Alex Lentini & STOMP BOXX return to Drumcode following January’s outstanding contribution ‘Natural Desire’.
The release marked the first in 2021 for the label and perhaps, fortuitously, their follow up ‘Split the Noise’ marks the final on Adam Beyer’s imprint for the year, reinforcing the respect the DC boss has for the Italian pair and their developing studio talents.
‘Split the Noise’ EP continues their creative, multi-faceted production approach. ‘Solstice’ is a distorted concoction of bass and techno, abrasive and beautifully eerie.
One for the winter warehouse season ahead. ‘Azimuth’ is an intergalactic trip to the moon and explores the more experimental side of techno, while having enough streamlined drive to move the dancefloor forward. ‘Equimulate’ works through a range of perky moods before a rasping bottom appears and propels the track into brain spangling territory.
The title track is an immersive weapon that sucks you in via knife-sharp percussion, spit-fire effects and a ripping Reese-inspired bassline. A full assault of noise and delicious bass that takes no prisoners.
The first remix series on PROLETARIJAT brings together 3 Techno Proletarians! Nihad Tule, Skudge and Stanislav Tolkachev recreated the sound of Sev Dah on this release to push the struggle for resistance further and created the fundament for the future remix series on PROLETARIJAT.
Nihad Tule created a forward-going shaker with the "Marija Bursac" remix while Skugde closed the A side with his dreamy remix of "Lisina" in his style.
On the B side Nihad Tule took again the challenge and reinforced the sounds of "Kozarcanka" into the more mystical vibe. Stanislav Tolkachev rounded up this remix series with a spacey and experimental rework of "Kozarcanka" with new patterns and moods to make this release suitable for every taste! Revolutionary Proletarian working-class stuff!
Tristan Disco was an ephemeral Japanese project led by Takayuki Shiraishi (BGM, MLD) focused on making dubbish Post-Punk.
In 1982 they elaborate a no-wave full of unrehearsed breaks and cavernous vocals. Boundless dark jamming sessions through shades, effects and reverbs always submerged by a tense nervous bassline.
On the B side Krikor delivers a hard-hitting Industrial reconstruction of "Social Dance" perfect to shatter your brain.
Retakes from the mysterious ambient artist Civilistjävel! are more brooding.
Introspection and faded horizons are the main purposes here but a glimpse of hope still glow.
After the release of DISSIDÆNCE Episode 1, warmly met with both critical and popular success, Vitalic keeps his promise and returns with a second instalment, darker and more techno than the first, and this time with a marked industrial aesthetic - cold and minimal. The composition and production style have a post-cold wave heritage, something that has always been part of the artist's DNA but is now brandished with renewed pride.
DISSIDÆNCE Episode 2 opens with Sirens, a towering tornado of synths and sweat, followed by Dancing in the Street, The Void and Light is a Train, sparse techno boiled down to its essence - mechanical, cold and alarming. Tempering this hostility are moments of grace and poetry like Marching, Friends & Foes and Winter is Coming, both melodic and melancholic.
A two-pronged project masterfully orchestrated by Vitalic, a strange cosmic voyage of implacable energy.
One of the all-time classic UK Garage releases from the minds of two masters, Grant Nelson and Simon Firmin as 24hr Experience, gets a much-deserved official reissue remastered straight from the DAT tapes via Digital Tape Recordings.
Wall-to-wall anthems that capture of everything great about the hey days of UKG. Rough, tough, swung beats, bouncing basslines, dreamy pads and chopped up vocals, at a pace that sets dancefloors alight every time. You’d be hard pressed not to have heard the likes of ‘I Need A Man’ or ‘Together’ absolutely tear up the dance before, reloads and wheels left, right and centre. Timeless business that should be a part of every collection.
re-release Find the Greatest Movie Scores selected by CINEZIK in an new Wagram Vinyl Collection!
Calibro 35, the legendary crime funk combo sampled by Dr.Dre and Jay-Z, announce the reissue of "Traitors", their iconic fourth album, on Crystal Red vinyl and digital deluxe edition with bonus tracks.
Record Kicks proudly presents the reissue of CALIBRO 35's fourth legendary long-time sold out album "Traditori Di Tutti" (Traitors) on March 04thon limited edition crystal red vinyl and digital "deluxe" edition with bonus tracks.The publication is part of "The Record Kicks Trilogy" that follows the reissue of the first three albums of the band, released in 2020. This time, Milan label Record Kicks will repress on wax of three different colours and on digital deluxe edition, the fourth, fifth and sixth legendary studio albums of the Italian cinematic-funk cult band. The digital deluxe edition of"Traditori Di Tutti" includes 2 bonus tracks: a crime funk cover of "Get Carter", originally released as a b-side of the "Butcher's Bride" 45 vinyl, and the unreleased funky stormer "Milan, Michigan".
"Traditori Di Tutti" is the fourth album by Milan's combo, inspired by noir masterpiece novel "Betrayers"published by the father of Italian noir, award-winning crime fiction author Giorgio Scerbanenco. The album contains only band's original recordings, from floor-shaking first single "Giulia Mon Amour" to groovy "The Butcher's Bride", from deep funky "Filthy Bastards" to the dancefloor jazz madness of "Mescalina 6". The five-piece pays homage to "I Maestri" such as Morricone, Micalizzi and Bacalov with 12 tracks full of funky beats, heavy guitars, groovy bass lines and fuzzy organs.
There's one thing that Italians do better than others: funky soundtracks. Quentin Tarantino knows best: soundtracks from Italian movies of the '60s and the '70s are the THING! "Calibro 35 does with music what Tarantino does with films". They borrow what they love and they make it their own. With Rolling Stone magazine words "Calibro 35 are the most fascinating, "retro-maniac" and genuine thing that happened to Italy".
Active since 2008, CALIBRO 35 enjoy a worldwide reputation as one of the coolest independent bands around. During their fourteen-year career, they were sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z, The Child of lov & Damon Albarn; they shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and Headhunters and as unique musicians they collaborated with, amongst others, PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland and Nic Cester (The Jet). Described by Rolling Stone magazine as "the most fascinating, retro-maniac and genuine thing that happened to Italy in the last years", Calibro 35 now count on a number of aficionados worldwide including VIP fans such as Dj Food (Ninja Tune), Mr Scruff and Huey Morgan (Fun Lovin' Criminals) among others.
"If I could watch any jazz band in the UK, any, I would choose Matthew Halsall's band, just love what he's been doing over the last few years... It's always high level, spiritual jazz music" Gilles Peterson BBC Radio 1.
Matthew Halsall (born September 11, 1983, in Manchester, England) is a Worldwide Award winning and MOBO nominated trumpeter, composer, producer and DJ.
Since 2008, Matthew has released seven critically acclaimed studio recordings and has been a key figure in the rise of a new jazz sound in the UK. In addition to his own releases Halsall has collaborated with many DJs and producers, most notably DJ Shadow and Mr. Scruff, and in 2013 Matthew's music was selected by Bonobo for his Late Night Tales compilation. Halsall is also the founder of Gondwana Records, a genre bending independent record label featuring a wealth defining albums by the likes of Portico Quartet, GoGo Penguin, Hania Rani and Mammal Hands.
His own rich music draws on the spiritual-jazz of Alice Coltrane and Phaorah Sanders, contemporary electronica and dance music alongside his travels in Japan, the traditional art and music of which, has left a lasting impression on his compositions.
Sending My Love (2008) and Colour Yes (2009) were his first releases and document Halsall's first great bands featuring the likes of flautist Chip Wickham, saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Joyful, life-enhancing albums, drawing on UK jazz and spiritual jazz influences but with a decidedly modern bounce, they introduced Halsall's music to the world gathering support from the likes of Gilles Peterson and Jamie Cullum, Mojo, Straight No Chaser and beyond.
But Halsall was never completely happy with how the records were presented and as part of Gondwana Records 10th anniversary decided to revisit the recordings, meticulously remixing and remastering them for vinyl and commissioning new artwork from Ian Anderson, one of his favourite designers. These then are the definitive editions of the records.
Sending My Love comes complete with the beautiful bonus track This Time, while Colour Yes features the equally striking It's What We Do and Ai.
"I am very proud of these early recordings. They represent the starting point of my musical journey in Manchester and showcase some of the cities finest musicians such as: Nat Birchall, Chip Wickham, Rachael Gladwin, Adam Fairhall, Gavin Barras and Gaz Hughes. They are also the very first recordings my brother and I decided to release on our record label (Gondwana Records). Listening back they sound full of energy and joy and really reflect how I was feeling at that precise moment. But as much as I loved the music, I was never 100 percent happy with the sound of the mixes and mastering.
So I decided to go back to the original tapes to remix and remaster them and present them the way I'd always wanted, and along the way we unearthed a couple extra unreleased tracks, which we decided to include as bonus material. Myself and my brother also decided to bring in Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic to re-imagine the artwork and we are super blown away by the results!" Matthew Halsall, Oct 2019
nothing,nowhere. commented on the new album detailing, “TRAUMA FACTORY is an accumulation of songs written during a confusing time. it is about accepting the present and following your true north through the pain and suffering of human life. I wanted to make an album that was truly genreless and inspire others to challenge themselves artistically. I believe the most inspiring art is unpredictable and unrestrictive. to me that’s what TRAUMA FACTORY is.”
Over the course of 15 tracks, TRAUMA FACTORY cuts deep and finds nothing,nowhere. once again emerging from darkness, shedding external expectation, and moving forward into the glow of pure creation. Whether it be the anesthetized beats and intoxicating lull of “love or chemistry,” the cold piano-laden longing of “crave,” or the emotional immediacy of “upside down,” nothing,nowhere. paints from a wide palette of pain.
nothing,nowhere. is the musical endeavor of Vermont songwriter, singer and guitarist Joe Mulherin. For Mulherin, nothing,nowhere. is about a connection. It’s one he finds with fans around the world, who gather to see him play on tour and to listen to his songs online. It’s that connection that urges the singer to place his fears aside and step onstage each night to share his art. He sees the potential to help, to make a change, however small it may be and that is why he brings his music out of the Vermont wildness.
Always hot on the steel-hard plates and murky subterranean atmospheres, Public System turns in a haunted double package from the crypt. Spanning hi-octane indus bullets, half-baked mutant salvos and shadow-clad juicers from a host of reputed names and rabid underdogs, this new comp collates ruff’n’tuff joints from gritty techno don Container, genre-unbound explorer E-Saggila, Berlin’s electro arsonist Privacy, acid-spitting hydra DJ Loser x Penelopes Fiance, basement guerillero Yabboq Penuel alias Le Syndicat Electronique, neo-punk beat thrasher Crave, Yves Tumor collaborator and sine-wave crusher Anthem, expert circuit dissector Beau Wanzer, Liquid G as remixed by Mick Wills, Night Gaunt’s Lower Tar, occult machine funk preacher Maenad Veyl, DJ Chupacabras under new guise 110, soundwaves cross-pollinator DJ Richard, vibrant mood-scapist Gavil�n Rayna Russom, as well as label boss Myn going ubiquitous with studio fellows Kluentah as Myntha, and R Gamble as Fade Accompli. A much desirable feast of raw, unhinged, all-round spine-tingling jams for the club and not.
Horse Category closes out its first year with the third Phonopsia release, Peaks and Troughs, completing the reconciliation with older material that spans these first releases. The three slower techno tracks share little in common besides their tempo, while the faster closing track offers something more DJ friendly.
After a quarter century of nearly nonstop activity, dystopian Detroit synth-punk institution ADULT. have perfected a strain of stylistic cohesion in the album format, "but for this we wanted something that's falling apart." Becoming Undone, the 9th official full-length by cofounders Nicola Kuperus and Adam Lee Miller, explicitly succeeds in this aim, simultaneously rejecting and reflecting the planetary discord that inspired it. Begun in the latter half of 2020 against a backdrop of unprecedented flux and seismic isolation, the duo kickstarted their muse by sourcing fresh additions to the rig: a vocal loop pedal for Kuperus and Roland percussion pads for Miller. Reconnecting with legacy influences like the politicized industrial percussion of Test Department and the queasy miscreant synthetics of TG's 20 Jazz Funk Greats sparked a series of fruitfully frenetic sessions, centered on themes of impermanence and dissonance. Miller's rationale is blunt: "We weren't interested in melody or harmony since we didn't see the world having that." From the tense technoid blitz of "Undoing / Undone" to the twitchy EBM of "Fools (We Are_)" and "I Am Nothing," the sides bristle with strident acidic revolt and black leather sequential circuits, unhinged and unforgiving. Elsewhere, slower tempos of purgatorial unraveling ("Normative Sludge," "She's Nice Looking") showcase a breadth of vocal FX, Kuperus sounding alternately indignant and possessed, decrying the crimes, fears, and failings of a deluded world. Throughout, the band's chemistry crackles with revulsion and strobe-lit dissent, equal parts exorcism and denunciation. "Humans have always been pretty terrible," Kuperus explains. "But every year the compromises of culture just accelerate." Becoming Undone is also freighted with a more personal pain, as Kuperus' father passed away during the height of the pandemic, just before the album took root. As his hospice caretakers, she and Miller faced the banality of finality, surrounded by objects drained of meaning, "the joy of having a body, but also the drudgery of having one." The record's bewitching closing track, "Teeth Out Pt. II" - which happens to be the first ADULT. song in the group's history without drums - speaks to this sense of doomed corporeal mass and the looming, lightless unknown that binds us all. A seasick haze swells and subsides in slow, low waves, flickering with ring modulation, above which Kuperus sings in a dazed, brooding, transcendent state, as if having finally glimpsed beyond the pale: "Some day / some day I will be silent and free / of this relentless gravity."
Piano, handmade electronics, tenor sax, couple strings.
I was after something tangible. Sounds you could roll around in your palm and consider different, complex, and flawed textures. Feel the weight, maybe even smell them.
This desire is probably a reaction to the dissociative nausea from the constant simulacra of these early 2020s. Like deliberately going barefoot to feel yourself grounded in a real place, as I read Andrea Needham did when facing charges for disarming a warplane.
Anyway, my methods to achieve these sound "objects" was to use a healthy amount of acoustic instrumentation with all its familiar sonic unevenness, to free sounds from rhythmic or thematic structure, and to give plenty of blank space around each note so the ear can reach in and pluck it out. A berry from a bush, an eyelash from a friend's cheek.
Really though, a lot of the time now I just want to listen to the birds. There are plenty on here. Mourning dove, titmouse, helicopter.
"Hunter on the Wing" is a reference to De'Andre Hunter, the Atlanta Hawks small forward.
KF, Dec. 2021
Birds’ second Höga Nord offering is a 4 track EP created entirely during the first UK Coronavirus lockdown in spring / summer 2020. The themes throughout the record are inspired by various thoughts, feelings and coping mechanisms adapted by herself and her peers; from live streams to micro-dosing, to exercising patience and trying to feel comfort in the fact that there will be other opportunities and we’ve just got to wait this thing out whilst trying to stick together for emotional support. Sonically it moves around a lot from gurgling 303 bass lines, to break beats, to dubby guitar breakdowns, to heavy club inspired 909 kick drums, whilst always maintaining a droney undertone.
Composer, bassist and producer Horatio Luna is a musician
intrinsically interwoven into the fabric of Melbourne’s (and indeed the
global) jazz scene. Following his 2020 LP “Boom Boom” (Which won
support from the likes of Jamz Supernova, Lefto, Bradley Zero,
Earmilk and OkayPlayer) Horatio returns to Jitwam’s The Jazz Diaries
imprint, inviting several of his all time favourite producers to
reimagine some of his standout tracks.
The ‘Reworks EP’ kicks off with Horatio’s interpretation of ‘Milestones’ (a cover of the incredible Miles Davis track), while enigmatic UK producer Zepherin Saint takes to the boards with his remix of ‘Bumps’, giving the track a new lease of life with scattered drums and jazzy progressions. Next up Detroit’s Patrice Scott turns in his emotive remix of Horatio’s LP title track ‘Boom Boom’ - featuring moody pads, piano flourishes and an ominous bassline, he adds some Mo-town seasoning into the original. Last but not least the one and only Kai Alcé also turns his gaze to ‘Boom Boom’ opting for a more uplifting approach, and his Wurlitzer notes stretch into the ether, to be joined by a driving rhythm section to keep the dancers moving.
With these incredible remixes, Horatio’s infectious and groove-soaked
driving bassline and astral textures are given a soulful injection from some of the finest in the game.
FOR FANS OF
Miles Davis, Kai Alce, Patrice Scott, Glenn Underground, Kaidi Tatham, Kamaal Williams, 30/70
KEY POINTS
Remixes of 'Boom Boom' and 'Bumps' from Horatio Luna's 2020 studio album on The Jazz Diaries Featuring remixes from house
heavyweights Kai Alce and Patrice Scott! Title track 'Milestones' is a
blistering jazzy house cover of the seminal Miles Davis song of the same name Milestones featured on Spotify's All New Jazz playlist
Mixing funk, jazz, boogie, it is released for the first time on vinyl with remastered audio and new liner notes by Lebanese DJ and curator Ernesto Chahoud. In the early 80's, Rahbani created a landmark album, 'Houdou Nisbi' now considered one of the best jazz funk albums from the Middle East. Featuring such cult tracks as "Rouh Khabbir", a remake of the Crusaders' "Soul Shadow" sung by Rahbani
himself, the modern soul of "Bisaraha" and the Brazilian flavoured "For Sure", the album is both effortlessly groovy and steeped in Oriental music. Held as "one of Lebanon's best kept Musical treasures' by Ernesto Chahoud in his notes, the album is a certified Rahbani cult classic.
"Houdou Nisbi," which means "relatively calm", an expression used by news anchors on Lebanese TV to describe the mood during cease-fire in the civil war between 1975 and 1990 - has been remastered for vinyl from the original masters by David Hachour at Coloursound Studio in Paris. The artwork has faithfully been reproduced for the enlarged format. An iconic cover highlighting the strange life
in war ravaged Beirut during the cease-fire and in line with the political stance of Rahbani, a self proclaimed non- religious leftist. Wewantsounds is delighted to bring the first-ever vinyl release of this iconic album to the world.
After their debut release in September 2020, Tunesday
Recordings are back with their second installment, marking
the reissue of two boogie funk originals from 1984 by the
German band Trust. Particularly known for their song "It's Not
Over", the band also recorded two wonderfully brazilianin§uenced songs dubbed "Eu Melembro" and "Maracatu" which were also released on their LP "Bow Making". Moving between Funk, Boogie, Jazz and Latin, the two songs remain a trademark for the band's versatile orientation at that time.
Perfectly suited for the task, Joutro Mundo, who is known for
releases on Hello Sailor & Barefoot Beats among others, took
on the originals to cut down his very own interpretations with
modern dance§oors in mind. Many thanks to Trust for
making this reissue possible and many thanks to Dayeon
Auh for putting the vibe into the artwork
For the first time ever, here is the soundtrack from the 1983 post-apocalyptic flick directed by Joe D'Amato, Endgame - Bronx Lotta Finale. A compelling Carlo Maria Cordio's mighty Vangelis-meets-John Carpenter score. With hangovers from previous Giallo-based outings, Endgame's themes are more gentle and introspective than, say, Claudio Simonetti's muscular work for The New Barbarians and Hands of Steel but also, arguably, musically more diverse. In particular, the opening title track 'Atomic Contamination" is genuinely chilling when set against the stock footage of a nuclear bomb going off.
While liberally pinching the vibe of Blade Runner's more symphonic textures, Cordio's synthesizers also do bombast, melancholy and menace when required, whilst the pretty pieces for Lilith are like semi precious jewels shining out of the murk and machismo.
In February of 1976 Eddie Carmichael left the group “The Voshays” after catching the bandleader/manager stealing from the band. Derry Shepherd and Duncan Bethel left at that time also. About a week later I asked Derry if he would be interested in starting another band and he said sure. At that point Duncan Bethel agreed to participate and he recruited his friend Flynn Emanuel to play trombone. Derry was the manager of the cafeteria at Sears Department Stores in The Pompano Fashion Square Mall and he met Sandy Ficca who was the manager at Chess King Men’s Clothing Store in the same mall. Sandy also agreed to join the group and we auditioned bass players and chose Dave Segal and only one keyboard player auditioned and that was Bob Groszer. We now had all of the personnel for the group and we commenced rehearsing in the recreation center in Pompano Beach, FL at Westside Park. We did a few “Chitlin’ Circuit“ gigs to fine tune the band and music and then moved over to the beach circuit. While there we would perform spring and summer months at “The Ocean Mist” on the Strip in Fort Lauderdale, FL and for the fall and winter months the Big Daddy’s 8600 Club on Miami Beach. After 18 months of constant gigging I suggested that the band go into the studio and record some original music. Now all we needed was some serious financial support and songs. I met a man by the name of Jerry Bullard and convinced him to back the project. We formed our own independent label “Get Off Records” and publishing company “Situated Music”. At that point Dave Segal and Sandy Ficca left the group and Bruce Saddler who was the drummer for The Voshays joined us on the drums for the first two recordings. Sandy Ficca returned as drummer and brought in his old friend and bandmate Daryl Walker to play Bass on five of the six remaining songs. We recorded the entire album in five days at SRS Studios and Triad Studios both in Fort Lauderdale, FL in August of 1977. The first single “Give It Up (Let Yo Funk Fly Free) was a winner released only in the New York tri state area where in two weeks it reached number 16 in the top 100 and was poised to go number one nationwide on the R&B charts in the next two weeks. Henry Stone, owner of TK Records in Hialeah, FL wanted to sign the group as did many other major record labels including Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire. But the usual problems of the music business reared its ugly head and the record was pulled from all radio airplay and the group who became disenfranchised with the business of the industry decided to call it quits. Derry Shephard went into Gospel Music production, Sandy Ficca went on to become the drummer for the Pop/Rock recording artists “Firefall”. Daryl Walker is a session player and music teacher, I did studio sessions and played in several cover bands and toured internationally. Bob Groszer toured with Sly Stone and other legendary recording artists. Dave Segal went on to start New York Bass Works in New York. Flynn Manuel became a music teacher in The Broward County School District and Bruce Saddler and Duncan Bethel left the Music industry completely. We were young and not good business people at that time and did not understand the rules of do’s and don’ts of the music industry. But we had three talented songwriters, a great arranger, a killer band and all the financial support that we needed. Looking back if we only had an experienced manager I truly believe Mirror would have gone on to create some great music over the years that followed.
Peace and love all the time,
Some Crate-digging Compilations Are Often The Result Of Someone Hand-picking Their Choice Favourites From Another Country's Musical History, Perhaps Unaware Or Uninvolved With Its Cultural Lineage In The Process. On Soundway's Latest Release - A Treasure Trove Of Synth Jams, Pop, Samba Boogie, Balearic And Electro From 1980 & '90s Brazil - The Tracks Are Picked By Millos Kaiser, One Half Of The Brazilian Duo Selvagem, Who Are At The Helm Of Throwing Some Of The Country's Best Dance Parties. It's A Rare Compilation That Offers Brazilian Music Actually Picked By A Brazilian.
Whilst Names Such As Ricardo Bomba, Villa Box, Fogo Baiano, Electric Boogies And Batista Junior May Not Be Household Names, They Tell An Untold, Yet Rich And Important Part Of Musical History In Brazil. The Release Also Covers A Decade That Has Been Intentionally Forgotten And Brushed Aside By Many In The Country.
Onda De Amor Is A Release That Is Loaded With Smooth Grooves, Bubbling Bass, Glistening Synthesisers, Funk Strutting Guitar Lines And Sheen Of Production That Undeniably Marks It Of Its Time. For Kaiser This Compilation Is About Reintroducing Music During A Period Of Reappraisal, Catching A New Wave And Hoping Contemporary Listeners Will Ride It With Him. the Idea Is To Do Justice To These Songs. Songs That Combine All The Right Ingredients That Should Have Put Them On
Radio Playlists When I Was Growing Up Or At Least In The Cases Of More Adventurous Djs'.
Millos Kaiser Is A Dj, Digger, Vinyl Junkie/dealer Born In Rio De
Janeiro And Living In São Paulo For The Past 8 Years. He Launched The Dance Party/club Night Selvagem With Partner Trepanado In 2010, Bringing Thousands Of Dancers One Sunday A Month To A Public Square In The Heart Of São Paulo.
Repressed !
Hear & Now's Story Is One Of Friendship And A Shared Passion For Music. It Began With A Chance Meeting On The Dancefoor At Red Zone In Perugia, One Of Italy's Most Legendary Clubs
Of The 1990s. Nearly Three Decades On, These Glassy-eyed Clubbers Have Joined Forces To Deliver One Of The Most Magical And Sun-kissed Albums That Claremont 56 Has Ever Released. By The Time Ricky L And Marcoradi Frst Joined Forces In The Studio In 2016, Both Had Become Established Producers Within Italy's Vibrant Deep House Scene. Between Them, They'd Released Records And Remixes On Such Labels As Ibadan, Uomo, Reincarnation, Top Tracks, Restricted
Tracks And Vega. Keen To Step Away From The Dancefoor, They Decided To Simply Create Beautiful Music For Bleary-eyed After-hours Sofa Sessions, Lazy Summer Afternoons And Early
Mornings Spent Blinking At The Rising Sun.
Aurora Baleare, Their Debut Album, Follows On From A Fantastic Double A-side 12' For Claremont 56 In February 2017. Those Two Tracks Take Pride Of Place Amongst An Eight-track Selection Simply Brimming With Evocative Workouts, Gentle Soundscapes And Noon-bright Sonic Bliss. While You'll Fnd Luscious Instrumental Cuts Designed To Inspire Baggy, Glassy-eyed Shuffing - See The Mid-tempo, Spine-tingling Brilliance Of salsedine', Mind-massaging hirundo' And Dreamy Slow-house Treat sabbia Magica' - It's The Effortless Brilliance Of Marcoradi's Improvised Guitar Playing And The Duo's tmospheric Approach That Really Catches The Ear.
Check, For Example, The Heady Horizontal Shuffe Of trasimeno', Where Poignant Ambient Chords, Jazzy Electric Guitar Solos And Deep Space Electronics Tumble Down Over Shuffing Beats And A Squeezable Synthesizer Bassline, And The Sun-down Adriatic Wonder Of stella Dei Venti', A Track So Effortlessly Loved-up And Blissful That You Might Be Overcome By Emotion (it Certainly Had Us Daydreaming Of Days Spent Exploring The Intense Natural Beauty Of Italy's Adriatic Coast).
Moments Like This, Where The Duo's Dreamy Electronics And Smile-inducing Melodies Seemingly Shimmer Across The Sound Spectrum, Can Be Found Dotted Throughout Aurora Baleare. There's The Darting Digital Synthesizer Motifs, Sparse Hand Percussion And Ricocheting Solos Of airone', The Italo-disco-inspired Chugging Positivity Of la Marsa' And The Title Track's Humid Beachside Breeze, Where Intertwined Electronic And Acoustic Lead Lines Seemingly Glimmer Like Rays Of Sunshine Bouncing Off The Surface Of A Becalmed, Crystal Clear Ocean. Their Roots May Be On The Dancefoor, But Hear & Now Are Fast Becoming Down Tempo Masters. You Can Dance If You Want To, But You May Just Want To Hug A Stranger Instead.
2xLP gatefold jacket (recorded in Side A, B, C, and no music recorded in back side of Side D)
Soundtracks recorded in a hall by full orchestra of New Japan Philharmonic.
Including the main theme “Itsumo Nando Demo” (vocal: Yumi Kimura).
Special Edition Double Vinyl LP - Pressed at Optimal
Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader Matthew Halsall is one of the rising stars of the UK jazz scene. His unique sound was brilliantly described as "Rain-streaked spiritual jazz from Manchester" by the Independent On Sunday and as a label-boss he has nurtured the careers of Mammal Hands and GoGo Penguin via his Gondwana Records imprint, while his own recordings have explored modal and spiritual jazz, string-laden minimalism and hard-bop. ON THE GO was Halsall's 2011 breakthrough disc, drawing inspiration from the late 60s hard-bop sounds of Max Roach and Art Blakey as well as the Strata-East and Black Jazz labels. it's Halsall's punchiest recording and won Jazz Album Of The Year at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards while the tracks Music For A Dancing Mind and Song For Charlie have proved amongst Halsall's most requested compositions.
Re-mixed and re-mastered at Gondwana's home from home, 80 Hertz studios in Manchester and reissued here due to popular demand, ON THE GO appears here in an extended format that adds three new tracks alongside the original album and appears on vinyl for the first time. Halsall explains the decision to reissue On The Go,
"I have always loved this album, and when fans kept asking me for a vinyl version I decided to make a special edition release, so I remixed and remastered the whole album with George Atkins at 80 Hertz Studios and in the process decided to include three bonus tracks that were recorded around the same time and took inspiration from one of my favourite jazz records, Miles Davis's Lift To The Scaffold "
The Equations Collective is an experimental sound project formed by a multi-disciplinary group of artists, active in the fields of music, photography, sound design & software development.
In 2018, the collective set up a temporary outdoor recording studio, 1130 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Helicon in Greece, with the ambition of recording their work in a natural environment. A 'mobile and modular' construction, fully powered by solar panels, the design of the studio showcases the possibilities of a progressive, environmentally sustainable future through renewable energy.
Embodying ecological incentives, and representing an immersive engagement with the landscape, the 'Helicon Sessions' document this extraordinary residency, capturing a profound dialogue with the eponymous mountain region.
Situated in Boeotia, Central Greece, Mount Helicon has a prominent archaic significance. A historic location where stories of sacred springs and the epic origins of the Muses and Narcissus converge. Steeped in the heritage of ancient narratives, Helicon is seen as a principal symbol of poetic inspiration.
On the 'Helicon Sessions' the collective draw upon the inspiring topography and fabled mythological resonances of the area, unfurling an expansive, hypnotic suite of abstract electronics. Liberated by an open-ended, improvisational dynamic, the collective move through a mysterious, elemental cycle that mirrors the imposing scale and dramatic atmospheres of the setting.
Across an entrancing, fluid sequence of five designated 'cuts', the collective traverse the borderlands of drone, techno, dub, and acid, amplifying the acoustic traces of Helicon by integrating field recordings collected at the site into this arresting body of work. With these recordings, the collective delineate an odyssey of subverted 303s, sputtering drum machines and formidable, oscillating low end that drifts and coalesces like an amorphous mirage; a spellbinding sound world of clarity and shadow.
The 'Helicon Sessions' signify a symbiosis (between the terrestrial and the engineered, between wildlife and futurism, between the intrinsic and the synthetic, between the innate and the manmade) And with their conception of a portable, eco-friendly studio The Equations Collective focalize valuable ideas centred on ingenuity and evolution. The outcome of this project illustrates a unique collaborative exchange which acknowledges the deep nuances of environment and the enduring echoes of history.
The Equations Collective is a collaboration between Artefakt, Aroma Pitch, Aphelion and Sphera De Noumenon across Berlin, Amsterdam, Cologne and Hamburg. Together they have established an all night long live event in Berlin, starting at Sameheads and Acud Macht Neu, which eventually lead to their residency at OHM (Tresor).
For this format they have collaborated with the following artists: Alex The Fairy, Anna Z, D-IX, Eliad Wagner, Jón Friđgeir Sigurđsson, Orson Wells, Phillip Jondo, Philipp Matalla, PRSMC, Rabih Beaini, Sabrina Gricourt, Sébastien Robert, and Vida Vojić.
The respective members of The Equations Collective have released a range of output on the likes of Field Records, Delsin, Semantica Records, De Stijl, & Soul People Music.
Since 2018 their visual identity has been shaped by Elias Hanzer.
The 'Helicon Sessions' is their debut release.
Lex Ludlow debuts on Atomnation with the Midnight EP, a four-tracker filled with woozy, seductive house grooves.
Sri Lanka-born but Sweden-raised, Lex Ludlow has spent years working in the dance music industry on events, in nightclubs, singing and co-producing with various projects, but only now is she stepping out with her own sounds. Each track is as free-flowing as the ocean that gives her such inspiration: as well as DJing and producing, Ludlow freelances as a sailmaker. With Midnight, she showcases her love of supple grooves, manipulated vocals and liquid synths.
With the Midnight EP, Lex Ludlow has immediately found her own beautifully unique sound.
Orange Vinyl
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to announce the release of the new album from legendary Deee-Lite member Towa Tei, celebrating the 30th year of his career. It is available on (orange) vinyl for the first time outside of Japan.
The album, simply titled LP features Japanese music icons Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Yasuaki Shimizu (Kakashi), fellow METAFIVE colleagues Tomohiko Gondo and Yoshinori Sunahara, HANA, Wataru Iga, Shunji Mori, Hidefumi Ino and more.
It was mixed by famed engineer Goh Hotoda and the artwork comes from painter Tomoo Gokita.
Poppy, catchy, dancy, and very funky, Towa Tei’s 10th solo album is 100% delirious ride and a testament to the Deee-Lite member’s ever-expanding creativity, combining simplicity and experimentalism in the most feel-good ways. Indoor, outdoor, and every day of the year, this one will make you dance and smile!
This release is a collaboration between legendary Japanese label Nippon Columbia/Better Days and WRWTFWW Records.
IDRIS MUHAMMAD was born Leo Morris in New Orleans in 1939. He mastered the drums at a very early age and can be heard on Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill” at just seventeen! His early career was steeped in R&B before moving to New York to emnbrace the jazz scene. “I’m A Believer” is the perfect fusion of the two genres and features the sublime vocals of his wife Dolores LaLa Brooks of the Crystals (aka Sakinah Muhammad).
Our chosen B-side by Chicago soul singer JEAN SHY is the rare modern soul masterpiece “What Can I Do I’m So In Love With You” reissued here for the first time.
**LTD BLACK AND RED MARBLE**
As humans, we are aware of our inner beast and should therefore be able to control it. We understand our hard-wired primal urges and why they exist in an evolutional sense. We understand the relationship between mind and body. Highly evolved and intelligent, we should be able to recognize these genetic hangovers and control them as a means to act positively and move forward as a compassion-ate species. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Recent global events have proven this. The human race is consuming itself.
World Eater, the new album by Benjamin John Power's Blanck Mass project, is a reaction to this. There is an underlying violence and anger throughout the record, even though some of these tracks are the closest Power has ever come to writing, in his words, actual love songs.'
Maybe subconsciously this was some kind of countermeasure to restore some personal balance,' Power explains.
On World Eater, Power further perfects the propulsive, engrossing electronic music he has created throughout his impressive decade-plus career, both under the Blanck Mass moniker and as one-half of Fuck Buttons, as he elaborates upon the sound of 2015's brilliant double album Dumb Flesh. As massive as the sonic world of the new record often feels, its greatest achievement is in its maximization of a limited set of tools, a restriction intentionally set by Power himself.
As an exercise in better understanding myself musically, I found myself using an increasingly restricted palette during the World Eater creative process. Evoking these intense emotions using minimal components really put me outside of my comfort zone and was unlike the process I am used to. Feeling exposed shone a new light on this particular snapshot. I feel enriched for doing so.'
(A) 1. John Doe's Carnival of Error
(B) 2. Rhesus Negative
(C) 3. Please
(D) 4. The Rat
(E) 5. Silent Treatment
(F) 6. Minnesota / Eas Fors / Naked
(G) 7. Hive Mind
Zach Condon, der Kopf hinter Beirut, veröffentlicht mit Artifacts eine Doppel-LP mit Musik, die die Entwicklung von Beirut nachzeichnet - von den ersten Versuchen des 14-jährigen Condon, die Musik, die er in seinem Kopf hörte, zum Leben zu erwecken, bis hin zu dem voll entwickelten Beirut, das wir heute kennen. Artifacts begann ganz bescheiden mit der Zusammenstellung einiger früher Beirut-EPs für eine richtige physische Veröffentlichung. Wie Condon jedoch in den exzellenten Liner Notes des Albums erklärt, verwandelte das Wiedersehen mit alten Aufnahmen durch neue Ohren ein einfaches Re-Issue-Projekt in etwas viel Expansiveres. "Als die Entscheidung fiel, diese Sammlung neu zu veröffentlichen, habe ich mich dabei ertappt, wie ich meine Festplatten durchwühlte, um etwas Zusätzliches zu finden, das ich der Compilation hinzufügen konnte. Was mit ein paar zusätzlichen, unveröffentlichten Tracks aus meinen prägenden Jahren begann, wuchs schnell zu einer ganzen Reihe zusätzlicher Musik aus meiner Vergangenheit heran, und zu einem größeren Projekt, bei dem ich alles, was ich fand, remixte und remasterte." ENG Retrospective of rarities and b-sides spanning the entirety of Beirut's catalog. 17 of the 26 songs on Artifacts have not been previously released.Artifacts began humbly as a means of compiling a few early Beirut EPs for a proper physical release. However, as Zach Condon explains in album's excellent liner notes, reconnecting with old recordings through fresh ears turned a simple re-issue project into something much more expansive.
Solo acts of Paula Rebellato (RAKTA) and Douglas Leal (DEAFKIDS), members of two of the most thriving and groundbreaking bands coming out of Brazil to the world lately. The fusion of traditional and acoustic instruments with electronic and processed sounds highlights the strong characteristics of both projects, melted into a journey within timeless soundscapes. Buh Records presents "Gnose", the joint full-length by the solo acts of Paula Rebellato (RAKTA) and Douglas Leal (DEAFKIDS), members of two of the most thriving and groundbreaking bands coming out of Brazil to the world lately. Produced between 2019 and 2020 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, some of the compositions were first conceived for a live performance in late 2019 and then expanded into a full-length album, part recorded in studio and part at home during the first months of the pandemic. Inspired by the ritualistic potentials of music, "Gnose" offers a vertical and circular narrative throughout its 7 themes, exploring atmospheres that may contribute to experiences of displacement and inner silence. The fusion of traditional and acoustic instruments with electronic and processed sounds highlights the strong characteristics of both projects, melted into a journey within timeless soundscapes. Paula Rebellato is an artist based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her journey with music and sound started at young age and became a more consistent path when she co-founded the genre-bending group Rakta.
Here we are! Back for the second volume of Back from the Canigó ! In the same spirit as Back from the Grave, our goal is to look back at what happened in the South of France near Perpignan at the beginning of the 21st century. As you can hear it in the first volume, the city of Perpignan (and its region, Northern Catalonia) has been a strong place for underground rock'n'roll for many years. In the 90's, there were a lot of garage bands and an important mods community. These guys created a spirit in the city that's still present today. This volume showcases the new bands created by Perpignan's city rockers and the country punks from the nearby villages. Bands like Les Gardiens du Canigou, The Ugly Things, The Likyds, The Toxic Farmers, The Vox Men, The Feedback, heard on the first compilation, spawned plenty of new formations. This time the scene has its own labels - Nasty Products and Profet Record are two of them. It has never been easier to record music and put it on vinyl. There are live venues all over the city. The beginning of the internet also makes life easier, even when you're in a town in the South of France near the Spanish border and the Mediterranean. Myspace is growing fast and local bands make contact with the other side of the Atlantic. The Sonic Chicken 4 are signed by In the Red and Trouble in Mind. Parisian labels are also interested in the work of bands from Perpignan. The Hushpuppies, ex-Likyds, go to the capital and are signed by Diamondtraxx. They're certainly the best known band of that era with their hit "You're Gonna Say Yeah", featured on Guitar Hero and in several commercial ads. Boosted by international touring, Catalan bands make their way into the world. The Fatals go on tour in Italy and Canada. The Sonic Chicken 4 are booked for a US tour while Jack of Heart, signed on Born Bad, play all over Europe. The whole world listens. This is the story told by our compilation. Just put the needle on the record and let the music do the talking...
A hidden gem from the notorious Nurse With Wound list ! Limited to 500 copies, this double LP features Heratius' studio album Les Boniments (1979) - never before released on vinyl - and the first ever vinyl reissue of Gwendolyne (1978). Heratius could be described as like a mix of Etron Fou Leloublan and Faust (in acoustic mode that is), with hints of Albert Marcoeur, Red Noise, in a music that is full of invention with typically French eccentric touches. The Heratius album Gwendolyne was also much touted by Chris Cutler (of Henry Cow fame) at the time as the French Faust.
Diego el Cigala is, with any doubt, one of the greatest flamenco geniuses of our times. Not only because of his voice and charisma, but also for recording such vast and wide discography singing with majesty and no complex any style he could be challenged to perform. At Flamencoenvinilo we wanted to re-catch one of his early works back to his flamenco roots: "Entre Vareta y Canasta" (18 Chulos) was originally published in the year 2000 and, as many of his works, this album has proved the test of time and it has become a true classic. This will be the first time this album comes out on 12". Limited to 500 copies. Accompanied by Niño Josele (guitar) and a large group of percussionists, "Entre Vareta y Canasta" the second album by Diego El Cigala made him known among many people outside the traditional nucleus of flamenco for his simplicity, purity and mastery. The unique voice of this artist moves with naturalness and feeling in styles as different as martinete, bulería or fandangos.
The long awaited third volume of our "Algo salvaje" series, featuring untamed 1960s beat and garage nuggets from Spain. "Algo salvaje" is an anthology devoted to a rich period when hundreds of bands appeared all over Spain and, after paying attention to what their US and British contemporaries were doing, found their own way to vent their teenage rebellion through loud guitars. With amazing results! Many of the 28 tracks are reissued for the first time, including very hard-to-find records. This double LP gatefold package includes extensive notes by Vicente Fabuel featuring all the original record sleeves and artist photos. "Algo salvaje" ("Something Wild"), now reaching its third volume, celebrates the darkest, neglected and rebellious side of Spanish beat. Internationally labelled as nuggets (after the original compilation of the same name concocted by Jac Holzman and Lenny Kaye in 1972 for the Elektra label), the more common garage rock label has been used to place and describe one of the most fertile chapters of rock & roll history during its most creative years. An underground story which has luckily become known, with participants from all around the globe which included anonymous musicians, independent record labels with impossible names and ridiculously limited pressings, often not more than a few hundred copies. The tracks chosen for the occasion, a selection filtered strictly by their musical value, adhere to the rules of the classic nugget genre while demonstrating the permeability of garage sound and its inevitable evolution at the turn of the decade (1967-1974) through mixes that embraced psychedelia, soul and even prog rock. Epic and pretty wild. Just the kind of material that this record label usually handles. Many of the 28 tracks are reissued for the first time, including extremely hard-to-find records. This double-LP package includes extensive notes by genre-expert Vicente Fabuel featuring all the original record sleeves and artist photos. So let the band play...
Since the demise of his previous band, Ultimate
Painting, Jack Cooper - under his Modern Nature
guise - has never stopped looking ahead,
exploring and reaching for something further.
Since 2019, he’s released an EP, mini album
‘Annual’, one full length LP, one 7” and three live
cassettes - in the process mapping out astonishing
new terrain. ‘Island Of Noise’ presents an obvious
new peak in his discography.
180g recycled vinyl in 3mm spined sleeve printed
on recycled board.
“Mesmerising... A treasure trove of interesting
musical ideas, as well as a source of restorative
solace.” - The Guardian (****)
“On ‘Island Of Noise’ Modern Nature’s Jack
Cooper folds together much of what he’s already
done - illuminated pop, exploratory improvisations,
post-Canterbury prog - and locates a common
thread, expanding outwards with the help of freemusic pioneers saxophonist Evan Parker and
bassist John Edwards.” - Uncut (9/10)
“Jack Cooper captures a sense of mystery and
magic on his second album as Modern Nature,
using gentle folk rock as the base for a subtle
evocation of peacefulness.” - The Times (****)
DJ Godfather is going from strength to strength with each release, turning this EP "Keep My Name Out Your Mouth". Featuring looped vocals from King Saadi and playful lyrics by Lil Mz 313, the Godfather delivers an EP that lands somewhere between a Dirtybird and Dance Mania production with its playful basslines, scandalous vocals and jacking snare rolls.
External Combustion – the second album and first as band leader of the Dirty Knobs – is proof that lightning can strike twice. His first record, Wreckless Abandon, was released in November 2020 to a great reception, gaining attention from Broken Record, Vulture, WTF with Marc Maron podcast, LA Times, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, Billboard and many more.
The Dirty Knobs made External Combustion in three weeks over the summer of 2021, and "The band became this spontaneous type of combustion”, Campbell recalled, recounting how the band became more intuitive the longer they played.
Campbell claims he was never offered a solo deal in his four decades with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, despite also writing and producing for artists like Roy Orbison and Don Henley. "I wouldn't have known what to do with it," he adds quickly. "I was Tom's partner. Lyrics and singing – he could always do it much better. But I was writing and recording more music than Tom could deal with. That's when I got the Dirty Knobs, which gave me a chance to try singing. So I started woodshedding. And then when my life changed (with Petty's death in October 2017) it was, 'Time to do this now.'"
Red Vinyl
Monogold EP is raw, polished and bold. The drums hit hard and the chords that shadow them are constantly on the move. It is where techno meets meditation, strangeness and mystery. Equipped with a Efdemin remix to keep the dancefloor going. Vinyl-only!
Band of Horses’ sixth studio album and first record in more than five years. Sonically, the album is a return to their earlier work and the kind of raw ethos that lies at the heart of Band of Horses. Emotionally intense, both on a personal and elemental level, on Things Are Great we find band founder Ben Bridwell more autobiographical than he’s ever been on record detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right.
Band of Horses’ sixth studio album and first record in more than five years. Sonically, the album is a return to their earlier work and the kind of raw ethos that lies at the heart of Band of Horses. Emotionally intense, both on a personal and elemental level, on Things Are Great we find band founder Ben Bridwell more autobiographical than he’s ever been on record detailing the nebulous frustrations and quiet indignities of relationship changes and what a person will do to make things right.
Wednesday 24th November - Kojey Radical, one of the UK's most influential musical voices, today announces details of his highly-anticipated debut album. Titled Reason To Smile, the 15 track album will be released on 4th March 2021 via Asylum / Atlantic Records. It features guest appearances from Tiana Major9, Masego, Shaé Universe, Cash, Kelis, Lex Amor, Knucks, Shakka, Wretch 32, Ego Ella May and Rex Life Raj and his own mother (whose voice weaves throughout the record) alongside a who's-who of global production talent including KZ, Swindle, Jay Prince, iO, The FaNaTiX, Cadenza, 169, Venna, Ric & Thadeus, Blue Lab Beats, Emil Larbi, Mr Cutts and Ed Thomas.
Having already made such an indelible mark on British music it's hard to believe that Kojey Radical has never released an album. Over four previous EPs, Kojey Radical has given people greatness but on Reason To Smile he's striving for perfection. Defined by a sound he describes as "space and bass" and featuring the singles "War Outside (ft Lex Amor)" and "Gangsta", Reason To Smile is without doubt Kojey Radical's most ambitious and complete work to date and an emphatic statement of the levels at which he operates.
Kojey Radical today also announces details of his “From Me To You” tour. Commencing on 4th March (album release day), the tour will see Kojey partner with record stores across the UK for a run of in-store and out-store shows and signings throughout album release week. These intimate shows will be a rare opportunity to see Kojey Radical so up close and personal and are sure to sell out quickly
With songs that run the gamut from heart-breaking to satirical and a host of unforgettable film scores, Randy Newman has used his many talents to create musical masterpieces widely recognized by generations of audiences. After starting his song writing career as a teenager, Newman launched into recording as a singer and pianist in 1968 with his self-titled album Randy Newman. Throughout the 1970s, 80s, and 90s he released several acclaimed albums: 12 Songs, Sail Away, Good Old Boys, Little Criminals, Born Again, Trouble in Paradise, Land of Dreams, and Bad Love.
Good Old Boys is the fourth studio album by Randy Newman, released September 10, 1974 on Reprise Records. It was Newman’s first album to obtain major commercial success, peaking at #36 on the Billboard 200. Good Old Boys was initially envisioned as a concept album about a character named Johnny Cutler, an everyman of the Deep South. Newman made a demo of these songs on February 1, 1973; they were released as the bonus disc for the 2002 CD reissue, titled Johnny Cutler’s Birthday and are now being included on vinyl for the first time in this Run Out Groove deluxe edition.
In addition to his solo recordings and regular international touring, Newman began composing and scoring for films in the 1980s. The list of movies he has worked on since then includes The Natural, Awakenings, Ragtime, all four Toy Story pictures, Monsters Inc. and Monsters University, Seabiscuit, James and the Giant Peach, A Bug’s Life, and Meyerowitz Stories. Randy Newman’s many honors include 7 Grammys,® 3 Emmys,® and 2 Oscars,® as well as a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013—the same year he was given an Ivor Novello PRS for Music Special International Award. Newman was presented with a PEN New England Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award in 2014.
To celebrate the 45th anniversary of iconic Dutch jazz label Timeless Records, Music On Vinyl is releasing a series that features albums that are part of the Timeless Records legacy and will be released mainly throughout 2021/2022.
Eastern Rebellion is a special one in this Anniversary Jazz series, since it was the very first release on the Timeless label. This 1976 release is a classic set which features four jazz giants: Billy Higgins on drums, Sam Jones on bass, George Coleman on the tenor saxophone and led by Cedar Walton on the piano. This record features Walton’s most famous composition “Bolivia”, Coleman’s “5/4 Thing” and Jones’ boppish “Bittersweet”.
• Issued in 1996, “Coming Up” was Suede’s third album, and the first with the new line-up, featuring Richard Oakes on guitar and Neil Codling on keyboards.
• It is home to no less than five UK Top Ten singles - “Trash”, “Beautiful Ones”, “Lazy”, “Filmstar” and “Saturday Night” - all of which remain in Suede’s live set to this day.
• This 25th anniversary release is pressed on 180 gram clear vinyl.
For the third release of Captea, the Italian duo deliver a two tracker EP + remix. Vibra is a tech house joint with a hint of electro, a modern vision of club music that fit any DJ set. Saturnia brings you to another dimension with an acid sequence and voice playing over a badass groove. The B-side is curated by Nuances de Nuit's founder T. Jacques with his reinterpretation of Vibra.
"When you cut into the present, the future leaks out" William S. Burroughs. Third Ear are proud and excited to release a new Brendon Moeller project exclusive to Third Ear... Ultra Random Analog Orchestra. The project kicks off with 13 tracks released on vinyl over 3 individually released 12" and a digital album with 16 tracks. The music ranges from deep, wide-screen Techno to Ambient and beatless, that pushes the limits of the sonic palette. Artwork by The Designers Republic. Brendon says, "The ability to sculpt an audio collage in realtime employing techniques of randomness is one of my favorite pursuits using a eurorack modular system.
Our Allien leader returns to the UFO bringing with her fresh auditory space signals. Ellen Allien's latest EP on her UFO Inc imprint marks the sixth release from the label and features four original cuts from the pioneering Berliner. As you may expect from Ellen, the release is packed with raw emotion, rave motifs and unrelenting energy in her own inimitable style. 'Rosen' kicks things off merging melodrama and emotive atmospherics followed by 'N2020', a pounding techno stomper. The EP closes with two versions of 'KCKC'. Firstly, it's the 'Epic Mix', then the original version. KCKC became Ellen's personal anthem of her balcony sets during covid lockdown.
It’s been a decade since SLASH featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators released their debut album together, and since then have been on one of the more impressive and unrelenting tears in rock ‘n’ roll, issuing two more hard-hitting, highly-acclaimed records, and rocking stages all over the world. Since their debut, SLASH has amassed album sales of over 100M copies, garnered a Grammy Award and 7 Grammy nominations, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Enter 4, the Dave Cobb-produced highly anticipated studio effort from SMKC. True to the band’s expanding legacy, it’s everything you’ve come to expect from SLASH, Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns (bass), Brent Fitz (drums) and Frank Sidoris (rhythm guitar)... but also unlike anything you’ve heard from them yet. This time out, SLASH says, they captured a certain “magic” – the sound of five musicians and band mates listening to and playing off one another in the spirit of live, in-the-moment collaboration. “It has a very spontaneous, fun kind of thing to it, and I love that,” SLASH says of 4. “It’s the sound of the five of us just jamming together in one room.”
This is the first album to come from the newly formed relationship with Gibson Records and BMG
Etran de L'Aïr (or "stars of the Aïr region") welcomes you to Agadez, the capital city of Saharan rock. Playing for over 25 years, Etran has emerged as stars of the local wedding circuit. Beloved for their dynamic repertoire of hypnotic solos and sun schlazed melodies, Etran stakes out a place for Agadez guitar music. Playing a sound that invokes the desert metropolis, Agadez celebrates the sounds of all the dynamism of a hometown wedding. Etran is a family band composed of brothers and cousins, all born and raised in the small neighborhood of Abalane, just in the shadow of the grand mosque. Sons of nomadic families that settled here in the 1970s fleeing the droughts, they all grew up in Agadez. The band was formed in 1995 when current band leader Moussa "Abindi" Ibra was only 9 years old. "We only had one acoustic guitar," he explains, "and for percussion, we hit a calabash with a sandal." Over the decades, the band painstakingly pieced together gear to form their band and built an audience by playing everywhere, for everyone. "It was difficult. We would walk to gigs by foot, lugging all our equipment, carrying a small PA and guitars on our backs, 25 kilometers into the bush, to play for free_ there's nowhere in Agadez we haven't played." Whereas other Tuareg guitarists look to Western rock, Etran de L'Aïr play in a pan-African style that is emblematic of their hometown, citing a myriad of cultural influences, from Northern Malian blues, Hausa bar bands, to Congolese Soukous. It's perhaps this quality that makes them so beloved in Agadez. "We play for the Tuareg, the Toubou, the Zarma, the Hausa," Abindi explains. "When you invite us, we come and play." Their music is rooted in celebration, and invokes the exuberance of an Agadez wedding, with an overwhelming abundance of guitars, as simultaneous solos playfully pass over one another with a restrained precision, forceful yet never overindulgent.
Nonesuch Records releases Ghost Song, the label debut of singer/songwriter Cécile McLorin Salvant. Ghost Song features a diverse mix of seven originals and five interpretations on the themes of ghosts, nostalgia, and yearning. Salvant says, “It’s unlike anything I’ve done before – it’s getting closer to reflecting my personality as an eclectic curator. I’m embracing my weirdness!” Cécile McLorin Salvant plays at Cadogan Hall on November 16 as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival, four shows at SFJAZZ in February, and two nights featuring the music of Ghost Song at Jazz at Lincoln Center in May. Salvant says of the title track, out now, “What if the love has gone, the love has left you and you have the emotions around that, and you’re still going through them, still engaging with the ghost of that love?” She continues, “Some songs are so painful to come out but this one came out pretty quickly. I’ve had some loss the last couple of years: my grandmother, the drummer in my band Lawrence Leathers.”
Ghost Song opens and ends with a sean-nós (traditional Irish unaccompanied vocal style) performance by Salvant, recorded in a church. On track one, she transitions into Kate Bush’s 1978 classic ‘Wuthering Heights’. Salvant says of the song, “Wuthering Heights is a book that really struck me to my core as I was making this album, during the pandemic. And the best interpretation of the novel is Kate Bush’s song.” She continues, “It’s the most classic ghost story. I decided I wanted to do an album called Ghost Song, and I knew that one had to be on it. Then I had the idea to mix it in with the sean-nós ‘Cúirt Bhaile Nua’, which binds it to the traditional ‘Unquiet Grave’, the last track on the album. The ghost is not haunting me; now I am haunting the ghost. They parallel each other so well and they’re such different time periods. I wanted the album to be a circle, with the sean-nós reference at the beginning and at the end. So it is the first track but it’s also the last track and it’s also the middle track, which is how I listen to music, walking around my neighborhood, on a plane, travelling somewhere, putting stuff on repeat.” “All the songs on the album kind of mirror each other. I tried to create this strange symmetry. So as you go in from both ends, the songs are sort of matched together,” Salvant says. “‘I Lost my Mind’ is the center of the Russian doll. I wrote that in the middle of the pandemic. There were nights when I wanted to just scream. It was this deeper part of me saying, ‘It’s OK if this sounds completely crazy, OK to just go with the completely crazy thing and not worry if people think you have lost your mind for doing it.’
“The bands also mirror each other from top to bottom. In terms of the instrumentation, everything,” Salvant explains. “That’s why the songs are there in that relationship: they match each other, they’re like fraternal twins, or one is the evil twin of the other. I, as the living, am visited by the ghost, and then I go visit the ghost in turn. I am haunting the ghost and annoying the ghost, which is saying, ‘Get out of here and go live.’” Of the sonic variety on Ghost Song, Salvant says, “Texture is a big part of how I sing, having multiple textures in one song. It’s almost a compulsion. I can’t allow myself to stay in one texture. The instrumentation creates that but the recording process as well. It’s something I like, even when I’m eating. You want the creamy and chewy and crunchy at the same time. Warm and cold.”
Cécile McLorin Salvant, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and three-time Grammy Award winner, is a singer and composer bringing historical perspective, a renewed sense of drama, and an enlightened musical understanding to both jazz standards and her own original compositions. Classically trained, steeped in jazz, blues, and folk, and drawing from musical theater and vaudeville, Salvant embraces a wide-ranging repertoire that broadens the possibilities for live performance. Salvant’s performances range from spare duets for voice and piano to instrumental trios to orchestral ensembles. Her unreleased work Ogresse is an ambitious long-form song cycle based on oral fairy tales from the nineteenth century that explores the nature of freedom and desire in a racialized, patriarchal world. Salvant studied at the Université Pierre Mendès-France. She has performed at national and international venues and festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival, the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Village Vanguard, and the Kennedy Center. Salvant is also a visual artist.
The next ten-inch cut of the Time Is Now series comes courtesy of Nicky Soft Touch. These four tracks are a taste of things to come, handpicked from an as-yet-unannounced double LP the
Bristol native has had in the works since 2019.
Nicky Soft Touch's recent outings include two dusty hip-hop dubplates on London's Ghost Notes Worldwide; for Lonely City Sampler he explores a more British sound. Using a tape deck and a pile of old jungle tapes, cut-up snippets were crafted into an audio collage balancing ambience with rave style crescendos. Driving dubwise bass dominates 'Lost In A Sea Of Rolling Eyes'
while disrupted breakbeats meet stuttering chords in 'Lonely City Cut 4'. The closing track's
garage-inflected UK techno beat is haunted by spaced out diva vocals, a melancholic mover for
city nights.
Lonely City Sampler drops December 10th via Time Is Now.
Rotterdam producer Mata Disk debuts on Nous'klaer with Surrounder. A 4-track EP with Mata Disk finding his influences early on as his parents exposed him to 90s electro. For the listener, Surrounder is a rhythmic bath that bounces forward at an antelope's pace. Accompanied by modular melodies which ebb and flow like water over a proverbial shallow riverbed of wires and cables. Surrounder lives up to its name and origins with all the excitability and all-encompassing experience of being young and shown a whole new world.
With the VOI 029 we are presenting the UK-based Mercy System, also known as Adam Crawford. Growing up in a small town on the outskirts of Manchester, he brings a dark, swung, early dubstep influence to his beats. With "Recognise" Crawford now lands his debut EP on Voitax, a personal project that represents his patiently accumulated skill set in sound design, as part of an excellently produced dystopian UK Bass four-tracker. This powerful package combines high-definition sample work with outstanding arrangements. With the right eye for voice shaping, crowned with beautifully placed drone delays, dense bass, and broken drum patterns, this EP also explores the realms of Dubstep nuanced with UK Garage, Grime, and Dancehall, while keeping its unique character. We are thrilled to hear more to come from this newbie among the UK ass producers.
Savy Records welcomes rising talent Slak to their roster with the multifaceted 4-track EP 'Trilogy of Reasons', the third issue from the innovative and fast-growing label. The Berlin-based Italian producer's 90s' influences shine in opener 'I See The Light', a jubilant acid techno bomb built on groovy 909 patterns, deep Detroit-influenced chords and a hypnotic 303 riff. The more esoteric 'Confusion' throws out plenty of hooks via arpeggiated synth lines and warm distorted kick drums, while 'Reasons' delivers a slow-building dystopian energy - full of slamming breakbeats and euphoric pads, it's perfect for warming up a dance floor. Rounding up this bright, energetic and atmospheric EP is a remix from another Berlin-based artist, Adlas, that weaves together playful futuristic rhythms guaranteed to take you far into another dimension.
“I like it when music builds itself up in an organic fashion,” says Duncan Marquiss. “When it just seems to emerge and almost writes itself.”
This natural, intuitive and free flowing approach is evident all across the debut solo album from the multi-disciplinary artist. From tender yet sweeping acoustic moments to experimental electronic guitar manipulations, the album feels like a ceaselessly sprawling exploration of texture and tone. Despite veering into what sounds like electronic ambient soundscapes, the entire album is rooted in the guitars. “I enjoy trying to stretch the guitar as an instrument,” says Marquiss. “That reflects my playing style, always trying to make the guitar sound different, or create non-guitar like sounds.”
Marrying earthy, textural acoustic instrumentals that feel rooted in open landscapes, with those that capture the pulse and hum of a populated metropolis (Marquiss resides in Glasgow). The album was recorded in Aberdeenshire in Marquiss’ parents' garage. “Apart from the wind and the swallows nesting in the eaves there’s not many distractions around,” he says. This is a solo record that goes right to the very essence of Marquiss as an artist. The expansive yet intimate sounds he’s created here stem from the same peaceful isolation of where it all began.
There’s a cosmic touch tracing back to 1970s Germany (Michael Rother solo, Cluster, Harmonia, Popul Vuh soundtracks) that infiltrates much of the album, alongside some of its more pastoral textures, with Marquiss citing a wide range of listening habits. These include Bruce Langhorne's The Hired Hand, Jim O Rouke's Bad Timing, Arthur Russell and Laurie Spiegel.
Despite containing no lyrics, the album feels rooted in narrative and development. As the album unfolds the acoustic guitar becomes more prominent over the electric, almost as if nature is slowly taking back and growing over abandoned human-made structures. A record that, despite being experimental in tone and essence, retains a very human and natural touch throughout.
In the small inland town of São Domingos on Cape Verde's Santiago Island, The Ano Nobo Quartet delivers a fresh take on Koladera, a guitar-driven, subtly rhythmic sound of a lighter spirit. Their sound tells a global story with Cape Verde at its center, a creole melting pot in the middle of the Atlantic attracting the best from four continents: hypnotic, haunting Koladera guitars inflected with twangs of Salsa Cubano, Spanish Flamenco, Brazilian Samba Canção, Jamaican Reggae, Argentine Tango, Mozambican Marrabenta, and finished with a dash of Black American Blues. It's all here. Absent percussion, the quartet's sound still drips with rhythm. Rich, raw acoustic music you can dance to.
This album was recorded in three locations on Santiago Island: at homes, by the sea, and on the volcanic hills of Cape Verde. Each location used a mobile recording studio equipped with different mics placed near and far to capture both the Spanish and Chinese-made guitars and the natural environment that shapes the saudade, a melancholic longing, of Koladera. Each space has its own atmosphere heard in the interludes.
A double LP pressed at 45 RPM for an even silkier listening experience and packaged in a luxurious matte-laminated gatefold with a high quality 12-page booklet along with a hardcover bookcase CD with a 24-page booklet.
Heiko Voss has earned near mythical status as a torchbearer for the emotional, deeply felt and quietly radical style of electronic music. The blissed-out radiance of his Kompakt Pop single, “I Think About You” remains one of the label catalog highlights and a stellar run of collaborative singles as Schaeben & Voss; others might know him for his stewardship of the excellent, much-underrated Firm imprint. But with his new album, 3:30 Minutes To Live, released by Michael Mayer’s label Imara, Voss returns after a long silence with a beautiful collection of songs that hymn heartbreak with a lusciously melodic touch.
There is something definitive and newly confident in 3:30 Minutes To Live that has it feeling like a real statement of intent if compared to his earlier releases. “Although it’s not, 3:30 Minutes To Live feels like my debut album,” Voss reflects. “All releases before were more song sketches or electronic dance tracks.” Bunkering down in Teary Eyes Studio, Voss worked up somewhere between thirty and forty sketches of songs, which he whittled down to the twelve collected here, all of them situated in a unique space, but very much in accord with Voss’s defining aesthetic, which he describes as “indie pop music with a lot of guitar, electronic elements and a great love for melancholic ‘80s synth-lines.”
Voss is sensitive to both variety and consistency – 3:30 Minutes To Live sits together as an assured, vibrant collection of pop songs, but it’s marked by all kinds of surprising incident, like the guitar solo that erupts out of “This Is My Life”, or the acoustic guitar-led melancholy of the closing “This Summer”. It’s all borne of the alchemy of the studio process and the intimate romance of music-making. “If you constantly feel a little bit like you’re in love while writing and producing your music – simply because of the sound of the synth flowing warmly and gently through the room, or because the sequence of notes awakens something in you, or even a randomly arising groove in the loop of a guitar lick makes you shout, ‘Ha!!’ – then it usually becomes a beautiful song,” Voss nods. “Those moments make me happy.”
There’s also a delicious tension between the push of the music, its melodic lushness and gliding, ballerina-like movement, and the darker currents that pull through Voss’s lyrics, inspired by a “short, dramatic and toxic love affair.” This may read like familiar terrain for a pop album, but the way Voss weaves language through both the extra-linguistic joys of music and the inarticulate speech of the heart somehow allows for direct communication that is simultaneously plain-spoken and deeply profound. “Say It” is a simple, devastatingly effective plaint of alienation; “She Wasn’t Lonely” a simple portrait of everyday living set to chiming, clacking guitars, the music in the bridge taking astral flight as the titular character ‘lets herself go.’
A smart and sharp collection of songs that captures you with its gorgeous melodicism just as it blindsides you with its aching heart, 3:30 Minutes To Live is Heiko Voss at his most assured and open-hearted best.
Heiko Voss hat sich als Fackelträger einer emotionalen, von ganzem Herzen kommenden und nicht auf den ersten Blick radikalen Spielart von elektronischer Musik einen nahezu mythischen Status erarbeitet. Das schiere Glück, welches seine Kompakt Pop-Single "I Think About You" aus dem Jahr 2003 immer noch ausstrahlt, macht sie nach wie vor zu einem der Highlights des Label-Katalogs, wo sie neben einer ganzen Reihe hervorragender Singles als Schaeben & Voss steht; andere kennen Heiko vielleicht durch das tolle und vielfach unterschätzte Label Firm, für das er zusammen mit Thomas Schaeben verantwortlich war. Mit seinem neuen Album “3:30 Minutes To Live”, das am 4. März 2022 auf Michael Mayers Label Imara erscheint, kehrt Voss nun nach einer langen Pause mit einer wunderschönen Sammlung von Songs zurück, die den Herzschmerz – getragen auf den Schwingen unwiderstehlicher Melodien – ausgiebig besingen.
“3:30 Minutes To Live” kommt mit einer gehörigen Portion Überzeugung und Selbstbewusstsein daher, was im Vergleich zu seinen früheren Veröffentlichungen wie ein bewusstes Statement wirkt. "Obwohl es das nicht ist, fühlt sich ‘3:30 Minutes To Live’ wie mein Debütalbum an", meint Voss. "Alle meine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen waren eher Song-Skizzen oder elektronische Dance-Tracks."
Im Teary Eyes Studio arbeitete Voss zwischen dreißig und vierzig Songskizzen aus, die er auf die zwölf hier versammelten Songs reduzierte, die alle ihren eigenen Raum einnehmen, dabei aber sehr gut mit Voss' übergeordneter Ästhetik harmonieren, die er als "Indie-Pop-Musik mit viel Gitarre, elektronischen Elementen und einer großen Liebe für melancholische 80er-Jahre-Synthies" beschreibt.
Voss ist sowohl für Abwechslung als auch für Konsistenz empfänglich - “3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine selbstsichere, lebendige Sammlung von Popsongs, die aber auch von allerlei Überraschungen geprägt ist, wie dem Gitarrensolo, das aus “This Is My Life” herausbricht, oder die von einer Akustikgitarre getragene Melancholie des abschließenden “This Summer”.
Das alles ist entstanden aus der besonderen Alchemie des Studioprozesses und der intimen Romantik des Musikmachens. "Wenn du beim Schreiben und Produzieren deiner Musik ständig das Gefühl hast, ein bisschen verliebt zu sein – einfach weil der Klang des Synthesizers warm und sanft durch den Raum fließt, oder weil die Notenfolge etwas in dir weckt, oder sogar ein zufällig auftauchender Groove im Loop eines Gitarren-Licks dich ein 'Ha!' ausrufen lässt – dann wird daraus meist ein schöner Song", nickt Voss. "Diese Momente machen mich glücklich."
Es entsteht eine besondere Spannung zwischen dem positiven Elan der Musik, ihrer melodischen Verschwendungssucht, den gleitenden, Ballerina-artigen Bewegungen und den dunkleren Strömungen, die durch Voss' Texte ziehen, die von einer "kurzen, dramatischen und giftigen Liebesaffäre" inspiriert sind. Das mag sich wie ein vertrautes Terrain für ein Pop-Album anhören, aber die Art und Weise, wie Voss die Sprache sowohl durch die nonverbalen Elemente der Musik als auch durch den nicht artikulierten Ausdruck des Herzens verwebt, ermöglicht eine Art direkte Kommunikation, die gleichzeitig ausgesprochen klar und trotzdem tiefgründig ist. “Say It" ist eine erschütternd einprägsame Anklage von Entfremdung; "She Wasn't Lonely" ist ein einfaches Porträt des alltäglichen Lebens, untermalt von klappernden Gitarren, in dem die Musik einen astralen Flug unternimmt, während die Titelfigur sich "gehen lässt".
“3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine kluge und scharfsinnige Sammlung von Songs, die den Zuhörenden mit ihren wunderschönen Melodien fesseln, aber auch mit einer Menge schmerzenden Gefühlen konfrontiert. Ein Album, auf dem Heiko Voss ganz bei sich ist und Euch dabei mehr als nur sein Herz öffnet.
A new hub solely for the Icelandic talent’s unreleased material, BJARKI will also serve as a platform to launch a wealth of forthcoming audiovisual projects in the coming months, with the label logo designed by Paul Nicholson, NUMBER 3, and all artwork designed by Thomas Harrington Rawle - the creative behind the Care More project. Operating and creating its own storyline with every release, intertwining projects between Harrington Rawle and Bjarki across various mediums, the imprint will also drop a series of offshoot white label releases while being reactive and unveiling random drops across its upcoming schedule. Delivering his first solo release since ‘Oli Gumm’ on трип in 2018, late-February marks the first release on the new label as he unveils his four-track ‘I Wanna Go Home’ EP.
“I want to share more of my unreleased works, especially the tracks that I have created specifically for parties in each city I play. People impact my work a lot, and I would like to share this music directly before or after the show. I don’t see any other way than to set up my own channel or label where I can share all these ideas. Next year will be a lot about sharing stuff and being in direct contact with the audience.” - Bjarki
Opening the label with authority, ‘I Wanna Go Home’ welcomes a quartet of cuts showcasing the genre-spanning polymath at his best, delivering a medley of serious yet playful productions which arc back to previous material while also looking ahead to the future. A creative force with an unrelenting swathe of experimental ideas, influences and directions, this new eponymous imprint looks set to home some of Bjarki’s finest and most unpredictable material to date.
Strut presents the first compilation of legendary Afghan Ghazal singer Dr. Mohammad Sadiq Fitrat a.k.a. Nashenas, recorded at the Radio Afghanistan Studios and later released on singles by the Royal label in Iran. Nashenas first made his move towards music aged 16 in 1951 when he approached Afghanistan’s national radio station, Radio Kabul, with an idea for a broadcast and, impressed with his language skills, they offered him a permanent job. “I was in close contact with some of the big names in Afghan music like Jalil Zaland,” Nashenas explains. “My father had a gramophone and we listened to other singers like Ustad Qasim Khan and Kundan Lal Saigal.” After unsuccessful initial forays into singing sessions for the station, he honed his skills as a writer, singer and musician, playing the harmonium. Inspired by a movie he had seen at the cinema, Nashenas wrote a new poem and sang on air again after the evening news, using the name ‘Nashenas’ (meaning ‘unknown’) for the first time. Following a wave of positive feedback from the public, he was given a new weekend slot and built his reputation through film song interpretations, famous poems set to music and his own compositions sung in Dari and Pashto. Nashenas would witness turbulent times as Afghanistan found itself caught up in the Cold War and the early ‘90s civil war until it became too dangerous to stay in the country. Through a friend in the U.N., he was able to seek asylum for himself and his family and take up residence in London, continuing to work as a musician and giving concerts globally. Most of Nashenas’ recordings during this period were only made for broadcast, later surfacing on singles through the Royal label in Iran. Life Is A Heavy Burden is compiled from these singles by Chris Menist and Mads Jensen. All tracks are remastered by The Carvery and both formats feature new liner notes including an interview with Nashenas. The album is part of the new United Sounds of Asia series curated by Chris Menist and Maft Sai of Paradise Bangkok.
It’s been a decade since SLASH featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators released their debut album together, and since then have been on one of the more impressive and unrelenting tears in rock ‘n’ roll, issuing two more hard-hitting, highly-acclaimed records, and rocking stages all over the world. Since their debut, SLASH has amassed album sales of over 100M copies, garnered a Grammy Award and 7 Grammy nominations, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Enter 4, the Dave Cobb-produced highly anticipated studio effort from SMKC. True to the band’s expanding legacy, it’s everything you’ve come to expect from SLASH, Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns (bass), Brent Fitz (drums) and Frank Sidoris (rhythm guitar)... but also unlike anything you’ve heard from them yet. This time out, SLASH says, they captured a certain “magic” – the sound of five musicians and band mates listening to and playing off one another in the spirit of live, in-the-moment collaboration. “It has a very spontaneous, fun kind of thing to it, and I love that,” SLASH says of 4. “It’s the sound of the five of us just jamming together in one room.”
This is the first album to come from the newly formed relationship with Gibson Records and BMG
The brand new album from David Luximon (Formerly Vive La Rose) is a sonic step forward, an album both challenging and comforting, blending classic 60's psych with contemporary harmonics - Produced by Olly Betts (Thurston Moore) and Simon Willey (Brian Ferry/Prince) the album features art from 2020 Vinyl Art nominee Gareth Halliday
Using vintage analogue equipment the album tips a cap to the likes of David Axelrod and Captain Beefheart.
Sound can be a labyrinth, a twilight drift. Sound can truely unfold when it escapes logic or categorisation. For it is never really one thing or another, especially abstract, collaged or found sound, as it is always connected to a time and a place, or sometimes to an intention, or a notion, or – even more vague – to something as dubious as a feeling. So all this is inevitably inherent in a sound too. Sound is a fact but also an inbetween. In A Piece Of Work, concrete composer crys cole takes us on a journey through those inbetween places. Fragments collected over time in Oslo, Berlin, Vienna, Winnipeg, Melbourne and Lisbon were later arranged and assembled into an invented space, a story arc, a freeform poem. cole's work is one of dynamics and proximity, of complexity and sensitivity. One that embraces both montage and movement. Originally commissioned by Radiophrenia (Glasgow, Scotland), where it premiered in 2019, A Piece Of Work has been developed through live performances and studio sessions, naturally progressing over time and eventually leading to this final version presented here on vinyl.
Composed, performed and recorded by crys cole, 2019-21. With additional percussion by Oren Ambarchi and electronics by Seiji Morimoto. Mixed with Joe Talia at Good Mixture in Berlin, 2021. Mastered and cut by Anne Taegert at Dubplates & Mastering in Berlin, 2021. A Piece Of Work was commissioned by Radiophrenia in Glasgow, Scotland, and originally premiered in 2019.
SUGARTOWN existed for a short period of time, but long enough for the country-soul voice of Gwen Stewart to make its mark - Two albums were released in Germany on the Marina label, and Sugartown performed live occasionally as guests of The Bathers.
The albums, 'Swimming In The Horsepool' and 'Slow Flows The River' were produced by Douglas MacIntyre and Paul McGeechan. McIntyre also wrote the bulk of the material specifcally with Gwen's voice in mind. Her vocal performance on the tracks featured on the PNFG album are sad and soulful, channeling the melancholia of Bobbie Gentry and Dusty in Memphis.The album title, 'Mount Florida', is named in honour of the location where the songs were written, with the exception of 'Valentine', which was written by Willie Nelson. The 12 songs on the album are down-tempo and resigned, Gwen's voice imbues a tenderness for the wee small hours.
Die im südlichen New Hampshire, USA beheimateten Blackened Melodic Death Metaller BEGAT THE NEPHILIMhaben ihr weltweites Signing bei Noble Demon bekannt gegeben und werden im Herbst 2021 ein neues Album veröffentlichen!
BEGAT THE NEPHILIM wurden 2012 gegründet und haben eine intensive und unverkennbare Laufbahn hingelegt, in der sie die Bühne mit bekannten Acts wie SOULFLY, SUICIDE SILENCE, NAPALM DEATH, SUFFOCATION, MORBID ANGEL oder vielen anderen teilten und an namhaften Touren/Festivals in den USA, wie Summer Slaughter und dem New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, teilnahmen. Mit ihrem drückenden und doch melodischen und technisch beeindruckenden Sound, sowie ihren frenetischen und chaotischen Live-Auftritten, hat die Band bereits vielerorts einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen und sich einen renommierten Namen in der Szene erspielt.
Das mit Spannung erwartete zweite Album von BEGAT THE NEPHILIM, mit dem Titel "II: The Grand Procession", erscheint am 29. Oktober via Noble Demon. Einen ersten, imposanten Einblick in die neue Platte gibt es mit dem Lyric-Video zu "Paupers Grave".
Die im südlichen New Hampshire, USA beheimateten Blackened Melodic Death Metaller BEGAT THE NEPHILIMhaben ihr weltweites Signing bei Noble Demon bekannt gegeben und werden im Herbst 2021 ein neues Album veröffentlichen!
BEGAT THE NEPHILIM wurden 2012 gegründet und haben eine intensive und unverkennbare Laufbahn hingelegt, in der sie die Bühne mit bekannten Acts wie SOULFLY, SUICIDE SILENCE, NAPALM DEATH, SUFFOCATION, MORBID ANGEL oder vielen anderen teilten und an namhaften Touren/Festivals in den USA, wie Summer Slaughter und dem New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, teilnahmen. Mit ihrem drückenden und doch melodischen und technisch beeindruckenden Sound, sowie ihren frenetischen und chaotischen Live-Auftritten, hat die Band bereits vielerorts einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen und sich einen renommierten Namen in der Szene erspielt.
Das mit Spannung erwartete zweite Album von BEGAT THE NEPHILIM, mit dem Titel "II: The Grand Procession", erscheint am 29. Oktober via Noble Demon. Einen ersten, imposanten Einblick in die neue Platte gibt es mit dem Lyric-Video zu "Paupers Grave".
Munich quintet Fazer are set to release their third album ‘Plex’ on City Slang in 2022. Moving freely between composition and improvisation, the band’s spacious, organic sound pitches lyrical melodies from guitar and trumpet over double-drummer polyrhythmic grooves and dub-like basslines.
Coming from different musical backgrounds ranging from bebop to electronic, Fazer met while studying jazz at the Academy for Music and Theatre in Munich. The German city has a rich history of improvised music; home to labels ECM (Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Reich) and Enja (Archie Shepp, Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones) and Krautrock icons Embryo. Today much of the scene in Munich revolves around Radio 80000, an online community radio station located in the east of
the city. There, dedicated diggers like Karl Hector (Now-Again) or Marvin & Valentino of Public Possession are doing regular shows and it’s this diversity that drives the band’s DNA
Munich quintet Fazer are set to release their third album ‘Plex’ on City Slang in 2022. Moving freely between composition and improvisation, the band’s spacious, organic sound pitches lyrical melodies from guitar and trumpet over double-drummer polyrhythmic grooves and dub-like basslines.
Coming from different musical backgrounds ranging from bebop to electronic, Fazer met while studying jazz at the Academy for Music and Theatre in Munich. The German city has a rich history of improvised music; home to labels ECM (Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Steve Reich) and Enja (Archie Shepp, Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones) and Krautrock icons Embryo. Today much of the scene in Munich revolves around Radio 80000, an online community radio station located in the east of
the city. There, dedicated diggers like Karl Hector (Now-Again) or Marvin & Valentino of Public Possession are doing regular shows and it’s this diversity that drives the band’s DNA
The Coral is the eponymous debut studio album by British rock band the Coral. It was released on 29 July 2002, through the Deltasonic record label. After finalising their line-up, the band had a residency at The Cavern Club, where they were spotted and signed by Alan Willis of Deltasonic. Following the release of a single and an EP, and two UK tours, the band began recording their debut album. Sessions were held at Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes in early 2002, and were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and the Coral. Described as a psychedelia and folk rock album, frontman James Skelly's voice was compared to Eric Burdon of the Animals and Jim Morrison of the Doors.
The Coral toured the United Kingdom twice (one stint as a co-headliner with the Music), and supported Pulp and Oasis for a few shows, leading up to the release of The Coral's lead single "Goodbye" on 15 July 2002. Following an appearance at that year's V Festival, the band toured the UK again in October 2002 to coincide with the album's second single "Dreaming of You" on 7 October 2002. The Coral was released in the United States on 4 March 2003, through Columbia Records.
The Coral received universal acclaim reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the high quality musicianship. The album peaked at number five in the UK, while also charting in France, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and the US. It, alongside "Dreaming of You", would later be certified platinum in the UK. "Goodbye" charted at number 21 in the UK, and number 28 in Scotland, while "Dreaming of You" peaked at number 13 in the UK, and number 14 in Scotland. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and a Brit Award.
The Coral is the eponymous debut studio album by British rock band the Coral. It was released on 29 July 2002, through the Deltasonic record label. After finalising their line-up, the band had a residency at The Cavern Club, where they were spotted and signed by Alan Willis of Deltasonic. Following the release of a single and an EP, and two UK tours, the band began recording their debut album. Sessions were held at Linford Manor Studios, Milton Keynes in early 2002, and were produced by the Lightning Seeds frontman Ian Broudie and the Coral. Described as a psychedelia and folk rock album, frontman James Skelly's voice was compared to Eric Burdon of the Animals and Jim Morrison of the Doors.
The Coral toured the United Kingdom twice (one stint as a co-headliner with the Music), and supported Pulp and Oasis for a few shows, leading up to the release of The Coral's lead single "Goodbye" on 15 July 2002. Following an appearance at that year's V Festival, the band toured the UK again in October 2002 to coincide with the album's second single "Dreaming of You" on 7 October 2002. The Coral was released in the United States on 4 March 2003, through Columbia Records.
The Coral received universal acclaim reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the high quality musicianship. The album peaked at number five in the UK, while also charting in France, Ireland, Japan, Scotland, and the US. It, alongside "Dreaming of You", would later be certified platinum in the UK. "Goodbye" charted at number 21 in the UK, and number 28 in Scotland, while "Dreaming of You" peaked at number 13 in the UK, and number 14 in Scotland. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and a Brit Award.
Lorca joins the Shall Not Fade family with a debut LP consisting of 8 melodic tracks with richly-layered soundscapes made up of samples and field recordings taken from his hometown, Brighton.
His first full-length album as Lorca, the Saudade LP sees Sam Cassman return to a melancholic and experimental sound for which he originally made a name for himself since his first release in 2012. The album's title, written in Portuguese - the language native to his current residence, Madeira - translates to English as "a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia". With stripped-back percussion and plaintive
atmospherics, it's clear to see why. We are soothed into things with the soft melody of "Lullabies" before being transported to Brighton Beach via field recordings of seagulls and the whisper of pebbles on the second track. The driving pulse of deep house track "Are You Gonna Love Me" picks up the pace whilst maintaining a sense of minimalism before the shimmering lull of "Two Pianos" brings things right back with
formless sonic collages and drifting atmospherics.
Flip the record over and the rolling beats are back. "Colraine" and "uTube" see the return of clever use of sampling, the latter including mobile phone recordings of live piano playing by friends, sampled from social media. "Colraine" offers up pulsating jazz rhythms, oozing with groove, before the aptly-named "Polly" ushers in a change of course with a razor-sharp polyrhythmic melody and acid undertones which are more suited to the club. On "Rock Paper", it's sound design that takes centre stage. To close the LP, Lorca manipulates field recordings taken from inside his studio to incorporate abstract, sample-based percussion, making for a truly unique take on techno and synthesis.
Amsterdam based DJ and producer Perdu aka Alain van der Born returns to Live At Robert Johnson for his second release: On his Illusion Of Choice EP, Perdu drives his sound one notch harder, yet retains his trademark 1980s tinged vibe. Perdu has already secured releases on DGTL Records, Heist and Let’s Play House amongst others, and surely is a keen producer to keep your eyes and ears on.
A1 Archi gets into gear with a straight and focused beat arrangement. It’s a trippy uptempo vibe, intertwined by a slightly modulated Arpeggio-Bassline and its transposed twin figure.
A2 Grey Rush features a filtered broken beat, quickly rushing inbetween sprinkled effects and noises, off into a resonating Bass figure and outstanding melodic arrangement, both which dominate the better part of this energetic track.
B1 Sitrao doesn’t hesitate long in letting a pounding Kick Drum escort you right into an uptempo Cosmic vibe. It’s that arpeggiated Bass, catchy melody and silky pads, which might just get those hands in the air again.
B2 Blue Rush is a subtle variation of Grey Rush, omitting the resonating Bass figure. Yet it doesn’t compromise its level of energy, as this keeps the beat stand out contoured, compared to its twin track Grey Rush. credits
It works in clubs. it works at after hours. Also, small bars vibrate meaningful on it: the music of Kuniyuki Takahashi enthralls everywhere and is made for heedful listeners, that love the thrill of little musical nuances, shifting in a deeply composed ocean of sound.
In terms of composition, melodic sensitivity, and subtle progression the music of japanese producer, Sound designer and dj stands out. Ambient, Future-Jazz, Deep House, Leftfield Elec-tronics: since more then 25 years the man from Sapporo expresses his emotions with a wide stylistic range.
As Kuniyuki or under pseudonyms like Koss or Newwave project, he released a body of work consisting of numerous albums and EP’s, that display his deep musical consciousness pro-foundly. Now his home label Mule Musiq drops “Remix Works “, an eighth tune strong compila-tion featuring for the second time since 2013 Kuniyuki Takahashi’s very own virtuosity of re-mixing.
A double vinyl that carries the full pallet of his skills – from yacht rock leaning synth-pop and balearic dreams to sweet wave signals and soulful Pop House.
It all starts with Kuniyuki’s Remix of “Plateau”, a tune by japanese Nu-Jazz / Post‐Rock band mouse on the keys, released in 2013 on the short living japanese retalk label. An epic, almost ten-minute-long house voyage, full of discreet acid shades and enlightening Jazz chords, that play spirited tricks on each other’s manic musical preaching.
Since its inception in 2007, Minimood has continued to explore the deeper, dubbier realms of techno, house and minimal, playing host to the likes of CV313, David Hausdorf, Steve O’Sullivan, Luke Hess, Sascha Dive, Delano Smith and many more. Now, label head Voltmar returns to the subseries Minimood Extra together with his good friend Polish DJ/producer Blazej Malinowski to serve up two individual atmospheric, dub-techno reworks of Russian underground duo Advanced Dreams’ ‘Blurred Trip’ pressed on transparent wax.
Inner Tension chief Blazej Malinowski’s interpretation of the aptly titled ‘Blurred Trip’ creates a complex sonic soundscape as evocative keys, subtle percussion, reverberating basslines and ethereal samples work in harmony. On the flip, Voltmar offers up a chuggy, stripped back reshape as ghostly echoes, tight snares, and a punchy bassline carry this profoundly emotive cut.
It’s time for a new Reinhard Voigt EP on Kompakt? It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago since we last heard from him but then again, time is running! His latest release on Kompakt "Was wir spüren" (KOM 402) was released in May 2019. From there we encountered Reinhard's musical work mainly in the form of various digital reissues or in union with his brother Wolfgang together as Voigt & Voigt. Then in August of 2021, a glimmer of musical life from Reinhard reached his loyal fans in the form of a continuation of his RV ultra-minimalist concept series as "RV 05 / RV 06" via our KX imprint.
So that brings us to the present. Two new tracks that preach and spin on the classic Reinhard Voigt sound. Tracks that are as relentless as they are consistent to his signature stoic, radical, minimal techno. "Cha Cha Club" creaks and stomps along so mercilessly that they leave us impatient for the reopening of a dark, foggy club room and to have the bitter taste of gin and chemicals on our palates. Bass drum in, bass drum out - sometimes that's all it takes to be happy.
With "Die Frau, die nach Deutz ging" Reinhard discloses a small tale in the title...that this is the continuation of "Der Mann, der nie nach Deutz kam", a track from “Was wir spüren”. Elements recall Reinhard Voigt's SPEICHER tracks; sovereign, modern techno, monotonous in principle, but here and there interrupted and structured by unexpected signals and sounds in such a way that the track will also work on larger dance floors.
Eine reguläre, brandneue Reinhard Voigt 12inch? Das ist nicht nur gefühlt schon eine ganze Weile her. Time ist ja bekanntlich running. Seit “Was wir spüren” (KOM 402), erschienen im Mai 2019, begegnete uns Reinhards musikalisches Schaffen vor allem in Form diverser digitaler Wiederveröffentlichungen oder im Duett mit seinem Bruder Wolfgang als Voigt & Voigt. Im August letzten Jahres erreichte die treue Fangemeinde dann wenigstens ein kleines Lebenszeichen in Form der “RV 05 / RV 06”, der Fortsetzung seiner ultra-minimalistischen Konzeptreihe auf KX.
Nun also zwei neue Tracks, die so unerbittlich wie konsequent den klassischen Reinhard Voigt-Sound predigen und weiterspinnen – stoisch, radikal, minimal. “Cha Cha Club” knarzt und stampft dabei so gnadenlos voran, dass wir die Wiedereröffnung von geschlossenen Räumen voller Nebel und Dunkelheit und mit dem bitteren Geschmack von Gin und Chemikalien an unseren Gaumen kaum erwarten können. Bassdrum rein, Bassdrum raus, mehr braucht es manchmal nicht zum glücklich sein.
Mit “Die Frau, die nach Deutz ging” erzählt uns Reinhard zumindest im Titel die Fortsetzung von “Der Mann, der nie nach Deutz kam”, einem Track von “Was wir spüren”. Hier erinnert manches an Voigts SPEICHER-Tracks, souveräner, moderner Techno, vom Grundsatz her monoton, aber hier und da von unerwarteten Signalen und Tönen so unterbrochen und strukturiert, dass er auch auf größeren Tanzflächen funktioniert.
‘Free World’ is the first full-length issue from an
ongoing collaboration between Behavior (Bedros
Yeretzian, Evan Burrows, Justin Tenney, Robbie
Cody) and Mayako XO (Sara Gernsbacher). It was
tracked between 2019 and 2020 and assembled
over the course of the last year in Los Angeles.
The album reflects its creation under open-ended
yet intent circumstances. What’s recorded is a
tangled pas de deux between discredited and
demonstrative characters, singing through shifting
voices over a living, melancholic music rendered
legible by surveillance.
Mastered by Sarah Register.
For fans of Sonic Youth, Velvet Underground,
Dead C, Blonde Redhead.
Mercurial London artist Nilüfer Yanya announces her hugely anticipated second
album, ‘PAINLESS’, for release via ATO Records.
‘PAINLESS’ is the follow-up to Nilüfer Yanya’s renowned 2019 debut album, ‘Miss
Universe’, which fully established her as a singular artist and a distinctive voice that
simply has to be heard.
The critically acclaimed ‘Miss Universe’ - a widescreen concept record that took a
tongue in cheek swipe at the most self-involved corners of the health and wellness
industry - was followed last year by the three song EP ‘Feeling Lucky?’, which further
explored Yanya’s fascination with ‘90s alt-rock melodies and drew on themes of
resentment, her fear of flying, and the concept of luck. Pitchfork summed up ‘Feeling
Lucky?’ and her now peerless songwriting aptitude best: “Nilüfer Yanya’s melodies
have a pull so strong they almost necessitate their own law of physics.”
Yanya also re-released her early EPs on vinyl for the first time this year, on the
record ‘Inside Out’. The release is a fundraiser for Artists in Transit, a collaborative
not for profit group she founded with her sister Molly that delivers art workshops to
displaced people and communities in times of hardship.
As the daughter of two visual artists (her Irish-Barbadian mother is a textile designer
and her Turkish-born father’s work is exhibited at the British Museum), creativity was
always destined for Nilüfer Yanya’s future. Now she enters the next stage of her
creative journey - Yanya is running head first into the depths of emotional
vulnerability on her sophomore record, ‘PAINLESS’. The album was recorded
between a basement studio in Stoke Newington and Riverfish Music in Penzance
with ‘Miss Universe’ collaborator and producer Wilma Archer, DEEK Recordings
founder Bullion, Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo and musician Jazzi Bobbi.
Where ‘Miss Universe’ stretched musical boundaries to include a litany of styles from
smooth jazz melodies to radio ready pop, ‘PAINLESS’ takes a more direct sonic
approach. By narrowing down her previously broad palette to a handful of robust
ideas that revolve around melancholy harmonies and looped industrial beats to mimic
the insular focus of the lyrics, Yanya has smoothed out the idiosyncrasies of previous
releases without losing what is essential to her.
‘PAINLESS’ is a record that forces the listener to sit with the discomfort that
accompanies so many of life’s biggest challenges whether it be relationship
breakdowns, coping with loneliness, or the search for our inner self. “It's a record
about emotion,” Yanya explains. “I think it's more open about that in a way that ‘Miss
Universe’ wasn't because there's so many cloaks and sleeves with the concept I built
around it.” Summing up the ethos of the new album, she adds, “I’m not as scared to
admit my feelings.”
Should stock of ATO0594BI1 sell out, a different standard vinyl format will be made
available (ATO0594LP).
“A distinctive new voice in indie rock, a deeply expressive singer and sharply
inventive guitarist” - Uncut
“On a musical and human level, then, the world needs more people like Nilüfer
Yanya” - MOJO
“A true original” - The Guardian
Andrew Tasselmyer is a musician from Baltimore, MD currently living in Philadelphia, PA. He utilizes samplers, field recordings, and lo-fi recording techniques to make textured and tactile sounds.
In addition to his solo catalog on labels such as Seil Records, Eilean Recs, Constellation Tatsu, Home Normal, and more, he is a member of Hotel Neon, Gray Acres, and Mordançage
Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their third studio album We Are the Others in 2012 to positive reviews from music critics. The album title was inspired by the murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster, whose murder was likely a hate crime due to her being part of the goth subculture. The album spawned two single releases: “Get The Devil Out of Me” and the title track, for which the band shot a music video that included many well-known people from the metal scene, including George Oosthoek, Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt and Rob van der Loo. The album features guest contributions by the likes of Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and Marko Hietala (Nightwish) and was produced by Jacob Hellner (aka Tripod), who is best known for producing most of Rammstein’s albums.
As a confluence of ideas and methods, WILD ROCKET endeavour to interpret the subtle signals of the universe - the interplanetary vibrations - and present them as brash manifestations of sound. Scientists and Shaman alike have endeavoured to interpret the universal whispers, to elucidate meaning from the measurable and the sensible. It is known that to measure and interpret is to alter and colour those signals and this is what drives the development of WILD ROCKET's sound and interpretation.
FORMLESS ABYSS showcases the band's unflinching pummelling style, drifting from repetitive blows to unhinged swirls of din yet always remaining innately infectious and perhaps surprisingly danceable. The record is presented as a continuous piece in three parts.
The title track A FORMLESS ABYSS appears here for the first time in recorded form – a behemoth of a tune which builds around a drone, joined by dual drums and minimal bass locked into a repetitive groove. A groove that is slowly expanded via multiple guitars and synthesis. Vocals eventually join at just the right moment imploring the listener to “leave your criticisms down” and realise “we're all equal now” in the formless abyss or the place between worlds where our earthly preoccupation with human differences are meaningless. We're all in it together, whether we realise it or not.
The second track INTERPLANETARY VIBRATIONS may seem familiar to some in a simpler form. The expanded line up and extended development of the core theme brings a new interpretation and experience that is more than worthwhile. The track's vocals juxtapose the hybrid Germanic language of English with the ancient native Irish language of Gaeilge. Both used to promote meaning and interpretation of the interplanetary vibrations felt by all. The track features large dynamic shifts and changes of pace as the message that “it's time to leave” propagated by the Earth itself becomes more frantic and more desperate. The track culminates in a wash of smashed gongs and distorted guitars, leaving the listener to interpret the message for themselves. Should we leave, to protect ourselves or the Earth itself?
The final track FUTURE ECHOES is a doom/kraut juggernaut coming in at just under twenty minutes. Only one question is asked and none answered, are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of previous civilisations over and over, or can we find the cracks of light that echo through and show us a new way forward? We're left in a swirling formless abyss to consider who we are and where we're headed. Will we ever reach the cosmic truth? Or will we be continuously mocked by the cosmic trout?
WILD ROCKET have proven themselves on the live circuit, playing with such visionaries as Ufomammut, Slomatics, Earth, Boris, The Cosmic Dead and old school rock legends Girlschool. One of the heaviest bands to emerge from the melting pot of talent in the Irish music scene, WILD ROCKET's reputation precedes them wherever they travel and audiences and venues alike are left to piece themselves together in the discombobulation.
Red Vinyl
In 2021 Bristol Hip-Hop duo Ree-Vo released two singles from their forthcoming album ‘All Welcome On Planet Ree-Vo’. The first was the Electro-Hop, LFO-surfing ‘Combat’ with a remix by SURGEON. The second -dropped as a digital double A-side in December - was the dark, submersive ‘Groove With It’ remixed by New Jersey’s legendary Dälek and ‘Protein’ remixed by The Bug (who released what many considered to be 2021’s album of the year ‘Fire’). smartURL.it/EDDA56
Ree-Vo begin 2022 in contrast with this their hookiest track on their album, a party throwing chorus spinning tipsy visitors around the intergalactic control booth of mission control.
“Lift off, blast off, shirt off, pants off, bra off, Dance off! Naked in the dance hall SPACE BOX!”
is the beamed mantra, rapper Relly transmitting to all occupants of the galaxy.
“We wanted to make a hedonistic and colourful dancehall track, a bold response to the suppressive circumstances of the last two years”.
Helping them on this seven’s mission are two remixes, one by NØISE (the musical collective of Joe Cassidy, Shepard Fairey, Merritt Lear and John Goff) and BATBIRDS (the duo of Joe Cassidy and Aaron Miller). Common to both of course is Joe Cassidy who recorded for Dell’Orso (as well as Rough Trade and Dedicated) as Butterfly Child. These mixes were made at the end of 2020, the record sent off to print in February 2021, five months before Joe’s incredibly sad departure from this planet, at least physically. So for all of us involved it’s a very bittersweet release, but another piece of art that Joe was undoubtedly thrilled to be involved with.
KAWALA today announce their emotionally resplendent debut album ‘Better with You’. The album marks the culmination of years of work which has seen the band grow from humble begging’s to the world class act they are today. Along the way they have done everything from support Bombay Bicycle Club on their European tour, play socially distanced shows in UK parks (after the first easing of restrictions in 2020), appear on FIFA 2021, write and perform in their own YouTube sitcom (the mad-cap Paradise Heights) and become ambassadors for the Music Venue Trust. Each step on the journey has seen the band grow and expand on what KAWALA means to their community. Ahead of the album’s release, the band are about to head out on their biggest UK and Ireland tour to date – including a sold-out show at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. NME describes them "the Bombay Bicycle Club-approved indie heroes making bangers without borders"
Lauren Alaina is in the upper echelon of country music's most authentic voices, beloved personalities, and open hearts. She’s earned a reputation as one of the genre's most compelling storytellers by boldly incorporating her struggles and heartache into her critically acclaimed first two albums. Lauren’s third studio collection, Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, is an artful evolution of immaculately penned, unflinching reflections of the mountains and valleys on her journey. Lauren Alaina has earned three No. 1 hit singles in just under three years. Her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Road Less Traveled, landed on multiple “Best Of” lists, including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Amazon, and it became the top-streamed female country album release of 2017. The Georgia native has played on some of the highest-profile stages in the world, including US national television performances on Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, TODAY, ABC’s Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and more, including a performance at the White House for President Obama for a PBS special.
Coloured 2LP[27,31 €]
Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.
Black 2LP[27,31 €]
Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.
All-conquering Dutch superstars Kraak & Smaak have taken the electronic music world by storm, sealing their international pedigree with a slew of sought-after tracks, remixes, and killer collaborations (Parcels, Mayer Hawthorne and many more). Their live show has seen them play every festival and club worth a mention from Glastonbury to Coachella and beyond. Before that, the three guys from Leiden released their debut album 'Boogie Angst', which established them in the spotlight and led to the longstanding support they receive from tastemakers worldwide today. This latest 7" release showcases a couple of gems from the era that started it all.
What is the difference between here and there?
What are the differences between countries and races?
between men and women?
children and adults?
you and me?
We are supposed to be the same person, but we are all different.
We look different, we were born and raised in different environments.
Our personalities are also different.
These differences create interest and new discoveries,
but they also create discrimination and prejudice,
which leads to division.
In recent years, this situation seems to have become more pronounced.
"You and I are different.
But sometimes I might be the same as you."
In this uncertain world,
this is what I wanted to express in this music.
--K Nogami
The sole, full length album from Loney Hutchins's most productive era in
the 1970's- Tracked over 3 days in '79 at Lee Hazen's Studio by the Pond
by Jack 'Stack-a-Track' Grochmal - the resulting country rock album was
too folksy for LA and too electric for Nashville
Featuring a rhythm section from Dolly Parton's live band during her 'Jolene'
period, and searing hot country licks, this reissue is restored from the original 2"
multitrack tapes, including two never before heard tracks. CD comes in digipak
format.
Reissue of a 1969 trio recording by American guitarist Jim Hall, who
resides at the top of the jazz guitar pantheon
At the time of his death in 2013 at the age of 83, he had long been considered
one of the jazz greats, a major influence on generations of jazz guitarists. It
seems that virtually every major musician wanted to play with Hall. His work as a
sideman ranged from swing era giant Ben Webster to new music pioneer Ornette
Coleman. HIs recording credits include a series of classic albums with groups
headed by Jimmy Guiffre, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans; Hall often spoke of
Rollins and Evans as two of his major influences.
This intimate June 1969 musical get-together was due in large extent to the close
friendship between the Hall and legendary German writer/ critic and producer
Joachim-Ernst Berendt. As Hall, his wife and daughter were visiting him in Berlin,
Berendt noticed that, although he had been recording extensively with a number
of major jazz figures over the last years, including several collaborative gettogethers, Hall had not recorded an album solely under his own name in over a
decade. Berendt immediately set up a trio recording for Hall that included two
internationally renowned musicians with whom Hall had previously worked, the
American expatriate bassist Jimmy Woode and Swiss- French drummer Daniel
Humair.
In such a transparent setting, Hall unfurled his finest qualities. Humair
perceptively summed it up: Hall played with "more clarity, more purity, more
sensitivity" than any other guitarist of the period. It resulted in an album of
intensely introspective music.
Reissue of Oscar Peterson's 1969 album 'Motions & Emotions' pressed
on blue vinyl
On 'Motions & Emotions' Oscar Peterson presents jazz versions of popular pieces
from pop, easy listening and classic songwriters, as the quartet of long- time
companions are washed in rich orchestral colours. Arranged and conducted by a
magician of the guild, the great Claus Ogerman, who had previously worked for
Tom Jobim. The Brazilian is also represented with his standard "Wave", in which
the orchestra builds a luminous tropical backdrop for Peterson's fantastically
dragged phrasing. Peterson and Ogerman pay tribute to another great orchestra
leader, Henry Mancini, in "Sally's Tomato" with feather- light trilling brilliance.
Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" experiences a metamorphosis
almost into the classical - Ogerman opens infinite sound spaces here with the
distantly indulging strings. Bobby Gentrys "Ode To Billy Joe" cleverly abducts
Countryfolk into Bigband Jazz by means of fiery keyboard playing.
Finally the hits: from soul comes Bobby Hebb's "Sunny", whose theme the pianist
here cleverly harmonises out to then decorate it bluesy in dialogue with the wind
instruments. Burt Bacharach's "This Guy's In Love With You" shines with a
leisurely late night mood and a pompous finale. Yesterday" is provided with a
sparkling bossa substructure, while the second Beatles homage "Eleanor Rigby"
oscillates between loose groove, deep melancholy and swing. Peterson plus
quartet plus orchestra: Enthusiastic detail work also in the popular sector.
"The question about favourite albums is basically not an easy one, except in my
case, because Motions & Emotions by Oscar Peterson is actually my absolute
favourite album. I think Motions & Emotions might even be the perfect
instrumental album." - Till Brönner (German Jazz trumpeter and professor)
Reissue of Oscar Peterson's 1969 album 'Motions & Emotions' pressed
on blue vinyl
On 'Motions & Emotions' Oscar Peterson presents jazz versions of popular pieces
from pop, easy listening and classic songwriters, as the quartet of long- time
companions are washed in rich orchestral colours. Arranged and conducted by a
magician of the guild, the great Claus Ogerman, who had previously worked for
Tom Jobim. The Brazilian is also represented with his standard "Wave", in which
the orchestra builds a luminous tropical backdrop for Peterson's fantastically
dragged phrasing. Peterson and Ogerman pay tribute to another great orchestra
leader, Henry Mancini, in "Sally's Tomato" with feather- light trilling brilliance.
Jimmy Webb's "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" experiences a metamorphosis
almost into the classical - Ogerman opens infinite sound spaces here with the
distantly indulging strings. Bobby Gentrys "Ode To Billy Joe" cleverly abducts
Countryfolk into Bigband Jazz by means of fiery keyboard playing.
Finally the hits: from soul comes Bobby Hebb's "Sunny", whose theme the pianist
here cleverly harmonises out to then decorate it bluesy in dialogue with the wind
instruments. Burt Bacharach's "This Guy's In Love With You" shines with a
leisurely late night mood and a pompous finale. Yesterday" is provided with a
sparkling bossa substructure, while the second Beatles homage "Eleanor Rigby"
oscillates between loose groove, deep melancholy and swing. Peterson plus
quartet plus orchestra: Enthusiastic detail work also in the popular sector.
"The question about favourite albums is basically not an easy one, except in my
case, because Motions & Emotions by Oscar Peterson is actually my absolute
favourite album. I think Motions & Emotions might even be the perfect
instrumental album." - Till Brönner (German Jazz trumpeter and professor)
Kris Barras Band return armed with towering anthems on the heaviest
album to date; 'Death Valley Paradise', available on CD, transparent red
vinyl and digitally
Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow, SiKth) and recorded at
VADA Studios in Alcester, they return heavier, darker, more introspective but
enormous at the same time. Barras decided to remove all shackles and began
collaborating with songwriters, such as the heavyweights; Jonny Andrews (Three
Days Grace, Fozzy), Bob Marlette (Alice Cooper, Airbourne, Rob Zombie), Blair
Daly (Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry) and Zac Maloy (Shinedown, Tyler Bryant).
Death Valley Paradise started life as a song before it was dissected and spread
across the album. Death Valley is a place of extremes, where living things are
said to not be able to survive.
For 18 months the world stood still and the realisation set in that there was no
control of ourselves anymore. For the ex-MMA/cage fighter, there was only one
way out, to re-focus, and started with no preconceived plan for the album.
But now, Death Valley Paradise is ready to be unleashed upon the masses, who
are yearning to rock out, fist pumping in the air.
TRANSMISSION 2LP EDITION OF PORCUPINE TREE'S 1991 DEBUT
ALBUM
Having recently announced that Snapper Music will be representing
Porcupine Tree's Transmission label worldwide, new CD & LP reissues of
the band's extensive catalogue continue to roll out throughout 2021
Porcupine Tree's 1991 debut album 'On The Sunday Of Life' is an album that
stands up as a modern-day pop-psych classic.
With acid warped lyrics courtesy of Alan Duffy (the brains behind the late
lamented Imaginary Records label) the album is a surreal delight containing gems
such as "Jupiter Island" & "Linton Samuel Dawson" filled with quirky melodies,
effected vocals & trippy backwards guitar work. "Nine Cats", the undoubted
masterpiece of the album, is pure Edward Lear styled psychedelia.
'On The Sunday Of Life' also hints at the direction the band would later take with
more progressive influenced material such as the epic "Radioactive Toy".
Porcupine Tree released their last album, 'The Incident', in 2009, marking another
step forward in the incredible journey of the band that began as a solo studio
project created by Steven Wilson in the late eighties to a multi grammy nominated
act & one of the world's most revered live bands, selling out arenas across the
globe & wowing fans with their incredible performances.
"Refreshingly original – a wonderful musical adventure" Record Collector "A debut
disc of unearthly delights… deadly seducing stuff" NME 2LP 140g Gatefold
Edition
All Them Witches are known for their loud and lengthy live shows - 2020
found the band releasing their critically acclaimed album, Nothing As The
Ideal - An album release from this band would traditionally be followed by
a lengthy 18-month tour across the globe
Due to an international pandemic, the band's touring plans were brought to a halt.
This did not stop All Them Witches from assembling in a studio to broadcast a
live set for their fans. The set was roundly received as an amazing performance
and fans immediately inquired as to whether or not this show would be available
outside of the broadcast. New West Records is proud to present All Them
Witches - LIVE ON THE INTERNET.
Nach ihrem von Fans & Kritikern gefeierten, 2019-er Meisterwerk Oscillation, stehen die schwedischen Post-Rock Meister von OH HIROSHIMA nun mit ihrem vierten Studioalbum Myriad in den Startlöchern, welches am 4. März 2022 über Napalm Records veröffentlicht wird. Die Zeit der anhaltenden Pandemie hat die Band mehr als kreativ genutzt um hier einen epischen Nachfolger abzuliefern, der zweifelsohne eine Schippe drauflegt und mit absoluter Post-Rock Bravour zu brillieren weiß!
Es ist die Mischung aus Emotionen – von unendlicher Traurigkeit bis hin zu Momenten der Klarheit und herzzerreißenden Melodien, die sich zu einem grollenden Vulkan aus ästhetischem Noise und einer wilden Urkraft zu vermischen scheinen, aber auch ihr einzigartiger Einsatz von Trompeten, Cello und Posaunen im Gegensatz zu den Synthesizern – lässt OH HIROSHIMA in Post-Rock Kreisen und darüber hinaus herausstechen.
Wie bereits der Album Vorgänger, wurde Myriad von niemand Geringerem als CULT OF LUNA‘s Magnus Lindberg gemixt und gemastert, wieder einmal mehr beweisen OH HIROSHIMA herausragendes Können – und liefern ein majestätisches Post-Rock Meisterwerk ab, welches sich ohne Zweifel an die Spitze der Alben
des Jahres 2022 einreihen wird!
Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal is a 5LP vinyl boxset
celebrating the prolific body of work Casal left behind over the course of
14 studio albums
Recording sessions for the project began in February 2020 led by co-producers
Dave Schools of Widespread Panic and seven time Grammy- Award winning
recording engineer/ producer Jim Scott at PLYRZ Studios in Valencia, CA.Over
forty artists appear on the tribute including Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks,
Jonathan Wilson, Phil Lesh and The Terrapin Family Band, Steve Earle, Warren
Haynes, Jaime Wyatt, and Shooter Jennings among numerous others. The first
single and video from the recording was captured during the initial sessions in
February 2020. It features Billy Strings with Circles Around the Sun performing
"All The Luck In The World.
On the cover of their debut album "Wilde deutsche Prärie" (Wild German
Prairie) from 2018, we saw a burning house surrounded by apparently
insane figures
Almost four years later, on the cover of their second album, the band is standing
on the dike in Husum. In the background we see the Nordsee Hotel, which burned
out in the year of the debut's release. The looks of the band members reveal
friendly determination, which is very North German in its nonchalance.
Nevertheless, I don't doubt for a moment that Swutscher still know how to set
their surroundings on fire, even leave a trail of destruction. Their reputation is
legendary. Every person who has experienced Swutscher live knows that it is not
only a spiritual but also a physical experience. Reason down and thus lead it into
a wonderful dissolution of boundaries
On the cover of their debut album "Wilde deutsche Prärie" (Wild German
Prairie) from 2018, we saw a burning house surrounded by apparently
insane figures
Almost four years later, on the cover of their second album, the band is standing
on the dike in Husum. In the background we see the Nordsee Hotel, which burned
out in the year of the debut's release. The looks of the band members reveal
friendly determination, which is very North German in its nonchalance.
Nevertheless, I don't doubt for a moment that Swutscher still know how to set
their surroundings on fire, even leave a trail of destruction. Their reputation is
legendary. Every person who has experienced Swutscher live knows that it is not
only a spiritual but also a physical experience. Reason down and thus lead it into
a wonderful dissolution of boundaries
On their Dualtone Records debut 'Sticking With It', Seattle-based sevenpiece The Dip deliver the kind of unbridled soul/R&B that hits on every
emotional level, inciting everything from raw catharsis to heavy-hearted
reckoning to wildly exuberant joy
In a major breakthrough for the band, the self-produced album fully channels the
vitality of the freewheeling live show that's earned them an ardent following over
the last decade, expertly matching their sophisticated musicianship with a
fantastically loose energy. When met with The Dip's lyrical reflection on matters
both timely (the crush of late capitalism, the glaring need for true community)
and undeniably timeless (the vast complexities of love and loss), the resulting
body of work captures the mood of the current moment while offering immediate
escape into a more elevated state of mind.
In 2005 the Californian heavy metal band Static-X released their fourth studio album, titled Start A War. The band’s line- up fluctuated quite a bit over the years and this was the first studio album to feature drummer Nick Oshiro, who also played in Seether and Blue Man Group. The album delivers guttural guitars, unrelenting roars and refreshing live drumming. Several tracks of the album were featured in video games, such as WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2006, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Need for Speed: Most Wanted.
coloured vinyl
Newest Ruffneck Prime (DJ Ruffneck) at his own label - a great hardtechno banger!! Available on limited coloured vinyl!!
Support from: SNTS, Richie Hawtin, Esther Duijn, Paula Temple, Dax J, Jerome Keys, Vishscale, Edo Messina, Obscur Antism, Joseph Capriati, Rats On Acid, D.A.V.E. The Drummer, DJ Scot Project, DJ Hellraiser, Jack Wax, DJ Wank and more !!
The new record by Eric Chenaux is his most immaculate and pristine. Say Laura perfectly incarnates the counter-intuitive interplay of instrument and voice that Chenaux has been revealing and revelling in throughout the past decade: his gently unhinged juxtaposition of resplendently smooth, seductively assured singing and puckish, frazzled, thoroughly destabilized guitar could come from no other musician. The five wandering, wondering ballads on Say Laura bring Chenaux's semi-improvised but keenly intentional songwriting to its fullest, clearest, warmest and coolest articulation; uncompromising and generous, hyper-specific and loose, spartan and luxurious, elemental and ornate. Say Laura might as well be a jazz record_certainly as much as his previously acclaimed albums Slowly Paradise and Skullsplitter tread that genre-adjacent territory_though it also features moments and melodies that come as close to pop flirtation as Chenaux is likely to get. But above all, Say Laura breathes like no other Chenaux album. Voice and guitar are inscribed with elemental clarity in a wondrously open, symbiotic sonic space. His pure tenor croon glides through a crisp, reverberant ether while his fried guitar careens dizzily and giddily, every gesture and timbre captured in unflinching detail by engineer Cyril Harrison. Chenaux has also made his most minimal, controlled, regulated and rhythmic record.
Previously issued on three rare cassette-only editions, Joanna Brouk's 1980 sophomore album The Space Between has finally been given spacious LP quarters. The side-long title track, performed by Brouk's Mills College instructor and sometime-lover Bill Maraldo is among the deepest and most distinctive pieces in the new age canon, while side B's three cuts expand the theme in hypnotic new directions.
Much is made of Detroit techno progenitors proximity to the auto plants. Similarly, overlooked electronic pioneer Jeff Phelps was raised just blocks from a Western Pennsylvania steel mill_close enough to smell the sulphur and hear the roaring blast furnace. When Tascam released their ground breaking Portastudio in 1984_allowing multi tracking on the far more financially inclusive cassette tape_Phelps purchased one immediately, and quickly added a Roland SH-101 monophonic synthesizer, Fender Rhodes suitcase piano, Roland drum machine, and a basic Radio Shack stereo mic. Those basic tools were employed on his first commercial productions for his own Engineered For Sound label: 1985's "Magnetic Eyes" LP and Antoinette's "Now You're Gone" 45. These DIY sketches generated few profits, and Phelps kept his day job in the energy business. Jeff Phelps eventually found his way back into performance and recording, starting with The Next Level Band near the end of the decade. Houston gourmands might have caught them at the opening of Texas's first Cheesecake Factory. "Magnetic Eyes" has already had a few lives, between TomLab's 2010 replica pressing and inclusion on Dante Carfagna's genre-defying Personal Space compilation. This 2021 edition features the heretofore un-re-released second mix, completed after discovering flaws in the initial 1985 pressing. Enjoy this technically perfect, artist-approved version of a visionary techno-adjacent masterwork.
re-release Find the Greatest Movie Scores selected by CINEZIK in an new Wagram Vinyl Collection!
Back in stock! Ghanaian Afro-Rock From Producer/Composer JJ Whitefield, Inspired By His Karl Hector & The Malcouns And Whitefield Brothers Projects JJ Whitefield, who in the early ‘90s revived the gritty, analogue Funk sounds of the ‘60s and ‘70s with his Poets Of Rhythm, has been working with Now-Again Records for over decade, releasing a flock of acclaimed projects with Karl Hector & The Malcouns, Whitefield Brothers, Rodinia and the Original Raw Soul anthology. He first started exploring African rhythms with the Whitefield Brothers in the late ‘90s, continuing in the ‘00s with Karl Hector & The Malcouns. He’s been instrumental in launching Ghanaian Afro Beat/Funk legend Ebo Taylor´s international career, decades after the maestro recorded the landmark albums that have inspired thousands. Whitefield recorded two new studio albums with Taylor and toured in his band between 2009 and 2013, where he met Taylor’s son Henry and percussionist/Singer Eric Owusu. The trio now front the Johnny! band and find inspiration not only in Ghana’s hypnotic grooves, but also the full frontal fuzz guitar assault heard on the legion of 70s Zambian Zamrock albums reissued by Now-Again. Indeed, Whitefield credits his tours with Zamrock godfathers Rikki Ililonga and WITCH’s Jagari Chanda as instrumental in creating the Johnny’s sonic backdrop. The band is rounded out by Turkish drummer Bernd Oezsevim (Woima Collective, Rodinia) and Indonesian bassist/multi instrumentalist Tomi Simatupang (Whitefield Brothers). This is what was oft-called “Afro Rock” at the core, with the possibilities to stretch out into swinging highlife, sweet soul or psychedelia . The results, point at a new direction for the music inspired by the Great Continent. One that takes a direction once mocked as derivative and asserts its importance on the globe’s current musical stage.
On a balmy Brazilian night in February, 1981, a crowd gathered in Rio de Janeiro's Gávea neighbourhood under the iconic dome of the city's Planetário (Planetarium). Alongside musicians like Helio Delmiro and Milton Nascimento (who were in the audience that night), they were there to see the great "Bruxo" (sorcerer) Hermeto Pascoal live in concert, with his new band formation which would become known simply as "O Grupo" (The Group).
Growing up on a farm in Brazil's northeastern state of Alagoas, Hermeto has always been deeply in tune with, and inspired by nature. In his youth he would make his own flutes to play call and response with the birds and frogs. He would build scrap-metal instruments in his blacksmith grandfather's forge, and sit for hours by the lake listening to the sounds of nature. On the Planetário Da Gávea recordings though, Hermeto is cast as the "sorcerer" or the "cosmic emissary" (as the great Brazilian guitarist Guinga once called him), exhibiting an intuitive sense of harmony and melody beyond that of our own world.
"Tudo e Som" (All is Sound). It's a phrase Hermeto regularly returns to, and it points to the fact that not only can music be made from anything, but also alludes to something much more profound. It's an understanding of the universe as being in a state of constant movement, forever vibrating at the quantum level, like the string of a guitar, or a saxophone's reed. "Tudo e Som" is a declaration of the mystical and spiritual power of sound, as a fundamentally vibrational force.
The series of concerts at the Planetário marked the birth of "O Grupo" which would last with the same line-up (apart from Zé Eduardo Nazário) for the next eleven years. Every member of O Grupo was a phenomenal musician in their own right. It was one of saxophonist/flautist Carlos Malta's first gigs with the group, and the concert unusually featured two drummers, Zé Eduardo Nazário and Marcio Bahia. Nazário, from São Paulo, had played with Hermeto during the mid-70s (as well as with Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti and Toninho Horta, to name a few). Bahia though had just joined the group. Acclaimed keyboard player Jovino Santos Neto was on keyboards, piano and organ, and the great Itiberê Zwarg (who remains in Hermeto's band to this day), played bass. Rounding the group off was the percussionist Pernambuco. During this period (up until the early 90s) the group would rehearse for hours on end, virtually seven days a week, with a total dedication to music and Hermeto's musical vision.
Most of the compositions performed that night at the Planetário had never been recorded before, and many are unique to this album, including the wild 'Homônimo Sintróvio', the exaltant 'Samba Do Belaqua', 'Vou Pra Lá e Pra Cá' and 'Bombardino', which features Hermeto's wonderfully absurd call and response mouthpiece soliloquy. Then there's the stunning 7/4 Samba 'Jegue' which builds with inventive dissonance, before releasing yet another celestially colourful, celebratory refrain. The show also features the first recorded performances of 'Era Pra Ser e Não Foi' and 'Ilza na Feijoada' (inspired by Hermetos' wife Ilza's famed black bean and meat stew), which Hermeto later recorded on his 1984 studio album "Lagoa Da Canoa Município De Arapiraca".
Dubbed by Miles Davis as "one of the most important musicians on the planet", a Hermeto Pascoal live show was (and still is) an experience like no other. Across the recording of the Planetário concert, wild improvisation meets groovy, virtuosic vamping on progressive, extended psychedelic jams. The tracks are generally built around a beautiful, transcendent melody; instantly recognisable as being Hermeto's, and for the most part, the musicians then solo over extended two chord vamps. There's a plethora of powerfully delivered rhythms, wild solos and the performances are punctuated by Hermeto's unpredictable, at times comical sonic antics.
Over forty years since this historic happening, Far Out Recordings is overjoyed to release this magical recording of Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo Live at Planetário Da Gávea, on double vinyl LP, CD and digitally for a February 4th 2022 release.
From the meeting of the legendary Tsugaru Jamisen Maestro Chisato Yamada with volcanic mind of the composer Tasheshi Terauchi and his Oriental Fantastic Orchestra, a collaboration and a unique record, a conceptual work, is born in which innovative songs transcend the boundaries of traditional music by mixing modernity, rural and electronic atmospheres, local arias and contemporary music.
A record with strongly evocative and cinematic sounds.
Comes with OBI and a two-panel fold out sheet with original liner notes of the time translated in English that explains in an exhaustive way the inspirations from tradition and popular music and the very accurate digital recording techniques of the time that make it a record sought after by audiophiles looking for sounds unedited in the Western tradition.
Her debut LP, Banshee, was released on Wax Poetics. Has collaborated with MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and more. Kendra Morris’s Nine Lives, to be released on Karma Chief Records (a division of Colemine Records) in early 2022, marks not only the culmination of the decade since the release of her first LP Banshee, but also a turning point in Kendra’s life. Nine Lives heralds the beginning of a new chapter; label, and an evolution to the next level of adulthood. This collection of her original songs encapsulates moments from what could be nine lifetimes. Kendra, while very much a New Yorker and veteran of almost 2 decades on the NYC scene, hails from Florida and aesthetically embodies the broader sense of American culture, bringing to her contemporary sound influences found in music and cinema dating back to the mid 20th century. Her music conjures imagery evocative of road trips to weird and wonderful places. Concurrently a visual artist, filmmaker and animator, Kendra harnesses the feline nine lives metaphor repeatedly. In the context of the chapters of her musical trajectory alone, we see at least 9 lives. From discovering multi-tracking on a karaoke machine as a child, to playing in bands in Florida, moving to NYC and creating music alone on an 8 track, releasing her first 2 LPs on Wax Poetics, releasing her 2016 EP Babble and collaborating with DJ Premier, 9th Wonder, MF Doom, Czarface, Ghostface Killah, Dennis Coffey, and David Sitek, to name a few. The life of this multi-disciplinarian artist contains units of time and story lines through which we can all relate to universal themes of love, loss and overcoming one's fears. Kendra, never ceasing to heed her spiritual calling to continue creating music and art, no matter what, has no plans of slowing down but a belief in only evolving, eager to begin experiencing her next nine lives.
Limited!
Gaïsha - Oriental Psychedelic Sounds and Funky Grooves
Gaïsha is a collaboration between the Belgian-Moroccan singer, Aicha Haskal, and Les Cerveaux Lents.
Aicha Haskal’s voice is smooth and warm voice and switches seamlessly between Arabic chants, parlando and even rap. The Arabic lyrics of the song ‘Ghalat’ were written by the Egyptian poet Abdelhamid Farag, who calls himself a ‘poète de l’ éloignement’. His lyrics are permeated with deep melancholy and romance. The song is a tribute to Abdelhamid, who passed away in 2020.
B-side ‘L’Amour Digital’ is based on ‘Sihtou Wajdan’, a traditional Muwashah. Muwashah is a poetic form that originated in Al- Andalus (Muslim Spain in the 11th century). Aicha adds to the poem a reply in French, giving the song a universal and interconnecting flair.
‘Ghalat’, een ode aan de Egyptische dichter Abdelhamid Farag, knalt uit je speakers met een geweldige levenslust”- Cutting Edge
Wie fan is van de muziek van Altin Gün, heeft met deze nieuwe single van het Gentse Gaïsha er een leuke ontdekking bij. - Indiestyle
"Het ritme, de synths en de groove lijken westers, maar verder ademt alles aan deze track een oosterse melancholie uit.” - Damusic
On the album "Kabinett der Phantasie", Keshav Purushotham's second, and the first with his partner Niklas Schneider, you hear music to which you flex your limbs in slow motion, smoke a meerschaum pipe, drink heavily sweetened mocha and roll your eyes to the beat. An album for which the long overdue niche „Phantastische Musik" finally belongs, if only to avoid having to label the sound with appropriate but unwieldy labels such as “Exotic Spiritual Pop” or “Outernational Downbeat Psychedelia”.
Back once again with the MYEDITS master. An audacious single sided weapon from the Moxy Edits crew, blending whomping speed garage basslines, a classic vocal of supreme stature and a slick, skipping beat to produce another slice of dancefloor destroying gold.
The track first appeared when Darius Syrossian dropped it at the Brooklyn Timewarp after party b2b with Seth Troxler, and lead to people scrambling for a track I.D when videos emerged. The week after it was one of the standout tunes at the WeAreFstvl Mexico festival.
Originally released in 2010 on their own label, Brooklyn nu-disco group Escort’s ‘Cocaine Blues’ is lovingly revisited by Glitterbox Recordings over a decade later, re-introducing the dancefloor essential to a new generation of disco fans. A loose remake of disco-reggae classic ‘Cocaine in My Brain’ by Jamaican DJ Dillinger, Escort’s ‘Cocaine Blues’ with its relaxed, disco approach and catchy vocal soon became a hit. Now arriving in a 12” package, up first, legend of NYC’s house and disco scene John Morales delivers his M+M Mix. A long-time friend of Glitterbox, this is John’s first release on the imprint, with the signature sparkling sound that brought him to prominence in the 80s sounding fresh as ever on this remix. Up next, original Escort member JKriv revisits the track on his funk-filled Disco Bumps Mix, before regular Roísín Murphy collaborator Crooked Man delivers his Crooked Line 1 and Crooked Line 2 versions, gloriously deep fuelled by bumping bass and attitude. Crooked Line 2 is exclusive to this 12”. Sounding just as good as it did when it first hit dancefloors, this unmissable vinyl remix package gives ‘Cocaine Blues’ another lease of life.
Drumcode hits with a dancefloor ace fit for a variety of occasions. Patrik Berg, who debuted on the label with an excellent contribution to A-Sides Vol.10, returns with ‘Living the Lie’.
The cut respectfully honours a Gladys Knight classic, marrying the lead vocal lines with more of his trademark deep techno rhythms.
A blend of Nu-Disco/Disco-funk, trip hop and cosmic with a touch of jazz from the one they call Super Paolo across 2 x 12 Inch records that has been lighting up dancefloors the world over.
DJ Support:
Ashley Beedle, Daniele Baldelli, LTJ Trevisi, Severino, Francesco Mami.
Party starting outfit Spaghetti Club dive into 2022 with a hop, skip and a wobble as their third release sees the light of day this January. The four track VA maneuvers between dynamic moods for the dance floor, including sounds from label founder, Pierre Codarin, Harry Wills, Philipp Boss, and Jealous Lover.
Carrying the torch for the first track is UK producer, Harry Wills with “Longbags”, his animated sound fitting the ethos of the label entirely, cruising on a slinky arrangement, and sub heavy bass. Next up is Activo founder Philipp Boss, with a deeper and curious encounter, riding his synths around subtle house movements in “Serious Cat”.
Head chef Pierre Codarin provides a pacey and elasticated groove in “Smoke The Gap”, mechanical beeps and bleeps breathing life into the forward motion of the track. On a more mysterious trip is the last track of the EP from Jealous Lover. “Dresses For The Ride Not The Slide” is a hazy trip, crammed full of rippling shades of electro, calling in the shadows of the afters.
Los Retros is the young Mexican American singer songwriter whose music has captured the hearts of fans around the world. He broke onto the scene with the viral single ‘Someone to Spend Time With’
in 2019, which has racked up over 40m streams. ‘Looking Back’ is his third EP.
Los Retros was just sixteen when he first began recording in his family’s living room on an old fourtrack. The recordings comprising ‘Looking Back’ grew out of these early sessions. Now officially released for the first time. Includes fan favourite ‘Amtrak’ (2.5m YouTube views).
For fans of Cuco, Beebadoobee, Toro Y Moi, Yellow Days, Mild High Club, Boy Pablo.
Introducing Skygirl, with their 4-track debut release.
Skygirl is Eva and Hanna. The two got together by chance, but definitely not by accident. After they were introduced at a festival through mutual friends and danced the night away, it became clear that both have musical ambitions and their artistic vision aligns. The band was formed before the hangover was gone, and songs were written before the weekend ended.
The kind of “after-party-Monday-mood” also functions as an entry to the band’s lyrical and musical cosmos. Rest assured, this is not your mundane headache, but rather a working class meets art school kind of philosophical approach. Sparse instrumentation meets two voices. Life-affirming, yet informed by a somber future.
Reference points may be groups like Young Marble Giants or Shakespears Sister. Brittle but strong voices, molded by urban decay.
Breaking News! DJs Pareja and Matias Aguayo have joined to form the dance project MDM Factory!
Modern transcendental Techno music for those who know, and those who want to learn!
In a turmoil of events nightlife would change forever, and confined to their respective places - A flat in Buenos Aires and a house in the jungle Diego Irasusta, Mariano Caloso and Matias Aguayo joined forces to create new communication on distance via music.
Taking all their dance floor knowledge and dreaming of sound systems and togetherness in a better future, DJs Pareja & Aguayo put their minds, bodies and souls to work on this stunning EP that will please the forward thinking underground freaks as well as the big room techno pros.
Let’s dive into this divine mess of glorious dance floor jams from the future...
A1. Curvas Peligrosas
With the first track it becomes clear what this is all about: Wobbly metamorphous sounds from outer space jamming with stomping and bass driven techno beats of tomorrow, a new kind of rave, hypnotic and seductive, utterly strange but wonderfully catchy and contagious in a good sense, harsh shuffled hiatus and alternating kick drums, a relentless bassline and sophisticated electronic sounds in a a permanent evolution resembling and invoking altered states of consciousness.
A2. Love Boat
This new rave anthem seems like a classic you haven’t heard about. Muscle memories from dancefloor days trigger your body as you listen on your headphones, awaiting the chance to play it out soon, hopefully, as the dance floors slowly reopen. Alternating between parts of kickdrum, clap and snare awesomeness, and the mangled rave signals that slowly morph into a more concrete melody reminiscent of ancient dreams of the future, this track has it all for the club kids of today.
B1. La Vida Loca
The title track is a tech banger that will please those who dig Kenny Larkin, Claude Young, The Surgeon, Dave Clark or any other star in the nocturnal sky of Techno Techno, as well as the lovers of DJs Pareja’s classic Cómeme Clubbangers, or the more Techno side of Mr. Aguayo. Definitely has the potential to become a huge hit if enough djs that don’t rely on algorithms get their hands on it
B2. Las Llaves
The closer is hyper modern tech funk at its best. Percussive greatness as you can find it on many Cómeme releases is triggered in a different way, “sabroso” rhythms that are played in the light and purposeful way of an elegant jazz drummer, pave the way for an always evolving psychedelic lead synth sound, that will be a useful tool for the dj who knows when to keep the groove, prolonging those magic times between the risings...
The US-born, Norwegian-Mexican musician and producer Carmen Villain, real name Carmen Hillestad, has spent the last nine years and four albums gently unraveling song into the sound of emotional impulse. From the tilt and croon of her first two albums to the expansive warmth that flows and pulses beyond ambient in her more recent output, Hillestad's journey is artful musical deconstruction but also somehow spiritual growth.Hence new album Only Love From Now On, her fourth full-length and the culmination of a build-up that really began with the turn in sound evident from third album Both Lines Will Be Blue (2019, Smalltown Supersound) and the subsequent releases Affection In A Time Of Crisis (2020, Longform Editions) and Sketch For Winter IX: Perlita (2021, Geographic North). While the seed of her aesthetic was planted earlier, it has blossomed into something unexpected, benevolent in its composure and altogether luxuriant in its sensuality. If her themes, especially now, are wide, philosophical, and occasionally abstract, the emotional tenor of Hillestad's music is clear and purposeful. Makes sense that her key musical touchstones are dub, ambient, and cosmic jazz - flexible vehicles for tranquil wonder. While it may not contain voice or lyrics, as her two earliest records do, she describes it as, "wishing to maintain a sense of careful optimism for the future, while on the cusp of something unknown." Listening to Only Love From Now On is simultaneously comforting and alluringly strange. Partly it's the contributions of guests Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Johanna Scheie Orellana (flutes). Partly it's the fluidity between instruments - such as clarinets - field recordings, the studio, jam, and careful composition. She calls the process a conversation with sound that occurs in her deliberate attempts to experiment with new methods, like granular synthesis, for her music-making. But mostly that strange comfort is in the peace and grateful contentment she has found via the stark recognition of her own privilege - laid bare by the pandemic. Only Love From Now On is fueled by the sense of scale in feeling small in the face of things so large, the contemplation of how the biggest impact we can have is in the people close to us, the attempt to make sure that impact is a positive one, and the choice to try to focus on love instead of fear.
Our Lowriders album is an amalgam of the two “This Is Lowrider Soul” CDs. We have chosen 14 tracks that represent the sounds loved by Los Angelenos, often of Mexican descent, that emanate from their fabulously designed motors while cruising Whittier Boulevard in East LA or, say, Van Nuys Boulevard in the northwest of the city.
The classic Los Angeles vocal group the Superbs are featured here on their glorious ‘It Hurts So Much’, but it is mainly the records discovered by sweet soul collectors that dominate. The Carnival label has a great reputation on this scene; Lee Williams & the Cymbals’ ‘Please Say It Isn’t So’ and ‘Follow Your Heart’ by the Manhattans are a pair of killer ballads perfect in tempo and harmony for the cruisers. Other East Coast offerings include the Persians’ captivating ‘Here It Comes’ and two gems which were only on master tape prior to their Kent releases – Melvin Hicks & The Versatiles’ ‘I’m Just Passing Time’ and the similarly unknown outfit the Exceptions, with the wailing ‘So Much In Love’.
Chicago has always been a breeding ground for black harmony groups. The Esquires saw much success at Bunky; ‘No Doubt About It’ was their equally great first release at Wand. Little Ben & The Cheers hailed from the same city; their ‘I’m Not Ready To Settle Down’ fetches big bucks due to Lowrider demand, as does ‘What Am I Gonna Do’ by the mysterious Houston Outlaws – their origins are uncertain, but must be Midwestern. The Vanguards hailed from Indianapolis and deservedly charted with ‘Somebody Please’, licensed to LA’s Whiz label. All of their seven singles on Lamp are also fine, harmonic soul tracks. The Lovers were a Bay Area group who recorded in Los Angeles with the maestro Arthur Wright; their ‘Someone’ was tipped for the charts when licensed to Philips, but flopped, leaving it ripe for revival by the soul connoisseurs. Like the Lovers, the reputation of Reuben Bell’s ‘It’s Not That Easy’ has grown over the decades and a record once considered common can now fetch hundreds of dollars – class will out.
Limited Edition Vinyl LP – 1971 album cover, thick tip-on sleeve, 700 copies only
Finally putting an end to a long wait for library music lovers, Four Flies Records is proud to present the first reissue of Piero Umiliani's Paesaggi – a record that, despite remaining for many years pretty obscure compared to other titles in the maestro's discography, is now regarded by collectors and experts as the gold standard in Italian library music.
Originally released in two versions with different sleeves, the first on Liuto Records in 1971 and the second on Ciak Record in 1980, the album features tracks composed by the maestro himself (under his alias Zalla) and performed by the legendary super-group of Italian session players I Marc 4, this time with Angelo Baroncini instead of Carlo Pes on guitars (which probably explains the name being spelled with a 'k' instead of a 'c' on the album cover).
The Italian word paesaggi means "landscapes", and that is exactly what the music in the album has been designed to evoke – a journey of moods and emotions, through exotic and pastoral scenery, with loungey sounds that caress your ears like the song of an enchanted nightingale. Mysterious yet captivating soundscapes transport you to a faraway and peaceful place, possibly somewhere in rural Asia. While listening to the record, you'll feel as if you are sitting under a pavilion, right in the middle of a tea plantation, enjoying a freshly brewed green tea and watching the calm sunset.
In addition, Paesaggi is paradigmatic of Italian library music and its genre-defying nature. By using a multitude of instruments, such as flute, vibraphone, harpsichord, sitar, gong and others, it brings together a variety of arrangements, styles, and genres spanning from bossa nova to jazz, easy listening to psychedelic, Latin, exotica, and many more.
Under Umiliani's brilliant direction, the pianos and keyboard instruments of Antonello Vannucchi, the guitars of Angelo Baroncini, the bass of Maurizio Majorana, and the drums of Roberto Podio dance together and – enriched by other instruments played by top session musicians like Bruno Battisti D'Amario (sitar), Franco De Gemini (harmonica), or Franco Chiari (vibraphone) – create the sound that makes Paesaggi so unique.
With the honour of reissuing this masterpiece so many decades since its release comes a responsibility to do full justice to one of the greatest Italian composers of the 20th century and his now celebrated legacy. Four Flies have done their best to put out a record that replicates as closely as possible the value of the original as a cultural artefact, providing Italian library connoisseurs and novices alike with an exquisite sonic, and tactile, experience.
Hugo Massien is a synthesizer engineer at Novation with high profile singles on XL Recordings and a stellar 2021 album "Metamorphosis" which caught the ear of Claude VonStroke. He is a fixture in the sets of Roman Flugel, TEED, and Ben UFO to name a few. We are more than thrilled to welcome him to the Dirtybird white label series with “Fast Forward”.
Hugo delivers four vinyl gems from melodic break of "Fast Foward" to the dream state mood of “Dynamic Symmetry”, the lo-fi bass of “Quantum Mechanics”, and sublime “Astral State”.
Jimpster’s lockdown LP was made throughout 2020 and finally sees the light of day at the end of February 2022 having been delayed around 6 months due to the ongoing vinyl pressing hold ups. Birdhouse is the revered producers seventh full length LP and can be considered a full circle as he takes a step away from the dance floor to revisit his early inspirations of jazz, 70’s fusion, library music, ambient and sample-based downtempo electronica. With its soulful touches, vocal and live musician features and trademark warm Jimpster production, we also think it could be his most accomplished and accessible yet.
The opening title track sets the tone for what’s to come with rustling percussion, widescreen choral samples, dub FX and drifting pads all coming together to create a sense of optimism. The first of six vocal features comes next. Ascension with UK vocalist Oliver Night (featured on IG Culture’s recent Earthbound LP) is a simple soul jam with live bass from Nick Cohen and Jimpster’s beloved Fender Rhodes joining the lo-fi drum groove.
Next up we’re treated to Voodoo featuring brilliant young NYC MC/poet/producer who first grabbed Jimpster’s attention with his mind-melting track Signs, released in 2020 on Youngbloods. Yoh’s sung (not sung) vocal flow adds a new dimension to the Jimpster sound and is hopefully the first of many more collaborations to come with this perfect pairing. Still Believe takes us on a tripped-out journey into slo-mo, lopsided MPC beats punctuated with otherworldly vocal samples, live bass and Rhodes making for an immersive late night mood.
The first of two tracks on the LP featuring London vocalist and songwriter Cairo drops next entitled Beautiful Day. Another incredibly talented young artist introduced to Jimpster through a mutual friend, Cairo adds a deep and uplifting vibe making for a track you’ll come back to time and time again. A slow-burning nu-soul groove which will draw you in with its warm glow. Lazarusman is a Johannesburg-native poet and vocalist known for his collaborations with Stimming, Joris Voorn and Booka Shade. Here he delivers a poem called Heavy, perfectly punctuating the haunting reverb-drenched horn, Detroit-esque chord stabs and filtered drums.
Future Paradise drops the BPM's further still for a slow-stepping synth ride mixing up rising arpeggios, dubby flugel horn FX and the lushest of strings. It’s been 15 years since Jimpster and Capitol A last joined forces on Left n Right from Jimpster’s Amour LP. Known for his work with Jazzanova, King Britt, Mark De Clive-Lowe and 2008 club anthem Serve It Up on Mantis, the San Francisco native MC delivers his inimitable flow to a blunted jazzy hip hop groove making for one of the LP highlights.
Up next, Rain is an intimate and understated slice of contemporary soul music which pushes another spellbinding Cairo vocal front and centre, underpinned by loose, crunchy beats, dusty keys and moogy flourishes. Picking up the pace, Doors Of Your Heart sees Jimpster get busy chopping up a funk groove whilst Nick Cohen lays down another killer live bass line. Lush keys, modular synths and some crazy FX processing take this into the stratosphere and call to mind some of his earliest productions in the late 90’s on his seminal LP Messages From The Hub.
Winding things down, Jimpster continues to revisit some of the sounds and flavours of his earliest work on Tell You, which goes seriously deep with touches of cinematic big band horns and a looped up vocal sample. Closing out the LP we have the aptly titled Full Circle complete with sublime Metheny/Mays-style pads, muted synth arps and subtle FX to drift away to.
One of Europe’s most popular queer parties launches its record label, showcasing the residents who made Adonis such a cult, must-attend event. The four-track ‘ADONIS 001’ EP is released on 25 February, featuring four tracks from residents Nyra and Wilson Phoenix, representing the different music styles experienced across both rooms at their infamous party which ended its four-year residency at The Cause with a bang on New Year’s Day this year.
Long-term resident Nyra delivers both A-Side tracks, presenting the uplifting, main-room house sound of Adonis. Opening with ‘Used To Love Me’ which evokes classic early New York house with its sultry “you used to love me, basic lover” vocal refrain alongside deep atmospheric beats and hypnotic saxophone sounds. ‘Visions’ sparkles with vibrant electro beats which bounce and shimmer throughout, combined with the Italo house inspired synth chords for an anthemic track perfect for peak-time dance-floors.
Resident Wilson Phoenix, known for delivering the faster paced, darker sound of Adonis, provides both B-Side tracks. As the BPM rises, the vibe gets harder. The thumping yet euphoric ‘Dash Und’ flexes its muscles from the out, with its punchy 909 matched by robotic synths and nostalgic acid and rave influences. ‘K-12’ ups the intensity; a sweat-soaked techno stomper with stabbing hi-hats which make for the ideal heads down cut.
Red hot Modern Soul 45 recorded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1985. Big thanks to Robert Garcia @mrbighappy & Daniel Mathis @quartzwatches for the research and words on this one!!
Brotherhood Band was started by Ernest Coleman(EC) and Clint Hyson, who met thorough a US Navy band called "Mid-South", which was the US Navy's premier musical organization operating out of Millington, Tennessee (20 min outside of Memphis). The group initially played as an instrumental jazz band. In keeping up with the times, they shifted gears towards a more contemporary sound. Shortly after, they decided to cut a single. Enter "Nicci's Theme", which is the B-side here and it's a beautiful jazz tune EC wrote for a girl he fell in love with. This song was supposed to be his door way in, but he actually never opened the door with her.
A few weeks later Clint called EC and played this syncopated bass line for him over the phone. And then EC being the ladies man that he was wrote the lyrics to "Leather Pants" to it. Part of the lyrics read "The pants they stretch, but they don't bust. Enough to make a blind man cuss", but it originally read as, "The pants they stretch, but they don't bust. Enough to make a PREACHER cuss". The song was ready, but they needed to find a singer. That's when member Richard Owens mentioned that he had a young cat back in Atlanta named Taji. In a gamble Taji drove up to Memphis for the Sunrise recording studio session to record the track. According to EC when Taji laid the vocals down he took the song to the next level. In fact it was so impactful that EC, who is now a Grammy producer, still references Taji's sessions when working with new artist.
After the single dropped the group played at Memphis hot spots, Bills Twilight Lounge and Club No Name. EC even had an idea to host a local leather pants contest as a way to promote the song. This lead to a frenzy of women seeking to be "Miss Leather Pants".
It's a little known fact that in 1969, Motown Records boss Berry Gordy organised a holiday trip to Jamaica for his label's stars. It's even less well known that while they were there, a number of those same stars worked with an up-and-coming local producer to record versions of established hits over instrumental riddims from the newly emergent reggae genre. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the plentiful supply of herbal entertainment during the recording sessions, the masters were believed lost. Until now. Happily, their recent re-discovery means you finally get to hear Uptight Boss and Beg For A Dollar - the massively crowd-pleasing consequences of giving a brace of mid-sixties Motown classics the boss reggae treatment!
Alright, maybe it didn't go down like that. Maybe the sound of this release was born instead out of people occasionally mishearing the name of Mako & Mr Bristow's 'Stank Soul Edits' series as 'Skank' Soul Edits. Which got them thinking. What would 'skank soul' sound like? Hello Trojan – meet Motown. Mojan? Trotown? Either way - reggae most definitely got soul!
Limited edition 2000 copies.
•Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Mastering.
•Plated at Quality Record Pressing (QRP).
•180 gr vinyl pressed by Optimal in Germany.
•Deluxe high-gloss flipback album jacket.
•Double insert using an original photo by JP Leloir from the concert.
•Each record has been visually checked to prevent defects.
Donald Byrd’s residency in Paris in 1958 to study with composer Nadia Boulanger gave rise to one of the greatest bands of his career with Bobby Jaspar on tenor sax and flute, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums.
Sam Records is proud to present this previously unreleased concert by the Donald Byrd/Bobby Jaspar Quintet recorded during the evening dedicated to ‘Modern Jazz’ during the 1st and only Cannes Jazz Festival on July 11th 1958. The initiative for this festival was taken by Yvonne Blanc, a lady of good society who played the piano and lived between Paris and Cannes.
This festival was organised in partnership with the festival of Knokke-le-Zoute, in Belgium.
Recorded in Cannes, France, July 11, 1958.
Donald Byrd (Trumpet)
Bobby Jaspar (Flute/Tenor saxophone)
Walter Davis Jr. (Piano)
Doug Watkins (Bass)
Art Taylor (Drums)
50th Anniversary 180g Vinyl LP Reissue All-Analog Mastered from the Original Tapes!
This reissue celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Ismael Rivera's third album, Lo Ultimo en la Avenida, recorded with the Kako y Su Orquesta. Ismael was known as one of the greatest soneros in salsa and Kako was one of the most popular timbaleros during the 60s and 70s, making the combination undeniably electric. Highlight tracks include the hit "Mi Negrita Me Espera," plus the exhilarating "El Cumbanchero." This 180-gram vinyl LP pressing boasts all-analogue mastering from the original tapes.
Originally released in 1983, this 12’’ from French-Haitian saxophone player Ulysse became cult – and extremely rare – within the French boogie niche. Both tracks wonderfully succeed in mixing political statements with dance-floor delights.
Boogie-pop track “Naïma” seems to be a love song at first, but actually says the impossible resilience of a woman who has grown up in war.
The heavy digital reggae song “Tiers Monde” warns us about the abandonment of Third World children.
This maxi single, where each track is instantly followed by its instrumental version for greater DJ use, is an authentic snapshot of the Paris mixed club scene of the 1980s. Really hard to find for a very long time, it’s a great pleasure for Stima Records to make this music
available again, in order to reach a well deserved new audience nearly 40 years later!
Modern metallers DAGOBA are back! After putting their stamp on the metal scene with a unique blend of metal and neckbreaking grooves, relentlessly touring and sharing the stage with legendary acts like Metallica, Machine Head and In Flames, DAGOBA have signed with leading Austrian metal label Napalm Records and are prepared to hit the next level. The French four-piece returns with the band’s most ambitious material yet: punishing vocals, groove and modern metal infused guitars and hard-hitting production shows DAGOBA on top of their game, pushing boundaries and incorporating electronic elements seamlessly into a unique modern metal formula. Vocalist Shawter impresses with a high variety in his singing by covering a wide span from intense and deep growls, strong shouts and precise clean vocals. The album starts off with an electronic intro that bursts into the massive attack „The Hunt“, that has already been released in July 2021 as a standalone single and includes all the significant trademarks: melodic passages with clean vocals alter with intense breakdowns and all of this underlined with electronic elements. This mixture leads to a catchy sound as showcased on the dramatic „Bellflower Drive“ or the melodic „City Lights“. Furthermore the sound of DAGOBA stands out for dominant drumming that oscillates between double bass, blast beats and forward going up tempo drumming as it occurs on „The Last Crossing“ or „Sunfall“. Between all the action, there is also space for calmer parts such as the interlude „Break“ or the track „On the Run“ that begins with female vocals that gradually build up into another hymn lining up brilliantly with the other songs of the album. DAGOBA manages the balancing act between harsh breakdowns, dense soundwalls and grooving passages with ease. Even on its hardest passages, the album never gets too enigmatic - quite the opposite: One smashing track is followed by the next, the record just flies by and leaves no time to breathe. By Night is a beast of an album showcasing how far DAGOBA can take electronic influences on the upcoming material – a must-have for true fans of modern metal! alone!
Oh Yeah" - Charles Mingus (p, voc); Booker Ervin (ts); Roland Kirk (fl, ts, siren, manzello, stritch); Jimmy Knepper (tb); Doug Watkins (b); Dannie Richmond.
Commenting on this album in 1962, Billboard magazine wrote: »He seems to be everywhere, everywhere that is but on his usual instrument«. Charles Mingus, one of the most impressive musicians in the history of jazz, doesn’t play a single note on the bass for a change, but leads the band from his (blues-)piano – the instrument that he always used for composing. He hits the keys, he sings the blues, he shouts and he encourages – apparently Mingus really found the need to express himself loudly in this album. (Doug Watkins stood in for him on the contrabass.) "Oh Yeah" is definitely Mingus’s most powerful and passionate album. He calls on two hot, intensive saxophonists – Roland Kirk and Booker Ervin – as well as Jimmy Knepper on the trombone. Kirk is the main soloist, but all three wind-players deliver expressive improvisations, carrying out a non-stop dialogue with one another, and pushing one other to achieve maximum energy. The music is wild and ecstatic, but it’s not free jazz, remaining – as it does – grounded in blues and gospel. "Hog Callin’ Blues" is an enthralling shuffle with a wealth of riffs, "Devil Woman" a clever slow blues with inventive wind figures. "Ecclusiastics", with its constant change of rhythm and expression alternating between gospel and blues has the most complex form. Blues has always been a part of a black church service, said Mingus. "Eat That Chicken" (a homage to Fats Waller and his favourite food) even plays around with an old-time, Dixie feeling. Humour is never far away. Even in the atomic bomb song (this too, a sort of churchy blues) one hears the words: »Don’t let ’em drop it! Stop it! Be-bop it!«
repress
An underwater adventure by young Parisian Shelter. Where previous releases have seen the synth-obsessed Frenchman take his inspiration from Caribbean rhythms or Balearic attitudes, this marine missive sees Shelter turn to the lavish world of the library,creating his an alternate score to Jean Faurez' 1960 documentary short.
More submersible than snorkel, our journey begins in the very dark of the deep, mystical harp trills echoing through the inky blackness, picking up the bioluminescent shimmer of an Abraliopsis Squid. Gradually we make our way into the light, cruising past shoals of silver scales and underwater forests. Immersion' offers a placid, percolating rhythm and billowing pads, providing sonic symmetry for the dancing leaves, while the spheric soundscape of 'La Vie A L'Ombre' bubbles away like an underwater volcano. The optimistic ambience of 'Plenitude Azotee', brimming with delicate melody and glistening sequences, perfectly captures the wide-eyed wonder of a reef dive, before drifting into the serenity of 'Parade', an aquatic acquaintance of A.R.T. Wilson's 'Overworld'. A brief foray into shark fin funk sees out the A-side, before we're back amid the beauty of the ocean floor, 'Variation Abyssale II' echoing the album opener but with even more poetry. The exotic and otherworldly sine waves of 'Dans La Jungle De Varech' simultaneously sound like a rainforest canopy, alien landscape and coral microcosm, expanding our horizons nicely ahead of the adrenaline rush of 'Hors D'Haleine'. Shelter then sets us at ease with the
tidal tonality and subtle shuffle of 'Fumeurs Noirs', a sublime synthetic suite,
then leaves us to marvel at the soft focus splendour of 'Synthii Outro'.
While previous albums, most notably Leland and Minutes of Sleep (2014) as well as two albums released as one half of the duo Aris Kindt (most notably the stellar Swann and Odette from 2017) have relied on singular thematic and narrative drives that were often of a personal, collaborative, or hermetic in nature, Thresholds is an album that aspires to sonic universality and the presentation of a fully formed psychoacoustical world. That being said it is not an “album of ideas”. Inspired by the ecological and political upheavals of the present and the role of speculative thought as an avenue of global transformation Thresholds is the work of a mature artist fully in control of his powers. Both expansive and nuanced the album widens the aperture of the affective possibilities of the electronic assemblage; themes skip from one track to the next, elevating and informing each other in tangible fields of abstract figuration. The titles, while often heady, concisely allude to strategies implicit in the construction and arrangement of the works: Cut Up, within the context of the album, is exactly that. Luck Takes a Step juxtaposes stately synths with just the right touch of playful fluctuation and latent atonality. The title track itself is a knotted mass of uncertainty and propulsive beats the breakdown of which is a nervous series of fits and starts that resonate not just within the track but as the fulcrum of the entire album: the threshold of our Threshold: “…we are caught up in our own original transversals of time to the point of dissolution, and that which remains a part of the contrivance of ourselves is ultimately that which crosses the threshold and is somehow, miraculously, reconstituted on the other side of it. Because it is via the threshold that we can best observe the conditions of experience as lived even as we cross to the other side of understanding, rejoining the ancient equilibriums of which we, in our depths, are comprised.” (From the liner notes)
No track overstays its welcome and with the help of standout vocalist Eliana Glass, and instrumentation by Dave Harrington (Darkside with Nicolas Jaar), Mark Nelson (Pan American), Will Shore, Greg Paulus and Gareth Redmond, and mixed by Phil Weinrobe, the result is a dizzyingly pure inward gaze that is first and foremost an album about connection.
Vienna 2009; Whizz Vienna, an Austrian musician is nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award in the category 'Album of the year'. Why and how that happened, he is still not sure of to this day. By now, the album in question 'Versager ohne Zukunft', which is produced in collaboration with Kamp, has turned into a classic.
Even though he has released several projects since then, such as the renowned 'Wiener Staub' Beat-LP, it has become quiet around the producer. His studio existence and his musical creation more or less turned into dust.
Darmstadt 2020; during a thorough tidying up of old hard drives a folder labeled 'Whizz Vienna Beatz' experiences a musical renaissance. The dopeness of the material is undeniable to this day and that kind of freshness cannot be just left in the digital wasteland ready to rot.
The search for the missing Whizz Vienna was more challenging than expected due to the fact that he enjoyed his own presence to be buried in the underground. In the end, the hidden asset has been unvcovered, plans have been cultivated and now after a two year waiting time the final product is ready to be launched.
13 long-lost instrumentals, Kamp and Prinz Pi spitting on 2 of them, cuts by DJ Vektor, 1 love for Eva.
Re-release of the third full-length album by the American grindcore legends! True to the American interpretation of Grindcore Terrorizer amalgamate the most forceful elements of Death and Thrash into a true juggernaut of Metal. Since their famed debut “World Downfall” (1989), this beast has been driven by the relentless and precise pounding of Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), who delivers yet another jaw-dropping barrage. Fans will be delighted to see Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent once more returning to play bass on this album. They will also be glad to hear that excellent singer Wolf aka Anthony Rezhawk (Resistant Culture), who already refined the highly acclaimed second album “Darker Days Ahead” (2006) is again adding his resonant and fierce growls as well. The new line-up is completed by Katina Culture (Resistant Culture), who is replacing the sadly late Jesse Pintado (August 28th, 2006) on guitar.
