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They are as their name suggests, an act who strike unexpectedly
And they are sensational...an enervating wall of noise given a focus by the
incredible presence of singer, the Burkina Faso griot, Kaito Winse. The best kind
of buzz." -- Louder Than War
Avalanche Kaito: A Burkinabe urban griot (vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Kaito
Winse) meets a Brussels noise punk duo. A new alloy that deconstructs both
traditional and futurist knowledge.
This thrilling ensemble is releasing their self-titled debut album hot on the heels
of their acclaimed 4- song EP Dabalomuni (January 2022), that The Wire called
"freaked, juddering electronic punk."
A mysterious matrix that echoes disparate (but strangely compatible) sonic
strands: deep griot traditions, Fugazi, Can, 70s era Zappa, Black Midi, the full
throttle rush of Nyege Nyege Tapes.

Ted K. Kaczynski is notorious for both tragically murdering three people (and wounding an additional 23) via bombs sent in the mail and for his numerous writings on the evils of technology he composed during his primitive residency in the woods of Montana. Film director Tony Stone's choice to have the renowned electronic artist Blanck Mass score the film is somewhat ironic and creates an obvious tension perfect for the controversial and complex subject matter. 2020 saw the first Blanck Mass movie score, for the soundtrack to Nick Rowland's acclaimed cinematic debut Calm with Horses. This expansion into new areas of melodic composition and textural exploration won Blanck Mass many new fans, with the BBC's acknowledged number one film buff Mark Kermode proclaiming the work the soundtrack of the year. In 2021, Blanck Mass won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Best Original Film Score and has firmly established himself at the forefront of the latest wave of experimental soundscape wizards. Recording during lockdown at his studio in Edinburgh, Scotland, Blanck Mass's Ben Power was in the perfect setting for a musical piece intended to capture the isolation central to Kaczynski's story. Power was also working with a director in a time zone 10 hours behind and thus many sessions required working in the middle of the night, which added a fitting intensity to the composition process. He said of the project "I wanted it to feel like an `epic'" and drew on the legends Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone for inspiration in encapsulating the energy of the perceived good vs. evil. The gentle madness of sound achieved is exquisite and slowly builds in intensity and desperation as the score moves along. Power is able to perfectly capture the complexity, the terror and the deep emotionality of the film while presenting an often breathtakingly beautiful and always masterful album that stands on its own as a work of art. For Fans of Tim Hecker, Oneohtrix Point Never, DJ Shadow, Coil, Arca, Andy Stott, Fuck Buttons.

The past couple of years have provided an ideal breeding ground for periods of reflection. Of rediscovery. And for the reignition of dwindling flames. Perhaps this is why the meeting of Tom Churchill and 2Sox is the perfect match at the perfect time. A collision of minds stoking a fire that has sizzled away into a 12” slab of choice cuts. Introspective and deep, yet not forgetting what a dancefloor wants.

Tom started making music in the mid-90s, inspired by the house and techno records he was buying as a teenager growing up in Cardiff. Co-founder of cult 90’s label, Headspace Recordings and sister label Emoticon; Tom and partner Raeph Powell were responsible for some faultless releases in the 00’s. More recently, Tom has been one half of The Nuclear Family; a production, label and events project launched with Laurence Hughes in 2013. Much of what Tom has put his hand to over the years has been hot in demand. Incredibly, this is his first physical, solo release under his real name since 2002. Despite the 20 year gap, Tom’s enthuse for all things deep and electronic has arguably never been stronger.

“These tracks have been heavily inspired by two things - reconnecting with my surroundings and rediscovering my record collection - both of which have been made possible by the events over the past couple of years.” Tom says.

“As well as spending more time outdoors around my home on the west coast of Scotland, I recorded a lot of DJ mixes and radio shows during the first lockdown, which meant I spent a lot of time digging through older records. This reignited some creative energy that had been lying dormant for a while.

Before 2020 I’d been sporadically using a rented studio space to make music, but in that Spring I put together a basic, compact setup so I could work at home. My influences are pretty clear with these tracks - I’ve drawn on the palette of classic deep house, 90s techno and electro throughout - but while there are some retro elements and familiar sounds, I’ve tried to put my own twist on things. Being surrounded by nature and working exclusively on headphones has made for a more intimate sound, and these tracks are the most personal I’ve ever done.”

A2 consists of 5 loops.

Subsequent to their formidable collabo with Max Delius a few months prior, Andreas Schuller and Jay Nagel deliver the next tracks for RFR. “Bionic Jelly” still moves in style within the croudian sound biotope, yet places the tooly aspect a little bit more in the foreground.

“It’s a match” starts restrainedly with dubby breakbeats, being driven forward by echoes and reverb. Rattling percussions jump on the sonic carpet and little by little increase the intensity of this funky opener. Yep, that fits!

„Stomache Grind“ comes around the corner way more relaxed than its title may suggest. Nothing indigestive is presented here, in contrary a digestif made of all the ingredients which crouds are famous for: Melody, broken beats, elaborately composed dub patterns and a dose of finesse.

Heavy 90s vibes in the final track of this EP. Kinda reminiscent of Luke Vibert in his best Rephlex days. Minimal, interlaced and mystical. “Shifting Space” not only moves space, but also time. Because this is what’s needed in order to enjoy the true depth of this track.

Am 3. Juni erscheint das 3LP Album ”The Matrix (The Complete Score)” mit der gesamten Musik aus dem Original-Blockbuster-Film.

Mit insgesamt 44 neu gemasterte Tracks und ein exklusives Interview mit Komponist Don Davis! Die Matrix gilt seit langem als einer der einflussreichsten Filme aller Zeiten und läutete bei seiner Veröffentlichung 1999 eine neue Ära des Kinos ein. Unter der Regie der damals noch relativ unbekannten Wachowski-Geschwister schildert der Oscar-prämierte Film eine futuristische, dystopische Gesellschaft, in der die Menschen unwissentlich in einer simulierten Realität leben. Mit Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne und Carrie-Anne Moss in den Hauptrollen verbindet The Matrix philosophische Grundsätze, CyberpunkKriegsführung und ausgefeilte Kampfsporttechniken mit bahnbrechenden Spezialeffekten. Der geschickt komponierte Soundtrack von Davis ist das Bindeglied zwischen der atemberaubenden Optik und der verblüffenden Handlung des Films.

Wie der Filmmusikjournalist Kaya Savas in seinem Interview mit Davis im Jahr 2020 feststellt, war die Filmmusik ”anders als alles, was man bis dahin in einem Action- oder Science-Fiction-Film gehört hatte.
Das gilt auch heute noch. Abgesehen von den Fortsetzungen gibt es keinen anderen Stil und keine andere Herangehensweise an die Vertonung von Science-Fiction- und Actionfilmen als die von The Matrix.”

On textstar+ Jan Jelinek brings together the material from the CMYK series, four EPs he released between 1999 and 2002 under the pseudonym farben (the German word for both colours and paints), on a vinyl double LP for the first time. The selection of tracks has been remastered from the original tapes, joined by two additional pieces that appeared on compilations during the same period.

A Polaroid. Still life with tangled leads and consumer electronics, late twentieth century. Black and various shades of dirty white are the dominant non-colours. The image’s spatial depth remains diffuse, the links between its elements speculative. A note stuck to the wall (a legend, perhaps, or an all-explaining blueprint in text form?) is impossible to decipher. You can’t see what connects the picture’s signs. You have to hear it.

farben says: Every sound is a text. A bearer of meaning in search of a reader. Hoping the ideas inscribed in its autonomous existence will be understood as intended. While its beauty lies precisely in misunderstanding, in reading the coded message a new way every time. A thousand colours of sound, a thousand different ways to hear, to see, to understand.

On textstar+ Jan Jelinek brings together the material from the CMYK series, four EPs he released between 1999 and 2002 under the pseudonym farben (the German word for both colours and paints), on a vinyl double LP for the first time. The selection of tracks has been remastered from the original tapes, joined by two additional pieces that appeared on compilations during the same period. Another new element is the Polaroid, showing the origins of a world: Jelinek’s home studio in Berlin at the time.

farben says: Move your body! The project has its roots in Jelinek’s love of house as a reductionist vision of soul. Of four to the floor as a proposition that can be accessed anywhere. Of electronic dance music as a realm of possibility that can be continually expanded. farben was written as contemporary house music. As a text about excitement and euphoria. The arrangements were made directly while recording to DAT, on a twelve-channel mixing desk. Several track titles suggest a link to live concerts, coupled with the context of machine music and bedroom recording. Others affirm pop music’s most extravagant stock phrases about various states of love.

Jelinek produced the tracks with the aim of making music for dancefloors. An idea that failed very productively. In the locations to which it was originally addressed, the project barely figured. But people did listen, and they listened all the more closely to this music that opened up new acoustic and associative scope for house. farben is the opposite of genre: a music spawning new terms (clicks & cuts, micro-house) that never manage to fully capture it.

farben says: Signifiers. The four CMYK EPs are designed as a network of references that cannot be missed but that can also never be precisely deciphered. The vectors of sound, word and image point to Isaac Hayes and Ornette Coleman, to Detroit and the first generation of the Red Army Faction, to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. So multifarious that they are distorted to the point of recognition. Overall we hear sonic docufictions whose appealing vagueness derives precisely from this oscillation between clarity and ambiguity, which is also the source of their poetry: the lyricism of the pure circulation of signs.

The artwork is based on photographs of former Red Army Faction members, broken down into the four colours of the CMYK model. The motifs dissolve into individual dots of a single colour, so close to the faces that their expressions are only hinted at. Taken together, the individual colours compose a new whole out of fragmentary material, defying definition and thus maintaining their vibrancy. The same occurs on the level of sound. The sampler Jelinek used for these tracks had to be fed with floppy disks, imposing a memory limit of 1.44 megabytes per audio quotation from soul or jazz records. As a necessary consequence of this, the individual references, like the dots of colour, are dissolved into details and abstractions. They appear as splinters that recombine in new ways to create new meanings. The joy of collapsing metaphors.

farben says: New departures. Even two decades after its original release, textstar+ does not come across as an epitaph to the modern era. Instead, it appears as a euphoric affirmation of the utopias of the twentieth century, translated into new sound texts via the aesthetic strategies of abstraction, collage, networking and speculation. 1.44 megabytes of history, one thousand signifiers, one album. From “Live ...” to “... Love”.

Arno Raffeiner, 2021

"Matt Andersen has drawn from the best roots music has to offer over his decades-long career: down and dirty blues, heart-wrenching soul, life-affirming gospel, and introspective singer-songwriter balladry. These sounds, textures, and influences are laid bare on House to House…” -

Oh my days, what can we say about this amazing EP that hasn’t been said before? Originally released on Remix Records in the mid 90’s, this EP has been lovingly remastered! No matter what way you look at it Rush Hour is an absolute anthem that has torn up dance floors for over 25 years now, with this new remaster, it will continue to do so for many years to come. Then on the other side is probably one of the most under played flip sides of all time, which is just criminal! Take Me Away is a great track that shows that not all happy hardcore was flying at warp factor cheese!

LIMITED TO 500 COPIES // HIGH-QUALITY TIP-ON COVER // INCL. DOWNLOAD CODE

OFFICIAL RE-ISSUE, DONE IN COOPERATION WITH THE FAMILY OF BOBBY COLE !!!

If you lived in New York during the 1950s through the 1990s and liked jazz, you knew about Bobby Cole. He played piano, sang, composed, arranged and, in 1967, released an album of original compositions titled "A Point of View" (Concentric Records). He had fans but avoided becoming mainstream. He stayed contemporary without becoming current. Jazz, folk, rock, modern dance scores…he wrote and performed them all. He smoked too much, drugged too much, drank too much. He was also cerebral, curious, a prodigious reader of poetry, philosophy, theology, and an uncommonly intelligent and literate lyricist.

On a December night in 1996, he had a heart attack while walking to work. An ambulance brought him to New York Hospital where, a few hours later, he died. Bobby Cole performed throughout Manhattan for forty years, but he spent most of the 1960s headlining at Jilly's, the midtown bistro owned by Frank Sinatra and his friend Jilly Rizzo. Sinatra called Bobby "my favorite saloon singer."

Bobby Cole caught the attention of Judy Garland, who visited Jilly's one night in 1964. She was hosting a weekly television show, and in the midst of a feud with her special materials arranger, Mel Torme. Three weeks later, Mel was out, and Bobby was in. He performed on Judy's show with his Trio. Bobby was scarcely 30 years old and it was his first time on television, but he was unruffled, sophisticated, and so damn cool. After Judy's show ended, Bobby occasionally arranged and conducted for her until she died.

Today, Jilly's is called the Russian Samovar and the piano is in the same spot. My husband and I ate there a few years ago. As we enjoyed our meal, I talked about Jilly's in the Sinatra era. Jilly had an apartment on the upper floor. I pointed up to the apartment and the balcony, where Jilly and Frank would sometimes drop water-balloons on unsuspecting pedestrians below. Another story described Jilly's as "tough, and you had to be tough to work there. Bobby Cole was tough. Frank and Jilly used to throw firecrackers at him to see if they could rattle him, but nothing rattled Bobby Cole. He ignored them and kept on playing." In the 1980s, Bobby headlined at a club called the Café Versailles. His daughter sometimes visited with her friends. She recalled that when she and her father would exit the club after work, a panhandler would be waiting for him. Bobby, who fought his own losing battle with the bottle, would slip the guy twenty dollars and wryly admonish him, "Be sure not to spend it on food." The night my husband and I visited the Russian Samovar there was a guy playing piano there, very young, and trying hard. I talked to him a little bit between his numbers about Bobby and the history of Jilly's and he was sweet, but I could tell he didn't care. I felt like one of those old people who bore young people to death with stories about things that happened before they were born – which, let's face it, is what I was. Nonetheless, when we were ready to leave, I put twenty dollars in his tip jar and said, "This is with compliments from Bobby Cole." After we left my husband said I should have added, "Be sure not to spend it on food."

Marie Hegeman (December 2021)

"Big Time" entstand mit einem Peitschenhieb in den seltenen, fruchtbaren Momenten, in denen sowohl frische Trauer als auch frische Liebe gleichzeitig auftreten, in denen sich Kummer und Verliebtheit gegenseitig verstärken, verkomplizieren und erklären. Verlust ist schon immer ein Thema in Olsens Songs gewesen, aber nur wenige können Elegien mit einer derart rücksichtslosen Energie schreiben, wie sie. Wenn diese aus allen Nähten platzende, bergab rasende Energie für ihre Arbeit unüberwindbar schien, beweist "Big Time", dass Olsen jetzt von einem verwurzelteren Ort der Klarheit aus schreibt. Dabei arbeitet sie mit einer elastischen Beherrschung ihrer Stimme - sowohl klanglich als auch künstlerisch. In diesen Liedern geht es nicht nur um die Transformation von Trauer, sondern auch darum, Freiheit und Freude in den Entbehrungen zu finden, die diese mit sich bringen. "Big Time" ist ein Album über die expansive Kraft der neuen Liebe, geschrieben in der Zeit, als Angel Olsen sich als queer outete und ihre ersten Erfahrungen mit queerer Liebe und Herzschmerz machte. Aber dieser Glanz und Optimismus wird durch ein tiefes und vielschichtiges Gefühl von Verlust gemildert. Während Olsens Prozess der Auseinandersetzung mit ihrem Queer-Sein und der Konfrontation mit den Traumata, die sie davon abgehalten hatten, sich selbst voll und ganz zu akzeptieren, fühlte sie, dass es an der Zeit war, sich ihren Eltern gegenüber zu outen - eine Hürde, die sie eine Zeit lang vermieden hatte. "Some experiences just make you feel as though you're five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are", schreibt sie über diese Zeit. Nach diesem tränenreichen, aber erleichternden Gespräch feierte sie mit ihrem/ihrer Partner*in, ihren Freund*innen, mit Austern und Wein. "Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me." Drei Tage später starb ihr Vater, dessen Beerdigung Olsen zum Anlass nahm, den/die Partner*in ihrer Familie vorzustellen. Nur zwei Wochen später erhielt Olsen den Anruf, dass ihre Mutter in der Notaufnahme lag. Eine Zeit im Hospiz kam bald darauf, und eine zweite Beerdigung folgte kurz nach der ersten. Eine weitere Reise zurück nach St. Louis, eine weitere Trauerbewältigung, eine weitere Vertiefung und Intensivierung dieser noch jungen Liebe. Drei Wochen nach der Beerdigung ihrer Mutter war Olsen im Studio, um dieses unglaublich weise und zärtliche neue Album "Big Time" aufzunehmen. Ausgelassene Anspielungen an Tammy Wynette und Kitty Wells tauchen auf "Big Time" ebenso auf wie die komplexen Orchestrationen ihres genreübergreifenden 2019er Albums "All Mirrors". Während jenes Album voller dramatischer Veränderungen und Wendungen war, liegen die Überraschungen hier in ihrer Einfachheit - ein langsames Anschwellen der Streicher, eine Instrumentierung, die wie ein Sturm zyklisch ist, oder funkelnde Hörner in einer lichtdurchfluteten Break-up-Ballade, während kaum ein Synthesizer in Sicht ist. "Big Time" wurde zusammen mit dem Co-Produzenten Jonathan Wilson in seinen Fivestar Studios in Topanga, Kalifornien, aufgenommen und gemischt. Drew Erickson spielte Klavier, Orgel und kümmerte sich um die Streicherarrangements. Olsens langjährige Bandkollegin Emily Elhaj spielte durchgehend den Bass.

"Big Time" entstand mit einem Peitschenhieb in den seltenen, fruchtbaren Momenten, in denen sowohl frische Trauer als auch frische Liebe gleichzeitig auftreten, in denen sich Kummer und Verliebtheit gegenseitig verstärken, verkomplizieren und erklären. Verlust ist schon immer ein Thema in Olsens Songs gewesen, aber nur wenige können Elegien mit einer derart rücksichtslosen Energie schreiben, wie sie. Wenn diese aus allen Nähten platzende, bergab rasende Energie für ihre Arbeit unüberwindbar schien, beweist "Big Time", dass Olsen jetzt von einem verwurzelteren Ort der Klarheit aus schreibt. Dabei arbeitet sie mit einer elastischen Beherrschung ihrer Stimme - sowohl klanglich als auch künstlerisch. In diesen Liedern geht es nicht nur um die Transformation von Trauer, sondern auch darum, Freiheit und Freude in den Entbehrungen zu finden, die diese mit sich bringen. "Big Time" ist ein Album über die expansive Kraft der neuen Liebe, geschrieben in der Zeit, als Angel Olsen sich als queer outete und ihre ersten Erfahrungen mit queerer Liebe und Herzschmerz machte. Aber dieser Glanz und Optimismus wird durch ein tiefes und vielschichtiges Gefühl von Verlust gemildert. Während Olsens Prozess der Auseinandersetzung mit ihrem Queer-Sein und der Konfrontation mit den Traumata, die sie davon abgehalten hatten, sich selbst voll und ganz zu akzeptieren, fühlte sie, dass es an der Zeit war, sich ihren Eltern gegenüber zu outen - eine Hürde, die sie eine Zeit lang vermieden hatte. "Some experiences just make you feel as though you're five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are", schreibt sie über diese Zeit. Nach diesem tränenreichen, aber erleichternden Gespräch feierte sie mit ihrem/ihrer Partner*in, ihren Freund*innen, mit Austern und Wein. "Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me." Drei Tage später starb ihr Vater, dessen Beerdigung Olsen zum Anlass nahm, den/die Partner*in ihrer Familie vorzustellen. Nur zwei Wochen später erhielt Olsen den Anruf, dass ihre Mutter in der Notaufnahme lag. Eine Zeit im Hospiz kam bald darauf, und eine zweite Beerdigung folgte kurz nach der ersten. Eine weitere Reise zurück nach St. Louis, eine weitere Trauerbewältigung, eine weitere Vertiefung und Intensivierung dieser noch jungen Liebe. Drei Wochen nach der Beerdigung ihrer Mutter war Olsen im Studio, um dieses unglaublich weise und zärtliche neue Album "Big Time" aufzunehmen. Ausgelassene Anspielungen an Tammy Wynette und Kitty Wells tauchen auf "Big Time" ebenso auf wie die komplexen Orchestrationen ihres genreübergreifenden 2019er Albums "All Mirrors". Während jenes Album voller dramatischer Veränderungen und Wendungen war, liegen die Überraschungen hier in ihrer Einfachheit - ein langsames Anschwellen der Streicher, eine Instrumentierung, die wie ein Sturm zyklisch ist, oder funkelnde Hörner in einer lichtdurchfluteten Break-up-Ballade, während kaum ein Synthesizer in Sicht ist. "Big Time" wurde zusammen mit dem Co-Produzenten Jonathan Wilson in seinen Fivestar Studios in Topanga, Kalifornien, aufgenommen und gemischt. Drew Erickson spielte Klavier, Orgel und kümmerte sich um die Streicherarrangements. Olsens langjährige Bandkollegin Emily Elhaj spielte durchgehend den Bass.

A product of generations of underground music in L.A. and beyond, The Linda Lindas' debut, Growing Up, channels classic punk, post punk, power pop, new wave, and other surprises into timelessly catchy and cool songs sung by all four members-each with her own style and energy. A handful of cuts have already been previewed at shows and enthusiastically approved by diehard followers in the pit at L.A.'s DIY punk institution The Smell and Head in the Cloud festival goers at The Rose Bowl alike. The Linda Lindas are stoked to unleash Growing Up. The Linda Lindas first played together as members of a pickup new wave cover band of kids assembled by Kristin Kontrol (Dum Dum Girls) for Girlschool LA in 2018 and then formed their own garage punk group just for fun. Sisters Mila de la Garza (drummer, now 11) and Lucia de la Garza (guitar, 14), cousin Eloise Wong (bass, 13), and family friend Bela Salazar (guitar, 17) developed their chops as regulars at all-ages matinees in Chinatown, where they played with original L.A. punks like The Dils, Phranc, and Alley Cats; went on to open for riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill and architect Alice Bag as well as DIY heavyweights Best Coast and Bleached; and were eventually featured in Amy Poehler's movie Moxie. When the pandemic put a pause on shows, The Linda Lindas went on to self-release a four-song EP, make their own videos and grow a following beyond Los Angeles. But they never expected or could have even dreamed that their performance of "Racist, Sexist Boy" for the Los Angeles Public Library in May 2021 would take them from punk shows to TV shows. A month later, when the school year ended and summer began, The Linda Lindas got to work on their first full-length LP. Having written a mountain of new material individually while sheltering in place and attending class virtually, the band was more than ready to enter the studio where Mila and Lucia's dad (and Eloise's uncle and Bela's "uncle") Carlos de la Garza oversaw recording and production. The Grammy-winning producer's work includes Paramore, Bad Religion, Best Coast, and Bleached.

"Big Time" entstand mit einem Peitschenhieb in den seltenen, fruchtbaren Momenten, in denen sowohl frische Trauer als auch frische Liebe gleichzeitig auftreten, in denen sich Kummer und Verliebtheit gegenseitig verstärken, verkomplizieren und erklären. Verlust ist schon immer ein Thema in Olsens Songs gewesen, aber nur wenige können Elegien mit einer derart rücksichtslosen Energie schreiben, wie sie. Wenn diese aus allen Nähten platzende, bergab rasende Energie für ihre Arbeit unüberwindbar schien, beweist "Big Time", dass Olsen jetzt von einem verwurzelteren Ort der Klarheit aus schreibt. Dabei arbeitet sie mit einer elastischen Beherrschung ihrer Stimme - sowohl klanglich als auch künstlerisch. In diesen Liedern geht es nicht nur um die Transformation von Trauer, sondern auch darum, Freiheit und Freude in den Entbehrungen zu finden, die diese mit sich bringen. "Big Time" ist ein Album über die expansive Kraft der neuen Liebe, geschrieben in der Zeit, als Angel Olsen sich als queer outete und ihre ersten Erfahrungen mit queerer Liebe und Herzschmerz machte. Aber dieser Glanz und Optimismus wird durch ein tiefes und vielschichtiges Gefühl von Verlust gemildert. Während Olsens Prozess der Auseinandersetzung mit ihrem Queer-Sein und der Konfrontation mit den Traumata, die sie davon abgehalten hatten, sich selbst voll und ganz zu akzeptieren, fühlte sie, dass es an der Zeit war, sich ihren Eltern gegenüber zu outen - eine Hürde, die sie eine Zeit lang vermieden hatte. "Some experiences just make you feel as though you're five years old, no matter how wise or adult you think you are", schreibt sie über diese Zeit. Nach diesem tränenreichen, aber erleichternden Gespräch feierte sie mit ihrem/ihrer Partner*in, ihren Freund*innen, mit Austern und Wein. "Finally, at the ripe age of 34, I was free to be me." Drei Tage später starb ihr Vater, dessen Beerdigung Olsen zum Anlass nahm, den/die Partner*in ihrer Familie vorzustellen. Nur zwei Wochen später erhielt Olsen den Anruf, dass ihre Mutter in der Notaufnahme lag. Eine Zeit im Hospiz kam bald darauf, und eine zweite Beerdigung folgte kurz nach der ersten. Eine weitere Reise zurück nach St. Louis, eine weitere Trauerbewältigung, eine weitere Vertiefung und Intensivierung dieser noch jungen Liebe. Drei Wochen nach der Beerdigung ihrer Mutter war Olsen im Studio, um dieses unglaublich weise und zärtliche neue Album "Big Time" aufzunehmen. Ausgelassene Anspielungen an Tammy Wynette und Kitty Wells tauchen auf "Big Time" ebenso auf wie die komplexen Orchestrationen ihres genreübergreifenden 2019er Albums "All Mirrors". Während jenes Album voller dramatischer Veränderungen und Wendungen war, liegen die Überraschungen hier in ihrer Einfachheit - ein langsames Anschwellen der Streicher, eine Instrumentierung, die wie ein Sturm zyklisch ist, oder funkelnde Hörner in einer lichtdurchfluteten Break-up-Ballade, während kaum ein Synthesizer in Sicht ist. "Big Time" wurde zusammen mit dem Co-Produzenten Jonathan Wilson in seinen Fivestar Studios in Topanga, Kalifornien, aufgenommen und gemischt. Drew Erickson spielte Klavier, Orgel und kümmerte sich um die Streicherarrangements. Olsens langjährige Bandkollegin Emily Elhaj spielte durchgehend den Bass.

Man muss sich nur kurz mit dem Indie-Rock-Trio unterhalten, um die innige Wärme ihrer starken Verbundenheit zu spüren, die drei jungen Musikerinnen sind beste Freunde. Diese persönliche Nähe schimmert auch auf ihrem Debütalbum "Versions of Modern Performance" durch. Penelope Lowenstein (Gitarre, Gesang), Nora Cheng (Gitarre, Gesang) und Gigi Reece (Schlagzeug) machen alles gemeinsam, vom Songwriting über den wechselnden Gesang und den Tausch von Instrumenten bis hin zum Sound- und Visual Art-Design. "Versions of Modern Performance" wurde mit John Agnello (Kurt Vile, The Breeders, Dinosaur Jr.) im Electrical Audio-Studio aufgenommen. "Es ist unser erstes Album. Wir hatten bei Agnello sofort das Gefühl, dass er wirklich respektiert, was wir zu tun versuchten", sagt die Band. Horsegirl spielen auf dem Album gekonnt mit Texturen, Formen und Schattierungen und zeigen ihre Vorliebe für Improvisationen und Experimente. Der Opener "Anti-glory" ist schillernder Post-Punk-Song. "Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)" und "World of Pots and Pans" haben einen rauen Pop-Charme. "The Fall of Horsegirl" besticht wiederum durch seine scharfen Konturen und einem kantigen Sound. Man kann in ihrer Musik Elemente der Independent-Musik der 80er und 90er Jahre hören, die Sounds die Horsegirl so sehr lieben - die schraddelige Melodik dessen, was man früher "College-Rock" nannte, den kühlen und sprudelnden Space-Age-Glanz der 90er-Jahre, das laute Dröhnen von Shoegaze, die sparsamen Hooks und Rhythmen von Post-Punk. Sogar ein bisschen No-Wave ist mit dabei. Horsegirl vermischen die Einflüsse zu einem Sound einer neuen Generation, für die die 90er-Jahre Lichtjahre entfernt zurückliegen und gleichzeitig doch so nah sind.

Man muss sich nur kurz mit dem Indie-Rock-Trio unterhalten, um die innige Wärme ihrer starken Verbundenheit zu spüren, die drei jungen Musikerinnen sind beste Freunde. Diese persönliche Nähe schimmert auch auf ihrem Debütalbum "Versions of Modern Performance" durch. Penelope Lowenstein (Gitarre, Gesang), Nora Cheng (Gitarre, Gesang) und Gigi Reece (Schlagzeug) machen alles gemeinsam, vom Songwriting über den wechselnden Gesang und den Tausch von Instrumenten bis hin zum Sound- und Visual Art-Design. "Versions of Modern Performance" wurde mit John Agnello (Kurt Vile, The Breeders, Dinosaur Jr.) im Electrical Audio-Studio aufgenommen. "Es ist unser erstes Album. Wir hatten bei Agnello sofort das Gefühl, dass er wirklich respektiert, was wir zu tun versuchten", sagt die Band. Horsegirl spielen auf dem Album gekonnt mit Texturen, Formen und Schattierungen und zeigen ihre Vorliebe für Improvisationen und Experimente. Der Opener "Anti-glory" ist schillernder Post-Punk-Song. "Dirtbag Transformation (Still Dirty)" und "World of Pots and Pans" haben einen rauen Pop-Charme. "The Fall of Horsegirl" besticht wiederum durch seine scharfen Konturen und einem kantigen Sound. Man kann in ihrer Musik Elemente der Independent-Musik der 80er und 90er Jahre hören, die Sounds die Horsegirl so sehr lieben - die schraddelige Melodik dessen, was man früher "College-Rock" nannte, den kühlen und sprudelnden Space-Age-Glanz der 90er-Jahre, das laute Dröhnen von Shoegaze, die sparsamen Hooks und Rhythmen von Post-Punk. Sogar ein bisschen No-Wave ist mit dabei. Horsegirl vermischen die Einflüsse zu einem Sound einer neuen Generation, für die die 90er-Jahre Lichtjahre entfernt zurückliegen und gleichzeitig doch so nah sind.

Incl. Schacke Remix

Having been extensively road-tested this past year by DJs including Daniel Avery, HAAi and Gerd Janson, Highdive arrives with tangible anticipation. The work of less-than-shadowy figures Gramrcy and John Loveless, the pair have passed lockdown and beyond remixing artists such as WH Lung, Discovery Zone and Ghost Culture. Debuting their first original material, closely following Gramrcy’s recent appearance on Loveless’s own Hot Concept imprint, Highdive is a long-anticipated explosion of energy.

Built around a sonic-boom breakdown, glossy rave chords and pounding post-punk drums, Highdive feels immediately at home on Phantasy. Having worked closely alongside founder Erol Alkan in recent years to shape the imprint's diverse output, Loveless' collaboration with the Peach Discs founder nods to the electro landscape of the label's earliest days. Having never left dance floors since, Gramrcy & John Loveless take a golden opportunity to plunge dancers into the sublime and the ridiculous.

While a stripped-down ‘Beats Mix’ sees the pair adopt a less-maximal approach, leave it to Schacke to stretch Highdive into hardcore rave heaven. The already-influential Copenhagen artist underscores his refreshing funk in the ‘fast-techno’ scene through which he has risen, turning the screws and upping the tempo with intense but elastic results.

Benefits are an issues-based music collective from Teesside in the
North East of England. They write songs about the urgencies that
concern them, and they play them loud.

Forming in 2019 and consisting of Kingsley Hall on vocals, Robbie
Major and Hugh Major on synths and noise, and Jonny Snowball
on drums, they quickly evolved from a standard shouty punk rock
outfit into a minimalist, overtly political band that merges noise,
hip-hop and industrial rock, creating an effect that feels urgent,
darkly hilarious and unsettling all at once.

Thus far, Benefits have been completely DIY yet, via a succession
of digital singles and accompanying videos through 2021, they
built a following that enabled them to complete a sold-out headline
UK tour in March 2022. They also gained fans in high places,
including Sleaford Mods, Black Francis, Garbage and Elijah Wood
and Steve Albini.

James and Ryan of Yard Act were also instant admirers and that’s
where their label Zen F.C. comes in. Using their ill-gotten major
label gains Zen F.C. are pressing Benefit’s single ‘Flag’ (backed
with ‘Empire’) on vinyl.

On working with Yard Act, Kingsley comments: “I think Benefits
come at some of the same subject matter that they talk about but
from a slightly different angle (and by ‘slightly different’ I really
mean ‘more frequent swearing’, though we've never said the C
word in a song unlike...ahem). We appreciate every bit of help
we’ve had off them, we just wish we could somehow repay that
kindness (not monetarily mind, we're totally skint).”

Yard Act’s James Smith says of the release: “Lots of bands are
saying all this stuff so what makes Benefits so special? Why do I
need to be told what I already know over and over again by a
shouty man from Teesside? Well, because no one else is saying it
with such physicality they sound like their voice box is about to
leap from their throat and eat your eyeballs. With that little bit of
influence we’ve garnered and the small fortune of money we now
have kicking about, I’m so glad we can play a part in spreading the
word on Benefits, because I think they’re well on their way to a
classic debut album, and I’m going to fucking love being able to
brag about how important I was in making it all happen.”

Justin Thurgur has been at the heart of the UK's World Music scene for over twenty years; principally in his collaborations with the former Fela and Femi Kuti keyboardist, Dele Sosimi, and with the pianist and composer Kishon Khan, most recently in his groups Lokkhi Terra and Cubafrobeat. He has also worked with the likes of Afrobeat drum legend Tony Allen, and with the Cuban giants Giraldo Piloto, Julito Padron and Changuito. Thurgur is also a member of the seminal English folk group Bellowhead.

'Many Faces' brings together this musical journey, with Afro-infused grooves and nods towards Cuban Jazz and Dub, with Thurgur's early passion for the likes of Miles Davis, Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, et al....

It features both Khan and Sosimi, who have contributed as co-writers as well as bringing their own inimitable sounds on piano, rhodes and hammond organ. Alongside them are some of the leading musicians on the UK's African, Cuban and Jazz scenes, plus collaborations with rising star singers Jade Pybus and Sahra Gure.

Justin Thurgur - trombone (and some additional keys)

Graeme Flowers - trumpet and flugel horn

Simeon May - tenor, baritone and alto sax

James Allsopp - bass clarinet

Jade Pybus - vocals (on 'Woman')

Sahra Gure - vocals (on 'Be A Little Wiser')

Kishon Khan - piano, rhodes and hammond organ (on tracks 1,3,4 and 5)

Dele Sosimi - piano (on tracks 2 and 6) and vocala (on track 6)

Phil Dawson - guitar

Suman Joshi - double bass (except track 5)

Jimmy Martinez - double bass (on track 5)

Tansay Omar - drums (on tracks 1,3 and 4)

Kunle Olofinjana - drums (on tracks 2 and 6)

Yoann Julliard - drums (on track 5)

Afla Sackey - congas and djembe (on tracks 1,2 and 6), shekere and cowbell, and vocals (on track 6)

Oreste 'Sambroso' Noda - congas (on tracks 3 and 5)

Evie Hilyer-Ziegler - violin and viola

Paul Sartin - violin

Track 1 written by J Thurgur and S Gure

Tracks 2 and 6 written by J Thurgur and Dele Sosimi

Track 3 written by J Thurgur

Track 4 written by J Thurgur and J Pybus

Track 5 written by J Thurgur and K Khan

Recorded at Fish Factory by Simone Gallizio and Sean Douglas, at Boneman Studios by Justin Thurgur, at Better Pass Your Own Studios by Phil Dawson, at Thank You Please Studio by Kishon Khan and at 224 Studios by Matteo Musetti.


Mixed at Hi Street Studio by Mauro Caccialanza.

Mastered at Gearbox by Caspar Sutton-Jones.

Artwork by Matthieu Dufour

Photos of by Siobhan Bradshaw, Justin Thurgur, Stephanie Sian Smith,

Chantal Azari, Alex Bonney, Heather Hoyle, Nicole Thurgur, Joanna Mendel, Tansay Omar, Richard Gearey, Faye Hilyer-Ziegler and Svetlana Onye.

• Limited edition of 800 copies

KU is paying tribute to one of the most acclaimed and iconic records in the NMS catalogue, with a 2LP vinyl release, with brand new artwork & a bonus remix. The re-release is an opportunity for new fans to be exposed to this masterpiece LP, old fans to explore a NMS classic through fresh ears, and for the band to reflect back on the record they made nearly 15 years ago.

As far as recording the record, there was nothing new about the approach. By this time the band had found a formula for making records that they found to make most sense and suit their chemistry well. Richard Formby was their goto engineer and Hall Place Studios in Leeds, was the space that breeds the desired sounds. This process would remain the same until the band started making records in the United States a few years later.

The KU ‘Plug & Play' Reissue is snapshot in time of a band that was around the 10 year mark of their career. There’s an undeniable chemistry and energy captured in the recordings that could only come from musicians who were tapped in and listening to one another's ideas and playing. With each track leaving you wondering how they were able to find that much pocket, and how much deeper could it possibly go!

The second album from Wehrmacht, “Biermächt” saw the band maturing while still retaining their Thrashcore roots. Released in mid-1988, “Biermächt” featured a slightly cleaner production than the one found on their debut album. To some fans this rendered the album with much less intensity, but to our ears the sound was still very powerful. The massive reverb used on the first album made “Shark Attack” sound like a true shark attack and only added to the overall intensity. This time around the drums are more compressed and some blast beat parts tend to get lost in the overall blur of things. But on the same token, the guitars are much sharper sounding. Marco Zorich and John Duffy were truly evolving as guitar heroes. The thing that is really great and different compared to “Shark Attack” are the funny bit songs. We love them and enjoy them. A lot of the songs on “Biermächt” were leftovers from their demo days, including the phenomenal “Night Of Pain”, one of our all time favorite Thrash songs ever, but newer stuff like “Radical Dissection” and “Balance Of Opinion” showed the band handling a more mainstream Thrash sound somewhere in the middle of a Slayer/Kreator sound and Metallica/Megadeth. There is a certain progressiveness to those songs that hint to a more elaborate musical future. “Biermächt” is a very strong Crossover/Thrash album with a laid back party vibe to it. The sound, however, is very in-your-face. This is not a subtle album by any means. It’s not that they were the funniest bunch around (their side project Spazztic Blurr went a lot further). But Wehrmacht did have their own specific sound (mostly because of the vocals and guitars). Especially after all these years it becomes obvious all Crossover lovers and Thrashers from those days do in fact have this album and hold it dearly. The album has historic importance as well as huge sentimental value. Biermächt is a landmark in eighties Crossover Thrash and should be checked out immediately by all newbies.