Search:melo x

Remixers: SLS aka Samuel L. Session, Petru KSS and Mica (UK) “Deepsomnia proudly presents Sipa, the debut vinyl release from Filipino DJ/producer Alinep. The EP’s title, “Sipa,” meaning “kick” in Filipino, is a fitting name for this powerful techno anthem. Alinep’s original mix is moody and fast-paced, setting the tone for the release. Accompanying the track are three dynamic remixes: a hypnotic take by techno legend Samuel L Session (SLS), a hard-edged version by live electronic artist Petru KSS, and a melodic, driving rendition by UK minimal talent Mica. This EP showcases the diversity of modern techno, with each remix bringing a fresh perspective.” “Sipa”, the Filipino term for “kick” and is the first vinyl release of Deepsomnia. This EP features an original masterpiece by label honcho, Alinep with different interpretations from techno legend SLS (Samuel L Session), live electronic extraordinaire Petru KSS and the very talented minimal freak, Mica (UK).

Stepping outside his usual sphere, Blue Hour delves into dub-infused atmospheres with his latest EP, ‘Duality’. The EP kicks off with ‘Trekia’, a chord-driven techno track evolving slowly with blissful pads and a dreamy melody. ‘Orisus’ follows a similar palette, adding more funk to the drums and introducing drama with an unexpected string variation.
On the B-side, ‘Atoll’ delivers a more rolling, percussive groove, with subtle riffs breaking through the repetition. The final track, ‘Triton’, takes a deeper, moodier turn, featuring melancholic bell like tones and a wandering arpeggio. Followers of Blue Hour will find echoes of his earlier work here, but ‘Duality’ brings a breath of fresh air and sense of refinement, making it the perfect home on Arsenik Records.

The Concealed Club Manifesto project pays homage to the mid 2000s underground UK club music scene, an era of music which acts as well of inspiration and creativity for the Nouveau Monica, and has no doubt helped shaped his sound. For the French producer, the UK club scene holds a special allure and mystique, especially since he observed this phenomenon from afar, and was idealized as one of the most “pivotal” moments in underground club culture, making it seem intangible, hence concealed. Nouveau Monica’s sound palette is deeply rooted in the UK scene, which he combines with his own personal musical background. This mid 2000s UK club sound is what the producer defines as his “Golden Era” and the genres created during that time are the building blocks of the Concealed Club Manifesto EP.

“See the Light” closes the EP as a triptyque. First with the OG version, cut out to be the straightforward, grimy, clean, and uncluttered bass track the producer always seeks for when going for the uncompromisingly strong raw material.

The second version conducted by Nouveau Monica as an alternate 4/4 version of the same title, harmonizes the repetitive chopped vocals with a technically syncopated drum loop designed for a new mental perspective, an after-hours sensation that blurs the line between euphoria and melancholy.

The last iteration of “See The Light” comes from none other than Hodge himself. A club tailored cut with a heavy groove, pattered with percussive elements, followed by sun drenched melody and sweltering pads that unleash into a a bellowing bass track, perfectly suited for peak sunset hours at a day rave an unforgiving Soundsystem.

Kulture Galerie returns with its third various artists record featuring Doc Sleep, Rambal Cochet, The Jaffa Kid, Mesmerist, Jack Bags and Undsidedly.

The multi format label run by Filippo MSM (of Metropolitan Soul Museum) is back with its 7th release overall, this time on wax. This new collection continues to show Filippo’s predilection for music with non straight forward drum patterns and moody melodies.

Volume Three is a well thought mix of styles, spanning to and from two Trance oriented tracks from Rambal Cochet and The Mesmerist through the broken techno of Doc Sleep, Jack Bags’s all analogue Acid House track, The Jaffa Kid’s uncompromising Drexcian’s Electro and Undsidedly dreamy’s own take on the genre.

"Pages' self-titled debut album, released in 1978, marked the beginning of a notable journey for the American rock band featuring Richard Page and Steve George, who later gained fame as members of the successful 1980s band Mr. Mister (with hits “Broken Wings” and “Kyrie”). This album introduced listeners to the smooth and sophisticated sounds that was dubbed as AOR back in the day, but nowadays is making a comeback called yacht rock or yacht soul.

The album Pages is a blend of pop, rock, and jazz influences, showcasing the duo's knack for crafting catchy melodies and intricate harmonies. Richard Page's distinct vocal style, combined with Steve George's keyboard wizardry, set a foundation for the lush and polished sound that would define their future work. Next to the further band members Peter Leinheiser, Jerry Manfredi and Russ Battelene, session musicians included Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind & Fire), Dave Grusin and Michael Brecker. Notable tracks include ""If I Saw You Again"" and ""Let It Go"".

The self-titled debut album by Pages is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on blue marbled vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics. The album is housed in a deluxe sleeve with linen laminate finish.

Finnish electro duo Morphology, comprised of Matti Turunen and Michael Diekmann, is set to release ‘Made Up Reality’ on Deeptrax Records, the label with a mission to deliver high-quality, groundbreaking electronic music focusing on the deeper side of electronica and eclectic leftfield dance jams, exploring those spaces between deeper house and techno, with hints from the past and a strong vision of the future.

Continuing Morphology's tradition of dark, melodic, and skilfully produced electro funk that has captivated international audiences, they’ve have been holding down the retro-activism of Detroit and its call for an illuminated future of programmable, motorized, electro-fantasies for over 15 years. With releases on Semantica, Solar One Music and a slew of albums for Germany’s Zyntax Motorcity, it’s been Cultivated Electronics and Central Processing Unit that have given new rise to the music of Morphology. Their Traveller LP released through FireScope, helmed by the UK’s B12 in 2018, the floodlights remain unshakably fixed on the Finnish pair’s brilliance, appearing on landmark compilations like CPU’s 50th release jubilee to DJ Stingray’s Kern mix for Tresor, or holding it down in the underground at Scand nights in London, to bookings at Concrete Paris and Closer in the Ukraine, to Berlin’s unmissable Berghain. With a forever exploratory live set, Morphology’s place as a mainstay of futurist electro is rock solid and burning bright.

Renowned for their soul charged, emotion rich melodies and signature blend of techno and traditional electro, Morphology's new EP takes listeners on an unforgettable auditory journey. ‘Made Up Reality’ showcases the duo's ability to integrate acid lines and vibrant drum patterns creating a sonic landscape that is both innovative and deeply resonant. ‘Seven Fingers’ is a deep dive into the darker side of electro, with haunting melodies and pulsating rhythms. ‘Particle Swarm’ is an acid-infused cut that melds techno elements with classic electro beats. ‘Gradient Descent’ is a more electrifying electro acid heater, blending head nodding bassline with sharp acid riffs and pulsating rhythms that will ignite the floor. ‘Active Inclusion’ is a vibrant, drum-heavy composition that brings the EP to a powerful close.

SUNANDBASS ambassador FD returns for his latest EP to guide you back to the familiar shores of our annual celebration in Sardinia. Rich and expressive music that works on the dancefloor can be hard to find but FD brings the goodness once again, with this diverse three-tracker.

“All Yours” hits the sweet spot straight away, with dusky vocals and tight beats. Deft guitar licks keep the funk fluid, wrapping around an essential groove, whilst crystal keys shimmer in the heat haze. An ace opener to any set, this track strikes a rare balance between rhythm and elegance.

Flipping the script with an ice-cold intro, “Second Villain” creeps up close and personal before dropping a murderous bassline on your chest. Produced alongside one of Switzerland’s most respected DJs, Ryck, the ‘Villain’ encompasses and embraces influences from Jungle and Drum & Bass alike.

Finalising the ninth release on SUNANDBASS Recordings is “Wah Wah Track”, which puts the music first to prove that the medium really is the message here. Melodic layers rise and fall like waves on this classy and uplifting piece of future soul music.

This tape contains a recording of a live of NPLGNN recorded at Human Razzmatazz (Barcelona) on March 2023.Everything you hear it comes from two Korg Electribe EMX1 +Pioneer DJM900 NXS + Traktor.

To describe the sound it makes sense to bring back what was thepress release of “Sigma/Tau” the first record of NPLGNN releasedin 2014 on Where To Now? (RIP): “NPLGNN creates a less pampered style of body music, stripping away the usual signifiers such as melodies and basslines to create something more utilitarian, brutal and pure.

This is the pre-babel language of dance music - it's cadences are rhythmic and its meaning is comprehensible to all on an innate, primal level.”Ten years later this tape makes those words still remarkable to describe the sound of the Neapolitan head. Among a bunch of unreleased sounds you can go through all the NPLGNN recent records for LavaLava, Youth, Hundebiss and its own lathe cuts series dubbed here and there with vocal cuts intersections.

Coming off like the rude son of early ‘00s breakcore heroes, quotingthe Manchester Boomy heads, NPLGNN delivers a 45 mins mutant soundsystem recording. It's acid dancehall punk, amorphed ragga riddimz, or whatever you want to call it. 100% dancefloor melting .Ask Aphex Twin for a couple of IDs

A1 - Consensus Reality
JLM opens another stellar EP for Spatial with Consensus Reality, acheery, optimistic track which opens with lush keys, and filtered breaks. Soon we are treated to long synths brimming with optimism while melodies are formed from a slew of elements entangled in joyous harmony. This is a special track before we even mention the amazingly crisp apache breaks which are introduced and toyed with to the conclusion in JLM's inimitable style.

A2 - Salva Veritate
An eerie vibe immediately grips the listener for a remarkably intense atmospheric journey in the shape of Salva Veritate. Whooshing, reverberating synths punctuate a dense soundscape laced with tensionand intrigue. The hefty Hot Pants breaks drive the track perfectly with atuneful 808 rumbling below, as blippy sub-melodies and keys add further texture to the mix to complete an immensely memorable production from JLM.

AA1 - Hotspot
Mellow keys with a hint of jazz open Hotspot, as JLM adds further flex tohis repertoire in another impressively detailed journey through sumptuous atmospherics. The track quickly bursts into life in full flow with chunky breaks driven by juddering snares nestling over smooth 808 basslines andswathes of strings & pads that swoop across the mix to create a dreamy paradox of lively calm.

AA2 - Nova
A soothing way to close the EP as JLM opens Nova with long, relaxing synthwork before the delicate beat patterns begin with a symphony offiltered effects and soft notes punctuating the soundscape. Extended reverse cymbals and subtly used reverberating vocal samples add textureto proceedings as the cosmic breaks flow, as we have become accustomed to from JLM's exceptional output on Spatial.
Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

This year is set to be another vivid chapter for Rarefied, whose special brand of Dubstep has stretched the genre into outer-national and psychedelic headspaces with transmissions from Soukah, T.A.R and Sibla.

The newest artifact from Primer is par-for-the-course. Four tracks that weave field recordings from windswept bogs, worldly sample digging from molding phonographs found in dusty basements, and loose rhythmic constructions that are a mongrel blend of contemporary rap, Croydon Dubstep, and Brainfeeder.

From the ghostly oud playing that graces across the homespun percussion of 'Nowhere and Nothing', the refracted horn sections of 'Drowned' to the shimmering addendum of 'Tal pt.II, Primer chalks a fine line between headphone moments and dance floor material. Ultimately, the melodic, hypnagogic fragility of 'I Had a Faraway Dream' is an especially poignant curtain call for Rarefied's first record of 2019.

It is summer dawn . . . and you are alone. Here is music for your strange mood. The piano starts the first track, slow tempo beat, a strict beat, a swinging beat. Lillemor—here minor harmonies give the tune a rural, romantic feeling of some place in Spain or France. The tempo changes to medium fast—the flute solos. Light phrasing contrasts beautifully to the earthy, swinging beat of the rhythm section and the repeating piano figures. The trombone adds a new color, a counterpoint of sound and phrasing, backed by the pulsating beat of this wonderful rhythm and the driving piano. Summer dawn . . . This music has more to offer, because it shows the personality of Sahib Shihab at its best. Sahib is a universal musician who reflects musical experiences in jazz since the end of the thirties. He lived through the important periods of modern jazz with his heart and mind wide open toward everything that was good music, regardless of being termed "Mainstream", "Bop", "Cool", "Westcoast", "Eastcoast", "Hard Bop'', et cetera. When you listen closely to his music, you will find traces of all these, but they are immersed in his deep musicianship and his true jazz personality. Sahib Shihab's background reads like the record of a master of advanced studies. Furthermore he played and collaborated with the coolest jazz musician of that period. Above all let's name Budd Johnson, Theolonius Monk, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jaquet, Elmer Snowden, Luther Henderson, Larry Noble, Fletcher Henderson, Roy Eldridge. In his early professional years, Sahib was heard mostly on alto sax; later, more often on baritone sax and flute. Today, his name is inseparably connected with these two instruments. The unity of his jazz performances is not alone bound up with the com¬positions and the arrangements of Sahib Shihab, though in their understated simplicity they have a melodic beauty that is seldom found in jazz of today. The rhythmical subtleties add to the overall qualities of being relaxed vehicles for free-blowing, but there is an immediacy that you hear and feel every moment when listening which defies analysis. The playing of the rhythm section helps greatly to promote the sense of flux and contrasting constant renewal that makes listening to this record so invigorating an experience. Well, this is no surprise, with Kenny Clarke as the nucleus of the rhythm group. Kenny 'Klook' Clarke is a major figure and contributor in jazz, one of the founders of modern jazz, and is ranked as one of the all-time great drummers. He influenced a whole generation of musicians with his playing, though living in Paris since the middle of the fifties somewhat dimmed his name to the general American public. Nevertheless, his name alone will assure a connoisseur to expect top class musical experiences. Talking of the rhythm section we have to name Jimmy Woode's bass, which together with Kenny's drumming, is the driving force for the group and the reliable harmonic anchor for the improvisors. By the way, Jimmy has been with the Duke quite a while, and this alone is an award for extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry. The good sounding rhythm with its full-bodied color is also a result of the added bongos of Joe Harris, who manages to stay out of the way of the players—a quality not often found with drummers—but his playing is felt through the set. There are two members of the group not yet mentioned. Two Europeans, pianist-composer-arranger Francy Boland from Belgium, and trombonist Ake Persson from Sweden. Francy Boland this time is a sideman, though normally he is a leader of recording sessions, both as composer-arranger and as musical director of the band. In the fifties he was in the States writing arrangements for different name-bands, such as Basie and Goodman. In Europe, he is famous for his swinging modern big band arrangements; and his inventiveness as a writer is reflected in his piano playing. He has the talent of using the right dynamic approach every moment, thus making his playing helpful to soloists and interesting for listeners as well. Ake Persson has been Scandinavia's out-standing trombone player for about ten years. There are only a few trombonists in Europe who might match his talents at times, but they lack the consistency of his playing. He is impressive, whether playing in a big band, or whether main soloist in his own small groups. American musicians love the sound of his slide trombone and his easily flowing romantic improvisations, so he often joins American name-bands as they travel in Europe. The music speaks alone . . . , we said it before. You have your soul to feel the beauty, to follow lines and structure, and to enjoy the spiritual excitement. Whether you enjoy the flowing, easy sounding theme of "Please Don't Leave Me", or the climaxing piano solo in the same piece—the bass solo in "Waltz For Seth" or the swinging baritone sax—listen to the first bars of this solo and pay attention to Kenny. Whether you listen to "Campi's Idea", (named after Gigi Campi, the well known Cologne jazz enthusiast who organized this recording) with the romantic flute solo of Sahib, the interesting tempo changes, the piano comping, the moving trombone solo; or to the up-tempo "Herr Fixit", with the cooking Kenny and humorous, driving flute solo, you know that these six musicians where in the right mood, in the right stimulating surroundings to feel what we all feel when it's: SUMMER DAWN.

The Congos were formed by Cedric Myton (born 1947 St Catherine, Jamaica) and Roydel ‘Roy’ Johnson (born 1943 Hanover, Jamaica), around the mid-seventies, a time when the Rasta message coming out of Kingston and other pockets of the Jamaican Island was at its most prominent. Cedric Myton’s singing career began back in the rocksteady era in Reggae’s musical story.

He formed the ‘Tartans’ group taking lead vocal duties alongside Devon Russell, Prince Lincoln Thompson and Lindbergh Lewis. They cut ‘Dance All Night’ (1967) and ‘Coming On Strong’ (1968). The line-up reduced to a two piece, Cedric and Devon Russell, when tracks like ‘What a Sin Thing’ and ‘Short Up Dress’ were cut. This line-up became the Royal Rasses, Cedric formed The Congos, on meeting Roydel Johnson. Roydel previously sang as a member of Ras Michael and the Sons of Negas, cutting such tracks as ’Go To Zion’ (1973). As we can see Cedric’s and Roydel’s Rasta roots were firmly in place by the time they had formed The Congos sometimes called ‘The Congoes’.

The Congos possess what all bands look for,that unique sound that draws the listener to them.Lead singer Cedric Myton’s style and phasing, with his distinctive Falsetto voice makes this just the case.Built on a foundation of classic rhythms and with the aid of then Producer, Lee Perry, the groups statement of intent was laid down with one succinct message. The Congos mighty 1977 ‘Heart of the Congos’ album, is quite simply one of the best reggae albums ever recorded.

Producer Lee Perry had wanted to record a classic Jamaican vocal group in his newly built Black Ark Studio. The voice of Watty Burnett was added at the time to cover baritone vocal duties. The studio after various changes in equipment etc. was finally finding its way. A sound built in Lee Perry’s back yard in Cardiff Crescent, Washington Gardens, Kingston, but existing until then in Mr Lee Perry’s mind. The album they cut would be the defining group release to come out of The Black Ark studios, when the vital elements, vibes, musicians, songs and singing would gel to form ‘Heart Of The Congos’. Come the time of it’s release 1977, Lee Perry was in dispute with Island Records and opted to release the record on his own ‘Black Art’ label. Without the high-profile push of a major label, the record undersold and caused a split between producer and band. Under different circumstances maybe this album would be sitting in thousands of homes alongside the Bob Marley, Culture, Burning Spear releases. Cedric Myton went on to release albums with the French arm of the CBS label and Roy Johnson records and tours as Congo Ashanti Roy.

Cedric Myton the central force carries on the mantle of the Congos and we at Kingston Sounds are proud to pick up the story with another set of vocal statements, which sees Cedric cut some of his finest tunes. Helped along by another reggae legend Brent Dowe, lead singer of the Melodians (Rivers of Babylon), over some classic 1970’s rhythms. Yet again we find that magic formula of strong statements working alongside classic rhythms making the balance work. The Rasta message is still strong on modern classics like ‘King Rastafari Is His Name’, ‘Rasta Congo Man’ and the injustices of the world dissected in tunes ‘Some A Thief’, ‘Watch & Pray’ and the prophetical, ‘Citizen Of The World’.

Once touched by magic it does not fade away, but resurfaces as it has with what we believe to be some of the Congos most heartfelt and meaningful set of songs ...... Let the feast begin.

Charlie Manning ist Chubby and The Gang. Der Mitte 30-jährige gebürtige Londoner startete das Projekt 2019 mit der Absicht, Hardcore-Punk mit den
ansteckendsten Elementen des 70er-Jahre-Rock'n'Roll und Doo-Wop zu vermischen. Charlie brachte eine „Gang“ rotierender Instrumentalisten ins
Spiel, die auf den Alben Speed Kills (2020) und The Mutt's Nuts (2021) mitwirkten. Jetzt ist es soweit: Chubby and the Gang schließt sich dem
langjährigen Hardcore-Label Flatspot Records an und veröffentlicht das neue Album „And Then There Was...“.
Das Album besteht aus 16 von Charlie geschriebenen und gespielten Songs, produziert von Jonah Falco und aufgenommen und abgemischt von James
Atckinson. Es ist eine Mischung aus Kontrolle und Chaos, Liebe und Einsamkeit, Wut und Verletzlichkeit. Die Songs schreien förmlich danach, live
gehört zu werden, fühlen sich aber genauso wohl, wenn sie über die Lautsprecher einer schummrigen Kneipe laufen. Auf „And Then There Was...“
stellt Charlie sein Talent für Melodien und die Offenlegung seines wahren Ichs unter Beweis.
In den fünf Jahren, die es Chubby and the Gang gibt, hat die Band mehr erreicht als die meisten in der doppelten Zeitspanne. Es ist keine
Überraschung, dass die Band weltweit und in den Medien gelobt wird: Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The Guardian, NME und viele mehr haben über sie
berichtet

Charlie Manning ist Chubby and The Gang. Der Mitte 30-jährige gebürtige Londoner startete das Projekt 2019 mit der Absicht, Hardcore-Punk mit den
ansteckendsten Elementen des 70er-Jahre-Rock'n'Roll und Doo-Wop zu vermischen. Charlie brachte eine „Gang“ rotierender Instrumentalisten ins
Spiel, die auf den Alben Speed Kills (2020) und The Mutt's Nuts (2021) mitwirkten. Jetzt ist es soweit: Chubby and the Gang schließt sich dem
langjährigen Hardcore-Label Flatspot Records an und veröffentlicht das neue Album „And Then There Was...“.
Das Album besteht aus 16 von Charlie geschriebenen und gespielten Songs, produziert von Jonah Falco und aufgenommen und abgemischt von James
Atckinson. Es ist eine Mischung aus Kontrolle und Chaos, Liebe und Einsamkeit, Wut und Verletzlichkeit. Die Songs schreien förmlich danach, live
gehört zu werden, fühlen sich aber genauso wohl, wenn sie über die Lautsprecher einer schummrigen Kneipe laufen. Auf „And Then There Was...“
stellt Charlie sein Talent für Melodien und die Offenlegung seines wahren Ichs unter Beweis.
In den fünf Jahren, die es Chubby and the Gang gibt, hat die Band mehr erreicht als die meisten in der doppelten Zeitspanne. Es ist keine
Überraschung, dass die Band weltweit und in den Medien gelobt wird: Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, The Guardian, NME und viele mehr haben über sie
berichtet

Tamil Rogeon, the Melbourne based multifaceted jazz, classical and electronic violin & viola player firmly cemented his reputation with the critical success of his 2021 album Son Of Nyx which was released on Soul Bank Music, Impressive Collective head honcho Greg Boraman's previous label. Lauded as a modal and spiritual jazz fusion opus, Son Of Nyx found favour with Gilles Peterson, Laurent Garnier, Rebecca Vasmant, BBC6 Music's' Cerys Matthews and Deb Grant, was a Jazz FM’ Album of the Week. Building upon that highly original sound concept, Wave Theory draws from the jazz fusion movements of the 70s and 80s and conjures up textured soundscapes rich with cosmic synths, soaring vocals and deep jazz funk, and sees Tamil once again joining forces with Son of Nyx contributors Rita Satch and Daniel Mougerman, plus new collaborators and special guests including Lance Ferguson and celebrated trumpeter, friend Audrey Powne. Listeners can expect the same modal experiments, driving percussion and cosmic synths of Son of Nyx as well as new and exhilarating experiments in electric string instrumentation. Across all 6 tracks the highlights are numerous, but of particular note are the album opener "Ascend it!"; a fusion masterpiece that seamlessly blends psychedelic elements, funk grooves, intricate melodies, and improvisation. When "Doom Date" takes flight we are transported to Mahavishnu Orchestra-like territory, before finishing with an angular melody that is pure jazz-fusion inventiveness. The irresistibly funky 'Gift Of The Gab” is built upon a hypnotic bass line over drum and percussion. Laden with synth and retro keyboards reminiscent of the deep funk of Herbie Hancock’s late 70s period. "Mountain Bug' alternates between minor and major keys, a hallucinatory violin solo is followed by a dazzling trumpet improvisation. A restatement of the melody accompanied by the gunfire of the drum set and percussion. Tamil says of Wave Theory “Sometimes themes reveal themselves through creative encounters and through life experience. I wrote and recorded the album in six months. A lot happened to me and my friends during that time so, for me, ‘Wave Theory’ is like a musical snapshot of life’s relentless ebbs and flows. It’s about the sadness and thrills of endless transformation and the power of creative connection".

Dawn Richard and Spencer Zahn share a common collaborative ethos, a genuine sense of musical curiosity, and a cosmopolitan eagerness to escape the conventions of genre. That shared vision first brought them together on 2022's Pigments_icy and warm, stripped-down and grand, familiar and otherworldly_and now it has reunited them for Quiet in a World Full of Noise. By turns intimate, soul-baring, spectral, and startling, Quiet in a World Full of Noise blends atmospheric and orchestral soundscapes with mellifluous soul, jazz, and journalistic vocalizing_driving it all home with stark, confessional lyricism. The new album finds Richard at her most raw and exposed. This year, Richard's musician father experienced mini strokes while being diagnosed with cancer; and last year, her cousin Cisco was fatally shot seven times in New Orleans. Richard channels the emotional impact of these traumatic experiences of loss into her lyrics and vocal performances, which are left bare and human here, raw and unprocessed across the album. Quiet expands the definitions of what constitutes progressive, avant-garde R&B by rewriting them altogether. On paper, Richard and Zahn's audacious, impressionistic musical collaborations feel like a surprising match. Richard, a New Orleans-reared visionary, has had an improbable journey from late 2000s reality television and mainstream pop with girl group Danity Kane to become one of the most prolific, experimental, and visible indie R&B singer-songwriters of the last decade and a half, with seven solo albums under her belt. Zahn is an East Coast-raised multi-instrumentalist and composer working at the intersections of jazz, Americana, classical, and ambient pop. His growing solo discography includes People of the Dawn, Sunday Painter, Pale Horizon, and Statues I & II, as well as the duo's first release, Pigments. "Pigments was one of the best projects I've ever made," Richard says, "and the furthest I've ever been pushed as an artist." The album was a critical hit, hailed as Best New Music by Pitchfork and receiving praise from Stereogum as Album of the Week, NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, The Fader, Bitter Southerner, and Edition, among many other publications. The making of its follow-up, Quiet in a World Full of Noise, began in 2023 in upstate New York. Fresh from a break-up, Zahn sat at his piano and poured himself into writing and recording instrumental compositions. "I wrote all these stream-of-consciousness pieces on piano, and they were eerie, spacious piano tracks," he said. He used a piano that had been unconventionally tuned to the room rather than to standard pitch. These oddly-tuned, eerie instrumental recordings were never intended to be an album. Six months later, he listened to the recordings again and sent them to Richard who immediately recognized their potential and said, "Oh, this is the next album." Richard went into the studio the next day and wrote and recorded melodies and lyrics to Zahn's piano recordings. Zahn brought in gifted musicians like Bryan Senti on strings (violin, viola, and violoncello da spalla) and CJ Camerieri on brass (French horn, flugelhorn, and trumpet). In some cases, like on the track "Life in Numbers," Zahn used only the original first-take piano recording and scratch vocal, resulting in an intimate close-up of both Richard and Zahn.

Seit über einem Jahrzehnt haben Drug Church den Beweis angetreten, dass sie die beste laute Gitarrenband der Welt sind.
Ihr fünftes Album PRUDE - ein 28-minütiges Feuerwerk aus Aggression, Melodie, Respektlosigkeit und echtem Herz - ist der unbestreitbare Beweis.
Das Album ist so befriedigend, dass man glaubt, es sei gar nicht so überraschend, dass eine schwer einzuordnende Punkband aus Albany, NY, mit
einem Namen wie Drug Church überhaupt eine Karriere hat, geschweige denn eine, die über 10 Jahre andauert und sie als die beste Band der
Gegenwart qualifiziert. Aber bevor Sie sich überlegen, was der Schlüssel zum unerwarteten Durchhaltevermögen von Drug Church sein könnte:
Nehmt es nicht zu ernst.

Gepaart mit dem unermüdlichen Bestreben der Band, ihre Musik im ganzen Land unter die Leute zu bringen, wuchs der Ruf von Maul schnell und ein Pakt mit 20 Buck Spin wurde mit Blut besiegelt. Die ersten Früchte dieses Bündnisses wurden Ende 2023 mit dem Promo-Tape "Desecration and Enchantment" geliefert. Und nun führen alle Wege zu Mauls zweitem Album "In the Jaws of Bereavement".

Während der verrottete Death Metal im Kern der Band unbestritten ist, schämt sich die Band nicht, wenn es darum geht, eine Vorliebe für die härtere Seite des Hardcore mit moshtauglichen Riffs und massentauglichen Breaks zu zeigen. In the "Jaws of Bereavement" schafft es, die unheimlichen Erscheinungen und die melodische Leadarbeit der Größen des Death Metal mit den strafenden Rhythmen der gewalttätigen Kraft des Hardcore so gekonnt zu verschmelzen, dass es sich völlig organisch anfühlt. Zusammengehalten wird das Ganze durch die ungestüme Stimmgewalt der menschlichen Abrissbirne Garrett Alvarado.

FFO: Sanguisugabogg, Phobophilic, Fulci, Scorched, Warflurch, Kruelty, Terminal Nation, Obituary, Gatecreeper

Gepaart mit dem unermüdlichen Bestreben der Band, ihre Musik im ganzen Land unter die Leute zu bringen, wuchs der Ruf von Maul schnell und ein Pakt mit 20 Buck Spin wurde mit Blut besiegelt. Die ersten Früchte dieses Bündnisses wurden Ende 2023 mit dem Promo-Tape "Desecration and Enchantment" geliefert. Und nun führen alle Wege zu Mauls zweitem Album "In the Jaws of Bereavement".

Während der verrottete Death Metal im Kern der Band unbestritten ist, schämt sich die Band nicht, wenn es darum geht, eine Vorliebe für die härtere Seite des Hardcore mit moshtauglichen Riffs und massentauglichen Breaks zu zeigen. In the "Jaws of Bereavement" schafft es, die unheimlichen Erscheinungen und die melodische Leadarbeit der Größen des Death Metal mit den strafenden Rhythmen der gewalttätigen Kraft des Hardcore so gekonnt zu verschmelzen, dass es sich völlig organisch anfühlt. Zusammengehalten wird das Ganze durch die ungestüme Stimmgewalt der menschlichen Abrissbirne Garrett Alvarado.

FFO: Sanguisugabogg, Phobophilic, Fulci, Scorched, Warflurch, Kruelty, Terminal Nation, Obituary, Gatecreeper

Der Saxofonist Phillip Dornbusch hat sich mit seiner Band Projektor vorgenommen, die Aufmerksamkeit des Publikums auf Musik zu lenken, die in Momenten entstand, in denen sich Menschen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart nicht in einer Demokratie, nicht in Freiheit befanden. Die meisten Stücke auf dem dritten Projektor-Album, das den Titel Revolt trägt, speisen sich aus Liedern, die in Iran und Estland entstanden sind und während der Aufstände gegen das sowjetische Regime beziehungsweise die Islamische Republik gesungen wurden. Das Zusammenspiel der fünf Musiker:innen hatte schon auf den beiden Alben "Reflex" (2021), sowie auf "Re|Construct" (2023) etwas traumwandlerisch-sicheres. Johanna Summer, Johannes Mann, Roger Kintopf und Philip Adrian Dornbusch organisieren sich um meist vom Saxophon Dornbuschs getragene Melodien und Themen, weichen ab und kehren wieder zurück, um ein anderes Instrument, eine andere Idee, eine andere Klangfarbe in den Vordergrund treten zu lassen. Dieses Zusammenspiel hat auf Revolt das nächste Level erreicht.

The monolithically heavy, uniquely mercurial UK quartet Sugar Horse are proud to announce their new album Grand Scheme Of Things, to be released 4th October via Pelagic Records. Darting wildly between dark/light, pain/bliss and sacred/profane, the band originating from Bristol offers a different perspective on Post Metal! On Grand Scheme Of Things, Sugar Horse comment: "This album was intended to be a sideways step. A move away from the kind of thing that is expected of us_ if anything is at all. What I mean by that, is the songs are more direct. They take a much shorter amount of time to "get to the point". We also wanted to make this one noticeably "less Metal". While we love being a bit boneheaded and confrontational, we definitely wanted to explore the more melodic, song-based side of the band's sound. Normally you'd see shortened song structures and more singing and think "Oh these guys are going for gold_.they wanna get on the radio and make millions of bloodstained pounds." Well_you're very much entitled to think that if you wish, but it felt like more of a songwriting challenge than anything else to be honest. We've done the whole drawn out, endless Space Rock thing a good few times now and it would've been easy to rest on those laurels. Do something we're comfortable with. Alas, that is not really the point of this band. We'd much prefer to make it difficult and take the long route."

Memorial Waterslides" ist das Debütalbum von MEMORIALS, dem Duo bestehend aus Verity Susman und Matthew Simms (zuvor bei Electrelane und Wire). Es handelt sich um ein surrealistisches Pop-Album, das sowohl zeitlos als auch zeitgemäß ist und eine seltene Mischung aus klassischem Songwriting und Avantgarde-Attitüde aufweist. MEMORIALS kreieren einen Panorama-Pop, der auf Vertrautes und Fremdes zurückgreift, aber bekannte Pfade aber auch neue Wege beschreitet. Mit ihrem verspielten und experimentellen Stil, kombiniert mit einer Liebe zu Melodien, stehen sie in einer Reihe mit Broadcast, Portishead, Arthur Russell, The Velvet Underground, Yo La Tengo und Tortoise. Das Album ist voll von Bildern, die eine verlorene Zukunft, eine verschleierte Gegenwart und eine tagträumerische Vergangenheit heraufbeschwören, wobei jeder Song eine Rolle bei der Schaffung einer wirbelnden Breitwandatmosphäre spielt und den Hörer mit auf die Reise nimmt. Der Sound des Albums, das die beiden komplett selbst produziert haben, wurde von den Experimenten mit Tonbändern inspiriert, mit denen sie zunächst auf der Bühne herumspielten, als sie begannen, ihre vielschichtigen Aufnahmen für Live-Auftritte als Duo zu entwickeln. Nach ihren gefeierten 2023-Soundtracks "Women Against The Bomb" und "Tramps!", einer Europatournee mit Stereolab (sie wurden als "Stereolabs böser Zwilling" bezeichnet) und einem neuen Musikauftrag des Centre Pompidou in Paris kamen Verity und Matthew auf MEMORIALS in umgekehrter Richtung an, indem sie ihren Soundtrack-Alltagsjobs entflohen, um kosmische Reisen durch den Gartenschuppen in psychedelischen Rock, abgefahrenen Folk und wilde analoge Elektronik zu unternehmen. "Exciting and unpredictable" The Guardian. "Everything you'd expect from a duo adept in the strange and esoteric, while also in thrall to pop music's melodic bent." The Quietus. (Limitiertes) Pink farbenes Vinyl mit DLC sowie Digisleeve-CD!

The monolithically heavy, uniquely mercurial UK quartet Sugar Horse are proud to announce their new album Grand Scheme Of Things, to be released 4th October via Pelagic Records. Darting wildly between dark/light, pain/bliss and sacred/profane, the band originating from Bristol offers a different perspective on Post Metal! On Grand Scheme Of Things, Sugar Horse comment: "This album was intended to be a sideways step. A move away from the kind of thing that is expected of us_ if anything is at all. What I mean by that, is the songs are more direct. They take a much shorter amount of time to "get to the point". We also wanted to make this one noticeably "less Metal". While we love being a bit boneheaded and confrontational, we definitely wanted to explore the more melodic, song-based side of the band's sound. Normally you'd see shortened song structures and more singing and think "Oh these guys are going for gold_.they wanna get on the radio and make millions of bloodstained pounds." Well_you're very much entitled to think that if you wish, but it felt like more of a songwriting challenge than anything else to be honest. We've done the whole drawn out, endless Space Rock thing a good few times now and it would've been easy to rest on those laurels. Do something we're comfortable with. Alas, that is not really the point of this band. We'd much prefer to make it difficult and take the long route."

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip’s Memory Music, it’s the band’s first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip’s Memory Music, it’s the band’s first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.

Still just 19-years-old, Toby Lee is already a three-time winner of Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards - yet the virtuoso guitarist is only getting started. Praised as a remarkable talent by the likes of Jools Holland and Joe Bonamassa, 2024 represents a big breakthrough year as Toby releases his first album of all-original material ‘House On Fire’ on October 4th via 100% Records. As you’d expect from someone that The Times hailed as, “One of the best guitarists in Britain,” his six-string talents dazzle throughout with a rich tapestry of scorching leads, evocative melodies and swaggering grooves. Yet his vocals have come on leaps-and-bounds, his maturity and emotional expression providing a voice strong enough to front a band regardless of his guitar skills. His songs and stylistic scope have expanded too, with a set that moves seemingly effortlessly between classic blues jams, punchy hard rock, intimate acoustic moments and a modernist approach to classic soul and Stax-style R&B. It’s all played with a winning combination of youthful abandon and undeniable accomplishment. Toby Lee’s talents have been recognised by an array of legends. When he was 10, a get well soon video that he made for BB King went viral, leading to an invitation from the blues legend’s family to play at his club in Memphis, while the late Bernie Marsden was an early mentor and champion. He subsequently shared the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Slash, Billy Gibbons and Peter Frampton, while enjoying other high profile moments, such as starring in a West End production of ‘School of Rock’, performing with McFly on ‘Tonight at the London Palladium’ and featuring in ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. Toby has now exceeded 500 million views on social media. His ability has been recognised with numerous endorsements. He has been a Gibson artist since the age of 10, and a recent highlight came when he helped launch Gibson’s custom Jeff Beck ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard alongside fellow guests including Jimmy Page, Johnny Depp and Graham Coxon. Blackstar Amplification issued his own signature amp, the St James Toby Lee 50 6L6 head and cab, and he is also endorsed by D’Addario Strings.

Still just 19-years-old, Toby Lee is already a three-time winner of Young Blues Artist of the Year at the UK Blues Awards - yet the virtuoso guitarist is only getting started. Praised as a remarkable talent by the likes of Jools Holland and Joe Bonamassa, 2024 represents a big breakthrough year as Toby releases his first album of all-original material ‘House On Fire’ on October 4th via 100% Records. As you’d expect from someone that The Times hailed as, “One of the best guitarists in Britain,” his six-string talents dazzle throughout with a rich tapestry of scorching leads, evocative melodies and swaggering grooves. Yet his vocals have come on leaps-and-bounds, his maturity and emotional expression providing a voice strong enough to front a band regardless of his guitar skills. His songs and stylistic scope have expanded too, with a set that moves seemingly effortlessly between classic blues jams, punchy hard rock, intimate acoustic moments and a modernist approach to classic soul and Stax-style R&B. It’s all played with a winning combination of youthful abandon and undeniable accomplishment. Toby Lee’s talents have been recognised by an array of legends. When he was 10, a get well soon video that he made for BB King went viral, leading to an invitation from the blues legend’s family to play at his club in Memphis, while the late Bernie Marsden was an early mentor and champion. He subsequently shared the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Joe Bonamassa, Slash, Billy Gibbons and Peter Frampton, while enjoying other high profile moments, such as starring in a West End production of ‘School of Rock’, performing with McFly on ‘Tonight at the London Palladium’ and featuring in ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’. Toby has now exceeded 500 million views on social media. His ability has been recognised with numerous endorsements. He has been a Gibson artist since the age of 10, and a recent highlight came when he helped launch Gibson’s custom Jeff Beck ‘YardBurst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard alongside fellow guests including Jimmy Page, Johnny Depp and Graham Coxon. Blackstar Amplification issued his own signature amp, the St James Toby Lee 50 6L6 head and cab, and he is also endorsed by D’Addario Strings.

Cloudy Baby Blue Vinyl. with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip's Memory Music, it's the band's first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open. It's an intensely self-reflective record for vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, an uprooting and examination of the supports on which a life is built. Preemptive grief, wrestling with god and faith, familial responsibility, familial mortality_these are the things Simmons was carrying while writing this material. They're also things he was trying, for better and worse, to avoid_ hence the record's title. with you in spirit feels like the work of songwriters reaching new heights, exploring new depths. Sometimes, the record itself feels like a band grappling with its own avoidance, its own mortality, and deciding to face these things the only way they know how. Balance and Composure are with us in spirit, yes, but in the flesh, too, for now.

The American funk and R&B band Chocolate Milk was formed in the early 1970s and released their self-titled album in 1976. This album further solidified their presence in the funk and soul music scene, showcasing their ability to blend groovy rhythms, catchy melodies, and socially conscious lyrics.

It featured the single “How About Love” (#79 in the US R&B Chart) and popular tracks like “You’ve Got Your Spell On Me“ and “Let The Music Take Your Mind”. The band was known for their energetic live performances and their fusion of funk, soul, and R&B elements.

The album was produced by Allen Toussaint, a renowned American musician, songwriter, arranger, and highly influential record producer in New Orleans, who worked with artists like Lee Dorsey, The Meters, Dr. John, The Band and Elvis Costello.

The album received positive reviews and helped establish Chocolate Milk as a notable act in the funk and R&B scene of the 1970s.

Chocolate Milk is available as a limited edition of 500 copies on chocolate milk coloured vinyl

Die 12 rumänischen Musiker aus dem jenseitigen Gebirge haben einen neuen Song geschrieben, der höchstwahrscheinlich eine zukünftige Hymne der balkanischen Blasmusik werden wird: Me Sem Rom - Ich bin ein Mann. Die Blechblasinstrumente glühen unter dem Druck der Melodie, Sänger Canaf führt seine Stimme, gewürzt mit heimischem Schnaps und purer Freude, sicher durch die stürmischen Grooves. Und weil die Übersetzung von "Me Sem Rom" ins Englische so gut passt, hat sich die Bruderschaft der Blechbläser auch an eine Coverversion des 1967er Klassikers der Spencer Davis Group gemacht und führt den Song "I"m a man" in ein wildes Balkan-Ska-Delirium.

Cindy is to release a new six song EP called Swan Lake on 4th October via Tough Love. The title isn't a nod to the folktale or ballet in any real way, but to the fact that it all has ended up in the collective imagination as an object, vaguely recognizable, a little suggestive, and mostly blank. Karina Gill, Cindy's songwriter, likes to make use of that kind of resonance to connect sound and experience. The six songs on this EP continue the stripped-down habits of previous Cindy releases, while adding a few departures and left-turns. Cindy likes to work at the essentials and the elements here say exactly what's needed. In other ways, these songs present a soft filigree that's unusual for their recordings. Oli Lipton (Now, Violent Change) on guitar and Will Smith (Now) on bass play counterpoint melodies to Gill's structures. Staizsh Rodrigues (Children Maybe Later, Almond Joy, Peace Frog) sings vocal harmonies that both offset and deepen Gill's voice and delivery. There are playful drums by Mike Ramos (Tony Jay, Sad Eyed Beatniks) and coolly elaborate guitar lines from Stanley Martinez (Famous Mammals, Violent Change, Non Plus Temps). Gill's songs strike this balance too: almost nonchalant reporting tied up in unexpected knots. A ride in an elevator connects up with questions about peace and/or the nature of things; the title track wonders about associative thinking and associative feeling; The Bell is an account of one of those times when everything makes sense but you can't explain it; and there's the scene of a party viewed with admiration for how friends can love each other. As Gill herself says: "People have told me that they can't quite identify my influences. Me neither. The foundational layers of music of the past and my past have been metabolized like breakfast and turned into more me, sorry to say. But I experience the music of people I'm connected with and it impacts me in the moment. There's the music I'm around - April Magazine, Sad Eyed Beatniks, Violent Change, Katsy Pline, collaborating with Mike on Flowertown - that I can feel a direct line from. Then there's music that is being made far away but feels close, like Lewsberg, specifically, for this EP. "

with you in spirit, the fourth Balance and Composure LP, is an arresting, atmospheric collection of melodic post-punk and towering rock. Due out October 4 on long-time collaborator and Grammy-nominated producer Will Yip's Memory Music, it's the band's first LP in eight years, and a thrilling full-length comeback after their four-year hiatus. It thunders and stirs, dipping between beautiful, crystalline arrangements and punishing, earth-shaking climaxes; in between all, a gripping, near-physical tension crackles and growls and grooves, waiting to rip open.It's an intensely self-reflective record for vocalist and guitarist Jon Simmons, an uprooting and examination of the supports on which a life is built. Preemptive grief, wrestling with god and faith, familial responsibility, familial mortality_these are the things Simmons was carrying while writing this material. They're also things he was trying, for better and worse, to avoid_hence the record's title.with you in spirit feels like the work of songwriters reaching new heights, exploring new depths. Sometimes, the record itself feels like a band grappling with its own avoidance, its own mortality, and deciding to face these things the only way they know how. Balance and Composure are with us in spirit, yes, but in the flesh, too, for now.

ReleasedexclusivelydigitallyinDecember2023,thiscountry/americananuggetcouldn'tgowithoutavinylpressing. Theo Lawrence presents a new album, Pickin' & Singin'. Recorded in the living room of his Bordeaux home, alone with his guitar, he embodies the figure of the lone cowboy with disconcerting naturalness and irresistible charm. Blessed with a velvety voice and magnetic melodies that evoke lasting love, lovers on the move, and the moonlight on the roof of a roadside bar, this album is a jewel with Theo Lawrence'sunique signature.

Following up on last years debut release, Chontane returns with Manx, the second EP on his label, TANE. This five-track collection continues his exploration of sound design, moving into fresh territory while retaining the distinctive energy that marked TANE001.

With TANE002, Chontane invites listeners into a diverse sonic landscape, emphasizing mood, texture, and the subtle intricacies of rhythm.
Manx marks a significant progression in Chontanes artistry, expanding on the
foundation set by TANE001, which echoed the nostalgia of 90s and early 2000s rave culture. While his first EP blended old-school, rave-inspired techno, atmospheric tracks, and a touch of jungle, TANE002 boldly ventures into new, uncharted territories. It challenges traditional genre boundaries, delving deep into the potential of sound design, and offering a forward-thinking perspective that feels attuned to the future.

The EP highlights Chontanes dedication to capturing a wide spectrum of moods and textures within a single record. The title track, Manx sets the stage with a dark, hypnotic presence. Rich in layered textures and atmospheric undertones, the track fuses a powerful kick with resonant toms, deep subs, and eerie pads. Haunting, glitchy vocal snippets add an extra dimension, making Manx a compelling, immersive experience.

On Gazebo, the EPs A2 track, Chontane shifts the energy, delivering a composition that balances driving rhythms with a melodic core. The combination of dynamic drums with an epic, mystical theme creates a piece thats both uplifting and introspective, standing out for its ability to evoke grandeur while maintaining a sense of optimism.

The B-side leans into a more shadowy atmosphere, with Oolean blending metallic
percussion and a throbbing bassline. The tracks ominous pads and powerful kick drum propel it forward, creating a narrative thats intense and captivating.
B2 offers a fitting conclusion to the vinyl release, presenting a track that blends dreamy, atmospheric melodies with a robust kick and driving sub-line. The mystical qualities of this composition make it an evocative and memorable closer.
The digital-only track, Thumb Print, rounds out the EP with a relentless, peak-time experience. Its hypnotic rhythm and expansive sense of scale make it a standout track, perfect for igniting dance floors and capturing listeners attention.

Pierce The Veil haben ihr ganzes musikalisches Können in die Waagschale geworfen und mit „Collide
With The Sky“ ein Top-20-Album in den US Billboard 200 veröffentlicht. Das dritte Album der Band
ist eine akustische Entdeckungsreise, die den einzigartigen Gesangsstil des Sängers Vic Fuentes, feurige
Gitarrenlinien und aufsteigende Melodien miteinander verbindet. Das Album wurde in den USA mit Gold
und in Großbritannien mit Silber ausgezeichnet und enthält den viralen Hit „King For A Day“. Erstmals
gepresst auf einer neuen Opaque Navy Blue Farbe, die nur außerhalb Nordamerikas erhältlich ist.

Swedish duo LOW-RES are no strangers to grim, almost decadent darkness. Their explosive mix of krautrock, indie rock, and psychedelia has captivated audiences all around the world. Their third album ”Happiness” explores topics of abuse, destructive relationships, but to a slightly clearer and more pop soundscape. The two poles shapes a background for an captivating listening experience with out worldly melodies and choruses. Produced together with musician and producer Daniel ”Fagge” Fagerström (Viagra Boys, Kite). LOW-RES has previously been picked up by BBC Radio 6 and praised by the likes of Swedish magazine GAFFA who described their debut album as “oceans of creativity pumping out of the speakers”.

The Finns have crafted a top-notch piece of powerful heavy metal with the incomparably strong roars of frontbeast Noora Louhimo, catchy keyboards and earworm invasions. From the opening classical up-tempo opening track, 'Straight To The Heart,' to the last note of the closing ballad 'Far From Heaven,' BATTLE BEAST’s new opus is full of heaviness and emotions. Recorded and produced at JKB Studios by keyboardist Janne Björkroth, the album was also mixed by him alongside Viktor Gullichsen and Mikko Karmila, while mastering was done by Mika Jussila at the world famous Finnvox Studios. “Bombastic and brilliant heavy metal with a killer singer! »Bringer Of Pain« is gigantic!” MYROCK (F) “BATTLE BEAST at their best - majestically melodic and 'Straight To The Heart'!” ROCK IT! (D)

With the debut album "Mechanical Spin Phenomena", MNEMIC introduced themselves to the metal world impressively: Their music, made of heavy Thrash riffs, Progressive elements, modern synthesizers and electronic samples created both a hard and spacy atmosphere – therefore the band decided to describe their sound as Fusion Future Metal. Crushing songs like 'Ghost' and 'Liquid' got stuck in your head so easily and the comparisons to bands like FEAR FACTORY, MESHUGGAH or STRAPPING YOUNG LAD were drawn soon. But MNEMIC are not a simple copy of those acts – they are a band with their own ideas and self-contained style. "The Audio Injected Soul" shows MNEMIC grown and more mature. Less complex than "Mechanical Spin Phenomena", the band worked a lot with melodies and set a high value on creating catchy refrains. The result is amazing songs like 'Dreamstate Emergency', 'Door 2.12' or 'Deathbox' groove like hell and unify brutality with melody. Finalized by a dynamic cover version of DURAN DURAN's 'Wild Boys', "The Audio Injected Soul" is all in all a perfect package of ten punishing Modern Metal songs that will catapult MNEMIC to the major league of the genre! Tue Madsen, who again took care of the producing in his Antfarm Studios in Aarhus/Denmark, additionally provided the album with a clear and explosive sound that displays the effect of each track fully.

Amputechture Beneath the technical flash, the fury, the fearless creative brinkmanship of the first two Mars Volta albums lay a potent seam of the blues, an existential vexation that powered every twist and turn of Omar and Cedric’s imaginations. That mournful vibe would come to the surface of the group’s third full-length Amputechture, a simmering/blistering set that was unquestionably the group’s darkest yet. There was no overarching theme here, no interlinking concept binding the songs together, though Cedric concedes that, lyrically, the album was influenced “by a lot of stuff I was going through, a really bad break-up and a lot of other crazy stuff, and trying to put that feeling into the record.” But Amputechture – its name another of the late Jeremy Michael Ward’s invented words – was no downbeat bummer. Opener Vicarious Atonement might’ve been a deliciously gloomy, slow-burning thing, capturing Cedric in delirious duet with Omar’s swooning guitar lines, accompanied by squalling saxophone by Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales and dream-frequency fuckery by the group’s new sonic manipulator, former At The Drive- In member Paul Hinojos. But second track Tetragrammaton swiftly set pulses racing, an epic-in-miniature and containing more ideas within its 16 minutes than most bands manage over an entire career, its proggy, complex guitar figures tessellating in infinite configurations and converging as if conforming to mathematical formulae from another reality. The raw material Amputechture was hewn from started life on the road. Omar now travelled with his own mobile recording studio – a little Neve ten-channel tape recorder and an array of microphones – and was able to work on new ideas on tourbuses, in hotel rooms and during soundcheck (and, occasionally, after the show was done). After touring for Frances The Mute was complete, Omar relocated to Amsterdam, staying with his photographer friend Danielle Van Ark and her partner, Nils Post. It’s here that he demoed Amputechture, flying in engineer Jon DeBaun, drummer Jon Theodore and his brother, Chino, to work on these raw sketches. He later returned to Los Angeles, where the album was finally recorded. Omar ceded guitar duties to his dear friend and kindred spirit John Frusciante, instead assuming the role of musical director. “I wanted to hear the sound of the band,” he says. “I thought, I’ll be able to sit at the console, feel the air of the speakers moving, the unified sound of everything, and not feel distant from it. It was fun, but it was also challenging.” Part of Omar’s new method was to teach the musicians their parts only moments before the tapes rolled. “To keep things fresh, and to keep everyone on edge,” he says, before chuckling. “No, not on edge – on their toes. Amputechture would prove The Mars Volta’s most diverse set yet, drawing into the group’s tornado of influences moments of fiery jazz spirituality and esoteric folk introspection, finding space for passages of devastating subtlety and also their most fierce and full-on moments to date. The aforementioned Vicarious Atonement found its meditative mood echoed by Asilos Magdalena, an intimate, acoustic piece that invoked traditional Latin folk music, as Cedric sang in Spanish a sorrowful tale of a lost soul’s quest for sanctuary within a Magdalen Asylum, a refuge set up by the Catholic church for “fallen women”. The shadowy, sinister closer El Ciervo Vulnerado, meanwhile, tapped into the darker side of spiritual jazz to further explore the album’s themes of redemption and religious myth and magick. Elsewhere, the interplay between guitar and clarinet on Viscera Eyes created complex, unsettling counter-melodies, while the coiling, ornate Meccamputechture – Cedric’s wild fusion of sacred texts, occultism and dystopian science fiction – proved a great showcase for Ikey Owens’ swarming, infernal organ runs, in concert with Frusciante’s arcane guitar-play. But it was Day Of The Baphomets that would prove Amputechture’s most ambitious and most defining epic. Cedric’s lyrics tore into the hypocrisy of religious cant and myths of sin and punishment. “I wanted to make a song that was like the movie The Believers, where this cabal stole kids and did some occult shit with them,” he explains. “But I wanted it to be like, ‘What if the people you hire to do jobs you don’t wanna do rise up one day and then pull some shit like that?’ Like it was the guerrilla warfare, them taking over – wouldn’t that be some fucked up shit? And the music just lent itself to that – the big intro, the bass solo, and all of the ruckus that occurs.” That ruckus was some of the most thrilling Mars Volta music yet, as Omar directed his musicians to rumble through fiery modes of wild tribal groove, ransack-the-palaces riot- rock and supreme progressive experimentalism. Amputechture, then, is the sound of The Mars Volta in imperial mode: fearless, insatiable, unstoppable.

A1 - Desire
Opening the EP in quietly epic fashion, Desire begins with a delightful beat pattern with adistinctive cymbal hit set over warm bass tones and whale song samples. A smooth, thoughtful bass melody is introduced which joyfully intersects with gorgeous piano keys while swirling strings and atmospheric vibes layer and recede like tides of the ocean, creating a truly unique journey of a track that will linger anywhere it may be heard.

A2 - Voidscaping
Instantly setting the scene with crisp, striking breaks, Voidscaping is an atmospheric treatfor the senses with serene throwback pads reminiscent of the halcyon days of Good Looking. Bringing the piece up to date for the Spatial era is the typically intricate blending of reflection and intrigue ASC conjures with his sampling and reverb work, effortlessly thickening the soundscape with memories old and new.

AA1 - Let Go
Opening with the vibrant sounds of twilight nature and metallic bongos, ASC sparinglydeploys a glorious choral vocal before the breaks take off with an energetic pattern drivenby constant, playful hi hats. As the track develops, questions are asked of the listener bythe curious atmosphere, gradually unraveling with strings, synths and trademark vocalusage, offering a new perspective with each listen.

AA2 - Meltdown
A darkly, anxious undertone floods the mix as Meltdown grips the listener from the first barwith skillfully sequenced minimal breaks, hi hats that whoosh in and out like evening crickets you can't quite track, and intense ambient padwork. A longing female vocal occasionally yearns over the various melodies which enter at will, discreetly developing the mood with purpose, unfurling a stream of aural consciousness from this incredible producer.
Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)