Ladi6 is a singer with soul. A singer with a hip-hop background and masses of pop-appeal. A singer who first gained attention through her features with the legendary New Zealand export-band Fat Freddy's Drop, but who has also performed alongside such diverse artists as Gil Scott-Heron, Mayer Hawthorne and Mos Def. In short: A singer whose eyes have seen much and whose style is not governed by rules. As if that wasn't enough, her enormous charisma enables her to win her audience over within minutes with full support of her band of Parks and Julien Dyne (BBE).
The 30-year old has always endeavored to use music to tear down barriers and dissolve purported genre-boundaries. With her previous album, "Time Is Not Much" (BBE) which was produced by Parks and Mu (Fat Freddy's Drop), Ladi6 has already taken a perfect shot at her goal, which, combined with the interplay between the many diverse elements of the music, has a highly impressive effect. "The Liberation Of…" has already top the New Zealand independent charts for consecutive weeks and her single "Like Water" is the #1 independent New Zealand song on radio.
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The third studio album from Rebecca Downes with 12 new, original blues-influenced, rock tracks all written by Steve Birkett and Rebecca. Album mixed by Bill Drescher and Chris Childs. With exciting new material that continues the evolution of the music towards rock, More Sinner Than Saint is worth the wait. At the outset, Downes consulted with producer Chris Kimsey, who has previously worked with The Rolling Stones, to select and refine the 12 tracks and to achieve what she and co-writer Steve Birkett see as the perfect expression of their current writing. With five of the fabulous tracks having been mixed by Californian based Bill Drescher, whose previous accolades include working with Rick Springfield and The Bangles, Downes showcases her trademark powerful vocals throughout. With the remainder of the tracks being mixed by Thunder’s Chris Childs, the pedigree of this album is faultless. With her superb studio band that includes Dan Clark, Lloyd Daker and Magnum’s Rick Benton, there was no shortage of artists queuing to join her on the odd track or two. The multi award winning Alan Nimmo (King King) plays guitar on If I Go To Sleep and Magnum’s Tony Clarkin delivers a fabulous guitar solo on Breathe Out. With her signature voice, style and song writing, it was little wonder that last year she was voted Female Vocalist of the Year at the FORM UKBlues Awards. The release of this jubilant new album once again gives her the chance to showcase her formidable powerhouse and gutsy vocals in tracks that have greater range and depth than anything she’s done before. Rebecca said: “We were honoured and humbled to receive Chris Kimsey’s guidance. He gave us confidence about the direction of our writing changing to a rockier sound and advice on the way the material should be recorded. Meeting Bill Drescher in LA was fantastic – such a lovely, down-to-earth guy – and his mixing took the five tracks to the next level. Chris Childs has since done an excellent job on the rest in matching Bill’s mixing style. We are very proud of this album – and the way the music has evolved towards rock. More than ever before we believe it captures the best of our song writing.”
The music from LES TONTONS FLINGUEURS (aka Crooks in Clover aka Monsieur Gangster) is as instantaneously recognizable as the James Bond theme thanks to a short and recurring melodic motif that can still stick in the heads of 21th century kids. Monothematism is a word used by musicologists to refer to the use of stylistic variations based on a single musical theme as can be heard in the Tontons : on the banjo, during the nose punch sequences, played jazz, blues, gloria or Hully Gally style. Though the Tontons music may on first listen sound nothing different than a straightforward yet catchy soundtrack, it turns out to be a real exercise in style. When reading Michel Magne's autobiography " L'amour de vivre " it clearly appears that mixing folk music and sound experiments was a mindful artistic choice. In the movie, Antoine Delafoy (Claude Rich) who is engaged to Patricia (the Mexican's daughter) is merely a Michel Magne caricature. He embodies a contemporary music composer in search of the " absolute anti-chord " by using a water tap. " We don't really know what it is but it's amusing ". In reality and despite his classical musical education, Michel Magne has indeed had a venture into avant-garde music, going as far as organizing an infrasounds concert at the Salle Gaveau venue (Paris) on July 15th, 1954. Infrasonic frequencies which quickly made the audience run for the toilets. On December 3rd,² 1956 his low-frequency sounds contributed to an " empirique " show at the Théâtre des Trois Baudets (Paris) with Alexandro Jodorowsky, Jean Michel Rankovitch and Tinguely. At the same time he wrote music on words by Françoise Sagan for Mouloudji. Again with this desire to cross the boundaries of musical genres. He recorded in 1959 an album of " musiques tachistes " from which a show with dances was staged by Michel Descombey. His taste for provocation and avant-garde did not prevent Michel Magne from composing and arranging popular music. He hence wrote the music for six Georges Lautner movies including the famous Tontons Flingueurs in 1963.Being part of the avant-garde long-haired world what could Michel Magne think of Michel Audiard ? A most kind character who had nevertheless been burned by supporters of the " nouvelle vague " including journalist Henry Chapier who described Les Tontons Flingueurs as being " chansonnier " cinema (in Combat 1963), meant for disenchanted quinquagenarians. Audiard had responded to Truffaut, another of his dispisers : " Dad's movies filled theaters, son's movies empty them. We should have been warned : with its seaside sounding name the Nouvelle Vague (new wave) drove millions of viewers out on the countryside ". In between melodic effectiveness and daring arrangements and tonality, Michel Magne's work is worth being listened to with fresh ears, cleared of clichés !
- A1: Magic Momentum
- A2: Rockets To Mars
- A3: The News These Days
- A4: Life (Skit)
- A5: Love Vibration
- B1: Original Flow
- B2: Hold On
- B3: Surviver (Skit)
- B4: Tatamaka Pt.1
- B5: Tatamaka Pt.2
- C1: Time (Skit)
- C2: Time
- C3: Jinja (Skit)
- C4: Kochirakoso
- C5: Our Tactus
- C6: Nah Personal
- D1: No Chains
- D2: Push Comes To Shove
- D3: We No Let Y'all In
- D4: Mexico (Skit)
- D5: Future For Our Children
We Release JAZZ is very happy to announce an exciting new body of work by Joseph Deenmamode aka Mo Kolours. The singular musical spirit’s new 21-track album Original Flow is available as a double LP housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve with original artwork by Mo Kolours himself and the classic WRJ obi strip, as well as in digipack CD and digital formats.
A catalog of critically acclaimed records, including his self-titled debut (2014), ‘Texture Like Like Sun’ (2015), 2018 album ‘Inner Symbols’ and three companion EPs, established Deenmamode as a prodigious musician and vocalist. Pitchfork extolled his “hypnotic, tribal-infused dance grooves”, DJ Mag appreciated the “colourful celebration of soundsystem culture”, and Resident Advisor advocated that “no one sounds quite like Mo Kolours”. Musical analogies were drawn by The Guardian as “The best album Curtis Mayfield never made with A Tribe Called Quest and Lee Perry” and Mojo as “like Marvin Gaye produced by J Dilla”.
Five years ago, Deenmamode moved to the Japanese countryside. Far away from familiarity, he contemplated his place and further questioned his identity. “I had none of my ‘own’ people around. I had time to really find what makes me tick musically. Japan has helped me go back to those subconscious leanings, really go deep, and reflect the aspects that make up my story”.
The tracks on ‘Original Flow’ have been constructed from sessions, improvisations and soundbites captured around the world during this time; collecting contributions from musicians including Deenamode’s brothers Reginald Omas Mamode and Jeen Bassa plus Andrew Ashong, Charles Bullen, Dwaye Kilvington, Eddie Hick, Stefan Asanovic, Myele Manzanza, Ross Hughes, and Tom Dreissler. Deenamode says “I’m proud of this album’s creative process. Coming from a tradition of scouring through hours of records, I wanted to create my own samples, to find that perfect loop that no other producer could put their hands on. I decided to invite a group of friends and acquaintances, who also happen to be incredible musicians, to a studio in Crystal Palace to improvise based on some loose ideas I had. We spent all day, and recorded everything”.
‘Original Flow’ is an album of UK street-soul nouveau, future indigenous jazz fusion, Rasta Segga, Nyahbinghi jazz, Malagasy Hebrew hip hop. While retaining a spirit of exploration and improvisation, it sees Deenmamode grow and flex beyond beat tape brevity, expanding composition and stretching his musical muscle to play live with other musicians. Themes of empowerment, overcoming adversity, and mental liberation coexist with notes from ancient history, futurism, and science, as well as musings on family and togetherness.
‘Magik Momentum’ springs from a discussion that features at the start of the song, an inspiring mentor answering a question from Deenmamode about improvisation and what role it plays in life when planning and manifesting the future. ‘Rockets to Mars’ questions the lack of care for the billions of people with nothing, while governments plan to explore space. “This sparked a comparison in my mind to a Sonny Okuson song that I would reference when performing. Okuson’s song talked of the lack of resources in many communities in the world, while governments go to the moon”.
He says the music behind ‘The News These Days’ is “possibly my favourite on the album”. Looped like he would a late sixty jazz-fusion sample, there was nothing added and the track was complete within a matter of minutes. “It was the first and best moment from the entire Crystal Palace session”, he adds. The album’s contrasting title track with minimal instrumentation played solo by Deenamode. While frustratingly searching for gems in past recordings, he thought in a burst of ego, “I don’t need no-one else to make a dope beat!” picked up his ravanne, (the traditional frame drum of his fathers home-land of Mauritius), pressed record, and started to play. He says, “In my thoughts were the rhythms of the Nubians in Upper-Egypt and Sudan, the swing of the huge drums played by Mauritanian women, of-course the Sega beat of Mauritius, and the ever inspiring beat of James Yancey”.
Driven by UK broken beat, Cuban congas, Nigerian and Mauritian inflections, ‘Love Vibration’ follows the concept that all emotions carry a vibratory frequency and pays homage to the frequency of creation and the power of love. The two part ‘Tatamaka’ tells of the history of Deenmamode’s ancestors, the maroons of Mauritius. “We are people who managed to run from our oppressors and find refuge in a corner of the island called ‘Le Morne’ where they could not reach us. One bloody day they came in numbers to re-capture, to revenge. Many of us chose to jump to our deaths, rather than be taken back into subjugation. The poem by Creole Richard Sedley Assonne says; “there were hundreds of them, but my people, the maroons chose the kiss of death over the chains of slavery”. Tatamaka was the name of a famed maroon leader who was murdered for claiming his, and our people’s freedom. The song is the imagined journey of escape and freedom by an ancestor of the maroons of Le Morne”.
Born in the west midlands and raised on the traditional sega music of his father’s Indian Ocean homeland of Mauritius alongside records by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Michael Jackson; his influences expanded with late 90s jungle and drum and bass nights in Bristol, experiments at art college in Camberwell, and the rich culture of Peckham, “at the time we called it the Afro Quarters of London” says Deenmamode, adding hip hop, dub, soul and soundsystem styles to his individual sound.
He explains, “I love drum music, from hand-drums to 808s. I love music from the ancient past, heritage music, indigenous music, traditional music passed down from the beginning of time. Music from the body, hand claps, grunts and foot stomps. Music with audible depth, busy, bustling, highly charged. Music from the soul, the music from beyond. I love music from the islands and the mountains. The music of the streets, hustle music, alleyway beats. Club music”.
He describes the creative process as thinking in images. “The visual world and the world of sound seem to intermingle in my thought process. When I play the drum with my eyes closed, a world of imagery dances and moves with beat. Improvised drumming feels like I am listening to what I want to hear, rather than trying to play what I want to hear. Following the rhythm and finding new pathways to walk within the patterns is what I experience. In this way I often feel I am just a listener, instead of the player”.
Original Flow is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.
Apparel Wax's 7inches vinyl series continues with a release focused on new, exciting sounds. APLMINI003, which drops in late January 2024 is composed, as usual, of two tracks, one per side. Side A kicks off with a nu-disco track, in which the solos of a wild sax and a loopy guitar riff takes the listener by the hand until the very last second. Side B, however, shows the more experimental part of APLWAX's soul, with a beat that seems nostalgic of the 90s/00s UK sounds, a broken beat and a decidedly more pressing rhythm, which recalls D&B influences, British-style Electronica. The possibility of combining tracks with different styles on the same record represents a sonic challenge, but APLWAX has always been accustomed to combining different musical currents, keeping the fresh and happy soul of its brand clear. Everything is represented by the new, elegant graphic design of APLWAXMINI, in which even the smallest details and small changes fill the record's release with anticipation. APLWAXMINI003 is coming.
A new Toy Tonics EP. It’s the second by Venezuelan house DJ and producer Gee Lane. Including amazing remixes by NYC mainstay musclecars!
Gee Lane’s debut EP Metamorphosis (with remixes by Demi Riquísimo and Divorce From New York Remix & PIEK ) came out last October.
But as Virginie (her real name) is a steady name of tue Toy Tonics crew now and plays almost every weekend at one of the worldwide Toy Tonics Jams it makes sense to put out a follow up fast.
Gee Lane originally from Caracas now in Barcelona is a passionate DJ and vinyl digger with an extraordinary positive energy and attitude. A DJ diva in a positive way. A unique personality with a very strong style (in music but also as a person) and very elaborated ability to read and play with the dancers. Like the first EP also this one was recorded in Barcelona and Berlin with a little help by Robin Braum from Athlete Whippet. The music reflects well her roots and passion for everything what came out from New York’s dance culture. You can hear influences from the 80‘ promo disco scenes as well as the 1990 Body & Soul/ Francois Kervorkian / Joe Claussell universe. In fact Gee Lane after being raised in Caracas and musically educated by her father from a very early age, (a composer and musician) she moved to New York at a very young age in the late 90's where she fell in love with the HOUSE scene. And especially everything that happened at the famous and influential ’Body & Soul’ club.
This culture increased her curiosity to become a DJ (and vinyl digger herself) who is not just interested in house music but wants to explore other genres such as funk, Hip-Hop, jazz and Latin sounds and include these vibes into her DJ sets. A vinyl collector (and long time record shop employee) since then, she is known for her musical eclecticism that leads her to mix everything what she wants ...
Gee Lane now is a steady member of the Toy Tonics Krew and is already playing the Toy Tonics Jams all around Europe.
Keep It Simple!
That's what Tony Allen told me, whether on stage, in the recording studio or when we were working together on the album "The Source"(Blue Note 2017) in my studio. Obviously, if he repeated it at will, it's because it's so difficult, to express the essential, not to scatter, over-play, over-arrange. So natural for him, so constraining for others! For years he pushed us, the members of his group to develop our projects. I had something in mind, necessarily with him, unfortunately his unexpected demise decided otherwise.
It took a moment to accept his departure, to accept being a voice, to find a new path. The desire to continue the work started together, that of mixing styles, sounds to appropriate them and create new, authentic. The desire also to meet new people, another energy.
After composing music for this project, I asked my friend Ben Rubin, musician and producer to help me record it. I found in NYC what I was looking for, a sense of urgency, that of doing, generous and committed musicians. I knew Jason Lindner, a musician that I have been following for a long time and he was the first person I thought of for pianos and synthesizers. He has this ability to find new and powerful sounds, with a direct and unadorned playing. For the drums, I didn't especially thought about a musician whose playing could come close or far to Tony's. Ben suggested Josh Dion to me, I've been following him since his "Paris Monster" project, I love his ability to make his drums sound like a new instrument by playing the bass synth with his right hand, that forces him to keep it simple! He also plays 2 tracks in drum/synth mode on the album.
I'm also happy that he agreed to sing a song on this album.
So we recorded at the Figure8 recording studio in Brooklyn, Eli Crews providing the sound recording, we decided with Ben to create a powerful and assumed sound from the take. Many biases on the tones, whether on the drums and the keyboards. Back in my studio in Paris, I continued to search, to dig while recording additional saxophones, percussions and keyboards.
I met Tchad Blake during a week-long mixing seminar. His work on the album on is radical.
Keep it simple?
Difficult but I try to remain so on all the phases of evolution of this project, from writing to production, in the improvisation parts. Where I feel it the most is in the immediate joy of playing with Jason and Josh, of tweaking a few sounds in my studio to create the unexpected, surprise in the structures, authenticity. Simple as the desire to go towards something essential, to seek oneself, to find oneself, to doubt but also to invent oneself.
You get older, you have a family, and you start to slow down-that's how things are supposed to go, right? Not for Montreal band Corridor, who have returned on their fourth album, Mimi, with a sound and style that's more widescreen and expansive than anything that's preceded it. The follow-up to 2019's Junior is a huge step forward for the band, as the members themselves have undergone the type of personal changes that accompany the passage of time; even as these eight songs reflect a newfound and contemplative maturity, however, Corridor are branching out more than ever with richly detailed music, resulting in a record that feels like a fresh break for a band that's already established themselves as forward-thinkers. Mimi immediately recalls the best of the best when it comes to indie rock-Deerhunter's silvery atmospherics immediately come to mind, as well as the spiky effervescence of classic post-punk-but despite these easy comparisons, Corridor remain impossible to pin down from song to song, which makes Mimi all the more thrilling as a listen. "The goal was to work differently, which is the goal we have every time we work on a new album-to build something in a new way," Robert explains. "This time, we took our time." And so in the summer of 2020, Corridor's members-Robert, vocalist/bassist Dominic Berthiaume, drummer Julien Bakvis, and multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux-holed away in a cottage to engage in the sort of creative experimentation that would lead to Mimi's ultimate creation. Corridor tinkered with the songs' raw parts digitally and remotely over the next few years, with co-producer Joojoo Ashworth (Dummy, Automatic) lending their own specific talents in the theoretical booth. The process was a byproduct of not having access to their rehearsal space due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a result of the four-piece leaning harder into incorporating electronic textures than on previous records. "For a long time, we identified as a guitar-oriented band, and the goal of making this whole record was trying to get away from that," Berthiaume states. Berthiaume also describes Mimi as a record about "getting older" and "figuring out new parts of life"-but despite any claims of transitional growing pains from the band, Mimi is a record bursting with new energy and life, a vibrance that's owed in no small part to Gougoux joining the band full-time after pitching in on live performances in the past. "I come more from a background of electronic music, so it was nice to involve that with the band more," he explains, and Mimi contains a distinct rhythmic pulse reminiscent of classic era-post-punk's own melding of dance and rock textures. Over bright, chiming guitars and ascending synths, Robert addresses his looming mortality on "Mourir Demain": "I wrote it when my girlfriend and I were shopping for life insurance," he laughs. With our little daughter growing up, we also considered making our will. I said to myself, 'Oh shit, from now on I'm slowly starting to plan my death." Don't mistake this as music about dead ends, though, as Mimi embraces and champions unfettered creativity while paving a way for Corridor's own bright future. "We just focused on making a record that sounded the way we wanted," Gougoux exclaims while discussing the band's aims. "There were no limitations when it came to what was possible."
CLEARxCUT is out there to spread the message of total liberation. (Former) Members of HEAVEN SHALL BURN, IMPLORE, and KING APATHY/THRÄNENKIND started this collective, because they are dedicated to the vegan straight edge (XVX) and want to confront listeners with inconvenient thruths and todays harsh reality. The German band addresses their songs and convictions to all people who are prepared to stand up for a better, fairer future - but especially to all anarchists, anti-fascists, feminists, primitivists and indigenous peoples of the world. Or to put it brief: to all defenders of our earth. The stylistic choice of means falls on metallic hardcore, which is rooted in a strong DIY ethic. Having released their first two albums "For The Wild At Heart Kept In Cages" (2019) and "Songs of Desire Armed" (2022) for Catalyst X Records (Gather, Nueva Ethica, Abnegation, Birthright, Maroon, Point Of No Return, Forward To Eden), "Age Of Grief" now marks CLEARxCUTs debut for LIFEFORCE RECORDS. Started in the mid-1990ies as label with mainly vegan and straight edge bands, the German Label has an impressive history with XVX bands such as ARKANGEL, DAY OF SUFFERING, RANCOR, UNCONQUERED, UNBORN, FAULT, or DEADLOCK. Being a collective that is outspoken in its message and keeps the vegan straight edge banner high, CLEARxCUT continue this tradition. Also besides having switched their label, "Age Of Grief" marks a fresh start for CLEARxCUT. After a big shift in their ranks, before the global pandemic hit, the band moved from two (female) vocalists to one (male) frontman. This is accompanyed by a change of sound. On their third full lenght album, the German band is diving into the realms of metallic hardcore, leaving behind their early hardcore punk influences. Noone should be surprised by this move, as CLEARxCUT was conceived as a collective where members, names, or styles wouldn’t matter, but one and only the final goal of spreading a positive message in defense of animal rights and sober living. "Age Of Grief", in this respect, is extremely consistent.
"At the time I'd have been fairly upfront about wanting to release tracks that were faster than most and in a style that wasn't straight electro. Some of these tracks fell into a weird middle ground for me, so they got put aside. It had been 20 years since I'd heard any of them and on listening back I reckoned that time had been kind to them so I started remastering them and uploading to Soundcloud alongside some classic 12" releases from my label Trama Industries.
For me, it was interesting to hear sounds and techniques emerging on some later tracks that would form the basis of my later projects like Legion Of Two and Of One. I'd kinda forgotten about that. Huge thanks to Eddie and Intrinsic Rhythm for suggesting a release and believing in the project"
Mafia Musik is the fourth studio album from mercurial Los Angeles rapper, D. Savage. Initially breaking out in the SoundCloud rap scene in 2016 with the track, “30 Round Clip,” D. Savage has blossomed from underground icon to full-fledged star, with Mafia Musik serving as his magnum opus. At 13 tracks, D. Savage relentlessly keeps his foot on the gas for the entire duration of the album, with scorching hits such as “Kome On,” “Dirty Dan,” & “JOKER, Pt. 2.” One of the leading artists in the plugg sub-genre, his delivery and style is melodic and airy, yet far from soft. It’s clear the future is bright for D. Savage, and Mafia Musik serves as a great foundation for what is to come for him.
Wolfgang Tillmans’ latest album, Build from Here, is driven by a desire to explore and to expose. It navigates joy and heartbreak amid ruin and rebuilding, embodying hopeful defiance in uncertain futures. The songs vary in style, from propulsive and catchy to contemplative, featuring lush instrumentals transitioning into danceable beats. Tillmans’ voice, whether growling and confrontational or tender and stripped down, maintains its prominence throughout, serving as the album's core.
CONTEXT During the height of the pandemic, Melbourne, Australia experienced the longest lockdown in the world, keeping residents inside their homes for a total of 262 days. In the midst of this were the five members who would form AWOL, driven to create and write music almost out of necessity. Once the ban was lifted, the band hit the recording studio and released their debut EP, AWOL, in 2021 through Last Ride Records. The timing was perfect as the Australia hardcore scene was experiencing serious growth, and AWOL soon found themselves playing shows with Speed, Iron Mind, No Apologies, and on a country wide run supporting No Pressure in early 2022. The band’s persistent drive and heavy playing style caught the attention of Flatspot Records, who will release AWOL’s debut full length, Tear 'Em To Bits this Spring. It’s not hard to listen to Tear 'Em To Bits and feel like you’re going to get ripped apart. The nine tracks are monstrous, filled with gruff vocals, groove-driven riffs, and meaty breakdowns. AWOL draws from bands like Madball and Biohazard, but also fit right along modern day acts like King Nine and God’s Hate. The lyrics are punishing, covering everything from deception and failed relationships to addressing drug addiction and police brutality. And while the record packs a lot of aggression, AWOL is purely here to revel in hardcore and the community it’s built for them. On making Tear 'Em To Bits the band simply states: “The only goal was to make a good hardcore record that we were proud of and that our friends could get behind.” AWOL is Christian Schultz (vocals), Mike Williams (guitar/vocals), Otis T Bennie (guitar/vocals) Pat Shanahan (drums) and Pablo Barnes (bass) Produced and recorded by Mike Deslandis, with additional recording by Otis T Bennie, at Black Lodge Studios. Mixed by Jon Markson at The Animal Farm. Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. MARKETING AND SELLING POINTS: * AWOL is one of the biggest hardcore bands in Australia at the moment * Can appeal to not only the Hardcore crowd but also Punk, Metal, and Rock demographics as well * Has toured w/ No Pressure, Regulate, The Story So Far, Speed * Will tour AUS, US, UK, EUROPE in 2024 * A perfect hardcore release that will stand the test of time! * Has played festivals such as L * Mixed by Jon Markson (Drug Church, Drain, Regulate, Koyo) * Music Videos for AWOL (single) + Tear Em’ To Bits (Single) * Alexa Gallo of Wordless PR will be working press * The Syndicate will be working Radio Campaign * Matt Hughes Good As Gold will be working UK press + radio * Released by Last Ride Records in AUS * First EP on Flatspot Records * Pressed on Colored Vinyl
nit is the genius underdog of the current French chanson scene. After playing along with Sébastien Tellier or Juliette Armanet (a huge success in France), after remixing Phoenix, Myd, Dita Von Teese, Cola Boyy, Tony Allen or Jane Birkin, here he comes with his debut album. The balearic sound is always a big nit influence, feel good electronics & lush acoustic chords.
Spotted by French label Record Makers (Sébastien Tellier, Kavinsky, AIR, Cola Boyy) with his 2017 “Dessous de plage” first EP, nit has since grown from funky DIY library music to a lush and complex groovy sound. The magic of this debut album “Big Bang Puzzle” is a keen sense of composition and an innate affinity for 90’s European electronica.
It’s a playful album, the work of an artist at the peak of his craft, determined to twist styles and references (Daft Punk, Ennio Morricone, Robert Miles, Vangelis...) in order to give them a new form.
“Big Bang Puzzle” is a tangle of psychedelic and cartoon-esque pieces, an abstract modernist painting of sounds inspired by vintage pop music. The cover, created by Swiss artist Flora Mottini, offers a first glimpse of his brand new universe.
But it’s also by collaborating with French iconic design studio H5 that nit suddenly enters the French Touch genealogy. nit takes the shape of an n that grows legs and arms to become a cheeky cartoon character traveling through a real space-time continuum. Parisian H5 studio has been involved since the end of the ‘90s in the design of strong visual concepts for French Touch’s elite (Etienne de Crécy, AIR, Mirwais). French music at its best from which nit is a direct descendant. And one who expands and opens even further: pop, italo-disco, trip-hop impulses, Morriconian cavalcades, lo-fi aesthetics, Caribbean music. Producer and mixer Lucien Krampf (Oklou, Ascendant Vierge, Casual Gabberz, CRYSTALLMESS) was the person in charge of mixing this ambitious record.
nit is both a question and an answer, and a musical enigma that pushes us to explore the far reaches of our imagination…
DISBELIEF’s new album’ Killing Karma’ once again underlines the band's singularity and their persistence to follow an unconventional way for more than 30 years against all resistance. DISBELIEF have grown into a very experienced band that has always kept an open minded spirit, yet remote from any mainstream connection, in order to further sharpen their Death Metal style with implacable conviction and dedication. A colossal, destroying, atmospheric, yet subtle wall of sound was conceived with this new album. The band invited two of the most unique singers in the German Metal scene on ‘Killing Karma' : Michelle Darkness (End of green) and Joschi Baschin (Undertow). They perform on some of the album songs : ’The Scream that slowly disappeared’ , ‘Flash of inspiration’ and the epic ‘Reborn’. DISBELIEF captivates the listener further with a special rendition of Killing Joke classic ‘Millenium’, shaping it into a very memorable remake which will surprise a lot of fans out there. Lyric wise, DISBELIEF vocalist Karsten ‘Jagger’ comments : "'Killing Karma' is a declaration of war to desperation, grief and helplessness, an unbelievable musical journey through the human soul threatening to break under the weight of life." DISBELIEF ’s new album ‘Killing Karma’ is a diversified, captivating , strength giving, crushing Death Metal monster !
'Welcome to Hotel Heaven' is a fresh start for is George van den Broek, a young man with an old soul and the voice to match. His music as Yellow Days fittingly, feels both of his era and completely other: a woozy mixture of soul, blues, psych, and groove leaking through the walls of a jazz lounge that's come unstuck in time. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist, George has never fit into one style or space. Despite George being an old soul — he hates social media, loves vinyl, and collects old cameras — Yellow Days really is a project about youth and modernity: “Hotel Heaven represents fake comfort in all its forms, this whole bullshit idea of luxury where nothing is real,” explains George. “There are so many young people who are living that kind of life. Because of the cost of living crisis, people are spending all they’ve got on a bag of white powder just to make them feel nice. Their jaws are still swinging at four o’clock in the morning, but they’re not saying anything. I wanted to write about these people and everything that is happening right now. This TikTok age where everyone wants to be famous. It’s also a big 360 of my life and career to date. I wanted to get away from everything I’d done before, wash my face and start afresh.” - Yellow Days
Ever since their auspicious beginnings, more than a decade ago, Laughing Bastards have giddily delighted in impurity. Initially a reeds-guitar-bass trio modeled after the classic Jimmy Giuffre 3, the band has remained truthful to its original spirit. Saxophone player Michel Mast and guitarist Jan-Sebastiaan Degeyter have remained its core, but the band went through several permutations, first welcoming Eline Duerinck (cello) and Marcos Della Rocha (for Unanimal in 2019) and solidifying its present-day line-up with bassist Cyrille Obermüller.
Bastards. It's kind of a rude word to throw around carelessly, but there has always been that element of being irregular, being too stubborn to comply with what is expected, that has set them apart. This is nowhere more evident than in the material contributed by Degeyter, who wrote more than half of the album's compositions. A talented illustrator and designer (he created a few of their striking album covers) as well as a versatile guitarist, Degeyter always manages to add a strong visual component to his material. In combination with his knack for pulling exotic influences into the band's overall sound, it leads to a playful, cinematic eccentricity.
"Tigraman" and "Black Spoon" are examples of this. Both are infused with an Ethiopian-tinged sound, but while the first one develops the catchy throbbing of a trance-like soul/rock tune, the second exudes the lush cadence of Golden Age Ethio jazz, the kind that gets under your skin with those sensual, irrepressible rhythms. They are a nice match with the increasing drama of the Slavic-tinged "Red Lemon", the slow, dreamy flow of the Jamaican dance hall-inspired "Sand", a strong feature for Duerinck, and "Dosi", that shows Obermüller's knack for propulsive melody.
The synesthete in Degeyter gets free reign in "Calliope", chamber jazz in which sweeping sax and cello are kept grounded by guitar, bass and drums. Mast's odd meter-song "Fetish" is another showcase for the band's effortless dancing and some gorgeous tenor schmooze. Della Rocha's "Turquoise" starts off in brooding, contemplative way and keeps simmering on a low, glowing fire. To top it off, there are a few covers that remind you of the band's origins. A new take on Giuffre's rootsy "The Train and the River" stresses their loose flexibility with an Americana style somewhat reminiscent of Charlie Haden, while Carla Bley's evergreen "Vashkar" gets a carefully constructed makeover to close out the album with grace.
On their latest album, Laughing Bastards prove they are a quintessential Belgian band - soaking up sounds and influences from all over the place while maintaining a tight unity - with an international appeal. Combining jazz and chamber music with ideas from pop music and multi-colored strains does not only give their music an iridescent edge, but also keeps the interplay fresh and inspired, something to return to while waiting to see them live on stage.
TLM034 will be our 45th release since 1996 and 25th since reforrning the label in 2019. It seemed inevitable that this release would be one of our Best Of Various EPs featuring new and established artists as we have done previously. Starting off this milestone release we have the ever growing Cumulative Collective with AskaFara.
An Epic 10 minute track pushing all the right buttons for listening and the dancefloor alike. Featuring Cormac Fulton, Stefano De Santis, Takashi Nakazato, Ayumi Suzuki and Mitsuru Tanaka, musicians from England, Italy and Japan respectively. All brought together by head of the label Steve Conry who also produced and mixed the track with Stefano De Santis. Track 2 on the A side is by a new name to most, Takahiro Fuchigami with Strange Acquaintance. A beautiful broken beat track with a distinctively Japanese sound.
Onto side AA and that kicks off with Melchior Sultana and The Playground. Melchior has previously released on TLM in 2022 and 2023. For 2024 he delivers a superb jazzy deep house track in his own particular Mediterranean style. Next up is Brazilian multi instrumentalist Fabio Santanna with Melô Da Cuíca, a fantastic Brazilian Boogie track. Fabio came to our attention from his release Chega Mais Lincoln on Joutro Mundo’s superb Brazilian label Onda Boa. Finally rounding off the AA side is The Robinson from Italy with Song 1. A brilliant blues tinged broken beat track that gets better every time you hear it.




















