quête:mc 3

Record Kicks drops "Solid Ground", the explosive debut album by US band The Grease Traps, recorded at Kelly Finnigan' Transistor Sounds and mixed by Orgone's Sergio Rios.

Recorded between Kelly Finningn's Transistor Sound in San Francisco and Fifty Filth Studio in Oakland and mixed by Orgone' producer Sergio Rios and Kevin O' Dea, Record Kicks is proud to finally present Solid Ground, the long-awaited debut album by US very finest deep funk & soul outfit The Grease Traps. The album is set for worldwide release on November 5 on vinyl, CD and digital format. The band, based in Oakland, CA, is the latest addition to Milan-based Record Kicks roster. Active since 2002, with a 45 released on well-respected funk/soul label, Colemine Records, now, after six years spent working on the album's recording and mixing, they are ready to present their first full-length release Solid Ground on Record Kicks. The album is anticipated by the two killer funk singles "Bird of Paradise" and "More and More" on limited edition 45 vinyl.

As avid record collectors and fans of that old school analog sound, Solid Ground was recorded straight to 8-track tape on a Tascam 388, which also graces the cover art. Half of the tracks were recorded live at Transistor Sound Studio by soul crooner, Kelly Finnigan, and Ian McDonald where both Kelly and their band, Monophonics, have recorded their last few albums. The other half of the tunes were recorded by Kevin and Aaron at Fifty Filth Studio in Oakland, CA where the band also rehearses and mixed by analog-obsessive Orgone producer Sergio Rios. The album's original tunes draw from the Traps' various soul influences ranging from gritty funk ("Bird of Paradise" and "Hungry") to fuzzed-out psychedelic ("Residue") to sweet lowrider soul ("More and More"). The lyrics by lead singer The Gata also don't shy away from pressing issues of the day such as racism in America ("Roots") and finding hope in a world that seems pitted against you (the JB's style "Solid Ground"). The rare funk covers from the album provide a taste of the raw energy one would experience at a Grease Traps live show. The Traps also supplemented their sound with special guests including the Monophonics horns, background vocals from seasoned Bay Area vocalists, Sally Green and Bryan Dyer, as well as strings organized by Kansas City master viola player, Alyssa Bell.

The seed of The Grease Traps formed back in 2000 when keyboardist, Aaron Julin, answered an ad put out by guitarist, Kevin O'Dea, searching for players who were hip to the rare grooves laid down by Blue Note artists such as Grant Green and Lou Donaldson. They quickly formed Groovement, covering those same artists along with other jazz-funk staples. When their sax player and frontman moved away, they switched gears to form the band, Brown Baggin, getting into the harder funk of the JB's, the Meters, Kool & the Gang, and lesser known acts such as Mickey & the Soul Generation. They also started digging into the rare funk compilations put out by Keb Darge, Jazzman Gerald,and labels like Harmless, Ubiquity, Soul Jazz, and Now-Again. Modern day soul and funk outfits such as Breakestra, the Whitefield Brothers, and the Daptone/Soul Fire crews provided additional inspiration.

In 2005, while still playing with Brown Baggin yet fed up with juggling the schedules of seven band members, Aaron and Kevin put out an ad to find a bassist and drummer to jam with as a quartet. The first two cats to show up were bassist, Goopy Rossi, and drummer, Dave Brick. It was clear from the get-go that this rhythm section had great chemistry. Originally intended as a fun side project, the Traps quickly took priority as Brown Baggin dissolved. Performing as an instrumental quartet for a number of years, they eventually expanded their repertoire to include horns as well as that sharp-dressing soul brother, The Gata, on lead vocals. Over the years, they've shared the stage with acts such as Shuggie Otis, Robert Walter, Durand Jones, Monophonics, Neal Francis, and Jungle Fire.

The 11th release on BLKMARKET MUSIC comes from JLM Werx with 4 hard hitting electro-bass tracks.

The Russian born producer JLM Werx (aka Kiril Junolainen) is based between Turku (Finland) and St. Petersburg (Russia) and is a
man of many production aliases. He is the founder of four record labels Datarocket, Lasergum, Dvatri and Intraflex.

JLM Werx makes his label debut with his ‘Heartbeatz’ EP.

His 4 track EP features tracks A1 Heartbeat MC, A2 Telephone, B1 Total Zero, and B2 Just a Mirage.

Prepare to get taken into outer orbit and into another galaxy.

We are excited to welcome JLM Werx to the Blkmarket Music family.

All tracks written & produced by JLM WERX

ETCHING:
“Time is a heartbeat of the universe”

Australia's biggest selling dance act and one of the most popular drum'n'bass acts of the early 21st century, Pendulum are an Australian group based in the United Kingdom. Formed in Perth in 2002, the group was originally comprised of producers Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, who worked in tandem with a local DJ named Paul "El Hornet" Harding. One of the team's initial releases, "Vault," became a sensation amid the drum'n'bass community in 2003, benefiting greatly from its high-profile placement at the beginning of J Majik's FabricLive mix album. In 2005, Pendulum made their full-length album debut, Hold Your Colour, featuring the singles "Tarantula" and "Slam."
Pendulum signed to Warner Music U.K. and made their major-label debut with 2007's "Granite," a Top 30 hit. Their second full-length album, In Silico (2008), spawned four singles, including U.K. Top Ten hit "Propane Nightmares". In Silico went on to reach platinum status in the U.K., as well as just missing out on the U.K. number one album chart spot. Their third album, Immersion, was released in 2010, and shot straight to the top of the U.K. albums chart. It featured collaborations with the Prodigy's Liam Howlett, Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, and Swedish metallers In Flames. In support of the album, Pendulum embarked on a world tour, playing two sold-out shows at London's Wembley Arena and headline slots at some of the U.K.'s largest festivals.
At the end of 2011, Pendulum took a break from live performing, with Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen focusing their energy on their side project, Knife Party. In 2018, Pendulum returned from a seven-year hiatus, with Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul Harding currently touring as Pendulum - Trinity.

Multi-instrumentalist SaiR and MC Puppy Smooth join forces to shape this dancefloor hit! An ode to disco-rap invoiced four decades after his heyday.

Welcome to our last instalment from Eryk and Antoinette McClinton. Brother and sister duo who recorded these demo tracks with Detroit legends Mike Theodore and Dennis Coffey. Recorded around 1979 these cuts were a spotlight on the duo's talents, hoping land them a record deal. Both had been active in the past with various recordings. Erik & the Vikings, and together as Eryke and Aronnette on Honey records. Here we have Four cracking disco fused funky songs, "Love doctor" made it on to our record store day lp "Long Distance Love Affair" so you may have already heard this. Accompanying this track are two more disco funk cuts. "Its all in your mind" & "Funky time Saturday night". Last and not least is the 2 step jam of "Recollections". All four cuts included some tasty breakdowns.

With nearly 400 million albums sold worldwide, 17 No. 1 hits and over 16 million weekly global streams, ABBA are one of the world’s most successful music acts of all time!!! One of the most successful pop groups of all time, have today announced that, for the first time in 40 years they are back! Their 9th studio album Voyage will be released on the 5th November. The album will be made aavailable on various formats. Massive marketing campaign as you would expect. Formats include CD, Eco Box CD a MC Gatefold Black LP.

We now have a superb new remix which has a very different feel to the original version thanks to Mac McRaw’s expertise in using his weapon of choice, the Emu SP1200 famed for that authentic much prized 12-bit grit. Plus, the original LP version now available on the recurringly popular 7” format.

Fellow Vinyl Veteran and regular AE designer Mr Krum has beautifully recreated the feel of early 90’s Electra Records sleeve artwork as to a nod to Grand Puba’s debut solo recordings, having already been a member of 2 sterling Hip Hop groups – Brand Nubian and prior to that Masters Of Ceremony.

White Vinyl

While finalizing his next EP , the Italian producer Woxow at the same time delivers a new 7"inches for all the hip hop heads out there.
The A side sees a classic old school funky beat, where underground legend Mc Awon delivers some deep conscious lyrics about the crazy times we're living in.
On the flip Woxow collaborates again with Blacc El who strikes for a more exotic summer tune that will make you dream of a warm sunset on the beach.

Edition of 300 copies

Cinema Paradiso is proud to present the Ghost World soundtrack, released on vinyl for the very first time, as a double gatefold LP.

A film adaptation of the popular Daniel Clowes comic of the same name, Ghost World starred Scarlett Johannson, Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi, becoming a critically acclaimed cult favourite immediately upon its release in 2001. As he did with Crumb, director Terry Zwigoff has created a soundtrack as eclectic and riveting as his movie subjects. The sounds of early jazz and blues play a crucial role in the events of Ghost World - the music heard here is some of the best ever recorded.

Skip James's classic "Devil Got My Woman" from 1931 may be the best-known work on this soundtrack, but it hardly steals the show. Three tracks from weird but riveting jazz-meets-calypso bandleader Lionel Belasco are included; the 70-year-old recordings are so original, they sound timeless. The same praise can be stated of film opener "Jaan Pehechaan Ho" a Bollywood rarity that has elements of surf music, funk, and garage rock. Of course, we also have to hear "Graduation Rap" and Blueshammer's "Pickin' Cotton Blues" two intentionally bad contemporary tracks that make the characters in the movie (and anyone listening to this soundtrack) feel out of place in today's pop culture.
Zwigoff wisely fills out the LP with tracks from his personal 78 record collection, a mix of '20s and '30s string band and blues tunes that are seldom found in compilations (including great cuts by the Dallas String Band, Joe Calicott, and McGee Bros).
The haunting "Theme from Ghost World" composed by David Kitay, finishes off the second LP, perfectly capturing all the bittersweet moods found in the film.

But Only After You Have Suffered is a densely layered and deeply personal new work from multidisciplinary artist, composer, percussionist & producer Jamire Williams. Conceived as a spiritual, autobiographical artistic statement, Jamire applies sound collage practice to modern jazz composition, beat production, MC/vocalist features, and his uniquely impressionistic drumming style - making an album as akin to minimalist painting as an art-house film soundtrack or a classic hip-hop mixtape. A "self-reflective, almost testimonial work" that swiftly cycles across a vast spectrum of styles, it's the culmination of his five-year musical journey to the outer reaches of his own sound. It's the album he has always wanted to make.

Since their debut, Whitehorse has traveled from magnetic folk duo to full-blown rock band and beyond. In truth Whitehorse is never fully either one or the other, but an ever-evolving creative partnership that challenges both artists, Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet, to explore new instrumental and lyrical terrain with each record. Steamy, swampy and squalling in equal measure, Whitehorse’s signature sound is guitar-heavy, harmony-abundant and lyrically deft. Now, the JUNO Award winners return with Strike Me Down, a collection of disco-twirling, hard riffing tales from the brink. Strike Me Down showcases Whitehorse’s masterful, fantastical storytelling and melodic pop sensibilities, with plenty of space made for guitar shredding, epic basslines and spaced-out vocal layering. High-impact production and prismatic visuals contribute to Strike Me Down’s high-stakes, epic vibe.

Over the past decade or so, Chris Forsyth has produced a series of perennially year-end list haunting studio albums of expansive art-rock, from 2013’s Solar Motel to 2019’s All TimePresent , in the process becoming one of the leading lights of the so-called “indie jam” scene, musicians combining omnivorous influences with post-Dead sprawl.

These critically lauded albums have established Forsyth as one of today’s most unique and acclaimed guitar player/composers - a forward thinking classicist synthesizing cinematic expansiveness with a pithy lyricism and rhythmic directness that makes even his 20-minute workouts feel as clear, direct, and memorable as a 4-minute song.

Pitchfork has called his music “a near-perfect balance between 70s rock tradition and present day experimentation,” NPR Music named Forsyth “one of rock’s most lyrical guitar improvisors,” and the New York Times calls him “a scrappy and mystical historian… His music humanizes the element of control in rock classicism (and) turns it into a woolly but disciplined ritual.”

But the studio records are just the tip of the iceberg.

You see, in a live setting Forsyth’s music is never really finished.

He hasn’t had a fixed band in years and plays with a rotating cast of characters. Regulars in Forsyth’s bands have included bassists Doug McCombs (Tortoise) and Peter Kerlin (Sunwatchers), and drummer Ryan Jewell (Ryley Walker, too many others to mention), among others - basically, whoever is available for the given gig or tour.

These are not groups that rehearse, exactly. Operating more like a jazz band, Forsyth and his players treat the songs as frameworks that remain identifieable but morph based on who’s playing them, like weather to a landscape.

Embracing this flux has become a cornerstone of Forsyth’s live sets, rendering every performance special and thereby catching the attention of tapers from his home base in Philly to New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis. In fact, most of his live performances over the last few years are recorded and posted on the Live Music Archive site.

But the taper recordings, though many are high quality and full of character, are not professionally recorded and mixed multi-tracks.

Which brings us to Peoples Motel Band , the new live LP culled from a set that Forsyth played with NY-based group Garcia Peoples as his band, and is self-releasing on his own Algorithm Free label in a limited pressing of 500 copies.

Recorded September 14, 2019 before a packed and enthusiastic hometown crowd at Johnny Brenda’s in Philadelphia, Peoples Motel Band catches Forsyth and Garcia Peoples (plus ubiquitous drummer Ryan Jewell) re-imagining songs from Forsyth’s last couple studio albums with improvisatory flair.

Forsyth and Garcia Peoples played a number of 2019 shows together, beginning with a semi-legendary jam set at Nublu in NYC in March, through a couple dates on Forsyth’s month-long weekly residency at Nublu in September and concluding with a five-date tour of the Northeast in December. The chemistry between the players is tangible.

As is often the case with Forsyth shows, the gloves come off quickly and the players attack the material - much of it so well-manicured and cleanly produced in the studio - like a bunch of racoons let loose in a Philadelphia pretzel factory.

Recorded and mixed with clarity by Forsyth’s longtime studio collaborator, engineer/producer Jeff Zeigler, the record puts the listener right in the sweaty club, highlighted by an incredible side-long take of the chooglin’ title track from 2017’s Dreaming in The Non-Dream LP (note multiple climaxes eliciting wild shouts and ecstatic screams from the assembled).

This is not the new Chris Forsyth album, exactly, but then again, it kinda is because whenever he sits down to play, something new comes out.

The Fabulous Counts were originally a teenage instrumental group of five musicians, Mose Davis (Organ and Piano), Demetrius ‘Demo’ Gates (Alto Saxophone and vocals), Jim White (Tenor Sax), Andrew T. Gibson (Drums) and Raoul Keith Mangrum (Percussion and Flute) who were later joined by the older, more experience Leroy Emanuel (Guitar and vocals). Emmanuel was invited into the group as it’s band leader by the groups manager Fred McClure, a former Detroit boxing champion who also happened to be the manager of another popular Detroit group the singing Metro’s of the hit recording “Sweetest One” fame and their subsequent respected RCA album of the same name. The Fabulous Counts would often perform at shows as the Metro’s backing band.

The Fabulous Counts first big break came after knocking several Detroit Record labels doors. They were eventually invited in by Ollie McLaughlin’s Moira studio to record, under the tutelage of Popcorn Wylie the one take hit “Jan, Jan (Moira-103). A further two Moira 45’s followed of which “Get Down People/Lunar Funk “(Moira-108) also scored high on the R&B charts. Through a deal arranged by McLaughlin The Counts released their respected “Jan, Jan” album on the Atlantic distributed Cotillion label in 1969. Moving on to Armen Boladian’s Westbound label, during 1970 the group simply changed their name to The Counts and charted with their 1971 “What’s Up Front” Westbound album, also releasing a solitary 45 “Thinking Single/Why Not Start All Over Again”. In 1972 while still part of the Westbound set up The Counts recorded two major label 45’s under the pseudonyms of Bad Smoke “Crawl Ya’ll Part 1&2” (Chess-2124) and Lunar Funk “Mr Penguin Part 1&2” (Bell 45-172), the latter being thier biggest hit. A subsequent move to Atlanta, GA saw The Counts sign with Michael Thevis’s Aware records where they recorded a further two successful albums “Love Sign” (1973) and “Funk Pump” (1975), plus a string of 45’s. In 1976 although officially never breaking up The Counts members went their separate ways to explore different life opportunity’s.



During 1978 and while still in Atlanta Leroy Emanuel borrowed money from his family and reuniting with his fellow Counts, Mose, Demo, and Jimmy Jackson Jr, they, accompanied by a local strings section recorded a session of material that spawned two songs “What’s It All About” and “Motorcity”. Which Leroy later made a deal with Terry Mendelson to release on a 45 on his TM label. The Counts had previously known Mendelson through his brother Bernie at Westbound. The TM 45 made very little noise with many of the copies having mispressed labels. Although later reissued and mistakenly credited as two previously unissued Westbound recordings on several latter Cd compilations it came to light that quite a few avid European soul collectors actually owned copies of this high quality, very elusive and desirable 45! With demand still seemingly high it seems a good time for Soul Junction to reissue it. The A-side, “What’s It All About” features its composer Leroy Emanuel on lead vocals with the other Counts adding to the backing chorus. The flipside of this 45 from the same session is the previously unreleased Mose Davis penned “Watch The Clock” which is more in keeping with the Counts traditional funk groove, enjoy.

East Coast minimal wave institution Xeno & Oaklander’s seventh full-length further distills their iconic noir synth pop into a streamlined suite of gleaming, graceful retrofuturism. Inspired by ideas of synesthesia, scent, star worship, and obsolescent technologies, the duo of Liz Wendelbo and Sean McBride began conceiving the blueprint of Vi/deo while sequestered at their Southern Connecticut home studio during the pandemic. The context of isolation, streaming, and remote dreaming seeped into their chemistry, manifesting as both homage to and meditation on a certain cinematic strain of technicolor fantasy: the screen as stage, distance disguised as intimacy, where tragedy and glamor crossfade into one.



Opening with the precision synthetic melancholy of “Infinite Sadness,” the album marks a peak fluidity between the pair’s fusion of analog electronics and poetic melody, both refined and oblique, classic but contemporary. Wendelbo modeled her singing on “a young boy in a choir,” alternately holding notes and whispering them, with the lyrics clear, the voice elevated. McBride’s synthesizers serve as the perfect counterpart, tiered and polished, threading fluorescent architectures of a lost audio-visual age. Theirs is a... more

After being championed by John Digweed on his iconic Transitions radio show, London duo The Pressure team up with Digweed and his long-time studio partner Nick Muir on Counting Down The Days, a soaring, hypnotic, emotive progressive house cut that points to brighter times ahead.

The Pressure are a London-based electronic band. Diverse production and energetic performance form the pair’s foundations, with influences from rave culture and performance-centric dance acts such as Depeche Mode and Underworld prominent across their releases and live shows.

2020 saw them self-release Ride and Planes: two tough club tracks with songwriting at the heart of them. A statement of intent from the duo, both cuts showcased a varied production approach reminiscent of the Bristol-era of UK electronica. Earlier in 2021 they made their debut on Undisputed Music with Saturday Night, a distinctive dance cut that sat somewhere between deep house and crossover electronica, and has to date clocked up more than a million streams across all platforms.

John Digweed is one of the most celebrated electronic artists of all time, and alongside Nick Muir is responsible for an incredible catalogue of music, so even before you listen to it you know this is going to be something special. Counting Down The Days is a stunning collaboration, combining the pure, driving progressive house of Digweed and Muir with the poignant emotion and raw talent of The Pressure to incredible effect.

Passionate about breaking records and being immersed in the music that fuels our most cherished dancefloor moments, Undisputed Music is doing just that with a coalition of existing and new artists spanning many electronic genres, lining up releases to illuminate audiences across the globe.

Founded by industry aficionados Tony Garvey and Marc Thomas, they share over two decades of experience between them. From currently running the UK Electronic roster for world renowned management company, Red Light, to many years within the walls of, Island Records, Def Jam, Priority Records, MCA / Motown, AM:PM, Defected Records, Strictly Rhythm and Universal Music Publishing, their wealth of knowledge is well earned.


DJ Support:

Pete Tong, John Digweed, Nick Muir, Taiki Nulight

Bomb alert !
After the first fantastic collabo between french dynamic duo Mister Modo & Ugly Mac Beer and American MC Crimson Alchemist, the time has come for those three to team up again. The result is another amazing 45. Both sides are equally dope. If fall 90s hip-hop is your Line, then you defo should grab a copy or two.

Following on from the successful ‘An Idiot Prayer’ live album and livestream event released this year, Nick Cave Productions & BMG announce B-SIDES & RARITIES PART I & II to be released internationally on 22nd October 2021.

B-SIDES & RARITIES PART II was compiled by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis and features 27 tracks from “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” in 2006 to 2019s “Ghosteen”. Also features 19 rare and unreleased tracks including first recordings of ‘Skeleton Tree’, ‘Girl in Amber’, ‘Bright Horses’ and ‘Waiting for You’.

Mondo Music, in conjunction with Hollywood Records, is proud to present the premiere vinyl pressing of Lorne Balfe’s score to the highly anticipated MARVEL STUDIOS’ BLACK WIDOW.

Pressed on 2x 180 Gram vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve, kick-start Phase Four with the latest in our ongoing celebration of the music of the MCU.

Lorne Balfe's first MCU score is a force to be reckoned with. He's no stranger to crafting propulsive music for espionage epics (just listen to his masterful score to “Mission: Impossible - Fallout”) and his take on “Black Widow” is no exception. Balfe blends Russian choirs and soloists, with delicate and haunting piano and acoustic guitar; swirling strings with his trademark layered percussion. Balfe is incredibly elastic, delivering a beautiful score for this long-awaited chapter in Natasha Romanov's story.

Composed by Lorne Balfe
Artwork by Mo Shafeek
Manufactured in the Czech Republic

On Now Where Were We, The Exbats hit the ground running like
a dystopian garage rock version of the Shangri-Las, or like
a message to the future from the pre-Velvet Underground doowop
wannabe Lou Reed. The album rings bright, like a beacon
in the wilderness: eminently, effortlessly catchy, and loaded
with buoyant choruses that rank alongside the best chart-toppers
launched by the Brill Building or Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound.
Kenny McClain and his daughter, vocalist and drummer
Inez McClain, formed the nucleus of the Exbats over a decade
ago, when Inez was just 10 years old; today, Bobby Carlson
rounds out the group on bass. Despite their remote location in
Bisbee, Arizona, just eleven miles north of the U.S.-Mexican
border, the group quickly racked up accolades citing a wealth of
influences that run from cartoon quintet the Archies to punk rock
originators the Avengers, and from the so-sweet-it-hurts 1910
Fruitgum Company to Los Angeles antiheroes the Weirdos.
Truthfully, The Exbats embrace a wider swath of musical styles,
incorporating blue-eyed soul, tongue-in-cheek country, Brit
pop, psych, and R&B into their sound.
The McClains describe this album as “more ambitious” than
its predecessors. They tooled ninety minutes northeast to Tucson
to record, per usual, with Matt Rendon at Midtown Island Studios.
Months later, the Exbats emerged with an album imbued
with harmoniously cautious optimism—the musical equivalent
but psychological antithesis to the Brian Wilson-Tony Asher
masterpiece “I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times.” While Wilson
was looking for “a place to fit in,” The Exbats have found
sanctuary via the brilliant “Ghost In The Record Store,” which
is “for all of us who need the joy of a little bit of plastic making
lots of noise.” Like the best records to croon along with, Now
Where Were We is captivatingly simple, yet hardly simplistic.
The Exbats are singing from their hearts—and they aren’t afraid
to bare their souls.

For this one, Jack and Meg decamped to Memphis to record at the legendary Easley-McCain Studio and walked away with a bonafide classic. Unique for a White Stripes album, as it contains no covers, no guest musicians, no blues and no guitar solos, this album would be most of the world's introduction to the band.

While the video for "Fell In Love With A Girl" could've single-handedly raised the price of LEGO stock the other jams on here are momentous, from the fuzz distorted clarion call of album opener "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" to the finger-pointing accusations of "I Think I Smell A Rat" this album has everything you could ever want from the Detroit duo.

Cut directly from the original 1/4" master tapes, pressed on HEAVY 180-gram vinyl and lovingly ensconced in a beauteous Stoughton tip-on jacket...this album has never looked better, and perhaps, has looked markedly worse.

Following on from the successful ‘An Idiot Prayer’ live album and livestream event released this year, Nick Cave Productions & BMG announce B-SIDES & RARITIES PART I & II to be released internationally on 22nd October 2021.

B-SIDES & RARITIES PART II was compiled by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis and features 27 tracks from “Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!” in 2006 to 2019s “Ghosteen”. Also features 19 rare and unreleased tracks including first recordings of ‘Skeleton Tree’, ‘Girl in Amber’, ‘Bright Horses’ and ‘Waiting for You’.

UNRELEASED TRACKS *

Parquet Courts’ thought-provoking rock is dancing
to a new tune. ‘Sympathy For Life’ finds the
Brooklyn band at both their most instinctive and
electronic, spinning their bewitching, psychedelic
storytelling into fresh territory, yet maintaining their
unique identity.
Built largely from improvised jams, inspired by
New York clubs, Primal Scream and Pink Floyd
and produced in league with Rodaidh McDonald
(The xx, Hot Chip, David Byrne), ‘Sympathy For
Life’ was always destined to be dancey. Unlike its
globally adored predecessor, 2018’s ‘Wide
Awake!’, the focus fell on grooves rather than
rhythm.
“‘Wide Awake!’ was a record you could put on at a
party,” says co-frontman Austin Brown. “‘Sympathy
For Life’ is influenced by the party itself.
Historically, some amazing rock records been
made from mingling in dance music culture - from
‘Talking Heads’ to ‘Screamadelica’. Our goal was
to bring that into our own music.”
Deluxe LP features tipped on gatefold sleeve with
a glued-in six page booklet.

Parquet Courts’ thought-provoking rock is dancing
to a new tune. ‘Sympathy For Life’ finds the
Brooklyn band at both their most instinctive and
electronic, spinning their bewitching, psychedelic
storytelling into fresh territory, yet maintaining their
unique identity.
Built largely from improvised jams, inspired by
New York clubs, Primal Scream and Pink Floyd
and produced in league with Rodaidh McDonald
(The xx, Hot Chip, David Byrne), ‘Sympathy For
Life’ was always destined to be dancey. Unlike its
globally adored predecessor, 2018’s ‘Wide
Awake!’, the focus fell on grooves rather than
rhythm.
“‘Wide Awake!’ was a record you could put on at a
party,” says co-frontman Austin Brown. “‘Sympathy
For Life’ is influenced by the party itself.
Historically, some amazing rock records been
made from mingling in dance music culture - from
‘Talking Heads’ to ‘Screamadelica’. Our goal was
to bring that into our own music.”
Deluxe LP features tipped on gatefold sleeve with
a glued-in six page booklet.

GLASVEGAS return with their triumphant fourth album ‘Godspeed’, – the music we all need right now. The latest single Shake The Cage (für Theo) sums up the dazzlingly eclectic sound of Godspeed perfectly – this is an electronic barrage with devastatingly powerful spoken word lyrics which call to mind I’m Gonna Get Stabbed from the band’s astonishing debut.

The single is perfectly positioned at the end credits of Alan McGee’ new movie ‘Creation Stories’, written by Irvine Welsh and executively produced by Danny Boyle. Hand picked as the only current track to grace the music mogul’s biopic, it is a kind of


dystopian, free-associative ‘Choose life’ sermon (’Stand on a wave / calculate quantum mechanics / Surf, dance / Believe in chance”) set to the escalating dread and claustrophobia of a John Carpenter murder-chase.

The Stooges are widely considered one of the greatest rock bands of all time and this comes across loud and clear on director Jim Jarmusch’s critically acclaimed documentary film ‘Gimme Danger’. GIMME DANGER: MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE is a 14-track collection curated by Jarmusch and Stooges frontman Iggy Pop, with a focus on the group’s first three albums. It includes The Stooges’ classics ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog,’ ‘1969,’ and ‘Loose,’ along with rarities ‘I Got A Right,’ ‘I’m Sick of You’ and ‘Asthma Attack,’ and songs by MC5, Iggy Pop’s pre-Stooges combo The Iguanas, & more. It’s one of those rare soundtracks that appeals both to the most discerning fan and also as an introductory to those less familiar.

Recorded in 1961, 'Ready For Freddie' was trumpeter Freddie Hubbard's fourth album for Blue Note Records. Featuring a unique sextet line-up with Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Bernard McKinney on euphonium, McCoy Tyner on piano, Art Davis on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums, the album stands as one of the finest of Hubbard's career. This Blue Note Classic Vinyl Edition is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180g vinyl at Optimal.

Over nearly 20 years, Howlin Rain may have become the quintessential independent American rock ’n roll band: a steam-spitting Hydra of cranked guitars, kicking asphalt dust through a kaleidoscoping travelogue of desert motels and dives, volleying forth transmissions of sci-fi poetry from the blacktop veins of this cracked and aching country.

Now, in America 2021, capping these strangest and sorest of times, the band returns with The Dharma Wheel, a six-track, 52-minute dive into a joyous fantasy realm of exaggerated present.

“I wanted The Dharma Wheel to be a portal from our everyday world, the one from which you stand on hard ground and hold the album in your hands and peer into the artwork, and into another universe,” says songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Ethan Miller. “You enter into that universe with your eyes and ears and mind and take a ride through free-form meditation on these ideas — from big, fundamental concepts about our existence right down to the grease that rolls down the arm of a pulp novel killer as he eats a gas station hot dog in an old Dodge in an alleyway.”

Lyrically, Miller has completed his evolution into a mushroom-plucking Whitman of the West, singing outlandish tales in a topographic blend of Humbead’s Revised Map of the World and an inverted U.S. where downtrodden bodhisattvas roam the back streets and moonless country roads.

“Down in Florida swamps, run by nature’s law, standing in the water, Eden gone. Two men loading rifles, beasts making time, they shot a boy from an orange tree and watched the colored birds take flight, watch the colors as they soar and dive.” — ‘Under the Wheels.’

The band, Jeff McElroy (bass, backing vocals), Justin Smith (drums/percussion, backing vocals) and Dan Cervantes (guitar, backing vocals), again sounds hardwired into Miller’s vision, building tracks that swagger and sway in response to his verse. Lending a hand this time around is the legendary Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue) on violin, and the endlessly inventive Adam MacDougall (Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Circles Around the Sun) on keys.

Songs were shaped via the blast furnace of endless gigs, then recorded often mere hours after the band slipped the stage.

“The captured sonic fact about this record is that it’s the sound of a band that rehearsed this material a lot and put a ton of work into its construction and was on the road a lot and recorded on days off in the tour schedule,” Miller says. “In some cases we were on stage on Saturday night playing these songs at quarter-to-2 in the morning and by Noon the next day we were sipping coffee in the studio playing them for the machine.”

Rivera’s violin is the first sound heard as the album dawns on the instrumental “Prelude.” Soon, the band joins, twirling the theme into a psychedelicized awakening. “Don’t Let the Tears” brings the boogie, with MacDougall’s madcap synth work and wah-wah guitars showering 70’s glitter upon a parquet dance floor of the mind. “Under the Wheels” and “Rotoscope” center the album with taut, compositional epics populated by murdering drifters and fuzz pedal explosions. The blue hour comedown of “Annabelle” meditates upon the weariness of lost love, with Rivera again amping the heartache via her violin strings.

“In the evening the trains go by, and shake the dust from dirty walls, sometimes I feel like a spider in an old mason jar, who threatens only convex light from down the hall. I’ve been lost to the world since the photos of the black hole, landed on my desktop screaming, perhaps the all and nothing all-in-one is just too much to take, for particles and matter that never found their way.” — ‘Annabelle’

The record closes with the 16-minute title track, a multi-movement suite which cycles from Crazy Horse-meets-Traffic jams through colossal, mass-moving funk stomp, eventually cresting and washing into a sing-along gospel lament.

The Dharma Wheel is an album of great depth, and one steeped in good vibes: a rich, glistening world of the ultra-vivid. As illustrated in Arik Roper’s cover art, the grand dharmachakra has been set in motion, churning off the California coast.

“We were trying to build a world big enough that the imagination won’t go soft on you after just a few listens and where our love for this music, and music in general — along with a good dose of audacity — create a magic carpet ride through the world of The Dharma Wheel,” Miller continues. “In pursuing that I think we also managed to make a record that has a lot of joy in it: the joy of playing music, the joy of experiencing music, the joy of storytelling and poetry, the kind of singular joy and extended ecstatic moment that only a real ‘band’ can express in just that way.”

And it’s this joy, this exuberance and dedication to the lines of cosmic expression — all centered in the exalted art of the everyday — that constructs the heart of the record. At its core, The Dharma Wheel is the triumph of a working band, a transmission from a never-paused before arriving for our strange, bruised, spectacular now.”

Over nearly 20 years, Howlin Rain may have become the quintessential independent American rock ’n roll band: a steam-spitting Hydra of cranked guitars, kicking asphalt dust through a kaleidoscoping travelogue of desert motels and dives, volleying forth transmissions of sci-fi poetry from the blacktop veins of this cracked and aching country.

Now, in America 2021, capping these strangest and sorest of times, the band returns with The Dharma Wheel, a six-track, 52-minute dive into a joyous fantasy realm of exaggerated present.

“I wanted The Dharma Wheel to be a portal from our everyday world, the one from which you stand on hard ground and hold the album in your hands and peer into the artwork, and into another universe,” says songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, Ethan Miller. “You enter into that universe with your eyes and ears and mind and take a ride through free-form meditation on these ideas — from big, fundamental concepts about our existence right down to the grease that rolls down the arm of a pulp novel killer as he eats a gas station hot dog in an old Dodge in an alleyway.”

Lyrically, Miller has completed his evolution into a mushroom-plucking Whitman of the West, singing outlandish tales in a topographic blend of Humbead’s Revised Map of the World and an inverted U.S. where downtrodden bodhisattvas roam the back streets and moonless country roads.

“Down in Florida swamps, run by nature’s law, standing in the water, Eden gone. Two men loading rifles, beasts making time, they shot a boy from an orange tree and watched the colored birds take flight, watch the colors as they soar and dive.” — ‘Under the Wheels.’

The band, Jeff McElroy (bass, backing vocals), Justin Smith (drums/percussion, backing vocals) and Dan Cervantes (guitar, backing vocals), again sounds hardwired into Miller’s vision, building tracks that swagger and sway in response to his verse. Lending a hand this time around is the legendary Scarlet Rivera (Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue) on violin, and the endlessly inventive Adam MacDougall (Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Circles Around the Sun) on keys.

Songs were shaped via the blast furnace of endless gigs, then recorded often mere hours after the band slipped the stage.

“The captured sonic fact about this record is that it’s the sound of a band that rehearsed this material a lot and put a ton of work into its construction and was on the road a lot and recorded on days off in the tour schedule,” Miller says. “In some cases we were on stage on Saturday night playing these songs at quarter-to-2 in the morning and by Noon the next day we were sipping coffee in the studio playing them for the machine.”

Rivera’s violin is the first sound heard as the album dawns on the instrumental “Prelude.” Soon, the band joins, twirling the theme into a psychedelicized awakening. “Don’t Let the Tears” brings the boogie, with MacDougall’s madcap synth work and wah-wah guitars showering 70’s glitter upon a parquet dance floor of the mind. “Under the Wheels” and “Rotoscope” center the album with taut, compositional epics populated by murdering drifters and fuzz pedal explosions. The blue hour comedown of “Annabelle” meditates upon the weariness of lost love, with Rivera again amping the heartache via her violin strings.

“In the evening the trains go by, and shake the dust from dirty walls, sometimes I feel like a spider in an old mason jar, who threatens only convex light from down the hall. I’ve been lost to the world since the photos of the black hole, landed on my desktop screaming, perhaps the all and nothing all-in-one is just too much to take, for particles and matter that never found their way.” — ‘Annabelle’

The record closes with the 16-minute title track, a multi-movement suite which cycles from Crazy Horse-meets-Traffic jams through colossal, mass-moving funk stomp, eventually cresting and washing into a sing-along gospel lament.

The Dharma Wheel is an album of great depth, and one steeped in good vibes: a rich, glistening world of the ultra-vivid. As illustrated in Arik Roper’s cover art, the grand dharmachakra has been set in motion, churning off the California coast.

“We were trying to build a world big enough that the imagination won’t go soft on you after just a few listens and where our love for this music, and music in general — along with a good dose of audacity — create a magic carpet ride through the world of The Dharma Wheel,” Miller continues. “In pursuing that I think we also managed to make a record that has a lot of joy in it: the joy of playing music, the joy of experiencing music, the joy of storytelling and poetry, the kind of singular joy and extended ecstatic moment that only a real ‘band’ can express in just that way.”

And it’s this joy, this exuberance and dedication to the lines of cosmic expression — all centered in the exalted art of the everyday — that constructs the heart of the record. At its core, The Dharma Wheel is the triumph of a working band, a transmission from a never-paused before arriving for our strange, bruised, spectacular now.”

Echo & The Bunnymen formed in Liverpool back in 1978, with Ian McCulloch on vocals, Will Sergeant on guitar, bassist Les Pattinson with Pete De Freitas on drums. Their first release came in the form of the single The Pictures On My Wall, with the B-side Read It In Books. Both tracks would appear on their debut album Crocodiles, released in 1980. Released amid the growing wave of post-punk, Crocodiles cemented the band amongst the best around, with the NME at the time describing it as “probably the best album this year by a British band” and featuring amongst many greatest ever debut album lists.

The lead single from the album, Rescue, was produced by Ian Broudie who would later produce more Echo & The Bunnymen material, as well as later forming The Lightning Seeds in 1989. The single would enter the UK charts, with the album breaking into the top 20 and going on to be certified Gold. The original cover was shot by Brian Griffin near Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire. The atmospheric, moody aura of the sleeve sets the tone for quintessential post-punk.

Echo & The Bunnymen released their fourth studio album Ocean Rain in 1984, enjoying an enamouring cult status following the success of their first three albums. Ocean Rain continued the band’s use of strings, creating a dark, ethereal aura throughout the album.



It produced three singles, Silver, Seven Seas and the massive anthem The Killing Moon; a track frontman Ian McCulloch once stated, “I know there isn’t a band in the world who’s got a song anywhere near that.” It reached #9 in the UK singles chart, and continues to transcend generations to this day, routinely featuring in films and television shows such as Donnie Darko.



The album’s iconic, atmospheric cover art was taken in the stunning Carnglaze Caverns in Cornwall by photographer Brian Griffin, who shot their three previous album covers. Ocean Rain went on to reach #4 in the UK album charts, being certified gold in the process, as well as charting in the USA.

Für sein neuem Album, Kiefers zweites für Label Stones Throw, hat sich der gefeierte GRAMMY-preisgekrönte Künstler mit anderen dekorierten Musikern, darunter DJ Harrison, Andy McCauley, Josh Johnson, Will Logan und Sam Wilkes, zu einer Band zusammengetan. Live eingespielt in nur ein bis zwei Takes, lebt das Album von Spontanität.
Auch wenn sich das Album thematisch mit Trauer und Verlust auseinandersetzt, so bleibt der Tonfall positiv, zumindest größtenteils.
Zweifellos einer der aufregendsten neuen Künstler, die die LA Jazzszene derzeit zu bieten hat.

45er Vinylschnitt für beste Audioqualität
Exklusiver Bonustrack nur erhältlich auf Vinyl

DENNIS BOVELL, from Barbados, based in London, England, is a legend - a bass player legend (band leader of the legendary Linton Kwesi Johnson Band) - a producer legend (THE SLITS, Fela Kuti, Bananarama, Madness, Joss Stone, a.o.). He produced the soundtrack for the critically highly acclaimed movie Babylon and the hit song "Silly Games" by Janet Kay. In recent years his works regained interest, also due to the recent rerelease of the 80's movie Babylon and his participation in Steve Mc Queens drama series Small Axe about the real-life experiences of London's West Indian community, set btw 1969-82. In 2019 Vienna's Dubblestandart produced a limited selection of reworks of reggae classics of Dennis Bovell's 1980's band Matumbi, Steel Pulse, Burning Spear, Twinkle Brothers, Culture a.o. , focusing on works that have been pivotal for the inspiration of Dubblestandart's bandleader Paul Zasky. Nicolai Beverungen, dub reggae label headman of ECHO BEACH outta Hamburg/Germany, invited DENNIS BOVELL to "REPULSE" the album at Robbie Ost's GoEAST Studio. Dennis felt inspired, loved the idea, re-voiced the songs, added a couple of guitar lines and also re-dubbed the album. "Repulse" Reggae Classics features DENNIS BOVELL on vocals and as a dub producer in co-operation with Robbie Ost from Dubblestandart, mixing on a legendary E - 6000 solid state mixing board (taken over from TEARS FOR FEARS studio in London), using selected vintage outboard Analog equipment, developing a distinctive dub reggae sound for this coming up 2021 release. What do songs like "I'm No Robot", "Babylon The Bandit" or Matumbi's "Hypocrite" have in common? All of them were written during the 1980's of the last century, but never lost their contemporary accuracy, still perfectly criticizing and analysing the "pulse" todays political leaderships and societies controversial points of view, have, while entering the digital age. Re- Pulse 21!

Will Varley is pleased to announce new album “The Hole Around My Head”, his first new material since 2018. With it comes the single ‘Pushing Against Us’.

The album will be the first to be released on Yellow Cake, a brand new record label and artist protection entity set up by record producer Cameron McVey (internationally renowned for his work with Massive Attack, Portishead, Sugababes, and his wife Neneh Cherry). McVey produced Varley’s last album, 2018’s The Spirit Of Minnie, and the two stayed in touch. “When I started writing this new album I gave Cam a call and he told me he was starting a label, so things went from there,” Varley explains.

The singer songwriter self-produced the new album over the Winter lockdown in his makeshift studio on the Kent coast, playing most of the instruments himself. Having never produced an album before, he had McVey on hand via video call to offer encouragement and advice from his family spread deep in the Swedish forest.

2021 marks the 50th Anniversary of the legendary record Fela Kuti made
with Ginger Baker of Cream.
 This Anniversary edition features a newly unearthed second drum solo
from Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, taken from Afrika 70’s performance
at the 1978 Berlin Jazz Festival. Part I has never appeared on vinyl and
this second part has never been heard - until now.
 1978’s Berlin Jazz Festival marked Afrika 70’s final live performance with
Fela. In the Spring of 1979, several members of Afrika 70, including
Allen, would leave the band. Allen had been with Fela since 1964. 1980
saw the birth of Egypt 80, with Baritone saxophonist Lekan Animashaun,
who had been with Fela since 1965, as its founding bandleader.
 Reissued with Abbey Road mastered audio.
 Red double vinyl with collector's 50th Anniversary gold foil obi strip.
 Bespoke etching of album artwork on Side D.
 Fela’s legacy spans decades and genres, touching on jazz, pop, funk,
hip-hop, rock and beyond. While he never achieved true icon status
during his lifetime, the last (roughly) decade has seen a broad
resurgence in his popularity and a critical reevaluation of his life, music
and influence. In 2008, the biographical musical ‘Fela!’ (co-produced by
Jay-Z and Will Smith) became a surprise hit off-Broadway and then
Broadway itself. Since then, Beyoncé performed Fela’s ‘Zombie’ at
Coachella, he’s been called out as an influence by everyone from Paul
McCartney to Questlove and sampled by Missy Elliott, Kendrick Lamar,
J. Cole, Nas, and more. Vice President Kamala Harris even used Fela’s
music at her and President Biden's first joint event together.
 ‘Let’s Start’ features prominently in the trailer and the soundtrack for the
new Western, ‘The Harder They Fall’, staring Idris Elba and Regina King.
 Fela features prominently in an episode of Hulu’s docuseries ‘McCartney
3, 2, 1’, where Paul McCartney cites Fela as one of his important
influences.
 This past spring Fela came in second place, behind Tina Turner, for the
fan vote for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame nominations and received
great press coverage in NY Times, Rolling Stone, MOJO, Record
Collector and more.

Emboss Star is the new album by Kochi-born, Kyoto-based artist Kazumichi Komatsu, the first to be released under his own name following a prolific run of material as Madegg.
Informed by a range of earlier work including EPs, installation works, video works, as well as live appearances at fashion shows, parties & raves, the material collected on 'Emboss Star' has been prepared and refined over the past four years, its final collation described as like arranging the pieces on a chess board; every piece strategically placed.
In its entirety Emboss Star is intended to emphasize the fundamental aspects of sound, and its relation to the material processes of playback; the grain of a rough recording, the jump and skip of a needle, the backwards gargle of a rewind. Individual parts shift suddenly, mirroring the abrupt transitions of everyday life. In this Komatsu attempts to reconfigure our response to sound, and the associations it often evokes; to reconsider the exchange of information and image, to alter perceptions.
Inviting a state of subconscious reverie – a mood often linked with ambient music but rarely matched as it is here – Komatsu adds an element of resistance to Emboss Star, as if depicting the tranquility of a dream, as well as its inevitable disturbance.
With creativity now compressed into a form of contemporary communication often ruled by vanity, redundant hashtags and tiresome jargon, Komatsu navigates the noise, recognizing technological ennui yet finding beauty, folklore & imaginative possibility.

Emboss Star is a collection of folk songs for lost connections. A vivid form of refuge.
3 vinyl only bonus track included. Mastered by Sean McCann.
The artwork for Emboss Star depicts an object created by Kazumichi Komatsu using 3D printing.












l 12: Umi Ga Kikoeru (Extremely Raw Version) [feat. Dove & Le Makeup]

Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former members of Damad, with the addition of guitar player Laura Pleasants who is from North Carolina. The band has since undergone line up changes; the remaining original members are Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants. In 2006, the band added two drummers (Carl McGinley of Unpersons, from Savannah, and Jeff Porter). Eric Hernandez (of Capsule, from Miami) joined in 2008 to replace Porter. The dual drum tracks are often panned strongly to the right and left.

Founded in Amsterdam in 1967 by saxophonist Willem Breuker, pianist Misha Mengelberg, and percussionist Han Bennink, Instant Composers Pool (or ICP) was an independent free jazz label and orchestra that would go on to release over fifty albums featuring such pillars of the scene as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Jeanne Lee, John Tchicai, and Steve Lacy. Based around the concept that improvisation was, in fact, an act of instantaneous composition, ICP's legacy on improvised and free music is impossible to overstate.

Yi Yole – recorded in 1978 – was the first time the legendary South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana had worked with the ICP. An innovator in the genre of Cape Jazz with the Blue Notes – which also featured Chris McGregor, Louis Moholo, and Johnny Dyani – who fled the apartheid regime for London in 1964, Pukwana's style is the perfect complement to ICP co-founders Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg, who round out the trio here.

Relaxed and somewhat understated for the ICP catalog, Yi Yole is the one and only time these leaders in European free improvisation would record together in a trio setting. This limited reissue marks the first time the album has been in print on vinyl since its initial release.