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New Don McLean album! With a hommage to George Floyd.

Im Laufe der letzten zwei Jahrzehnte hat Kevin Barnes, kreative Kraft hinter Of Montreal, seine Fans mit faszinierendem Pop und hypnotisierenden Liveshows begeistert. Seine in der Szene zur Ikone gewordene Songwriting- und Produktionsästhetik mündete in Kollaborationen mit Solange, Janelle Monáe und Jon Brion. Auf dem neuen Album wechselt Barnes mit jedem Song zwischen den Genres, die von Gitarren-Psychedelia-Pop der späten 60er bis zu experimentellem Funk-Pop reichen. "Lady On The Cusp" ist ein weiterer spannender Hörgenuss von einem der produktivsten und einflussreichsten Künstler unserer Zeit.

December 2012 I showed up totally exhausted in Vancouver BC after touring stupidly and relentlessly for however many straight months and got a job at a call centre raising money for the Red Cross. It was a scent free office but one time this woman cooked a piece of fish in the microwave for 10 minutes on low and hot boxed the whole office - we got sent home early no pay. There was the other woman I named the Call Centre Coltrane because her pitch and routine usually involved improvised flights of fancy that went off in both directions at once somehow landing back down with a credit card number and a donation. I used to sleep under the desk. I was there a few months and at the time I reconnected with John Brennan who I had played with briefly in Montreal at the Mutek Festival. In Montreal John was running an experimental music night at a burrito shop downtown called Garbage Night. While in Vancouver I began connecting with the music scene there and would go hang out with the Shearing Pinx lads who I think lived with Sydney the bass player at the time. I knew Nic and Jer from an AIDS Wolf Tour and was so stoked to get to know them both better. I really fell in love with that era of Vancouver's music scene.
Fast Forward to today. 2024
Actually it was the dying days of 2023 but you get it and John asks if I'll sit in with Earth Ball and I keep thinking about Earth Balance, the vegan butter everyone eats here. I brought my aching bones and my ipads on the beautiful ferry named the Queen of Oak Bay and out to Nanaimo BC, home of the nanaimo bar (a dessert treat - special to this region - that seems to be more popularly found under the weird glass sneeze guards in office building deli's out east in Ontario.... anyhoops ). No one in Nanaimo wants to talk to me about the famous treat. I asked a couple of people. Silence. Nanaimo is like London, Ontario but more fried and by the sea. The town is filled with blown out old sea dawgs with tin coffee pots and loose leaf tobacco, then there's the usual streetfolk you find in this part of the Canadian Pacific Northwest and a bunch of bohemians who I guess have left Vancouver behind - that fine city having become uninhabitable for those not making over 100k a year. And then up the way are all the retirees.
Yup Nanaimo is a strange one. They mined the shit out of this region and Nanaimo is surely haunted by those buried in mining shafts or maimed by the heavy machinery or blown up by accident in the explosives store house. And when Earth Ball fire up the amps in Izzy and Jer's basement you can hear the voices of the ghosts hum through electrical lines and out the speakers, Kellen's hued feedback, Izy's sturdy basslines, Jer's paperbag guitar tone and rumble pack zaps, Liam's (aka the Kid) sheets of sound and Brennen's multidirectional drums.
You wouldn't guess Earth Ball was auto-composing and from what my rat brain can tell - the lyrics are improvised too...Improvising lyrics and singing them is the hardest thing to do in all of music.. Izzy and Jer are pros. And their attitudes are pro too.
The live show is scorched and without naming names they've been known to make headliners nervous. Lucky ones will get to see them live as they tour this beast of a record entitled ‘It’s Yours’ (out May 17th on Upset The Rhythm) and I hope I'm one of them.
But now you, fan of fun but totally fucked up music, have the opportunity to Ball with them thanks to Upset The Rhythm. Enjoy
-Alex Moskos, Montreal QC, Feb 2024

Rund sechs Jahre nach ihrem Debütalbum kehrt die aufstrebende Symphonic Metal-Band ELVELLON mit ihrem zweiten Werk und Napalm Records-Debüt zurück: Ascending in Synergy enthält zehn brandneue Tracks der deutschen Symphonic Metal-Hoffnung.
Ascending in Synergy ist der Nachfolger des hochgelobten Erstwerks Until Dawn (2018), das auf die 2015 erschienene EP Spellbound folgte. Das offizielle Musikvideo zum Track „Born From Hope" zählt bis dato über 1,3 Millionen Aufrufe, die EP-Version des Songs wurde weit über 2,5 Millionen Mal auf Spotify gestreamt und im Metal Hammer wurden ELVELLON bereits als „Helden von morgen“ gefeiert. ELVELLON teilten die Bühne bereits mit bedeutenden Szene-Bands wie Visions of Atlantis, außerdem konnten sie ihre einnehmende Live-Präsenz auf zahlreichen Festivalbühnen im Inund Ausland unter Beweis stellen, wie etwa dem RockHarz, M'era Luna oder dem Rock Fest Barcelona.
Das neue Album Ascending in Synergy beweist das herausragende Feingefühl der Formation um Sängerin Nele Messerschmidt, stilistisch gekonnt zwischen den frühen Anfängen des Symphonic Metal auf der einen, und einem modernen, zeitgemäßen Ansatz auf der anderen Seite zu balancieren. Dabei vereinen sie beide Welten zu ihrem ganz eigenen, Sound, der sowohl Genre-Liebhaber als auch neue Fans in den Bann ziehen wird.

Bruno Berle, the young songwriter and poet originally hailing from Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state, crafts songs that are simple, direct, and full of tender nuance. With his first album No Reino Dos Afetos (which translates to "In the Realm of Affections” and was released in 2022), Berle firmly established himself as a unique and important voice in the burgeoning scene of new Brazilian artists making a global impact, including peers like Ana Frango Elétrico, Tim Bernardes, Bala Desejo, Sessa and more. Now back with his second album, No Reino Dos Afetos 2, he stretches that further.

Bruno Berle’s music lives between two worlds – a traditional Brazilian folk talent steeped in history, and a contemporary, dreamy electronic pop; the result is songwriting that’s genre-bending, intentional, iconoclastic and consuming, spacious and sinewy and singular, a striking reflection of its composer while leaving space for the listener to settle in. The album follows Bruno’s relocation to São Paulo, and the songs are a reflection of his past and present. A rebuke of former categorizations of his work in Brazilian music scenes, and an idea of where his music can move, unfettered.

Berle’s music is purposeful in being a true portrait of himself, and a reflection of the music, art, and fashion scenes he personally moves through. Berle aims to provide an entrypoint for Black queer joy in his music, in his storytelling, in his presence and vision as a creative. For him, it feels subversive to be playing MPB laced with dubstep and lo-fi, a sort of intentional sacrilege, capturing a dialogue of modernity in traditional music.

Berle wrote most of the arrangements and co-produced his new album, Reino Dos Afetos 2 with longtime friend and musical partner Batata Boy, who is also from Maceió; the album was recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Maceió, and São Paulo, his new home, and picks up the conversation begun in 2022 on Berle’s debut album No Reino dos Afetos. Both records are the result of a nonlinear but coherent seven-year music creation process culminating in these albums, holding hands across space and time.

“Tirolirole,” the first single from the record, was released at the end of 2023; sun-soaked rhythms and soft voice coat the song, the lilting refrain of “Tirolirole” throughout – hushed, gentle, but somehow almost tactile, a golden-hour moment unlocked in the mind. “Tirolirole” is a triumphant future classic about the temporality of a blossoming love, with Bruno’s stunning vocal soaring over melodies which ebb and flow like the waters on the Atlantic shore. Of the track, Berle explains: “Despite ‘Tirolirole’ being an expression that evokes my childhood, just like the light words about nature, the harmony, and the poetry are epic, carrying a great hope for love.”

In fact, the guiding theme of No Reino dos Afetos 2 is a relationship, unfolding in the arc of a weekend. It traverses the innocence of an early young love, how that can be formative, can stretch on to take new shapes, or shape you. The album happens at the genesis of meeting someone and falling for them, before the relationship is thrown into overdrive – set in a big city, against a backdrop of major life changes, rising energy, the sound of São Paulo.

Something transcendental emerges in “Dizer Adeus,” with an arrangement that echoes a gospel atmosphere (evangelical and Catholic environments were pivotal to Berle’s upbringing). On “É Só Você Chegar,” piano and flute gracefully intertwine, a dance, while “Quando Penso” skews sparser, the voice-and-guitar minimalism somehow cultivating an entirely different shape – somehow both cozy and melancholy, with the background sound of a rainy day. Coupled with the lo-fi aspects that shape much of the album’s personality in the vocals and the production, No Reino Dos Afetos 2 is meticulously elaborated by Berle’s sonic alchemy, like on the mid-album instrumental “Sonho,” which feels like floating. “It’s the apex. It’s when lovers are sleeping together,” Berle explains of the feeling he wanted to encapsulate in the song.

On “Love Comes Back” Berle interprets Arthur Russell, the late Iowa musician who only reached greater visibility after he died in 1992. “His way of making music is similar to mine,” Berle explains. “He sings in a more fragile way, has more of an experimental way of recording, letting ‘chance’ appear in the final work.”

Even so, Berle doesn’t want his music to be buried in sentimentality – and the purposefulness of his craft serves as a sort of north star. The production, the arrangements, his restraint and intentionality in crafting his songs feel just as vital as their emotional cores. His songwriting is amorphous, fluid, an encompassing genre-bending movement in-and-of-itself, quietly daring. The songs are often in conversation with other works – drinking in fountains as diverse as the filmmaking of Ingmar Bergman, the poetry of Walt Whitman, the rhythm of Djavan, and the painting of Maxwell Alexandre. Musically he weaves together a rich tapestry of Brazilian folk, UK 2-step garage/dub, trip hop and sun soaked west coast songwriters; something akin to the worlds of Milton Nascimento, Arthur Russell, James Blake, Feist, and Sade colliding into one. But even then No Reino Dos Afetos 2 floats separately, a romanticism driven by a simplicity and intimacy, an open-ended possibility, Berle’s singularity as an artist at the helm of the ship.

6th (2005) studio album from Swedish Melo-death Kings and the first to feature drummer Dirk Verbeuren (now Megadeth).

Fire-splattered vinyl is opaque red vinyl with yellow & orange starburst. As C418, composer and producer Daniel Rosenfeld designs sounds to resonate in both physical and pixelated realms. Best known for his original soundtracks to Minecraft, the single best-selling video game of all time, he's developed a discography of instrumental music over the last decade that traverses electronic pop patterns, neo-classical dreamscapes, and sparse ambient motifs. The latter element has broken from the "8-bit" pigeonholing of game music and earned him accolades that reference artists like Erik Satie (The Guardian) and Brian Eno (VICE). In 2015, after quietly self-releasing Minecraft Volume Alpha and Minecraft Volume Beta, Rosenfeld partnered with Ghostly International to reissue Minecraft Volume Alpha on vinyl and CD. The release garnered attention from proper music critics and the gaming community alike, becoming one of the most sought after records in the Ghostly catalog. Now, following several restocks of Alpha to fervent fan response, it is time for the soundtrack's second installment to shine. For the legion of listeners and players to, at long last, have Minecraft Volume Beta in tangible formats. Originally self-released in 2013, Minecraft Volume Beta was C418's longest batch of music to date at nearly 140 minutes. The collection features tracks that were "silently" added to Minecraft during its music updates and a few that never officially entered the game. The run time is now adapted to fit the double LP format, while digital downloads include the full set Rosenfeld's unmistakable abilities are on display; he creates a sweeping variety of musical ideas that mirror the limitless universe of Minecraft. Ghostly International is thrilled to give this unique collaboration its due treatment and hopes to see the creative inspiration which drives Minecraft and Rosenfeld continue to disperse by virtue of this unexpectedly universal music.

2024 Reissue

Transparent grünes Vinyl! Wieder lieferbar! Zum ersten Mal überhaupt seit der digital-only Veröffentlichung 2011 erscheint nun der erste "Minecraft"-Soundtrack in physischer Form. Die Vinylversion enthält zwölf Tracks! "Minecraft - Volume Alpha" ist das Werk des deutschen Komponisten und Musikers Daniel Rosenfeld. Unter seinem Künstlernamen C418 erschuf Rosenfeld den weitreichenden Soundtrack und das lebendige Sounddesign, das das auf Voxel aufgebaute Universum von "Minecraft" zum Leben erweckte. Fans und Kritiker waren durch die Bank weg begeistert von seinen beatlosen, ausgewogenen Electro-Stücken. Die bekannte Gaming Seite "Kotaku" führte den Soundtrack unter der "Best Game Music" 2011 und nannte die Musik "beeindruckend beruhigend", während The Guardian die zerbrechlichen Stücke Rosenfelds aus Klavier und minimalistischem Ambient mit den legendären Künstlern ERIK SATIE und BRIAN ENO. In einem Interview destillierte Polygon "Volume Alpha" auf seine Essenz hinuntern: "Der Soundtrack ist nicht gebunden an die Retro-Ästhetik der Minecraft Graphik. Der Soundtrack setzt sich über sie hinweg. Das Album ist ein Versuch, die kombinierte Game/Music Erfahrung in etwas Himmlisches zu übersetzen."

Repress!

DJ Sneak started releasing music around 30 years ago, whilst Hard Times was also knocking out records at the same time from the likes of Masters At Work, Todd Terry and Roger Sanchez. Sneak has played for the legendary club night many times, but this is his first outing on the label. Sneak delivers 4 peak time classic cuts reminiscent of his early work, which fits in perfectly with the equally longstanding Hard Times label.

New Zealand's Marlon Williams has quite simply got one of the most extraordinary, effortlessly distinctive voices of his generation-a fact well known to fans of his first, self-titled solo album, and his captivating live shows. An otherworldly instrument with an affecting vibrato, it's a voice that's earned repeated comparisons to the great Roy Orbison, and even briefly had Williams, in his youth, consider a career in classical singing, before realizing his temperament was more Stratocaster than Stradivarius. But it's the art of songwriting that has bedeviled the artist, and into which he has grown exponentially on his second album, Make Way For Love, out in February of 2018. It's Marlon Williams like you've never heard him before-exploring new musical terrain and revealing himself in an unprecedented way, in the wake of a fractured relationship. In early December, Williams and his longtime girlfriend, musician Aldous (Hannah) Harding, broke up. While personally wrenching, the split seemed to open the floodgates for Williams as a writer. "_I wrote about fifteen songs in a month," he recalls. Sure enough, while Make Way For Love draws on Williams' own story, in remarkably universal terms it captures the vagaries of relationships that we've all been through: he bliss (opener "Come To Me"); ache ("Love Is a Terrible Thing"); nagging questions ("Can I Call You"); and bitterness ("The Fire Of Love", whose lyrics Williams says he "agonized over" more than any). And there's "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore", a duet with Harding, recorded after the two broke up, with Williams directing Harding's recording via a late-night long distance phone call. "We finally got to talk it out," he adds. "We still love each other very much."If "breakup record" is a trope-and certainly it is-then Marlon Williams has done it proud. Like the best of the lot, Make Way For Love doesn't shy away from heartbreak, but rather stares it in the face, and mines beauty from it.

Mint Condition - A record label focused on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. Unreleased mixes, classics, overlooked gems and never heard before material, mined from the last 30+ years of contemporary dance music are the order of the day. From Chicago, Detroit and New York to London, San Francisco and beyond. Mint Condition have got their digging hats on to bring you exclusive heat and those rarer than rare jams that have been in your wants list for years. Dig in!

A serendipitous encounter at an SF record store in the early 90s brought together local music aficionados DJ Dan and Jim Hopkins. Their collaboration birthed the legendary Electroliners project, channeling their shared passion for underground and funky sounds into the iconic left-coast rave anthem, 'Loose Caboose', now firmly nestled in your hands. Pooling their musical prowess, Dan and Jim embarked on a journey of sonic exploration, meticulously crafting their signature sound by dissecting samples and breakbeats, infusing the musical landscape with a revitalizing energy. As their reputation grew within the local scene, they found themselves tasked with supplying a track for a promotional CD-ROM by a burgeoning software company.

Through marathon sessions of digging, slicing, sequencing, and exchanging snippets over phone calls, Electroliners hit their creative stride. It was only natural to unveil their creation in the raw intensity of a live rave setting. Thanks to a connection with DJ DRC, they seized the opportunity, and the rest is history. Copies of the record flew off the shelves by the thousands locally, and its overseas acclaim, spearheaded by licensing through XL Recordings in the UK, cemented its status as a bona fide underground classic. But what exactly is an Electroliner you might ask? Jim sheds light on the inspiration: “I delved into books on trains at the public library,” he reveals. “Among them, 'Electroliner' caught my eye, a train line in the Midwest. Given the track's pulsating train horn, 'Electroliner' and 'Loose Caboose' simply clicked.”

'Loose Caboose' is an all-time classic, and still causes much damage on the dancefloor today. Yet another unmissable addition to the MC reissue catalogue, fully licensed from the artists, mastered and cut by Curve Pusher, and available once again available for purchase. Do not sleep.

Zur Feier des 25-jährigen Jubiläums der ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung im Oktober 1999 wird das mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnete Genesis-Album "Turn It On Again: The Hits' zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich sein. Das Album enthält 18 Tracks, die die gesamte Karriere der Band umfassen. Von ihren Anfängen mit Titeln wie "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" und "The Carpet Crawlers" bis hin zu ihren weltweiten Hits der frühen 80er Jahre wie "Turn It On Again" und "Mama" und ihren großen Hits in diesem Jahrzehnt und in den frühen 90er Jahren mit "Invisible Touch" und "I Can't Dance". Das Artwork des Albums bleibt dem Original treu: Der Schriftzug GENESIS ist verschiedenen Albumcovern der Band entnommen und die berüchtigte "I Can't Dance"-Silhouette von Tony Banks, Phil Collins und Mike Rutherford stammt aus dem Video zum Song. Genesis sind eine der weltweit erfolgreichsten und meistverkauften Bands aller Zeiten. Sie haben schätzungsweise 100 Millionen Alben verkauft und spielen seit Jahrzehnten in ausverkauften Stadien und Arenen auf der ganzen Welt, zuletzt mit ihrer weltweit ausverkauften Last Domino? Tournee durch die Jahre 2021 und 2022. Die Entwicklung von Genesis ist einzigartig, ihr Sound hat sich im Laufe ihrer Karriere immer weiter entwickelt und verbessert. Nach mehreren Besetzungswechseln in den späten 60er Jahren kurz nach der Gründung war die Band Anfang der 70er Jahre mit den Originalmitgliedern Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel und Mike Rutherford sowie Steve Hackett und Phil Collins etabliert und erlangte weltweite Bekanntheit, bevor Gabriel 74' und Hackett 77 die Band verließen. Als Collins nach Gabriels Ausstieg zum Frontmann wurde, bildete sich ein Kern aus Banks, Collins und Rutherford, der bis heute besteht und weltweit große Anerkennung und kommerziellen Erfolg erlangt hat.

Zur Feier des 25-jährigen Jubiläums der ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung im Oktober 1999 wird das mehrfach mit Platin ausgezeichnete Genesis-Album "Turn It On Again: The Hits' zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich sein. Das Album enthält 18 Tracks, die die gesamte Karriere der Band umfassen. Von ihren Anfängen mit Titeln wie "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" und "The Carpet Crawlers" bis hin zu ihren weltweiten Hits der frühen 80er Jahre wie "Turn It On Again" und "Mama" und ihren großen Hits in diesem Jahrzehnt und in den frühen 90er Jahren mit "Invisible Touch" und "I Can't Dance". Das Artwork des Albums bleibt dem Original treu: Der Schriftzug GENESIS ist verschiedenen Albumcovern der Band entnommen und die berüchtigte "I Can't Dance"-Silhouette von Tony Banks, Phil Collins und Mike Rutherford stammt aus dem Video zum Song. Genesis sind eine der weltweit erfolgreichsten und meistverkauften Bands aller Zeiten. Sie haben schätzungsweise 100 Millionen Alben verkauft und spielen seit Jahrzehnten in ausverkauften Stadien und Arenen auf der ganzen Welt, zuletzt mit ihrer weltweit ausverkauften Last Domino? Tournee durch die Jahre 2021 und 2022. Die Entwicklung von Genesis ist einzigartig, ihr Sound hat sich im Laufe ihrer Karriere immer weiter entwickelt und verbessert. Nach mehreren Besetzungswechseln in den späten 60er Jahren kurz nach der Gründung war die Band Anfang der 70er Jahre mit den Originalmitgliedern Tony Banks, Peter Gabriel und Mike Rutherford sowie Steve Hackett und Phil Collins etabliert und erlangte weltweite Bekanntheit, bevor Gabriel 74' und Hackett 77 die Band verließen. Als Collins nach Gabriels Ausstieg zum Frontmann wurde, bildete sich ein Kern aus Banks, Collins und Rutherford, der bis heute besteht und weltweit große Anerkennung und kommerziellen Erfolg erlangt hat.

Introducing 'Planet SP1200' by KLIM. KLIM, the producer and beatmaker based in Kyiv, draws inspiration from classic hip-hop, chill music, and boombap to craft music that combines fresh soulful vibes with a hard-knocking style. With over 4 million streams across various platforms, including lo-fi beat staples such as 'Night Café' and 'Butterfly,' KLIM returns with fifteen tracks created using the EMU SP-1200 and Akai S900 samplers, infusing a '90s vibe throughout the project.

Influenced by artists like Pete Rock, Lord Finesse, Jay Dee, George Fields, and Mr. Brown, KLIM's music is a reflection of the magic found in everyday moments that surround him. It's a product of the emotions that stir within him, where the world serves as his artistic canvas, and each sound and melody is a heartfelt attempt to capture his experiences and thoughts. In his words, "My music is a bridge between my soul and the world, and I hope it can touch the hearts of others, just as it touches mine". Join KLIM on this musical journey, where the past and present harmonize in a symphony of emotions and experiences.

25th Anniversary Edition of the pioneering Bristol trio’s album, Roseland NYC Live; recorded and filmed at New York’s Roseland Ballroom with a 28-piece orchestra in 1997, and released in 1998.

The live album and concert film combined have sold over 1 million copies to date, and features performances of the most acclaimed tracks, ‘Glory Box’, ‘Sour Times’, and ‘Roads’, from their debut and sophomore albums, Dummy and Portishead.

Newly remastered, the tracklist has been expanded to include ‘Undenied’ and ‘Numb’ from the concert film, as well as the full length performance of ‘Western Eyes’, which played in part over the credits of the film.

‘Sour Times’ and ‘Roads’ are also now the original Roseland versions (previously substituted on the album release with recordings from other performances). All 5 of these tracks will be on CD and vinyl for the first time.

Roseland NYC Live – 25th Anniversary Edition will be released digitally on 2nd November, and in two limited edition physical formats:

– 2LP pressed on solid red vinyl, with gatefold sleeve, a double-sided fold out poster, and a recreation of the guest ‘backstage’ sticky pass used at the concert.

Who is Leon Dinero? From whence did he come? The soulful singer dropped his first single this past June, tearing up a ska version of Lee Fields & Sugarman 3's classic "Lover Like Me". Backed by The Frightnrs, and with Victor Axelrod in the producer's chair Leon returns with "If You Ask Me", a gorgeous piece of wax that draws inspiration from the deep vaults of Jamaican Rocksteady.

Originally penned for The Frightnrs' debut long player but never tracked as such, this version showcases Dinero's timeless vocal delivery - his voice etched with honey-dipped imperfections that call to mind the classic vocals of Alton Ellis and Hopeton Lewis. Gracing the flip-side is"Bandits", a lyrical takedown of the continuing gentrification of New York City that rides the A-Side's instrumental in pure Jamaican DJ style. Vocal duties for this stellar side are brought to you by Screechy Dan, who's often described as the glue that holds the NYC reggae community together.

Beyond his classic tunes like"Pose Off" and "Big Bills", Screechy has nurtured generations of young artists, sound systems and selectors, forging deep ties that bind Jamaica to New York and veteran artists to the new school. Victor Axelrod expertly handles the production by employing the rhythmic powerhouse that is The Frightnrs to help mine the sweetness of rock steady for the A-side whilst tempering it with the drum and bass toughness of classic rub-a-dub for the flip. We're looking forward to much more to come from this extraordinary group of musicians!

For this year"s RSD, Field Music will release Binding Time, a suite of new songs inspired by the formation of the Durham Miners" Association and performed with musicians from the NASUWT Riverside band.

Packaging: 2LP | printed inner sleeve / liner notes

Lips & Rhythm sails into Summer 2024 with a fresh EP from Residentes Balearicos.

The Ibiza-based duo of Alessandro Doretto and Luca Averna have been turning out sun-soaked dance music for several years now from their studio in the islands.

The title track 'Paraiso' is a timeless tune with just the right blend of slowed down Acid and Flamenco guitar + claps.

'Polvo Mineral' is a bit mysterious with ethereal pads, big drum fills and chanting.

'I Wanna Dance' harkens back to the beautiful Italian Dream House era from the early 90s with lush chimes and driving synth lines over pitched down vocals and uplifting backing harmonies.

The remix of 'Paraiso' is from Brazil-born, New York formed, Gaspar Muniz, who reworks the title track into a breaky electro number fit for a late night in Rio De Janeiro.

A summer record that's been dance-floor tested!

Afro-Cuban star Daymé Arocena has announced her new album 'Al-Kemi' which will be released on February 23 via Brownswood Recordings. It is her first album since 'Sonocardiogram' in 2019.



Dayme's new single "American Boy" accompanies her album announcement. No other song on the album embodies Arocena’s artistic liberation like “American Boy” - an exhilarating, futuristic slice of progressive pop. “I wrote it ten years ago, but thought it was too much of a pop song,” Dayme reflects. “In an indirect way, the music industry had shown me that I wasn’t welcome in that world. There isn’t a Black woman like me who enjoys the kind of success usually reserved for Rosalía or KAROL G. The image of music genres like salsa or bachata has been painfully distorted throughout the years. You are supposed to clone and fuse yourself in order to conceal your Black or indigenous side. They told me I didn’t fit in that world, but I’m going to prove them wrong.”



When Daymé decided to switch gears and record her fourth studio album in Puerto Rico with the iconic producer Eduardo Cabra (Calle 13), she never imagined that she would end up moving there.



“From the moment I stepped foot on the island, I realized that I never wanted to leave,” says the 31 year-old Cuban singer/songwriter with a hearty laugh. “At the time, I had spent three years away from Cuba, living in Canada with my husband. I called and asked him to come over to Puerto Rico, and to please bring all my stuff. It wasn’t a conscious decision on my part. It was simply love at first sight.”



Relying on instinct and intuition is how Daymé has managed her career since she burst on the international scene with 'Nueva Era,' her prodigious debut album, in 2015. Now, she has fully reinvented her sound with 'Al-Kemi,' a revolutionary – and transformative – fusion of neo soul singing, Afro-Caribbean beats and slick new millennium pop.



The album is titled 'Al-Kemi' with the Yoruba word for alchemy. "It means the cosmovision of transformation," she explains. "It is mixing all the elements to achieve an unbeatable result, full of shine and light, like gold springing from the skin."



From the cosmopolitan smoothness of lead single “Suave y Pegao” – an effortless fusion of jazz, bossa nova and urbano stylings with reggaeton star Rafa Pabön on guest vocals – to the smoldering neo-soul of “A Fuego Lento,” with Dominican singer Vicente García, Daymé’s latest album relies on sacred formats of the past but rearranges them in a conscious quest to redraw the very definition of what Latin pop is supposed to sound like.



“It was definitely a team effort,” she reflects from her new home in San Juan. “Flexibility may well be my biggest virtue. I’m always open to every possible suggestion when it comes to making things better. My piano player, Jorge Luis "Yoyi" Lagarza, and I worked on the demos with the rest of my band. Then with Eduardo Cabra’s direction, we enlisted musicians from all over the Caribbean – Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic. Everybody added their energy and coloring.”



It was Daymé’s piano player who originally suggested she contact Eduardo Cabra known for combining commercial aptitude with a refined sense of craftsmanship. Not only did Cabra accept the singer’s offer, but he also invited her to stay at his home during the four months when they recorded 'Al-Kemi' in his Puerto Rico studio.



“I had no idea that he was familiar with my music,” she enthuses. “Eduardo has been in the industry for a long time, and he comes from a world that is more global and commercial than mine. He was the ideal candidate for this project, but I initially didn’t know if he would understand the social, psychological and personal complexities of the message that I wanted to express.”



“Daymé is one of the most talented musicians that I’ve ever worked with,” says Cabra. “Working together was a joy, because she knew exactly the kind of fusion that she was going for: a cross between her Afro-Cuban roots – which clearly are strong on this album – with the more contemporary vein of analogue synths, samples and a bit of electronica. We wanted both worlds to communicate, to be both respectful and disrespectful to the ancestral colors. I feel comfortable with both, and even Calle 13 walked the two paths. This is also the album where Daymé opened up to the Caribbean at large. Her understanding of harmony and her performance skills are out of this world.”



Born in Havana in 1992, Daymé grew up immersed in Afro-Cuban folk, but also listening to cassette tapes of Sade Adu, her father’s favorite singer. She was identified as a prodigious



talent at only 8 years old and soon started studying music. After studying at the prestigious Amadeo Roldán conservatory, she became co-founder and band member of the Cuban-Canadian jazz collective Maqueque in 2017. With the collective, she launched several international tours and earned a GRAMMY nomination.



“In Cuba, the emphasis on technique is exacerbated,” Daymé explains. "At the same time, opportunities are scarce on the island. A career in music provides a potential for escape, which is why the competitiveness is off the charts.”