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Following the hard-hitting return single ‘Anxious’ and a slew of mysterious ‘West Gazette’ posters appearing around the UK hinting at the announcement (including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and London), West London’s AJ Tracey assumes the character of a rising young basketball player appearing in a livestreamed press conference to reveal his next move: a lucrative deal with major
franchise Revenge Athletic ahead of a crucial playoff game. The broadcast ends with the true reveal: AJ’s highly anticipated sophomore album ‘FLU GAME’ will finally arrive.
Always pushing boundaries with his creative output, AJ’s campaign draws influence from the story of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls team in the late 90s, with ‘FLU GAME’ referencing one of MJ’s most memorable championship games where he overcame a nasty bout of food poisoning (brought on by a dodgy takeaway pizza) and took the Bulls to the championship. Revenge Athletic are a franchise on the brink of a massive championship win and AJ is their new star. All we know for now is that AJ is about to take us into this new world, as he dons the number 10 jersey and states he’s “ready to get going and do what I’ve always done.”
‘FLU GAME’ sees AJ showcasing twelve brand new tracks, with tantalising features including Kehlani, T-Pain, SahBabii, NAV and Millie Go Lightly. On the production
front, AJ calls on regular collaborators Nyge, The Elements, Kazza, AoD and Remedee.
The project also features the UK Top Five singles ‘Bringing It Back’ with Digga D, ‘West Ten’' with Mabel and the Platinum smash ‘Dinner Guest’ featuring MoStack. AJ Tracey is a man on an unstoppable, independently built trajectory. 2020 was his
biggest year to date, with (certified Gold) single ‘West Ten’ alongside Mabel landing in the wake of chart-scaling ‘Dinner Guest’ featuring MoStack (Platinum), Number 1 charity single ‘Times Like These’ (alongside Dua Lipa, Rag & Bone Man and The Foo Fighters) and the Platinum-certified TikTok sensation ‘Rain’ with Aitch, which went on
to become the most watched UK YouTube video of 2020. AJ finished the year with a stand-out feature on Headie One’s enormous anthem ‘Ain’t It Different’ alongside Stormzy, a Platinum certified track that peaked at Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 2019, AJ released his debut self-titled album which, after landing at Number 3 in the UK Official Charts, has gone on to clock over 350 million streams globally and is certified Gold. His Conducta-produced breakout hit ‘Ladbroke Grove’ was officially the
top selling independent single of 2019, spending an astounding 14 weeks in the UK Top 10, and is now certified Double Platinum (over 1.2 million sales). It was nominated for a BRIT, was named Best British Song at the NME Awards and is now the biggest-selling UK Garage record of all time - an incredible feat. AJ rounded off a
huge 2019 with two sold-out headline shows at London’s 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace.
A music and cultural icon, and boasting over 1 billion global streams independently, AJ’s formidable talent and unmatched creative vision is set to see him scale even higher heights in the coming months.

a Anxious [prod Remedee]
[b] Kukoč (ft. NAV) [prod Pxcoyo + Yung Swisher]
[c] Bringing It Back (with Digga D) [prod. The Elements + AoD)
[d] Cheerleaders [prod Kazza & Swidom]
[e] Draft Pick [prod 5ive Beatz] Eurostep [prod AJ Tracey]
[f] Cherry Blossom [prod Nyge & AoD]
[g] Glockie [prod The Elements & AoD]
[h] Little More Love [prod YOZ BEATZ, RyFy & Mark Raggio]
[i] Top Dog [prod Nyge & AoD]
[j] Summertime Shootout (ft. T-Pain) [prod Nyge & AoD]
[k] Perfect Storm [prod YOZ BEATZ & JBJ]
[l] Coupé (ft. Kehlani) [prod The Elements]
[m] Numba 9 (ft. SahBabii & Millie Go Lightly) [prod The Elements]
[n] Dinner Guest (ft. MoStack) [prod The Elements & AJ Tracey]
[o] West Ten (with Mabel) [prod FRED & Take a Daytrip]

[a] Anxious [prod Remedee]
[b] Kukoč (ft. NAV) [prod Pxcoyo + Yung Swisher]
[c] Bringing It Back (with Digga D) [prod. The Elements + AoD)
[d] Cheerleaders [prod Kazza & Swidom]
[e] Draft Pick [prod 5ive Beatz] Eurostep [prod AJ Tracey]
[f] Cherry Blossom [prod Nyge & AoD]
[g] Glockie [prod The Elements & AoD]
[h] Little More Love [prod YOZ BEATZ, RyFy & Mark Raggio]
[i] Top Dog [prod Nyge & AoD]
[j] Summertime Shootout (ft. T-Pain) [prod Nyge & AoD]
[k] Perfect Storm [prod YOZ BEATZ & JBJ]
[l] Coupé (ft. Kehlani) [prod The Elements]
[m] Numba 9 (ft. SahBabii & Millie Go Lightly) [prod The Elements]
[n] Dinner Guest (ft. MoStack) [prod The Elements & AJ Tracey]
[o] West Ten (with Mabel) [prod FRED & Take a Daytrip]

Melvin Ukachi needs little introduction, the Lagos (Nigeria) based vocalist and bandleader is a living legend. Melvin is known for his fantastic solo albums, his vocals for the afrobeat star-groups M.F.B. and Ozzobia_but his biggest legacy is without a doubt him being the singer and bandleader of Ofege. Melvin formed Ofege in the early 1970s (when he and the other band members were all still a bunch of teenagers). Due to their vibrant combo of sweet harmonies, hooks & fuzz, Ofege would become one of the most legendary Nigerian groups of all time, with expressive sales and national stardom to follow. At the turn of the century (and because of tracks appearing on various compilations) Ofege would receive international acknowledgment for being the first of their kind and THE ultimate West-African psychedelic funk band! Melvin Ukachi recorded four milestone albums with Ofege: 'Try and Love' (1973) 'The Last of The Origins' (1976), 'Higher Plane Breeze' (1977) and 'How Do You Feel' (1978). When the Ofege story came to an end, Melvin recorded two astonishing solo albums: 'Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat' (1981) and 'I am Ok' (1985). Both of his solo recordings have now become much sought-after holy grails for collectors and fans alike. On the album, we are presenting you today (Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat) the listener is treated to the trademark Ofege sound (as the title of the record obviously suggests). Next to the rootsy and raw Ofege sound, we're shown a perfect glimpse of the late '70s afrobeat works combining soul, jazzy rhythms, William Onyeabor style synths & fluid boogie-danceability Expect some serious 'all-star' guest musicians as well_featured on the album are Chyke Madu (The Funkees) on drums, Berkley Jones (Ofege) on guitar_and many other local legends. To top things off the tracks were recorded and mixed at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London_all slickly engineered by Rafiu Ayoade (The Apostles) and produced by the president of sound himself Odion Iruoje (known for his work with Manu Dibango, Fela Kuti_and many others). 'Evolution-Bring Back The Ofege Beat' was released on EMI Nigeria in 1981 and is a total Afro-psych-funk classic that begs for a special place in your record collection. It's tight, funky and Melvin's soulful vocals are to die for. This record is a monster! Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first-ever reissue (supervised by Melvin Ukachi himself) of this amazing Nigerian Afrobeat album. This RARE classic (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork made at Grafikad (who were responsible for designing landmark sleeves for renowned artists such as Fela Kuti).

- Rare 1987 Detroit experimental Funk/Soul album - Solo album by Tony Newton (Motown, Funk Brothers) - First ever vinyl reissue - 180g Black Vinyl Edition - Limited to 500 copies // Antonio L. Newton AKA Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European 'Motown Review' tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles' musical director. Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5_and countless others. Earning the nickname "the Baby Funk Brother" he left his trademark of solid, hard-driving and deftly clever grooves on such timeless hits as "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop In The Name Of Love," "Nowhere to Run," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Don't Leave Me This Way," and many others. Next to his impressive body of work for Motown, Newton can be heard on several hit singles from labels like Invictus-Hotwax and Stax. Later, Newton gained recognition as a member of both the acclaimed jazz-rock fusion group: The New Tony Williams Lifetime (headed by Miles Davis' drummer Tony Williams) and the British hard rock group: G-Force (with veteran guitarist Gary Moore). Tony Newton also recorded several solo albums during his impressive career, including the two total classics: 'Mysticism & Romance' (1978) and 'Novaphonia' (1987). On the album, we are presenting you today (Novaphonia from 1987) the listener is treated to something UNIQUE (and this is not an overstatement). Newton really puts the 'multi' into multi-instrumentalist, playing the synthesizers, the electric bass and the drum machine. Experimental is the keyword here, sounds vary from psych/trance (almost like a soundtrack from a space movie), to funk, fusion, rock, R&B, soul and jazz. Novaphonia has both elements of Tony Newton's impressive musical past and his vision for the future. Spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-around cosmic approach make this an 'out of this world' and VERY intriguing album. Resonant, sonically rich, sonorous, colorful, mind-expanding sounds are what one should expect from the 20th century Novaphonic sound developed to its greatest extent. These harmonies are innately pleasing to the human ear, mind and nervous system.

Just like Freddy Krueger, Final Dream resurrects from the past to haunt your nights and deliver to the masses his threatening message. Author of a mighty album and three collector EP's on experimental techno label Audio Illusion Recordings from 1995 to 2002, British Electro veteran Phil Klein aka Bass Junkie returns with a vengeance under his most frightening alias. 19 years after his last transmission, he serves up a new four tracker full of his infectious strain of corrosive and weird electro.

The A-side opens with the mental "Dark Flow", a pounding tune based upon hammering beats surrounded by sinister strings and a gloomy atmosphere. The title track "Project Fear" coming next goes deeper into the realm, merging lethal frequencies to demonic beats.

The flipside introduces "Force Majeure", a milestone of an instant classic made of robotic drums sequences fused into subtle acid lines while "The Devil's Playground" concludes the 12" with 7 minutes of brain manipulations. Present "Project Fear EP" appears as an opened window to the future, an invitation to foresee what Evil is cooking for you in his laboratory. Just a reminder that there's no way to hide, accept your fate, nothing can stop the darkness!

Courting release their debut EP via Nice Swan
Records, featuring the rambunctious title track
alongside their late-2020 release, ‘Popshop!’ and
previously unheard songs ‘Crass’ and ‘Slow Burner’.
‘Popshop!’ was greeted brilliantly - it landed on the
BBC 6Music playlist and top publications included
the band in their Tips For 2021 lists soon after its
release - NME 100, DIY Hype List 2021, Daily Star
Ones To Watch 2021 and DIY Hello 2021.
The four-piece only formed in 2018 so they’re
hitting these milestones really early on. The band’s
first ever singles (‘Not Yr Man’ and ‘Football’) were
self-released and caused a stir on the vibrant
Liverpool indie scene. Nice Swan Records
responded to the buzz by signing them for their
third single (‘David Byrne’s Badside’) and for this
EP

Antonio L. Newton AKA Tony Newton (born 1948) is a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit, MI who began his professional career at the age of thirteen, playing bass guitar with blues legends like John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Discovered by Motown executive Hank Cosby while playing the Detroit blues circuit at the age of 18, he became the touring bassist with Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on the famed 1965 European ‘Motown Review’ tour. Within two years, Newton became the Miracles’ musical director.

Tony Newton also toured and recorded with other Motown artists such as The Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Jackson 5…and countless others. Earning the nickname “the Baby Funk Brother” he left his trademark of solid, hard-driving and deftly clever grooves on such timeless hits as “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Stop In The Name Of Love,” “Nowhere to Run,” “ABC,” “Never Can Say Goodbye,” “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” and many others. Next to his impressive body of work for Motown, Newton can be heard on several hit singles from labels like Invictus-Hotwax and Stax. Later, Newton gained recognition as a member of both the acclaimed jazz-rock fusion group: The New Tony Williams Lifetime (headed by Miles Davis’ drummer Tony Williams) and the British hard rock group: G-Force (with veteran guitarist Gary Moore).

Tony Newton also recorded several solo albums during his impressive career, including the two total classics: ‘Mysticism & Romance’ (1978) and ‘Novaphonia’ (1987).

On the album, we are presenting you today (Novaphonia from 1987) the listener is treated to something UNIQUE (and this is not an overstatement). Newton really puts the ‘multi’ into multi-instrumentalist, playing the synthesizers, the electric bass and the drum machine. Experimental is the keyword here, sounds vary from psych/trance (almost like a soundtrack from a space movie), to funk, fusion, rock, R&B, soul and jazz. Novaphonia has both elements of Tony Newton’s impressive musical past and his vision for the future.

Spacious synths, unusual instruments and an all-around cosmic approach make this an ‘out of this world’ and VERY intriguing album. Resonant, sonically rich, sonorous, colorful, mind-expanding sounds are what one should expect from the 20th century Novaphonic sound developed to its greatest extent. These harmonies are innately pleasing to the human ear, mind and nervous system.

Explore new musical frontiers intended to catapult the listener towards new dimensions…this is an album that just begs for a special place in your record collection!

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the first-ever vinyl reissue of ‘Novaphonia’ since its release in 1987. This rare & private-pressed album (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork.

Built on a foundation of authenticity, passion and innovation, Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band is a spearheading group that has established itself in the world of music. Formedby Archie Lee Hooker, the nephew of John Lee Hooker, Archie and his leading handpicked team arehighly recognised for creating compelling, soul-enriching productions that leave their audienceswanting more.
Archie was born on Christmas Day of 1949 in Lambert, Mississippi, just 20 miles from thecrossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil. He was the son of a sharecropper, and up until age thirteen, that was the life he was accustomed to. That all changed when he headed up north and found himself standing in the big city of Memphis,Tennessee.
The paved roads and city lights felt like a new world to Archie, one that was filled with opportunities. Inspired by the Memphis music scene, it didn’t take long for Archie to begin singing with his first gospel group called The Marvellous Five. However, December of 1989 was when hispassion for Blues started to surface. During this time, Archie lived with his uncle, John Lee (the Boogieman himself) until his death in 2001. Being surrounded by him and other committed, talented, and influencing musicians is what became the catalyst for Archie to crave sharing his own life experiences through music and leave his lasting impression.
Though Archie left for France in 2011 to join Carl Wyatt & The Delta Voodoo Kings to tour Europe, he eventually chose to seek the right musicians to have on his side. He wanted a team that resembled family, chemistry, and a bond unlike any other. Once he found them, Archie founded the Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band, which was specially named after the late John Lee’s Coast to Coast Blues Band. Since then, the crew has done nothing but thrive and impress.
They released their first album called ‘Chilling’ under the French label Dixiefrog in 2018, which received a 5-star review in Rolling Stone Magazine. Fast forward to today, they have recorded a new 12 song CD called ‘Living in a Memory’, and this all-original playlist of storytelling art is set to be released through Dixiefrog worldwide on April 16th, 2021. In the end, every song and performance that Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band creates paints an incredible picture that inevitably provokes uplifting emotional influences and invested attraction.
They are entirely passionate about delivering remarkable music, and continuously provide fully authentic productions that have shaped them to become what they are today. With their immense drive and determination, it is exciting to see what they will launch next.

Winter Family is a duo made up of Ruth Rosenthal and Xavier Klaine, who met in Jaffa in 2004. Their dark, saturated and dense music is described as "Death Swing", "Weird Wave" or "Funeral Pop".

They recorded new parts of this new album in St Martin church of Maxéville, France. Xavier: "I recorded the pipe organ there, inspired by the Alsatian philanthropist organist Albert Schweitzer whose slow, bombastic performances, limited by faulty technique have always touched me deeply. In 2006, my aunt Loulou agrees to lend me the keys to the church. Ten years later, Loulou passes away, I play on this same pipe organ during her funeral. During the fall of 2018, in her room with old floral wallpapers, so cold, that I empty, surrounded by her missals and huge crucifixes I remix this pipe organs and the voice of Ruth. Through this late remixing, we wanted to deliver this woman from her agony, her eyes turned to the milkish Lotharingia sky and beyond, trying to illustrate this Catholic France of yesterday, as vain and terrifying as a month of November in this cold and humid garden, within reach of the incessant song of the A31 highway."

11001 Records is a Berlin-based record label focused on techno, ambient, experimental and other forms of abstract visions. Co-founder of Teufelsberg Domecast, a sound installation podcast series with ambient experimental live performances using the dome at the top of Teufelsberg as a natural parabolic reverb. In ‘Dimensional Perception’, each song revolves around an object in outer space: A1 RYUGU Ryugu is the name of an asteroid. In June 2018, a Japanese spacecraft called ‘Hayabusa2’ landed on it, took some measurements and samples. After a long journey it landed successfully in the desert of Australia early December 2020. The goal is to discover what asteroids carry with them across the universe. If they carry water this could explain how life is spreading in the cosmos. A2 QUASAR A Quasar also known as a quasi-stellar object, is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus, in which a supermassive black hole with mass ranging from millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun is surrounded by a gaseous accretion disk. They are capable of emitting hundreds or even thousands of times the entire energy output of our galaxy, making them some of the most luminous and energetic objects in the entire universe. B1 SEDNA Sedna is a large planetoid and possible dwarf planet in the outer reaches of our solar system. Its surface is one of the reddest among Solar System objects. It is a possible dwarf planet. It has an exceptionally long and elongated orbit, taking approximately 11,400 years to complete and a distant point of closest approach to the Sun at 76 AU. Understanding its unusual orbit is likely to yield valuable information regarding the origin and early evolution of the Solar System. Scientists continue speculations on its origins of this trans-Neptunian object. B2 NAMAKA Namaka is the smaller, inner moon of the dwarf planet Haumea at a distance of 25,600 kilometres. It takes 18 Earth-days for the moon to complete one orbit around the dwarf planet. Discovered on 30 June 2005 it was named after Nāmaka, the goddess of the sea in Hawaiian mythology and one of the daughters of Haumea. Photometric observations indicate that its surface is made of water ice.

Island of the Hungry Ghosts is a hybrid documentary that moves between the natural, human and spiritual worlds. Located off the coast of Indonesia, the Australian territory of Christmas Island is inhabited by migratory crabs traveling in their millions from the jungle towards the ocean, in a movement that has been provoked by the full moon for hundreds of thousands of years. Poh Lin Lee is a trauma therapist who lives with her family in this seemingly idyllic paradise. Every day, she talks with the asylum seekers held indefinitely in a high-security detention centre hidden in the island's core, attempting to support them in a situation that is as unbearable as its outcome is uncertain. As Poh Lin and her family explore the island's beautiful yet threatening landscape, the local islanders carry out their "hungry ghost" rituals for the spirits of those who died on the island without a burial. They make offerings to appease the lost souls who are said to be wandering the jungles at night looking for home. This album presents the original score Aaron Cupples created for the film. Rich in texture and harmonics, the music is characterized by the bespoke instruments and recording techniques employed in its creation. The soundtrack also features sound recordist Leo Dolgan's vivid field recordings. All captured on Christmas Island, the four pieces recall insect choruses, strange and ominous bird calls, erupting blowholes, fire, ocean, and Buddhist prayers for the dead. The album is mastered by Rashad Becker, featuring design by N MRE 08. *LP comes with an obi strip, a booklet containing stills from the documentary & liner notes, as well as a postcard granting access to the full film*

"...a swirl of the bedrock elements that make up modern music, his LP lifts from Soul, Funk and Hip-Hop to create this ode to Detroit House."
A NATION OF MILLIONS

EARLY SUPPORT FROM ALEXANDER NUT ("Tight beats from Snips as always. Dexters Pain is my fave here. Big ups"), KARIZMA ("Proud to hear a friend grow musically, great work on the album my friend...Full Support. K'), RED RACK'EM, SK VIBEMAKER

SNIPS delivers the first vinyl release on Houseology. The Barbershop LP is a tongue in cheek play on the production techniques Todd Worsnip aka Snips normally uses when making his Hip-Hop work. This 8 track LP is meeting of the two worlds of House and Hip-Hop tapping into Snips' raw ability to find the best cuts and chops needed for any genre.

DJ Snips began his career at legendary London record store Deal Real', where he ran the open mic night alongside British host and comedian Doc Brown, Snips' years at Deal Real saw him DJ'ing alongside performances from several US heavy hitters including Kanye West, Mos Def and the Black Eyed Peas.

Snips' knack for manoeuvring through a wide range of Hip Hop oeuvres has seen him play around the world, Specifically in NYC where he has been a guest at legendary parties including Everyday People, Bible Study, Mobile Mondays and Ginny's Supper Club. As well as being a regular in NY, Snips has also headlined events in The Philippines, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, Qatar, France, Norway and Spain. When Snips isn't touring or on the Club circuit, he's known for churning out beats for some of the most talented MCs on both sides of the Atlantic. His production work includes tracks for several major US recording artists including M1 (Dead Prez), Capadonna (Wu Tang), Sean Price.

Work on the Houseology record label allows Snips the opportunity to articulate himself even more so within his skilled production, by drawing a definitive line between the House/Hip-Hop relationship which has existed for years.

Long out of print and highly anticipated repress of the Andrew Weatherall ‘anti-produced’ long player. The Twilight Sad’s third full-length, No One Can Ever Know, marked a sonic shift for the band



'No One Can Ever Know' was released across all formats on 6th February 2012 and was the follow-up to 2009's acclaimed break-through 'Forget The Night Ahead'. Already flagged by the widely leaked 'Kill It In The Morning' and forthcoming first single proper, 'Sick', 'No One Can Ever Know' marked a sonic shift for The Twilight Sad. Freshly inspired by a listening diet of Caberet Voltaire, Liars, Magazine, Autechre, Banshees, Fad Gadget, PiL and Can, a synth-heavy sound characterizes 'No One Can Ever Know', a record thematically akin to 'Holy Bible' era Manics, 'Violator'-era Depeche Mode and 'The Downward Spiral' -era Nine Inch Nails.

"We wanted to be a lot more spontaneous, get outside our comfort zone - not to fall back into repeating what we've done previously", explains guitarist Andy MacFarlane. "So we moved to London for a month to record at The Pool and got Andrew Weatherall involved to bounce ideas off and to generally reassure us of the direction we were already progressing in - toward a sparser sound, with a colder, slightly militant feel."

Under the guidance of Weatherall the band experimented with vintage analogue synths - borrowed from Ben Hillier - to work on the core sounds they wanted, finding inspiration too in the distinctive production style of innovators like Martin Hannett and Conny Plank. For the first time the drums were also recorded separately utilising a lot of synthetic effects which allowed for the easy manipulation of the sounds and samples later in the process. Stylistically, the guitars tend to refract John McGeogh (Magazine/ Banshees) or Keith Levene (PiL) rather than the 'wall of sound' approach that defined The Twilight Sad's previous recordings.

Lyrically 'No One Can Ever Know' finds singer James Graham on typically ominous form, delivering lightning bolts of malevolent threat. "I'll find you - don't worry" he promises on forthcoming single, 'Another Bed' - The Twilight Sad's most radical and anthemic moment yet, it's driving disco motorik and glacial keys pushing a dizzy emotional uplift.

Compilation pressed onto a collector’s LP picture disc, featuring some of the finest artists from the earlier days of jazz.

The fifth album from Oklahoma-bred singer/songwriter Parker Millsap, Be Here Instead emerged from a wild alchemy of instinct, ingenuity, and joyfully determined rule-breaking. In a departure from the guitar-and-notebook-based approach to songwriting that shaped his earlier work, the Nashville-based artist followed his curiosity to countless other modes of expression, experimenting with everything from piano to effects pedals to old-school drum machines (a fascination partly inspired by the early-’70s innovations of Sly Stone and J.J. Cale). As those explorations deepened and broadened his musical vision, Millsap soon arrived at a body of work touched with both unbridled imagination and lucid insight into the search for presence in a chaotic world. Produced by John Agnello (Kurt Vile, Sonic Youth, Waxahatchee) and mainly recorded live with Millsap’s full band, Be Here Instead marks a stylistic shift from the gritty and high-energy folk of his previous output, including 2018’s acclaimed Other Arrangements and 2016’s The Very Last Day (an Americana Music Association Awards nominee for Album of the Year). With its adventurous yet immaculately detailed sonic palette, the album warps genres to glorious effect, at one point offering up what Millsap aptly refers to as a “disco-Americana showtune.” In another creative breakthrough, Be Here Instead forgoes the character-driven storytelling of his past in favor of a more introspective and endlessly revelatory form of lyricism, an element he traces back to the charmed nature of his songwriting process. “Because the lyrics were appearing seemingly out of nowhere and with no prior intent, some of them started to feel like transmissions from my subconscious, rather than the preconceived linear stories or waking thoughts of my earlier songs,” says Millsap. “They feel like words I needed to hear from myself, and not just things I wanted to say to someone else.”

L’ESSENTIEL FRENCH CONNECTION Edith Piaf / L’essentiel Edith Piaf 180-gram Virgin Vinyl - Gatefold Edition France’s national chanteuse, singer, songwriter and actress dith Piaf (1915-1963) also became one of the country’s greatest international stars.
Her music was often autobiographical with her songs reflecting her life. Piaf’s specialties were the chanson and torch ballads, particularly of love, loss and sorrow.
This 18-track selection spans her career from the years 1946 to 1961. It includes all of her big hits, such as “La Vie en rose”, “Non, je ne regrette rien”, “Hymne l’amour”, “Milord”, “La Foule”, “L’Accord oniste”, and “Padam Padam”, among many others.
Selection recorded in Paris & New York, between 1946 and 1961
“I want to make people cry even when they don’t understand my words. I’ve always wanted to sing, just as I’ve always known that one day I would have my own niche in the annals of song. It was a feeling I had. Singing is a way of escaping. It’s another world. When I sing I’m no longer on earth.” - Edith Piaf

Der nächste große Wurf. DRAMAS veröffentlichen im April ihr zweites, selbstbetiteltes Album, auf dem das Artpop-Duo einmal mehr seine musikalischen Grenzen auslotet. Die Singles "Undercover Dreamer" und Bloodbath" sorgten bereits im Vorfeld europaweit für Furore. Von Beginn an machten sich Viktoria Winter und Mario Wienerroither - der u.a. mit "Musicless Musicvideos“ auf YouTube Millionen Menschen weltweit begeistert und damit sogar BBC-Preisträger wurde - auch als Live-Band einen Namen.

With over 5,000 performances spanning four decades, 20 million records sold worldwide, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, CHEAP TRICK are undoubtedly one of the most influential classic rock groups of the past 50 years.

Produced by longtime associate Julian Raymond, IN ANOTHER WORLD sees Cheap Trick doing what they do better than anyone -- crafting indelible rock ‘n’ roll with oversized hooks, mischievous lyrics, and seemingly inexorable energy.

Trademark anthems like “Light Up The Fire” and “Boys & Girls & Rock N Roll” are countered by more introspective – but no less exuberant – considerations of times past, present, and unknowable future on such strikingly potent new tracks as “Another World” and “I’ll See You Again.” IN ANOTHER WORLD – which marks Cheap Trick’s first new LP since 2017’s double-header of WE’RE ALL ALRIGHT! and CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS – further showcases Cheap Trick at their most eclectic, touching on a myriad of distinct sounds and song approaches, from the swampy Chicago blues number, “Final Days” (featuring fiery harmonica from GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer and Wet Willie frontman Jimmy Hall) to a timely rendition of John Lennon’s still-relevant “Gimme Some Truth,” originally released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2019 and featuring the instantly recognizable guitar sound of erstwhile Sex Pistol Steve Jones.

As irresistible and immediate as anything in their already awesome catalog, IN ANOTHER WORLD is Cheap Trick at their irrepressible best, infinitely entertaining and utterly unstoppable

Hainbach erected three huge sculptures (or ‘totems’) from obsolete, once high-end research equipment, taken from nuclear research labs, particle accelerators and grandfather’s sheds. These forgotten relics of scientific progression and milestones of human evolution were repurposed by the artist and given a new lease of life in a completely unforeseen capacity; as musical instruments dubbed the ‘Landfill Totems’. The juxtaposition of religious, totemic imagery and electronic landfill is, in part, meant to act as a commentary on the environmental cost of progress; what was once the pinnacle of technology quickly becomes unviable and destined for the scrapheap except for the intervention of Hainbach, upcycling and redesigning them as pillars and shrines to the idea that progress doesn’t always have to cause destruction.

Death Waltz Recording Company & Mondo are proud to present the mind-melting score to Umberto Lenzi’s 1980 contaminated zombie(?) film, Incubo Sulla Citta Contaminata (a.k.a. Nightmare City)! Composed and conducted by Stelvio Cipriani, the record you are holding in your hands is another stellar work by the late Italian maestro.

Pursued by the most ambitious, well-armed, and over/radioactive mutant zombies on film, the film’s protagonist, American news reporter Dean Miller (portrayed by Mexploitation star Hugo Stiglitz), makes it his mission to alert the public about the impending doom, but the powers that be are preventing him from doing so. Utilizing driving baselines, drums, percussion, and topped with a layer of intense keys, Cipriani delivers the perfect score to complement the mayhem unfolding on screen. Will our hero save humanity? Well, with maestro Cipriani at the helm, it doesn’t matter — the soundtrack sounds quite radiating.

The Young Gods’s classic debut album to be reissued on vinyl including a previously unreleased John Peel Session.

On 9th April 2021, Two Gentlemen will release a first vinyl reissue of The Young Gods’s 1987 studio album ‘The Young Gods’. Released in April 1987 on Organik and Wax Trax! Records, this sample-based record produced by Roli Mosimann is much more than


an album, it is a phenomenon - a musical revolution which appears as a milestone in the alternative music scene. Hailed by international critics, The Young Gods received a unique attention from the British music press:

‘A firestorm, a total, catastrophic sweep across the scattered fragments of rock history and rock dilapidation, “The Young Gods” used sampling not out of some nostalgic sense of mischief but to whip up everything into a hurricane of charcoal. The ultimate in technology to release the most determindely savage sound of the year. We repeat this is the future.’ — Melody Maker, Best Album of 1987

The Young Gods 1987 reissue album was remastered from the original recordings and is being released on 140 gram heavyweight vinyl.

Australian award winning producer Plutonic Lab returns with a sophisticated, genre defying Double A Side Single ‘Blind Eyes’ and ‘Give It Up.’

Pluto brings together a strong list of talented artists: The soulful, smoky voice of Natalie Slade, New Zealand based Rwandan rapper Raiza Biza, and multi instrumentalist 8H.

The two tracks mark an intoxicating return for the producer, showcasing how he is able to bring together artists’ of diverse backgrounds and styles to display skills, restraint and synergy in a moment in time.

Plutonic Lab says, “I feel the sound of these two pieces have a great balance between electronic textures, acoustic instrumentation, jazz, tough beats and clout.”

The two songs are an example of Plutonic Lab’s collaborative, versatile nature and his ability to cross genres without limitations.



Plutonic Lab
Plutonic Lab has provided the backdrop for countless artists over a mammoth career spanning over two decades, collaborating with artists locally and internationally including Black Milk, Drapht, Hilltop Hoods, G-Love (US), Lanks, Guilty Simpson (US) and Wiley (UK).

Plutonic Lab’s 2016 LP “Deep Above The Noise” attained feature album status on Double J and Won “Best Hip-Hop Album’ at the AGE Music Victoria Awards 2016. Notably he produced Dialectrix’s 2013 album, “The Cold Light of Day” which was shortlisted for the Australian Music Prize, won the 2009 UK Mercury Prize for his work with Speech Debelle, and was nominated for ‘Best Urban Release’ at the 2008 ARIA Awards as half of the hip-hop duo Muph & Plutonic, who also placed 2 songs in the Triple J’s “Hottest 100.”

Pluto has toured across extensively across Australia, internationally and as tour drummer for Hilltop Hoods in the U.S, Canada, UK & Europe.

“A good piece of rocking jazz, miles away from an academic approach but with a good shot of euphoric guitar and down-to-earth energy instead.
Here the band “”Tini Thomsen MaxSax”” brings its own nuanced,
powerfully stylistic sophistication.
”Just moving up a gear,” says Tini Thomsen. One woman and one saxophone - a match made in heaven! In the hands of Katharina ”Tini” Thomsen, the baritone saxophone - a rather massive, heavy instrument, after all - attains a sonic beauty definitely worth listening to.
The spectrum ranges from robust, resounding rhythms to versatile melody parts and fast-paced, earthy solos and - occasionally! - on to excursions into the more tender and balladesque. Considering that the instrument is a rarity among male musicians, the combination, Thomsen & ”Bari” holds membership - both nationally and internationally - to a small and exclusive group of such ”duos”.
It is even more fortunate that, in Nigel Hitchcock on alto saxophone, she has found the perfect counterpart not only musically, but privately as well.”

‘Cuba: Music and Revolution’ is a new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that explores the many new styles that emerged in Cuba in the 1970s as Jazz, Funk, Brazilian Tropicalia and even Disco mixed together with Latin and Salsa on the island as Cuban artists experimented with new musical forms created in the unique socialist state of Cuba.
The album comes as a deluxe double CD and heavyweight triple vinyl, complete with extensive sleeve notes, jam-packed with heavy basslines, synth and WahWah guitar funk combined with the heavyweight percussion, powerful brass lines and the all-encompassing Latin rhythms of Cuban music known throughout the world.
The album is released to coincide with the massive new deluxe large format book ‘Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90’, which is also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) and which features the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution.
The music on this album features legendary Cuban groups such as Irakere, Los Van Van and Pablo Milanés, as well as a host of lesser known artists such as the radical Grupo De Experimentación, Juan Pablo Torres and Algo Nuevo, Grupo Monumental and Orquesta Ritmo Oriental, groups whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba owing to the now 60-year old US trade embargo which remains in place today and which prevents trade with Cuba - and thus most Cuban records were only ever available in Cuba or in ex-Soviet Union states.
The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s - who were all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms that reflected both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music - and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album has never been heard outside of Cuba.
Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades - Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records.
Press - Reviews & features in Mojo, The Wire, The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, Pitchfork, Irish Times, The Observer, Clash, Vice, Metro, Record Collector, Uncut, Independent, Q.

For our first release of the year we present to you our fourteenth 7”, a new collaboration between Ojah and Don Fe.

The A side contains the track “Lockdown Hope”, which was written and recorded during the first lockdown of 2020. It’s an uplifting track that invites the listener to dance and dream, bringing optimism with a mix of tough yet alluring militant drums that contrast with the ethereal and inspiring melodies of Don Fe’s flute.

On the B side we find “Lockdown Dub” a stripped down dub version mixed by Ojah that we hope will give you that Sound System dance vibe that we’re all missing (we can’t wait until those days are back!)

Hand-stamped and served in a thick custom reversed kraftliner sleeve.
Produced by Ojah, recorded at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London.
Flute by Don Fe, recorded at Don Fe Studio, Murcia, Spain
Mixed & mastered by Oscar Pablos “Ojah" at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, 2020.
Graphic design by Victor Castro.

SWINGROWERS are an Italian quartet from Sicily. They have been at the forefront of the electro swing scene for many years but have evolved beyond it more recently. Their constant touring and festival appearances from Boomtown to Glastonbury's Avalon stage, from Tokyo's Blue Note club to tours in India and more have secured them a large international following while their YouTube videos regularly reach multi-million views. Starting as a DJ/Vocal duo with the debut album in 2012, via the 5 piece band on Remote (2014) to the current line-up on Outsidein (2018) they are now poised to release their best album yet and take things up another level.

HYBRID is a lyrically ambitious project held together by ecological themes but what really sets this apart is the brilliant melodic work of a tightly-knit group working perfectly together, plus exemplary musicianship in the gypsy guitar work and alto sax department, coupled with a gorgeous voice and brilliant, original production work. This album is their masterpiece. Usual support expected from previous supporters like Craig Charles and BBC 6 Music, but this album is also likely to reach out to a much wider audience than before. SWINGROWERS have also been lucky to have many significant syncs and this album is expected to generate many more. In particular future single and video WANNABE has the standout qualities of an anthem, concerning itself with female empowerment and individuality that will have wide appeal.

12" Vinyl with Download Code. Expanding their rich sound palette Forbidden Dance moves on to the next plateau with their third release. After releasing two legends Alton Miller and Vick Lavender, new EP is signed by a young and sound broad producer from Naples - The Mechanical Man. Drawing influences from the sound of Chicago, Philadelphia and Motor City he achieved to catch the multi essence of the house sound into a four-track journey marked with slow and fast-paced soulful corners dominated by toned vocals and stripped-down beats all the way to the underexposed lounge sections and playful intermissions.
Drum programming is a strong point for The Mechanical Man and it can be clearly heard in "A1 - The Streets Of Revelation". Infused with most probably vintage Linn Drum hits, the track intertwines numerous elements in a hoppy and gentle swirl riding on double vocals. Everything takes a full sonic conclusion in the third quarter when the main synth starts to breathe fully.
Residing on almost the same rhythm hits, "A2 - I Keep Thinking" is more of a deep dive into love dreams. Emotional and subtle pads and chords progression are really felt here as the track rubs under soft vocals in need of a response.
The light essence is captured on "B1 - What Your Eyes Don't See". While the delayed vocals are cutting the motion and the rhythm is rougher, it still manages to keep the terrace vibe movement. Rhode-like section carries the track all the way with occasionally reduced percussion hits spicing up the background.
On the other note, "B2 - Take Her In Your Arms" is a gentle dance of maracas and rhodes. The acoustic bass is quite seductive and inviting whilst flutes and other elements riddle the track with a toned-down lounge feel and sway into hypnotic slow-motion.
Diverse, rich and enchanting tunes by The Mechanical Man!

The Copenhagen-based, Scottish-born composer Clarissa Connelly’s music is evocative of the whimsical and almost child-like, tainted by an undercurrent of dark sensuality, disquietude and existential dread. Characterized by complex arrangements, big compounded chords, as well as a broad array of instruments, effects and sounds, her songs orient the listener towards utopian beauty that lie somewhere between the baroque and the primordial. With an experimental approach to vocal techniques, her voice can manifest benevolent fay-like creatures as easily as banshees and maleficent spirits singing melodies that retain the accessibility typically associated with pop-music. The compositions are lyrically and aesthetically grounded in Celtic folklore and Scandinavian vitalism. The threshold between the mundane and the fantastical are accentuated in her work, in such a way that the pursuit for – and the ability to recognize – real beauty in the world become anchored in the realm of work, everyday anxiety, motivation, human brilliance and failure.

With forthcoming album The Voyager, Connelly sets out to not only to study the relationship between nature and music, but also its relationship with time. She says: “I’ve always been especially excited about times in the north before Christianity came, and how the Pagan culture and Christianity became intertwined in people through rituals and formations in the landscape - burial mounds, passage graves, dolmens, etc.” She continues: “In some way, it’s very difficult to translate nature into an understandable movement of change. Looking at a mountain I often view a still picture of time – a moment right now – but sometimes, I can look at the mountain and see millions of years of change and movement. I believe that this point of view can be assisted by art and music. In a landscape ornamented with ruined Viking fortresses or ancient burial mounds, I find that I, for whatever reason, seem to be able to perceive time and comprehend history (the history of nature and culture) as a series of changes in a more salient way.”It is here that The Voyager derives so much of its power. It roots itself in history, mythology, capable of intertwining and unravelling both past and present. Songs such as Holler and The Hills Are Crying – opening and closing tracks on the album, respectively – conjure images of these ancient Danish sites, offering something more than just a fluid, long-forgotten way, and instead a tangible reverie that can educate, engage and thrill in equal measure. Connelly explains: “I have the idea, that the mystical and fantastical nature of these olden barrows and ruins can kindle a more dynamic and historically informed perspective. I think that an understanding of time as a movement is articulated when looking at the landscape in this way and can maybe bring us out of our little bell jar, and into a greater experience of life as a whole.”

The Voyager is released in conjunction with an app Vandringen (released 27 september 2020), conceived and created by Clarissa Connelly - along with the contributions of 21 other Danish musicians, painters, sculptures, performers - which highlights special ancient Danish locations, not viewable on Google Maps. These locations are presented with local knowledge and a number of them are interpreted for the modern day by the creatives involved. Connelly concludes: “I am very eager to write music that sounds like something that is happening now but has also happened a very long time ago. I have always found it fascinating to view history through changes in the landscapes around us, and therefore I started created this app and wrote this album.”

The sensation was perfect – Helloween, who have sold more than 10 million records worldwide, being one of the most respected German metal bands since 1984, announced their PUMPKINS UNITED WORLD TOUR in 2016. The media was raving about the TOUR OF THE YEAR, playing 69 shows in 32 countries all over the world. More than one million fans on three continents were ecstatic because it was not only a reunion of the original band, it was the summit of seven ultimate HELLOWEEN heroes: Andi Deris, Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, Markus Grosskopf, Sascha Gerstner & Dani Löble. Or to put it simple: it was a dream come true for fans around the world, the band received five times more spectators and all of them had only one wish: »Please stay together!«

Following the excitement, one of the biggest magazines in this genre ‘BURRN!’ (Japan) honored the band with four unbelievable cover stories, this was followed by the thunderstorm of the century within the social media universe, a celebrated PUMPKINS UNITED single and the quenchless hunger for more – much more! And yes, the musicians tasted blood and it was clear: there is no way back – the future of HELLOWEEN will be written in unity. It marked the beginning of a new era and the re-birth of a metal legend with exceptional artists.
Their first new album will be released in summer 2021. Flatten the runway with a loud drumbeat: in April 2021 the spectacular single SKYFALL will be released. The 12 minute epic, written by Kai Hansen has the long yearned ‘Keeper-Vibe’ but it isn’t telling the story of the whole album. SKYFALL has a musical arch which will be loved by fans of every era: from unforgettable times to glorious adventures all the way to the upcoming first album of the HELLOWEEN new age. The epic track tells about an alien landing on earth and a dramatic chase while Hansen, Kiske and Deris duel with each other in a breathtaking manner and create a broadband adventure - with a lyric sheet with colored blocks identifying the singers as well as a video that is formidable. Produced by Martin Häusler, it will be the most elaborate clip in the history of the band, the story to be shown with 3-D animation and looking cinematic – in these times almost a dinosaur in implementation.
The base of the upcoming milestone album was already erected in the studio: using the original Ingo Schwichtenberg drum kit, the recording was done with the same modulators at the Hamburg HOME studios where back then ‘Master of The Rings’, ‘Time of the Oath’ and ‘Better than Raw’ was recorded. Back to the roots and completely analog is the UNITED impact - another great work by well-known producer Charlie Bauerfeind and Co-producer Dennis Ward before the album traveled to New York and got the final mastering polish in the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (Iron Maiden, Depeche Mode, Rammstein).
With all this brand new material an album has been created, an album that is set apart from the digital mainstream and showing that the essence of the band was never more solid.

The artwork of Eliran Kantor (Berlin) is clear: SKYFALL is the beginning of something big – here comes HELLOWEEN.

What Did You Expect from The Vaccines? is the debut studio album by English indie rock band The Vaccines. It was released on 11 March

2011, entering the UK Albums Chart at #4 and going on to become the biggest-selling debut by a band in 2011.

The Vaccines were formed in West London in 2010 by Justin Hayward- Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals) and Pete Robertson (drums, vocals). The band have released four studio albums and have sold more than two million records worldwide. They have performed at the world’s biggest festivals and toured with acts such as The Rolling Stones, Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, The Stone Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Imagine Dragons and Muse.

This limited 10th anniversary edition is pressed on solid pink vinyl. The LP package contains an exclusive, brand new insert + a free download coupon for the original album + unreleased What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? Demos album. Only 2500 copies are available.

Live is a double live album released by Dutch rock band Golden Earring in 1977. With its long, spun out versions of classic Golden Earring songs (lasting between 5 and 12 minutes each), this record is vastly different than other live registrations by the band. It’s also one of only three albums where guitarist Eelco Gelling was a band member, adding a new dimension to the band’s sound with his incredible solos. Furthermore, this album emphasises Golden Earring’s strong rhythm section on swinging songs like “Mad Love’s Comin’” and “Radar Love”.

The album is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on white vinyl.

Songs of Comfort & Hope is inspired by the series of recorded-at-home musical offerings that Yo-Yo Ma began sharing in the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. Throughout the spring and summer, Ma’s #SongsofComfort grew from a self-shot video of Antonín Dvořák’s “Goin’ Home” into a worldwide effort that has reached more than 20 million people.

Ma and longtime collaborator Kathryn Stott mark the next chapter in the project with this brand new album, offering consolation and connection in the face of fear and isolation. The album includes 21 new recordings, which span modern arrangements of traditional folk tunes, canonical pop songs, jazz standards, and mainstays from the western classical repertoire. Among the new takes on old favorites are Pulitzer Prize® winner Caroline Shaw’s artful and eloquently arranged “Shenandoah”; Australian composer Harry Sdraulig’s “Fantasia on Waltzing Matilda”; pianist Stephen Hough’s lush arrangement of “Scarborough Fair”, and two-time Academy® Award-nominated icon Jorge Calandrelli’s re-imagining of a pair of songbook treasures: “We’ll Meet Again” by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles, and Violeta Parra’s “Gracias a la Vida.”

Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott share the warmth of decades of music making again with Songs of Comfort & Hope, offering audiences new paths into treasured musical memories and a few notes of hope for a better future.

Recorded at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, CA, this release marks a first time on standalone vinyl. Originally included in the Selected Works 1972-1999 CD boxed set, the live show includes some of Eagles’ biggest hits featuring “Hotel California”, “Please Come Home for Christmas”, and “Take It to the Limit”.

[a] A1. HOTEL CALIFORNIA [6:57]
[b] A2. VICTIM OF LOVE [5:01]
[c] A3. PEACEFUL EASY FEELING [5:23]
[d] B1. PLEASE COME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS [3:52]
[e] B2. OL’ 55 [5:20]
[f] B3. TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT [4:02]
[g] C1. THOSE SHOES [3:28]
[h] C2. FUNKY NEW YEAR [3:45]
[i] C3. DIRTY LAUNDRY [5:54]
[j] D1. FUNK 49 [3:47]
[k] D2. ALL SHE WANTS TO DO IS DANCE [5:20]
[l] D3. THE BEST OF MY LOVE [5:06]

The shadow that Gary Bartz casts over the last six decades of progressive Black music, and his continued dedication to same, makes him a logical and very welcome contributor to the Jazz Is Dead label. An alto saxophonist steeped in the history and tradition of his instrument who is also restlessly experimental and not prone to purism of any kind, he enjoys both the respect and admiration of his peers and the hero worship of several generations after him - including Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, which inevitably led to Gary Bartz JID 006. A look at his body of work reveals dalliances with bebop, hard bop, free jazz, spiritual jazz, soul jazz, jazz-funk, fusion and acid jazz, all while resolutely remaining unmistakably Gary Bartz. There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early '70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. And while on the subject of samples, the Bartz catalog has provided hip-hop and other genres with a rich source of them, and artists who have gone to his well when producing beats also include Black Sheep, Jurassic 5, Casual, RPM, Warren G, Photek, Statik Selektah, Chi-Ali, 3rd Bass, Showbiz, ZTrip, Young Disciples, and many others.

John William Coltrane belongs to those rare musicians who transform the stylistic universe of their generation. Coltrane was a genius, and without his contribution, jazz in the Sixties wouldn’t have enjoyed its freedom. He transfigured not only melody, and harmony, but revolutionised the entire spirit of jazz. Like a painter seeking to reproduce the richness of his mind on a canvas of only two dimensions, Coltrane restituted a personal mental universe in his music and never duplicated forms and patterns already used. The microcosm of jazz in the Fifties didn’t find Coltrane convincing at first, but his relentless effort and visceral desire to convey his own truth catapulted him to the summits and made him the undisputed leader of modern jazz. Coltrane’s music is a personal message, so I sit down and listen.

10 track compilation of obscure, quirky and irreverent 90s Europop/dance music from the ever-reliable Born Bad Records crew.
”Real” house music emerges in early 80’s Chicago (where the Warehouse club, which allegedly gave its name to the genre, closes down in 1983). England’s acid house and Belgium’s new beat, its European offshoots, fed the cravings of tabloids in 1988 and 1989. The house music we’re interested in though, the type bound to soon overwhelm European charts, is already pretty far away from the Afro-American music born in Chicago. So far away it inherited a new name: dance music.
Just like it had been the case with disco a few years back, house and techno aren’t exactly in the good books - acid house and new beat even less so. And it’s precisely the genre’s mainstream iteration this compilation focuses on; the house en Fran ais, which strives to get on board the running train in 1990.
The house which sports the all-over jean look, bandana, cap, chewing gum, Peugeot 205 complete with snazzy beats on the radio. The big deal big fuss type, miles away from the original, underground house. It might not have been born in the nineties, but that’s clearly when house music became mainstream.

Sam Gendel’s new album, DRM, is the follow-up to his Nonesuch debut, Satin Doll, released earlier this year. DRM features Gendel’s solo musical experiments with vintage instruments such as a forty-year-old Electro Harmonix DRM32 drum machine, antique synthesizers, and a sixty-year-old nylon-string guitar — accompanied by his voice. While Satin Doll was a futuristic homage to classic jazz, DRM includes just one cover song: Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’, which Gendel interprets as an instrumental, playing the melody on an old German analogue synthesizer. The album’s accompanying short films were directed by Marcella Cytrynowicz and filmed at various locations around Gendel’s home state of California during COVID lockdown.



“I’m imagining people listening to DRM and thinking, ‘What the hell is this?’, like they’d just encountered some sailing ship in the sky,” Gendel says of the new work. “I imagine it as if someone many years into the future listened to the popular music of today and then tried to recreate it, without any of the tools or the understanding. Stylistically, it’s not too far from so much contemporary pop-rap music that you hear on the radio. A lot of those electronic backgrounds and instrumentals you hear today are tending towards something really out-there and experimental. It’s rhythmic and pointillistic, collaging different, seemingly unfitting elements together in cool ways. The visuals aren’t necessarily dictated by the music, but they both share the same slightly surreal feel, like I’m a video game character, inhabiting all these different backgrounds,” says Gendel.



Gendel is best known as a world-class saxophonist — it’s the instrument with which he’s led most of his bands, as well as the instrument on which he’s guested with the likes of Vampire Weekend, Ry Cooder, Moses Sumney, Sam Amidon, and Louis Cole’s Knower — but DRM is saxophone-free. “There was no active effort on my part not to include it; it just wasn’t part of the equation when I started recording it,” he says. “I just found a formula, working around this DRM32 drum machine, and rolled with it. I don’t consider myself just a saxophonist, I’m just someone who works in music.”



DRM was recorded in one sixteen-hour session, and then manipulated by Gendel with electronic percussionist Philippe Melanson. It was mixed by Blake Mills, and mastered by Grammy-nominated engineer Mike Bozzi. Gendel’s previous discography includes 2018’s Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar with bassist Sam Wilkes, 4444, and Satin Doll, which the Los Angeles Times called “a woozy, blissfully twisted album.” He also performs on two other Nonesuch releases this month: Joachim Cooder’s Over That Road I’m Bound and Sam Amidon’s new self-titled album.

• In 1970 Miles Davis released “Bitches Brew”, which crystalised the trumpeter and bandleader’s experiments in rhythm, electronics and musical structure which he had been building on over the previous three years. The album has since become one of the most influential in musical history and was joined over the next couple of years by “Jack Johnson” and “On The Corner” in defining the future of music.

• Miles was the master bandleader and his LPs at the time declared that these were his ‘Directions In Music’, but he forged them with the help of a hand-picked group of musicians who proved themselves good enough to share his space on stage and in the studio. These players would all become central to jazz’s continued relevance and many would go on the record best-selling jazz records of their own. This compilation looks at the records that they made around the time they played with Miles and how they fed into or were fed by their time in his group.

• So we have Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul with versions of tracks they cut with Miles. Herbie Hancock’s journey into the electronic instruments that Miles convinced him to play, and Keith Jarrett’s firm rejection of them. Lonnie Liston Smith borrows the Indian percussion from “On The Corner” for his take on electronic funk. Chick Corea, John McLaughlin and Gary Bartz all show their distinctive talents that were allowed to shine in Miles’ band. As a bonus, we have Miles’ musicians alongside Betty Davis (his wife at the time) on a take of Cream’s ‘Politician Man’ and Miles’ 1970 group live at The Cellar Door on Joe Zawinul’s ‘Directions’.

• Available on CD and double vinyl with in-depth sleeve notes. The Miles Davis track is available on vinyl for the first time.

Tasavallan Presidentti, along with Wigwam, were Finland’s top export act in the days of the first wave of progressive rock in the early seventies. Svart Recordshave, in co-operation with the band members, prepared new editions of theseclassic records on vinyl for the ages. Originally released on Love Records in 1974 and subsequently licensed to many foreign labels, Milky Way Moses was Tasavallan Presidentti’s last album of the classic seventies era, theband ending their career for the time being not long after. The Svart reissue expands the original jacket to gatefold, with full lyrics printed inside, and also adds a 12 page booklet with new interviews with the band plus rare photographs.

Sun Milk was recorded in two months, a much quicker process than the three years spent on their previous release, Flowers. The band recorded the album at the Pharmacy, Vroom’s home studio in Toronto, located above an actual pharmacy. It was the first album to be recorded after Little Kid solidified their live lineup, with Boothby, Vroom, and Germain having played together for over two years. Every song except “Like a Movie” began as a full-band live take, with overdubs performed democratically, with both Boothby and Germain layering guitars. It was also the first record to feature Lunn’s vocals, who joined the band shortly after the album’s release.

The result is a deeply affecting document of personal crisis, mirroring the dramatic changes in Boothby’s life—a breakup, living alone for the first time, beginning a new career. The lyrics have less Christian content and more personal overtones than other Little Kid records. “It was a relief when these songs came out,” says Boothby, “processing recent changes in my life, trying to take ownership of my identity and choices.” This lends a confessional warmth to the songs, a feeling of reconnecting with an old friend, sharing stories. Highlights include the off-kilter opening track “The Fourth” and the lovely, meandering “Ugly Moon.” The centerpiece of the album is “Slow Death in a Warm Bed.” A meditation on why people stay in flawed relationships, the song builds in calming repetitions until the guitars explode in the last minute, climaxing in a full-fledged distorted freakout. It’s one of the most beautiful and harrowing songs in Little Kid’s catalog.

The drifting, gentle “Dim Light Coming Down” features some of Boothby’s best lyrics. The narrator describes a person seeing “the likeness” of their own dead father “floating high above the road,” a mystical encounter rendered in the most plainspoken of terms. But Boothby quickly undercuts the moment: “But you'd been drinking when you saw him/And your mind was moving slow/Like your ears were full of cotton/So what he said you'll never know.” It’s a thwarted encounter that becomes more powerful for that very fact. Just before the song reaches its slow-building climax, Boothby sings, “Coming down/There’s a bright light/A gentle sound/Opening wide.” The transcendence does finally arrive, but it’s in the coming down, the hangover, the regular life that comes after the big moment. There's little wonder why it's become a live staple for the band.

The record is a high point in a remarkably consistent career. Looking back at Sun Milk, Boothby believes it’s one of the strongest in Little Kid’s oeuvre. “It’s probably my favorite,” says Boothby. “In general, I love slow songs, and this album is full of them. I like the structure of seven long songs—can’t think of too many albums with only seven songs. It gives the album an interesting flow.”

Before there was War there was Señor Soul, which saxophonist/flutist Charles Miller formed
in Long Beach, California; he played on Brenton Wood sessions for Double Shot, who
released their loose interpretation of Miriam Makeba’s ‘Pata Pata,’ the hit that led to this
blinding debut LP. Blending funk, Latin jazz and psychedelic soul, the group makes a range
of material their own, led by Miller and vibraphonist Edwin Stevenson; everything from
Heard It Through The Grapevine to Psychotic Reaction gets the Señor Soul treatment,
rendered with equal doses of sensitivity, humour and funky flavour. Long before Miller
recruited members of Nightshift to morph Señor Soul into War, this top-notch debut is a
stone-cold winner from first note to last, a must-have for all funk and Latin jazz afficionados.