdachteren Weisheit, die aus der Perspektive eines älteren, weiseren Krishna-Anhängers aus den Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens geschöpft wurde. Im Jahr 1995 war das Album ein unerwartetes Comeback und wurde ein verlorener Klassiker. Es war das erste neue Material, das die Band seit Jahren aufnahm, obwohl viele der Songs bereits ein Jahrzehnt zuvor geschrieben worden waren. Nach der Veröffentlichung verschwand das Album jedoch schnell vom Radar, lang bevor Poly dihren verdienten Kultstatus erlangte. Die Band, die sich 1991, 1995 und 2008 neu formierte, wird heute weltweit dafür verehrt, dass sie eine neue Art von musikalischem Lebensgefühl ausgelöst hat. Die verstorbene Poly ist heute ein Pin-up der Punk- & Popkultur für eine Originalität und einen Feminismus, die zu dieser Zeit kaum existierten. Ihre bissigen, witzigen und brillanten Texte und ihre unverwechselbare Stimme haben den Test der Zeit bestanden, und zusammen mit der ursprünglichen Saxophonistin der Band, Lora Logic, ist sie Teil der Punkrockgeschichte geworden. Die unscharfen Schnappschüsse der kurzen frühen Besetzung zeigen den frechen und scharf gekleideten Teenager-Kern, der vor Talent, Originalität und Stil strotzt, in einem Standbild der popkulturellen Punkrock-Perfektion. Wenn er sich das Album nach einer langen Pause wieder anhört, ist Bassist Paul Dean überrascht. Conscious Consumer" klingt jetzt so viel besser als in meiner Erinnerung. Damals wurde es nicht richtig veröffentlicht und deshalb kennt es niemand. Wenn du Germfree Adolescents liebst, wirst du Conscious Consumer lieben, sie sind miteinander verbunden. X-Ray Spex hatten nicht nur ein großartiges Album, sie hatten zwei!" CD, Eco Mix LP (random colour) & Crystal Clear LP (for Indies Only)

On 'Unknown Affairs' The Vices close their eyes and no longer see frames or lines. This leads to an album
where wild rock tracks, small ballads, psychedelic guitar solos and gypsy-like jams flow seamlessly into each
other. 'Unknown Affairs' offers an honest, unique and, above all, very personal view of the world.

On 'Unknown Affairs' The Vices close their eyes and no longer see frames or lines. This leads to an album
where wild rock tracks, small ballads, psychedelic guitar solos and gypsy-like jams flow seamlessly into each
other. 'Unknown Affairs' offers an honest, unique and, above all, very personal view of the world.

Groningen band The Vices makes a tasteful mix of indie pop, surf and garage rock. The foursome led by
frontman Floris van Luijtelaar shows that they have a great sense of catchy melodies. The debut album
‘Looking For Faces’ is the next milestone in the career of the group, which received a kick-start soon after its
formation with shows as support act for YUNGBLUD, on ESNS and during the Popronde.
They have also completed their first foreign tour, with performances in England, Germany and France,
among others.

Boundary caught our ears when he was just a 19-year-old, a true genius, he's been making music since he was 13 with a maturity and depth well beyond his years. We're absolutely gassed to get him onto the label with a transcendent LP that hits you right in the feels. Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Boundary leans heavily on all the good stuff from early Detroit techno, UK & Japanese ambient, and leftfield techno, stitching things together with immaculate drum programming, wandering basslines, and ethereal pads.

Sometimes brilliantly raw and gritty, at other times delicate and refined, this is an LP that ranges from deep, glassy ambient through to 140 bpm (and beyond!) pumpers. It's classy techno from start to finish, think Aphex Twin meets PLO Man with an early Detroit twist. Limited cassette run and digi, don't miss out!

We're both over the moon and at the same time sad to have this track with us on Food Music, as we wave goodbye to one of UK house music's most talented duos. After releasing their sublime 'Tell Ya Something' with us, Mak & Pasteman will be calling it a day to focus on personal projects and what a way to sign off.

This looped up disco thumper tops the tree when it comes to the right vibe and production, and as if this wasn't enough, house legend Junior Sanchez joins the digital package with a huge rework and completes the perfect send off for Craig and Matt.

Thanks for choosing us to close your huge musical chapter - and we hope you won't be missing for too long!

Fool’s Paradise is the exciting new label from Toolroom Records’ Mark Knight - that comes straight from the heart, it’s a natural progression from his hugely acclaimed 2021 album release, ‘Untold Business’, which saw Mark go back to his roots, paying homage to the more funky, soulful, and vocal House from the 1990s from where he came.

With a focus on real instrumentation and production, coupled with great song writing, this new Toolroom sub label will be a platform for high quality House music that’s designed to stand the test of time. Launching the new label with a mighty bang and delivering the first in our exciting new vinyl sampler series is head honcho, Mark Knight who joins forces with Australian Toolroom label mate, Sgt Slick and British Soul sensation, Beverley Knight on a dynamite cover of Prince’s 1979 classic, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’.

Respectfully transporting the song onto today’s dance floors, Mark & Sgt Slick deliver a classy uplifting soulful house production, loaded with funky guitars, warm pads and sublime key performances. Adding the icing on the cake and putting her own stamp on things, Beverley belts out one of her signature spine-tingling vocals, garnished with lush harmonies and BV’s that would indeed make The Purple One proud!

Completing the vinyl package is Dance music stalwart, Opolopo, and British Soul icon, Jaki Graham, who together bring the dance floor heat with their new single, ‘Fire’. Powered by a potent soulful house groove from Opolopo, loaded with warm piano hooks, emotive synth melodies and a sublime popping bass hook, ‘Fire’ see’s Jaki flaunt her electrifying vocal talents with a show-stopping performance on this irresistibly catchy song.

- I Wanna Be Your Lover reached Traxsource #1 where it stayed for 6 weeks consecutively - Radio support on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Cornwall, Hedkandi, Kiss FM, Mi-Soul, Gaydio, Radio 105 / Montecarlo (Italy), Mambo Radio, Rinse fm, Select Radio, Totally Wired Radio, Point Blank, RTE, Power fm (Ireland), Metro FM (SA), Cool Fm, Radio Reverb, Radio FG (France), Release Radio and many more.

DJ support from Husky, Hector Romero, Javi Bora, Grace Bones, Judge Jules, Sebb Junior, Jay Vegas, Odyssey Inc, ATFC, Claptone, Black Legend, Cevin Fisher, Michael Gray, Kisch, Hoxton Whores, Full Intention, Booker T, Jamie Jones, Knights Of The Turntable, Sam Divine, DJ Rae, CASSIMM, Alex Preston

La Matta Records proudly presents the official reissue of the first 7-inch by Rita and the Danger, an Italian Disco-Funk masterpiece originally released in 1980 on the Flop Record label. This rare and sought-after track ( “Io e lui al lago Nassua” ) recorded in Bari, finally comes out after more than 40 years, carefully restored directly from its original tape on a 16-track Ampex MM 1100 machine, was a pioneer of the 1980s Italo-disco genre. It features melodic overtones that flow into synthesized sequences of early electronic pop. In 1980, the B-side track “Io e Lui al Lago Nassua”, arranged by Cavaros (Rosa Cavalieri), reached the top of the national charts, invading dancefloors and radio stations all over Italy. It also helped Rita and The Danger connect with an audience that extended well beyond their native Puglia region. The group’s youthful charm resonates loud and clear 40 years after its first release, and this sound, which was born in the analog age and is still relevant in the digital age, is now being brought back to life with a new and extended version of the original 7-inch 45 rpm single.

ITALIAN LIBRARY GEM RE-IMAGINED BY BEATMAKER KORALLE AND RAPPER ILLA J

Four Flies is proud to present a new installment in the RELOVED series, 'New Levels / Chartreuse', with an original track from late-70s Italian ensemble Modern Sound Quartet and a rework from producer and beatmaker Koralle featuring iconic rapper Illa J.

In keeping with the aim of the series, which is to put a modern and urban spin on tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music, Koralle has used the unique jazz-funk sound of the original sample to create a smooth and stylish hip-hop beat to which Illa J adds irresistible swag and coolness. More than a remix, 'New Levels' is a new composition that takes 'Chartreuse' into the world of contemporary hip-hop and rap.

Lorenzo Nada, aka Koralle, is a musician, beatmaker and producer from Bologna, Italy. Nada is best known for his project Godblesscomputers, which kicked off a couple of years ago while he was living in Berlin. After releasing four albums/EPs and touring Europe with a four-piece band, Nada is heading into a new direction as Koralle. Firmly rooted in hip-hop, Koralle is taking his jazz crates and field recordings to the studio. Equipped with an array of synths, Rhodes and bass, he creates deeply textured tracks that touch mind, body and soul. "Each beat is like an object found at the bottom of the sea," says Koralle to describe his music. And adds: "The samples emerge from the depths of my record collection and find a new meaning, transformed, like corals from the bottom of the ocean."

Rapping on Koralle's beat is Detroit artist Illa J. Raised in a musical family (his father played piano, his mother sang, and his older brother is the late hip-hop producer J Dilla), he grew up surrounded by jazz, gospel and soul, before building a name for himself as a rapper with a distinctive flow and timbre, but also as a singer and songwriter. Illa J has said of his approach to lyric writing that "the melody comes first, then I bring the words in, even when I'm rapping, you know rhythmically. I'm a singer, so melody comes first, but in terms of the subject matter, the music tells you."

The Modern Sound Quartet was an ensemble led by Milanese pianist and composer Oscar Rocchi. It included Rocchi on keys, Andrea Surdi on drums, Ernesto Verardi on guitars, and Luigi Cappellotto on bass. 'Chartreuse' (written by Cappellotto) comes from their 1976 library LP Cocktail Bar – a collection of jazz-funk/jazz-rock/fusion tunes, each named after a famous spirit. While little known to the general public, Cocktail Bar is highly sought after by diggers, DJs and beatmakers.

'New Levels / Chartreuse' is the fifth release in the RELOVED series, following Jolly Mare's retouch of Piero Umiliani's 'Discomania' (12"), Free The Robots' rework Gianni Safred's 'Autumn 2001' (7"), Dengue Dengue Dengue's remix of Giuliano Sorgini's 'Oasi Nella Giungla' (7"), and Fratelli Malibu's reversioning of Alessandro Alessandroni's 'Tema di Susie' (12"). The 7" releases are co-curated by fellow independent label Little Beat More.

Brilliant rough and funky two sider from Charles Barnwell's band The Funnybone express. A very obscure deepfunk spin with that splash of modern sound that was so appreciated at the time (I can't actually remember whether it was Ian or Keb that first played this).

It has remained an extremely rare and sought after slab of wax and this limited run of 500 will serve to sort out the heads that know the score. Big up DJ Mr Big Happy (check out his NTS show) and Daniel Mathis (Check his show Reachin' Out on WYXR) for helping unearth this rare banger.

ESP Institute artist Bartellow, one third of the project Tambien and otherwise known in the Contemporary Classical sphere as Beni Brachtel, returns to the label with his second full-length release, Noosphere. While currently heading the SVS label and residency series out of Munich, Beni’s resume expands well beyond electronic music to include immersive sound installations such as The Adven- ture Of The Empty House (solo live performance across seven floors of Walter Henn’s Deckelbau building), a slew of compositions for the Bavarian State Opera (for which he doubled as conductor), and a prolific career of over twenty-five theater scores for institutions such as the Münchner Kammerspiele, Schauspiel Basel, Maxim Gorki Theater Berlin, Berliner Ensemble, Schauspiel Köln, Schaus- piel Graz and with directors Ersan Mondtag, Alexander Eisenach, Jessica Glause and Tobias Staab among others.

Noosphere is a compendium excerpting from theatrical scores WUT (Elfriede Jelinek, at Schauspielhaus Köln, directed by Ersan Mondtag, 2020), Ödipus and Antigone (Maxim Gorki Theatre Berlin, directed by Ersan Mondtag, 2017), Der Zauberberg (Thomas Mann, Schauspiel Graz, directed by Alexander Eisenach, 2017), Hass Tryptichon (Sybille Berg, Wiener Festwochen / Maxim Gorki Theatre, directed by Ersan Mondtag, 2019), Wonderland Ave. (Sibylle Berg, Schauspielhaus Köln, directed by Ersan Mondtag, 2018), Die Verdammten (after Visconti ́s film, Schauspielhaus Köln, directed by Ersan Mondtag, 2019) and Roi Ubu (Alfred Jarry, Theater Neumarkt, Zurich, directed by Alexander Eisenach, 2018).

The work traverses homages, infusing everything from Baroque to Impressionism, and while these types of references are certainly built into the canon of Theatre as a discipline, here we gather histor- ic layers in an even wider net. Under the self-referential thumb of Contemporary Classical music, this sort of "hindsight" approach has been largely avoided, however, in today’s all-access arena, the constant stream of historic causal-chained events has opened a delta where anything is possible. This defines Bartellow’s stance among his colleagues as well as his cultural position as a composer.

Beni considers beauty a fleeting objective in the arts, that expression is often expected to follow notions of Destructivism or the unfulfilled. Art will pore over wounds, collective angst, mourn- ing a loss of natural habitat or a fear of technological invasion, yet there is a bitter irreverence for the friction or salvation in beauty itself. Acknowledging this subjectivity — what one audience considers superficial pleasure may be deeply profound to another — he leans into musical instinct as if composing via divine conduit.

Noosphere conjures a array of suspense, ecstasy, melancholy, and dread, but in isolating the work from its theatrical component, Brachtel directs our focus toward formal qualities, clearing unim- peded space to conceive fresh narratives and examine dynamism and interconnectivity. In sympathy with often difficult theatre pieces, the passages can be dark and transgressive, but more importantly they remain relative to Brachtel’s circumstances at their time of creation. The title Noosphere speaks to the evolution of human thought and knowledge, opening a door to subjective points-of-view. For example, Nexus II On The Beach refers to both Roberto Musci’s Water Messages On Desert Sand as well as the film Bladerunner, invoking the image of an android enjoying the sunset, but whether or not this abstraction may be considered beautiful depends the listener’s cumulative life experience and perspective.

This is hybrid chamber music, augmented by electro-acoustic layers, juxtaposing various periods and successively processing their residual themes into a trans-generational rendering of “now.”

ONO Records is proud to present a long awaited project from EDN, the recording project of Elena Nees. Hailing from Adelaide / Kaurna, Elena has crafted her sound in the form of sweet bedroom folk and pop, self releasing a number of tender EPs since 2020 along with releasing a fantastic six track cassette with the esteemed Naarm based cassette label Healthy Tapes under her Allume alias. Here, the EDN moniker takes these folk pop sensibilities and filters them through a love for electronic hardware production and music.

The record begins with the end-of-the-night dancefloor ballad ‘A Mirror’. Jittering and agitated drum programing makes way for EDN’s feather-weight vocals, cleverly manipulated over bubbling synths as the track melts into a bonafide braindance-pop anthem. ‘(Blue!) Flor’ keeps the tempo rising, breaking out into a funked drum machine jam allowing pearlescent pads to intermittently wash over. The thumping ‘Ummmm’ continues the jam ending the first side with an urgent techno-not-techno freak out.

Side B opens with the crystalline fourth world ambience of ‘Mess 1’ before EDN’s angelic antipodean twang takes the spotlight again on the gorgeous and introspective ‘2 Bored Angels’. Interluding briefly with the trip-hop induced breakbeat experiments of ‘Slo’, ‘Mirror Fuck’ bookends the record perfectly with glistening keys and EDN’s soulful vocals singing of longing and desire. An excellent closer. 

EDN gives us a triumphant and utterly unique record that unveils itself more and more with each listen and highlights her immense and diverse talent. One we are proud to include in the ONO catalogue!

Written & Produced by Elena Nees
Artwork by Mathieu Larone & Grace Otto
Mastering by Marco Pellegrino