This concert marks an important moment in the history of The Flower Kings, as they
masterfully perform their classic material and showcase their strength as a melodic,
tight and incredibly dynamic unit. Each band member is given plenty of room to
shine, resulting in a stunning musical experience. This album captures the essence
and energy of the band like never before.
Despite being tracked from the PA board on just one night, this recording and mix
stand out as the finest live recording document of The Flower Kings ever. The mix is
perfected to highlight every detail. The album will be released on vinyl on Nov 15.
Mirko DeMaio: Drums & Percussion / Michael Stolt: Bass, Moogbass & Vocal / Lalle
Larsson: Keyboards / Hasse Fröberg: Guitars, Vocal & Percussion / Roine Stolt:
Guitars, Vocals
Mixed By Roine Stolt February/March 2023
Lili Holland-Fricke and Sean Rogan’s debut album “dear alien” is a constellation of radiant improvised impulses, imagined in lucent fragments of cello, guitar and voice. Spacious, tender and glistening with rich electronic distortion, the record melds a spectrum of processed and natural sound as the artists invite listeners into their dreamlike world of synergetic introspections.
Cultivated through a shared spirit of resourcefulness and play, “dear alien” emerges as an organic meeting place in the compositional output of British-German experimental cellist Lili Holland-Fricke and Manchester-born guitarist and producer Sean Rogan. Having studied their respective instruments at the Royal Northern College of Music, both artists have flourished in eclectic solo and collaborative projects, creating intricate and intimate spheres of sound with a deep appreciation for songwriting and improvisation.
Holland-Fricke’s transition from the classical world to writing her own material, and later vastly expanding her palette with electronics, first converged with Rogan’s distinctive flair for production in 2022 on her EP “birdsong for breakfast” and single ‘draw on the walls’. Now, the duo present an album envisioned through true ‘50/50’ collaboration during the summer of 2023, written across two intensive weeks of improvising and experimenting at Rogan’s Greenwich home studio. A convergence of the artists’ sounds and influences, the music was fostered by the idea of making an album with ‘no plan’ and their shared recent discovery of Arthur Russell, to whom the final track is dedicated.
“dear alien” assembles eight compositions that emerged naturally as the duo created sketches with cello and pedals, guitar, tape loops and poetic vocal musings, forming songs that explore themes of waiting, circling back around, and glitchy communication. Moments of drifting through pillowy layers of sound contrast with saturated visions of electronic modification, where the record’s glowing instrumental contours are pushed to the extremes.
The plaintive shades of ‘half blue’ and meandering deliberations of ‘slow thing’ are teased by the friction of static signals and a sense of ever-mutating sonic mass – a sensibility most acutely realised in ‘dawning’, where cello-vocoder eruptions grow in magnitude, the absence of sound between them burdened with something sinister and unspoken. As the artists expand on this piece, ‘It’s the sound equivalent of squeezing your eyes shut to shield against the brightness of something you don’t want to see, only to find that each time you open them again the world is not softening but getting more relentlessly overwhelming, to the point of being totally blinding.’
Three tracks with lyrics – ‘at first’, ‘dear alien’ and ‘seem asleep’ – refract the album’s wistful and melancholic colours into poetic imagery and metaphors, ushering in reflections on relationship tensions and someone close feeling unknown, with hints towards wider unsettled feelings about climate change. In the spirit of lyrical improv, ‘seem asleep’ compiles lone lines from Holland-Fricke’s journals into a cut-and-paste collage around hopeful patience or futile lingering – either way conjuring a softness that welcomes the hazy ambience of ‘for a. r.’, the final composition which soundscapes the summer days spent making the album. As the artists describe of this track, ‘The music kind of leads somewhere, but then kind of leads nowhere, and just meanders around where it is, content to just be walking in a circle back to where it started.’
Indignation Meeting are punky rail fans from Leeds. 15-year-old Peter is the driver - he's the drummer and lead singer, writes most of the songs, and also plays bass and trumpet on the album. The rest of the crew is his dad Michael on guitar, Hugo on bass, and with Keith, Heather and Sally often along for the ride when they play out. Here at DGHQ we loved listening to their self-released debut album Trouble In The Shed so much we eventually released it on vinyl for the first time. They now have a second album! Vocalist/drummer Peter very kindly talks us through the (train) tracks_ * "The Trainspotting Song" - Now, as a train geek, I go out filming trains an awful lot, and one thing you can't help noticing whilst out in the wilds of Staffordshire or the moors of Lancashire are a whole load of unnecessary 'Private Land' signs. This song is my response_ * "The Talyllyn Railway" - The history of the Talyllyn Railway is a fascinating one that I've long since wanted to explore, due to its unique nature as the first railway to ever be taken over by volunteers. This is the result! * "The Middleton Railway" - As a volunteer at the Middleton Railway, I had felt that a song needed to be written for quite a while. However, our guitarist Michael, ended up beating me to it! * "A Model World" - It was late one night, and I was lying on my sofa, trying my hardest to gain an ounce of enjoyment from 'Hornby; A Model World.' It was proving quite hard, due to the alarming lack of substance in the programme, so instead I decided that its name was rather good, and could be the basis of a song explaining my 'model world.' And, well, here it is! * "The Fifth Black Five" - This song is dedicated to the railway preservationists of old, who spent countless hours in cold, damp, dreary sidings, all to make sure us future generations would be able to enjoy the smell of a steam train. Thanks guys! * "Case Study" - This song is a commentary on the sensationalisation of disasters, when there's a massive tragedy and people at home just sit in their comfy sofas, watching the news and drinking tea. We know what's going on, but we can just choose to turn off the TV and forget it ever happened and continue with our lives. It also relates to the dehumanisation of those disasters you experience in school, where you have to write essays on someone who's just become homeless. It seems quite heartless sometimes_ * "Loco Motives" - This song is a fictional story of a man's personal struggle with a railway company, and the drastic measures he took to fix them_ * "That Would Never Suit His Grace" - With model railways, you always seem to get a few people who can never be satisfied with a layout or a model - no matter how hard someone's tried, there's always something to improve on, and they're never nice about it either. This song is a reality check for them_ * "Small Black Shunter" - This is our second homage to Zounds - Electrification would never be truly complete without its B-side. And this B-side is the story of a little loco who wanted to see the world. * "Rhydyronen" - Slowly but surely, we're going to pick off all of the stations on the Talyllyn Railway. Starting where Abergynolwyn left off, this is the story of our second favourite station on the TR. * "Typically English Day" - This is an homage to Mark Astronaut, a true punk genius who was gone before his time. Although there were many songs we could've picked to cover, it only seemed right to punk up one of his most popular tracks, and one of the main ones that got me into the Astronauts in the first place - Typically English Day, a heart-wrenching tale of an elderly couple trapped in the middle of a nuclear war, following their last moments before their inevitable demise. * "Just For The Record" - There is too much misinformation in the media these days, and one case I found particularly egregious was the gross misrepresentation of the strikers, who aren't so evil as the media want you to believe_
- 140G schwarzes Vinyl inklusive Einleger und Downloadkarte
Nach der Veröffentlichung von 'POPtical Illusion' Anfang des Jahres kündigt John Cale die Wiederveröffentlichung seines Album-Klassikers 'The Academy in Peril' für den 15.11.2024 an!
Das Album wurde von Heba Kadry neu gemastert und es ist die erste von Cale Künstler autorisierte Neuauflage des beliebten Albums. "The Academy in Peril" enthält enthält den Bonustrack "Temper" und wird auf CD, Vinyl und digital erhältlich sein.
"Das Wiederaufgreifen von Werken aus der Vergangenheit ist für mich ein zweischneidiges Schwert. Natürlich ist das unvermeidlich, wenn man seit 60 Jahren oder so Musik macht. Das Besondere an diesem Prozess bei Domino ist, dass sie es richtig machen wollen. Es geht nicht darum, etwas nur wegen eines Jubiläums neu aufzulegen oder einen Katalogfavoriten zu sammeln, sondern darum, neue Schätze zu finden und das hervorzuheben, was sie ursprünglich besonders gemacht hat. Nachdem ich die Testpressungen gehört hatte, kam mir der Gedanke, dass das neue Mastering einen wesentlichen Teil der Präsentation dieser Werke ausmacht, anstatt sie einfach nur zu konservieren. Es gibt Momente der Klarheit und sogar den einen oder anderen Lacher, wenn man nicht nur die Musik, sondern auch die Sessions (und Possen) Revue passieren lässt, aus denen diese beiden Aufnahmen entstanden sind. Es ist mir eine Freude, diese mit Ihnen zu teilen . . wieder." - John Cale, September 2024
This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1971 Island Records UK release in gatefold sleeve and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl. Released in June 1971, Angel Delight was the first of two albums of Fairport Convention as a four-piece, after the departure of founder member Richard Thompson that January. The band were living in a converted pub, The Angel, in Hertfordshire where they worked up the material for the album, another blend of the traditional and the original. The title track a pun on the time they were having at the pub, and a nod to the popular British dessert of the same name was a jolly catalogue of their life at the moment, referring to producer John Wood as 'John The Wood' and drummer Dave Mattacks as 'Dave The Drum.' It also mentions the day a lorry crashed into the pub, which, had Dave Swarbrick been in his room at the time could well have killed him. The album Fairport's only Top 10 album in the UK chart is also known for its traditional medley of jigs and reels, The Cuckoo's Nest, the beautiful ballad Wizard Of The Worldly Game and the group's version of the salty English song The Bonny Black Hare
"Horizoning is the sole album by Stefan Gnys. It recorded in 1969, and twelve copies were produced on acetate. Two worn copies remain, from which We Are Busy Bodies painstakingly remastered the album. There is static and crackle, but there are also a beautiful folk album waiting for an audience to finally hear it and learn the story.
From performing to an audience comprised of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Tom Rush at an early edition of the Mariposa Folk Festival to seeing regional airplay for a 7"" single version of the song Evangeline and album title track Horizoning, there were moments where Stefan's music began to bubble into the mainstream.
55 years after its recording, Horizoning will finally see its release and hopefully a new audience and generation of listeners. The album comes with a 24-page large format insert telling the story of comprehensive back story that is Horizoning and the life of Stefan Gnys."
AERIAL SUPER HIGHWAY, the third project released on Futurepast by Kato De Vidts builds on the emotional depth of her previous release, Human Becomings, De Vidts in collaboration with J. Noon crafted together on this one an immersive soundscape that beckons the audience to ascend into a celestial, hypnotic state.
From the tranquil whispers of the first track Aerial Super Highway, enveloping you in gentle melodic layers, to the driving energy of the closing Dragon Dance, where pulsating beats echo the rhythm of fire, this EP showcases De Vidts & J. Noon ability to weave intricate sound narratives. Her evocative sound design guides listeners through emotional landscapes rich with vulnerability and resilience.
As you navigate this sonic highway, expect moments of introspection and exhilaration within a beautifully chaotic interplay of hope and uncertainty. AERIAL SUPER HIGHWAY transcends the typical EP experience, inviting you to rise above the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary and uncanny aspects of existence. Join Kato De Vidts & J. Noon on this entrancing journey, where each note invites you to take off and plunge into the depths of your own consciousness. Prepare to be transported to a realm where the air hums with the magic of sound, enchanting all your perceptions.
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Originally released in 2002 Mason Jennings' 3rd album saw him emerging as an accomplished folk/pop troubadour. The first time available on vinyl, the LP comes with new reimagined artwork by Antonio Jesus Moreno/El Ciento. "In the spirit of Ray Davies, Rufus Wainwright, and John Hiatt, Jennings' witty vocal inflections speak volumes, underpinning his meditative lyrics with sex appeal and wisdom borne of experience." -All Music
180 Gram Vinyl Make the holiday season unforgettable with All Time Christmas Favourites! This festive collection is the perfect soundtrack, featuring the beloved voices of Johnny Cash, Paul Anka, Bobby Darin, Harry Belafonte, and many more. Whether for hosting a holiday gathering or enjoying a quiet evening by the fire, these timeless classics will fill your home with warmth and joy.
180 Gram, Red Vinyl Make the holiday season unforgettable with All Time Christmas Favourites! This festive collection is the perfect soundtrack, featuring the beloved voices of Johnny Cash, Paul Anka, Bobby Darin, Harry Belafonte, and many more. Whether for hosting a holiday gathering or enjoying a quiet evening by the fire, these timeless classics will fill your home with warmth and joy.
For centuries, the drum and its practitioners have been stewards to the physical and ancestral planes.
Detroit afroteknologist Huey Mnemonic advances his sound into a tomorrow unheard with his latest Subsonic Ebonics record, Brainscraatch, a 4-tracker of his researched and highly developed Afriko Tekno.
A portal tears open with the speaker splitting ‘Ankhobi’, blurring the lines between ritual and rave. An opening ceremony of a drum circle in the year 3000, knocking on the door of a domain beyond our own.
Entering the gateway with ‘Brainscraatch’ , a peak time percussive calling where a high pitched whine of sacred electronics becomes the foundation for a slippery hypnotic rhythm. Warranting a double take for the heads in the back fully immersed into the moment.
The portal collapses onto the unknown with the dramatic closer ‘Slipping Into Madness’. Rushing you beyond the dance into a flow state where time and space behave a little differently.
Offering his own perspective, Sard shares a jacking ‘Rescratch’ of the title track, leaning into an acidic groove faithful to the timeless freak funk of the midwest.
With this release, Mnemonic forges ahead to the borderlands of techno, leaving us with an ancient-to-the-future message,
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Michał Martyniuk, who lives in New Zealand, may be known from the band After 'Ours, whose double album was recently released by Funky Mamas and Papas Recordings.
His single was supposed to be released a moment earlier, but as it happens in the vinyl world - we had to wait a while for this wax.
Two of Michał's original songs, which he recorded with a great line-up: Jakub Mizeracki - guitars, Alan Wykpisz - bass, Tymek Papior - drums and of course Michał Martyniuk on keyboards.
The album is released in a super small edition of 200 copies, of which only 50 go on sale. The whole thing is being released by the reactivated Funky Mamas and Papas Recordings.
A real seven-inch rarity on gold wax.
A1 "3202" - This is one of those things that just happened. In his quest to discover something new in jazz, Michal combines and experiments with jazz harmony and groove club vibes, all performed using acoustic instruments. The aim is to encourage jazz audiences to get up and groove, and possibly introduce young people who like more upbeat music to discovering jazz. This Fender Rhodes based track is complemented by warm analog synths, a rock inspired guitar sound and tasteful drums that keep the groove going throughout the track. Recorded live in Poland late last year.
B1 "From The Planet Of The Hunters" - This track, as the title suggests, is a tribute to the great master Herbie Hancock. Michal has always been influenced by the sound of the Fender Rhodes and The Head Hunters. Without trying to copy anything, Michal based the song on a nice groove played by Alan Wykpisz on bass guitar and Tymek Papior on drums. While the groove takes us on a journey through time, Kuba Mizeracki on guitar adds beautiful melodies and rhythmic parts to complement the rest of the band. Michal Martyniuk, again with his Fender Rhodes, plays a simple but tasty and groovy solo, while adding some analog synths. This song is funky and rich in its simplicity.
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Die Schachtel Records is proud to present Ifigenia/Oreste, a new vinyl LP by celebrated Italian composer Paolo Spaccamonti. This album marks the seventh installment in the label's renowned Decay Music series, which has become synonymous with deeply emotive, abstract, and electronic/ambient music, which has so fare featured works of such names as Stefano Pilia, Giovanni di Domenico, Sandro Mussida, Vértice, Damavand and Claudio Rocchetti. Aim of the series is composing a fascinating scenario of the most interesting names of experimental musicians – mainly of Italian origins - working at the intersection of sound and music, abstract and visual, storytelling and abstract composition.
Paolo Spaccamonti has long been a significant figure in the contemporary music scene, known for his ability to bridge the worlds of instrumental, electronic, and experimental music. His most recent release, Nel Torbido (2023), is a testament to his ever-evolving artistry. With Nel Torbido, Spaccamonti delivered a haunting and immersive sonic experience that oscillates between tension and release, bringing together moody soundscapes, unsettling textures, and his signature understated guitar work. His exploration of silence, noise, and melodic tension has earned him recognition as one of the most unique voices in modern composition.
Composed by Spaccamonti, Ifigenia/Oreste is the original score for the theatrical production IFIGENIA / ORESTE, directed by Valerio Binasco and produced by Teatro Stabile di Torino. The music, both haunting and subtle, mirrors the play's minimalist and intense staging, immersing listeners in an evocative soundscape that blends ambient textures with guitar-driven melodies. The music was recorded and processed by Filippo Conti, with additional production and mixing by Stefano Pilia. The vinyl’s design has been crafted by Bruno Stucchi of Dinamomilano, making this release a fusion of sound, visual, staging and cultural reference.
In reflecting on his collaboration with director Valerio Binasco, Spaccamonti said: "From the first meeting with Valerio, it was clear that we aimed to create a production stripped of any unnecessary stylistic embellishments. Ifigenia and Oreste had to be severe, devoid of visual distractions, simple yet extreme in its own way. I sought to follow the same path with the music. The foundation is always the guitar, but I wanted to avoid overloading it, either harmonically or sonically. Sometimes, I treated it like a fragmented background noise; other times, I ventured into more aggressive, melancholic, or even melodic terrains, but always in a very human way. The text demanded an atmosphere that lived in the alternation of silence and rarefaction, like in the films of Bresson and Lanthimos. Short scenes interrupted by moments of darkness. In a marked rhythm, a suspense constantly suggesting the advance toward death, announced from the very first scene. Hence, the emphasis I wanted to place on silence through the music, even within individual tracks. Long, granular tails, like the (few) lights on stage."
A Universe of Pop: Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night Features Meticulous Production, Includes the Hits “Big Love,” “Everywhere,” “Seven Wonders,” and “Little Lies”
Experience the 1987 Album in Audiophile Sound for the First Time:
Mobile Fidelity’s Numbered-Edition 180g 45RPM 2LP Set Captures the Perfectionist Details
1/2" / 30 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe
The perfectionism involved in crafting Fleetwood Mac’s Tango in the Night reached a level of intensity experienced by few artists before or since. Commercially and creatively, the painstaking efforts paid off. Recorded over the span of 18 months, the triple-platinum album spawned four hit singles and put Fleetwood Mac back at the center of mainstream conversation. Its demands also ultimately forced its primary architect, guitarist-singer Lindsey Buckingham, to leave the group shortly after its completion. Was it all worth it? A thousand times “yes.”
Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and housed in a Stoughton jacket, Mobile Fidelity’s numbered-edition 180g 45RPM 2LP set of Tango in the Night presents the 1987 record in audiophile sound for the first time. Everything co-producers Buckingham and Richard Dashut sought to instill in the music — the exacting tones, gauzy textures, plush atmospherics, shifted harmonics, unique pitches, pristine acoustics, biting rhythms — can now be heard with elevated accuracy, range, depth, and detail.
Made under challenging circumstances, Tango in the Night is as much a universe of sound as it is an album. This reissue conveys that sonic spectrum in exhaustive manners that go beyond prior editions by playing with a combination of transparency, imaging, openness, and dynamics that provides uncanny insight into the meticulously layered vocal and instrumental tracks. Equally important, it also amplifies your connection to the elaborate melodies, contagious hooks, and airy highs that account for the album’s ageless pop brilliance.
As for the wondrous array of percussive accents, synthesizer elements, interlaced guitars, and lush choruses — all seemingly occupying the exact right place amid the soundstages and taking on shapes and forms that lend them a living, breathing quality? If your audio system is up to the task, the realism, presence, and warmth of Mobile Fidelity’s collectible edition will have you considering Tango in the Night from a new perspective — one that puts its lavish, gorgeous creations on a par with those from Rumours and Tusk.
Unlike those records, Tango in the Night began from a more individualistic perspective in that it sprang from what originally was intended to become a Buckingham solo effort. Instead, it remains the final album credited to the peak Fleetwood Mac lineup involving Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood, and John McVie. Though the participation of all the members varies from track to track, the cohesive arrangements and alchemic production on Tango in the Night suggest a unity that remains on a par with the band’s other landmark works.
Largely constructed from laborious methods that involved recording at half speed to achieve the desired sonics and tonal nuances, piecing together verses and choruses to attain seamless synchronicity, and Buckingham using a Fairlight CMI synthesizer/workstation in visionary ways, the songs pair electronic and acoustic elements to radiant effect. Tango in the Night also possesses light dance structures that resulted in several tunes being recast as dance mixes on extended-play singles. Above all, however, this is music that appears to float and cast dreamy spells.
Surrender to the frisky interplay of the opening “Big Love,” big pop punctuated with Buckingham’s back-and-forth “oh-ah” sighs that ping the Top 5 smash with innocuous sensuality and toe-tapping momentum. Delight amid the shimmering lights of “Seven Wonders,” whose shades and shadows shift amid Nicks’ raspy vocals and a large group chorus. Wrap yourself in the warmth of the weightless “Everywhere,” a flawless slice of hummable pop that topped with Adult Contemporary charts for three weeks and towers as an ode to the love everyone desires. Stare into the mysterious landscape of the title track (and dig the synthesized harp) just before it explodes, briefly ceding to a terse riff and locked-in grooves.
Tango in the Night teems with delightful surprises and well-honed specifics, especially when Buckingham and Christine McVie team together. In addition to the aforementioned “Everywhere,” the singer born Christine Anne Perfect plays a major role on four more cuts — all highlights — from the breathy, head-over-heels emotionalism of “Mystified” to the sweet, sweeping escapism of “Little Lies,” a cover-up of romantic despair aided by Nicks’ irreplaceable background vocals.
“If I see you again/Will it be the same,” asks Buckingham on “When I See You Again,” finishing up a song a longing-sounding Nicks had started while voicing words that many likely knew would resonate far beyond the confines of the heartfelt song — a goodbye wearing a faint disguise. Though Fleetwood Mac would never again reach the heights maintained throughout Tango in the Night, and members would go their own way, the album towers as a paean to what’s possible in the fields of pop, rock, and studio wizardry.
One of the most dynamic female soul singers in the history of the music, Tina Turner oozed sexuality from every pore in a performing career that began the moment she stepped on-stage as lead singer of The Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the late '50s.
Her gritty and growling performances beat down doors everywhere, looking back to the double-barrelled attack of gospel fervor and sexual abandon that had originally formed soul back then. After almost fifty years in the music business, Tina Turner has become one of the most commercially successful international female rock stars to date.
Just a little over two years since the release of his debut album Opening the Door, Jack re-emgerges with a new full length album. On Blue Desert, the Australian-born Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer wades deeper into the stylistically prismatic pool of his own creation: melancholy dub-funk, jangling psychedelia, moon-burnt sophisti-pop and stained glass folk mutations float freely together.
Just a little over two years since the release of his debut album Opening the Door, Jack re-emgerges with a new full length album. On Blue Desert, the Australian-born Vancouver-based multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer wades deeper into the stylistically prismatic pool of his own creation: melancholy dub-funk, jangling psychedelia, moon-burnt sophisti-pop and stained glass folk mutations float freely together.
Entirely self-produced at Mood Hut Studios in Chinatown, Vancouver between 2022 and 2024, the album picks up where Opening the Door left off; the songwriting concise and refined, the voice front and centre on almost every song, the pensive mood irresistible and dense.
The apparently effortless melodic interplay of voice, guitar, synthesizers and bass that Jack is well known for is ever present but despite the clear-eyed harmonies and energetic rhythms there is a shadow that quietly haunts the album. The lyrical buoyancy of his early EPs and even some of the more explicitly sunburnt instrumental moments of his last record have continued to fade and peel like paint. Regret, remorse and melancholy are woven into almost every turn of phrase; the self-deprecating longing of Tracey Thorn and Sade Adu can be heard alongside the plaintive echos of Mark Hollis and Arthur Russell. The Mood Hut Records founder and NTS host digs deeper in all the directions that he only brushed upon on Opening the Door, creating a kaleidoscopic index of his omnivorous listening habits: from Underworld to Kate Bush, Disco Inferno to Bryan Ferry, Julian Cope to Arthur Verocai.
The LP will be released on Jack’s own Mood Hut Records on November 1st and will be followed by a live tour in the UK and Europe in November and December, featuring a string of dates opening for revered Los Angeles artist Jessica Pratt.
- Mood Hut Records, Vancouver
Produced by Jack Jutson at Mood Hut Studios, Chinatown Vancouver
Mixed by Jack Jutson and CZ Wang
Saxophone by Linda Fox
Strings on Falling Down a Well by Aiden Ayers
Bass on Down the Line by Diego Herrera
Additional synth on Red Cloud by Liam Butler
Artwork by Mela Melania + Jack Jutson
e A5. Pink Shoes Part I
Part II
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For the fifth release of Forever Now, Dave Saved presents:
“Versions Vol. 1”, a 45-minute freeform-morphing drifters mixtape.
The mixtape is crafted from original materials and a mix of found, stolen, and accidental samples, creating a fantasy broadcast that shifts between themes and moods. It seeks to explore and expose a range of influences, acting as a sonic diary that spans years of archival inspiration. Past and present morphing in a kaleidoscopic now.
Dusty, rusty textures blend with silky moments and rhythmic interludes, interspersed with fragments from unknown old cassette mixtapes, field recordings, and obscure YouTube clips.
Fontaines D.C. kündigen heute ihr mit Spannung erwartetes viertes Album “ROMANCE“ an. “ROMANCE“, das am 23. August über XL Recordings veröffentlicht wird, ist das erste Album der Band mit dem Produzenten James Ford und ohne Zweifel ihr bisher ehrgeizigstes, einfallsreichstes und klanglich abenteuerlichstes Album. Es knüpft an den Erfolg des 2022 erschienenen Albums “Skinty Fia“ an, das in Großbritannien und Irland Platz #1 der Albumcharts erreichte und der Band eine Reihe von Auszeichnungen einbrachte, darunter "International Group of the Year" bei den BRIT Awards 2023. Die explosive Leadsingle "Starburster" läutet die jüngste kreative (R)Evolution von Fontaines D.C. ein. Inspiriert von einer Panikattacke, die Leadsänger Grian Chatten im Londoner Bahnhof St. Pancras erlitt, wird der Song immer wieder durch scharfes und wildes Einatmen unterbrochen. Der treibende Beat und der unerbittliche Text stellen die Selbstzerstörung als Fantasie dar, bevor es einen kurzen Moment ernüchternder Klarheit gibt, wenn das Schlagzeug aussetzt und Chatten vom spuckenden, fast rappenden Gesang beinah in einen Psalm übergeht, dessen Bariton voll und verträumt ist. Begleitet wird der Song von einem filmischen Musikvideo von Regisseur Aube Perrie (Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, The Hives), das die kathartische Intensität des Songs auf brillante Weise einfängt.
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You Never End is the third album from Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews (Moin) out via AD 93 on the 25th October. Its title alone expresses the teetering and shifting nature of both the album and band. This record marks the Moin’s shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey and Sophia Al-Maria.
The album’s collaborators all have voices that are alluring in their own right whilst hard to pin down: from james K’s ethereal, reverb drenched vocals, Coby Sey’s words that bounce and echo across London’s concrete streets and Olan Monk’s emotive songwriting, while artist Sophie Al-Maria’s voice and thoughts are known to stretch across her multidisciplinary practice as an artist, filmmaker and writer. The unique mystique of each collaborator is maintained throughout the record while simultaneously opening Moin up to new possibilities, in a gentle shifting alchemy.
Continuing their enigmatic re-configuring of the traditional band, Moin use a mix of conventional and unique production and compositional techniques. Subtly re-framing the current conversation about what band in 2024 needs to be, Moin walk the line between what's reassuringly familiar and what's unsettling and inquisitive. You Never End is a more sensitive record in sentiment, it re-contextualises grunge, shoegaze and indie rock with a weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive.
Showing Moin at their most accessible, the vocal collaborations bring the most articulate moments and lucid emotion while still remaining uniquely within Moin's established world. Alongside this, the record fine tunes the elements of electronic production that have always been a feature of the band's unique sound in a deeply subtle way. Elements are simpler and more direct, offering robust functional support as well as textural and emotional resonance. Together they show the potential for both practices to intertwine.
You Never End is both produced and mixed by Tom and Joe, demonstrating the extended range of control the pair have over the band's sound, and their ability to truly hold together Moin’s intricate world.
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Red Laser continue their prolific purple patch, unpacking four more slabs of red lit Manctolo from a host of box jammers, old and new.
Frank Butters wastes no time at all, 'The Call Of The Wild' engaging photon tubes with a highly kinetic array of crystalline synth shards, thunderous bass and hyperactive sfx. Without geeking out too much, special mention has to go out to the synthesis on display here - Butters advancing up the levels of sonic shamanism as he conjures up never-before-heard patches of interstellar cosmic NRG...
Bob Swans' 'Bodyform4U' unites the robots with a universal message of togetherness. Its multiple layers of shuddering arpeggios and star-aligned synths working in unison to quell any fears and send us off into a space age utopia. One that'll work as well soundtracking the end of the session as it will as the dancefloor's filling up; its subtle anthemic qualities sure to rouse the spirits of even the most dehumanized cyborgs.
New signing Lone Saxon drops 'Hypersleep' which utilises rich piano chords and a hefty breakbeat, switching up the vibe but keeping things super uplifting. This one reminds us of that innocent period when you could get on the megabus for 50p and score three for a tenner on the dancefloor. An evocative vocal refrain adds a moment of thoughtful introspection in between the e-rushes and arm-raising for another moment of interactive harmony.
Finally, 'Webo' sees Franz Scala (with a little help from Il Bosco) return to source, delivering a bona fide slice of maximum balls out MANCTALO chug. With tension-wrought chord progressions, delicious layers of lead melodies and a soaring vocal, there's few that can resist the charms of this late night electro-disco hyper anthem.
All aboard the starship !
RL x
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When the quartet of Luke Martin, Gabriel Salomon, Klaus Janek and Andy Graydon gathered to record an afternoon of sessions in Andy's studio, it was both the result of years of cultivation and an afterthought. Klaus and Andy had been long-time, and now long-distance, collaborators since their shared years in Berlin. That city was also where Andy was introduced to Gabriel at one of his solo performances by their mutual friend, the painter Paul McDevitt. Years passed, and cities. After meeting and working together in Boston, Luke and Andy both found themselves transplanted to Minneapolis. And by happenstance Gabriel arrived a few years later. A new conversation was just starting to emerge when Klaus announced his arrival, stopping by on a North American tour. Suddenly the four got a chance to listen and play together performing on a bill at a local gallery, in one configuration or another, for the first time. Packing up after that show, Klaus leaned over to ask, "isn't there a moment we could meet again, to play?"
Nothing was expected, and so anything was possible. The circumstances lent their gathering an impromptu but grounded feeling, a unique mix of chance encounter and reunion. As befits an opening encounter, the focus was as often on listening to the unfolding sonic conversation as it was on making a recording. Everyone seemed to intuit the direction despite not knowing where they were headed. The four faced each other in a loose circle surrounded by speakers and microphones pointed haphazardly, as likely to catch the dog padding around curiously as the bowing of strings or rattling of a cymbal. The permissive spirit of the day was declared early, just before rolling, when Gabriel asked if we should close the studio windows or leave them open. "You know what my answer is," replied Luke. If it's in the nature of a recording to become fixed, to be bottled up, let us at least leave open the windows to hear what might be coming next.
"A sparkling mixture of American and British stars, featuring 23 of the biggest Christmas songs ever recorded. With Elvis Presley wishes you a “Blue Christmas”, the Drifters wishing you a “White Christmas”, a “Christmas Prayer” by Billy Fury, a “Christmas Present” from Solomon Burke, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” with Brenda Lee, “Twistin’ Bells” by Santo & Johnny, and the “Jingle Bell Rock” with Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell. The Cadillacs sings “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and Chuck Berry “Runs With Rudolph”, Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons “Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, Johnny Cash with his “Little Drummer Boy” and finally David Seville and the Chipmunks with “The Chipmunk Song”."
"A sparkling mixture of American and British stars, featuring 23 of the biggest Christmas songs ever recorded. With Elvis Presley wishes you a “Blue Christmas”, the Drifters wishing you a “White Christmas”, a “Christmas Prayer” by Billy Fury, a “Christmas Present” from Solomon Burke, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” with Brenda Lee, “Twistin’ Bells” by Santo & Johnny, and the “Jingle Bell Rock” with Chubby Checker & Bobby Rydell. The Cadillacs sings “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and Chuck Berry “Runs With Rudolph”, Frankie Valli & The 4 Seasons “Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, Johnny Cash with his “Little Drummer Boy” and finally David Seville and the Chipmunks with “The Chipmunk Song”."
Clothilde’s new album sounds like a constant departure from almost everything. Up until now, her music pieces seemed uncontrolled, a total commitment to the machines. She was, somehow, in between us - listener, audience - and the idea of a machine producing sounds she doesn’t seem to control. Of course, none of this was entirely true, she was mostly in control, but the fantasy, the orchestration of it was beautiful. It was sci-fi-ish, Metropolis-magnificent.
In “Cross Sections” everything is purposely under control. We feel, without being told, that Clothilde is directing the narrative, inviting us to partake of this raw and austere electronic sound, forcing us to learn to enjoy it. This is new. Whereas before she would expect you to stay put and listen, eventually you would understand and give in. Or your body would. Now she is telling you to be there, she doesn’t want to be alone, she wants us to feel this subterranean urgency at all costs.
The real eureka moment comes with “Medullary Rays”, when we start cohabiting with the sounds, when they feel familiar. The darkness becomes real; it is palpable how she is stretching each sound and making them come to life at every moment. It is violent, brutal. Like every track, it's a relief when it ends, it's like coming out of a car crash alive. Much of the A side of is Clothilde pushing the boundaries of her sound. She is not testing but finding new ground and sharing it with us. She is exorcising, demolishing and building over and over again, she is crying and screaming, dozing off with the demential levels of bass, making us constantly listen to alarm bells. She is scaring the shit out of us.
The B side keeps the levels of anxiety high up, especially on the 13-minute “Ring”. Surrealistic drones come and go, every second sounds like the end of something, the accumulation of tension is torrential and it never, never stops. We hope there is a conclusion to this. But there is not. “Cross Sections” builds and feeds on this darkness but, in a way, it is self-contained. Never explodes, never releases itself from itself. It is a continuous process of catharsis that it is never over. It never aims to be. Like, you know, life itself.
We've all been there. It feels familiar. Now it has a sound, or sounds. It can be heard and it is outer dimensional. “Cross Sections” is a tremendous effort from an artist trying to survive something. You never know what is. You don’t need to know what it is. It is just there. Cliché but it has to be said: highest possible volume on this one.
Comic relief serves as a refreshing element that lightens up a tense or tragic situation. It creates a moment of contrast and distraction from the seriousness of the scene. This pattern can also be found in literature and film, in humorous characters like Chandler from the sitcom Friends. Especially in difficult times like these, we all occasionally long for comic relief. With his new EP, David Bay tries to create exactly such a moment of escape.
The songs on the EP unite an organic yet modern approach to indie, disco, and house music. David combines the two worlds he is rooted in: growing up in an indie band and, at the same time, running a disco-house label. After two edit EPs and a collection of singles with classic instrumentation and songwriting, this release brings everything together – music that sounds distinctly indie, but with a pulsating house beat.
Next to the four originals on the A-side, each track was remixed and is to be heard on the B-side of this vinyl: 80ies-influenced and well-known producer Lauer contributed his version of disco-gem „1999“, up and coming Dj- and producer Marie Lung flipped the indie-disco track „strangers“ into a deep and housy groover - Electro-legends Digitalism turned the dance-floor-ballad „<3 beat“ into a French-House belter and Dylan C. Greene hailing all the way from San Francisco remixed „dancing on the edge“. Out now on vinyl, only on Zissou Records.
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Repress! There are very few albums across any genre that stand the test of time better than 93 ‘Til Infinity, the classic debut record from the Hieroglyphics crew’s very own Souls of Mischief. In an era where Gangsta Rap and G-Funk dominated the West Coast Rap scene, Souls broke ground on a completely unique and thoroughly west coast sound. While the Dr. Dre’s and the Snoop Doggs were garnering much of the mainstream attention, Souls were quietly forging a charismatic, critically acclaimed, and cohesively shaped record that when categorized, sounded much closer to A Tribe Called Quest than N.W.A. The sound of their debut is characteristic of the distinct style explored by the collective, including a rhyme scheme based on internal rhyme and beats centered around a live bass and obscure jazz and funk samples.
93 ‘Til Infinity was propelled into success by its title track and lead single, which reached #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also featured singles “That’s When Ya Lost” and “Never No More” which also reached the Hot Rap Singles. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time. Considered by many to be a text book “slept-on” classic Rap record, 93 ‘Til Infinity has only grown better with age. The album simply defines the Hiero golden age with a sound that would later be fine tuned with strong releases from MCs Del The Funkee Homosapien, Casual and Pep Love.
It takes some serious bravado to name your album 93 ‘Til Infinity, but certainly the goal of creating a Hip Hop “classic” must have been on the collective minds of group members A-Plus, Tajai, Opio, and Phesto when recording this landmark moment in Hip Hop history. It’s true, even seventeen years after the album’s initial release many people are still discovering it, and with this re-mastered reissue on double vinyl, fans all over the world will once again discover the brilliance that 93 ‘Til Infinity delivers and will continue to deliver beyond infinity.
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Phase Group are thrilled to present our next release by newcomers to the label, the excellent Hamburg band, Love-Songs. Their new album 'Passive Progressive' will be out on cassette and digital on October 18th.
Love-Songs are the trio consisting of Thomas Korf (electronics + vocals) Sebastian Kokus (Bass) and Manuel Chittka (Percussion) who make cosmic, kraut-inspired electro-acoustic music. Many will be familiar with their previous output on wonderful labels like Kame House and Bureau B.
'Passive Progressive' lands in the form of 8 enthralling tracks that take us through dreamlike and psychedelic echoing territories, where Korf’s modulating electronics and effected vocals ripple over the grooving rhythm section of percussion and bass supplied by Kokus and Chitka. Across the album, the band are joined by a host of guest musicians and friends from Berlin and Hamburg’s underground and experimental music scenes, supplying Trombone, Mbira, Clarinet, Flute and extra synthesisers and vocals to enhance the mind-expanding and unique sound palette of these incredible tracks.
As with most of the material we’ve released on Phase Group, this is music that’s hard to pin down, that lends itself equally well to creating transcending atmospheres in the early moments of a special kind of club set as to soundtracking a mind-bending and deep personal listening experience. We’ve no doubt that the sound that Love-Songs have crafted with Passive Progressive will be enthusiastically received by all sonic voyagers and fans of the label, and we’re over the moon to welcome them to the Phase Group family.
Passive Progressive is available on limited cassette, with double-sided risograph print artwork by Andrija Čugurović.
The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.
Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.
Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.
Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”
Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.
The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.
The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.
Has the American myth finally run its course?
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Last delivered 23 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.
Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.
Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.
Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”
Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.
The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.
The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.
Has the American myth finally run its course?
out of Stock
Last delivered 23 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.
Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.
Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.
Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”
Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.
The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.
The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.
Eine musikalische Reise entlang der DonauDas neue Album "Donau" von Florian Christl ist eine musikalische Reise von der Quelle bis zur Mündung des zehn Länder verbindenden Flusses in zwölf neuen, atmosphärischen Kompositionen. Für diese ließ sich der Pianist und Komponist von der anmutigen Schönheit der Natur und den unterschiedlichen musikalischen Traditionen der prunkvollen Städte und Regionen entlang der Donau inspirieren. Mit unterschiedlichen Besetzungen erkundet Florian Christl Orte wie Wien, Budapest oder das Donau Delta und nimmt jeweils ein lokales musikalisches oder klangmalerisches Element in seine Kompositionen auf. Es begleiten ihn das traditionelle bayerische Volksmusikensemble "Seeger Saitenmusik", der Akkordeonist Vladislav Cojocaru, die Geigerin Kristina Šuklar, die Cellist*Innen Raphaela Gromes und Alik Lysiùk, ehemalige Mitglieder des Odessa Opernorchesters, die in einem Streicherensemble und als Solisten mitwirken, sowie Florian Christls festes Ensemble, mit dem er das Album auch live auf der Release-Tour spielen wird.Schon als Kind faszinierte es Florian Christl, wie das Wasser der Vils, die durch seine Heimatstadt Amberg fließt, seinen Weg ins weitentfernte Meer finden konnte. Es ist die Donau, die den kleinen Fluss mit dem weit im Osten gelegenen Schwarzen Meer verbindet. Auf dem 2.857 Kilometer langen Weg von ihrer Quelle im Schwarzwald bis zur Mündung in der Nähe der ukrainischen Hafenstadt Odessa, durchquert die Donau halb Europa und kulturelle Zentren wie Wien, Bratislava, Budapest oder den Großraum Bukarest. Deren Austausch hat sie als wichtiger Reiseweg wortwörtlich befördert und die Entwicklung eines gemeinsamen kulturellen Erbes Europas mit all seiner Vielgestaltigkeit - wie etwa in der Musik - gefördert.Der Beginn des Krieges in der Ukraine ruft in Florian Christl schlagartig das Gefühl der Verbundenheit hervor. Inspiriert von der Programmmusik der Romantik - insbesondere Smetanas "Moldau" - reifte in ihm die Idee, die "Donau" auf einem Konzeptalbum zu vertonen, um ein Zeichen für den Frieden in Europa zu setzen."Der Gedanke, wie uns die Donau alle direkt mit der Ukraine verbindet, ließ mich nicht mehr los. Der Fluss symbolisiert eine wechselvolle, tragische Geschichte von Flucht, Vertreibung und Invasion in Europa, aber auch von einem beständigen Austausch, der doch die europäische Kultur erst erschaffen hat, wie man in der europäischen Kunstmusik deutlich sehen kann," erklärt Florian Christl.Mit dieser Idee begann der Komponist eine umfassende Recherche über die Donau, die Städte, Regionen und artenreichen Naturräume, die sie verbindet. Eine Reise auf dem Fluss führte ihn bis zum Donau-Delta. Dort markiert die Donau die Grenze zwischen einem Europa in Frieden mit Rumänien an einem Ufer und der Ukraine im Krieg am anderen Ufer. Florian Christl beschreibt die Situation:"Es war surreal und traurig. Der Kontrast zwischen der unglaublich schönen Natur und dem Wissen, um die Schrecken des Krieges, die hier nur wenige Kilometer entfernt sind."Der Entstehungsprozess des Albums zog sich über mehr als zwei Jahre hin. Nach den ersten Aufnahmen erlitt Florian Christl im September 2023 einen Herzinfarkt, der ihn für mehrere Wochen aus dem Leben katapultierte und bis heute nachwirkt. Eine Erfahrung, die ihn dazu brachte, neu darüber nachzudenken, was im Leben wirklich wichtig ist: "Im Alltag verlieren wir oft den Blick dafür, was wirklich zählt: Die Momente mit den Menschen, die uns wirklich wichtig sind, mögen sie noch so knapp und beiläufig erscheinen. Wir verwenden so viel Energie darauf, nach scheinbar bleibendem materiellem Einfluss, Reichtum oder Land zu streben. Wir sollten viel mehr Zeit darauf verwenden, diese, unsere Reise miteinander zu genießen."
‚Himmel‘ sind am Ende nur eine menschliche Erfindung - genau wie die ‚Hölle‘. Alle Definitionen beruhen auf dem Wunsch der Menschheit, der
Realität zu entfliehen und eine Form der Sicherheit zu finden, die als Gegenstück zu dem höllischen Leben, das wir führen müssen, fungiert. Aber
schauen wir uns einmal selbst in die Augen: „Down The Heavens“.
11 Jahre nach ihrem letzten Album „And Babylon Fell“ melden sich DISPARAGED mit einem neuen Death Metal Magnum-Opus zurück. „Down The
Heavens“ beginnt mit einem leisen Atmen, bevor ‚Among The Chosen Ones‘ mit seinen brutalen Drums und schnellen Gitarrenstrokes alles in Schutt
und Asche legt, aber das ist nur eine Facette von DISPARAGEDs Songwriting. ‚The Throne‘ macht seinem Namen mit einem mächtigen Gitarrensolo
alle Ehre, und ‚Drown In Madness‘ hält das Brutalitätsniveau weiter hoch, fügt aber einen unwiderstehlichen Groove hinzu. Während sich der Sturm
mit ‚The Bridge‘ durch akustische Gitarren und Keyboard-Soundscapes für einen Moment beruhigt, wirkt das folgende ‚Sole Survivor Of The Flames‘
nur noch eindringlicher und epischer. Auf dem Album sind auch zwei illustre Gäste zu hören: Andy LaRocque (King Diamond) und Damir
Eskic (Destruction) fügen 'Another Day' und dem Titeltrack ihre ganz eigene Note hinzu. „Down The Heavens“ zeigt, dass Death Metal unerbittlich und
vielseitig zugleich sein kann. Ralph Beier (Gitarren), Tom Kuzmic (Gitarren und Gesang), Heinz Imhof (Drums) und Reto Hardmeier (Bass) haben ein
Muss für alle Extrem-Metaller geschaffen.
TERRITORY: Deutschland, Österreich, Belgien, Schweiz, Tschechische Republik, Frankreich, England, Italien, Irland, Niederlande, Polen
In a world of division, BEÃTFÓØT’s delayed second album is as an invitation to unite at a utopian celebration of life. Originally scheduled for release in October 2023 but postponed due to the ongoing Israel/Palestine war, the intrinsically-political ‘TOO CUTE’ has taken on more prominence than the Tel Aviv duo of Udi Naor and Adi Bronicki could have imagined.
“It's more urgent than ever for us to share this now, even though the album has been ready for a while,” says producer Naor. “BEÃTFÓØT are against any war, and believe that people should talk and not use violence - never,” he adds vehemently. “We feel the pain of Palestinians and Israeli loss of life, and are devastated by it. We hope the war will be finished soon and that peace and prosperity will come soon for both sides.”
While both Naor and vocalist Bronicki have been active in protests, charity work and community efforts over the past year - explicitly against the current government in Israel - such values of peace, acceptance, coexistence, inclusiveness and anti-hate from all sides are further instilled in the songs that form ‘TOO CUTE’.
“We're really trying to highlight that there are people here working tirelessly for a brighter future for our ill kids and our neighbour’s kids,” adds Naor, who is also co-founder of techno duo Red Axes. Having had to flee the country with his family, it’s through music that Naor and Bronicki have found hope.
In light of such conflict, the multi-layered yet sonically-bonkers record also enables escapism, which is needed more now than ever. Following their self-titled 2021 debut (released on DJ Tennis’ label Life and Death), ‘TOO CUTE’ is a refreshingly-ridiculous dark-rave rollercoaster which careers between hard-dance, big-beat, post-punk, techno, hyperpop, country and everything in between.
Things blast off at breakneck speed with the chaotic title track’s hyperpop snares, instantly-catchy lyrics (which feel ominously striking considering the war) and a stadium-ready chorus that erupts into rolling breakbeats, punishing EDM and even a nod to The Bloodhound Gang’s ‘The Magic Touch’. Somehow, we’re just three minutes into the record.
The tongue-in-cheek ‘HEART OF LEAD (TAKE IT OFF)’ still bangs despite its silliness, like if Kero Kero Bonito got in the studio with will.i.am. Later, ‘LEO’S SONG (THE SOCIAL MEDIA GUY)’s wittily satirical one-liners - “I just wanna get high with AI” - come thick and fast amid a barrage of glitches and guitars. ‘SUKC MY DIKC !!!’, meanwhile, pairs flute with pulsing hardstyle beats.
While their first record’s experimental explosion captured the pure carnage and energy of the BEÃTFÓØT universe in a conceptual fashion (though remaining polished in its own way), album two is primed to connect with a bigger audience thanks to its pop melodies, structures and songwriting.
Much of ‘TOO CUTE’ was written while the duo toured Europe for the first time, with rough sketches of tracks created in the moment during their incendiary live shows, and then recorded in planes and cars.
If their first record was a case of testing the vibes, album two is more assured and confident within their sonic world. “In the first album, we stepped into the club, metaphorically, and started making eye contact with everyone to figure out the energy,” Bronicki says. “But, this time round, I already had an idea of the story that I wanted to tell to these random people.”
And what is that story? “Radical silliness, or radical fun – that’s the essence of BEÃTFÓØT,” Naor confirms. “What we really want to do is goof around and have fun, and that brings out something very profound and honest,” he explains. A sense of nostalgic freedom is also at the album’s core, thanks to the removal of adult predetermined social constructs that decide how people should behave or look. “There’s a very honest and positive energy in holding onto your childlike wonder and trying to explore that with others,” Bronicki suggests, adding that “the adult world can be so wrong and angering”.
She feels this relates to both the album’s lyrics and the artistic state of mind that the duo always work to: “the goal is to feed a really thought-out and profound idea, but through a playful spoon,” she says. With this in mind, the recurring theme of ‘TOO CUTE’ stems from the duo’s “radical and lived experience of existing in a place that holds a lot of guilt and fear – because death is so imminent and prevalent in a very confronting way”. This is clearly represented on ‘FOOTYLICIOU$’, on which Bronicki screams “someone’s gonna die tonight!” before emphatically shouting “NOT ME!”
The album title is BEÃTFÓØT’s response to that: “We want to be a celebration of life, and that applies to all lives, of all backgrounds, including animals… that’s our guiding light,” Bronicki says.
“We create in the context of living in a country where the current government’s anti-democratic measures are limiting who is included in the celebration of life. Because different people are always being pushed out and excluded: whether it’s queers, Palestinians or people from different religions.”
BEÃTFÓØT - who have found a home among the LGBTQIA+ community - are fighting back against oppression. “We want everybody to come to the party and celebrate life together,” says Naor, setting out his and Bronicki’s mission… “and our goal is to widen that party as wide as it can go.”
c MANIAC ft. Princess Rani
e WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE ft. Bugle Boy
c MANIAC ft. Princess Rani
[e] WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE [ft. Bugle Boy]
[c] MANIAC [ft. Princess Rani]
[e] WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE [ft. Bugle Boy]
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Last delivered 23 months ago available to reorder, subject to availability
Unbound by place or genre, mercurial, experimental pop duo Soft as Snow find freedom to intuitively reflect the disarray of human connection with their intricate, shape-shifting pop production. With each successive release, the duo evolves, unfurling into their own poetic sound, now fully realized on their intimate, third full-length, Metal.wet.
The oft-present trappings of male-female duos are eschewed here as the Berlin-based Oda Starheim and Øystein Monsen contribute equally across a canvas of analogue synthesizers, samplers, live drums, and processed guitars. At once a part of and yet apart from the zeitgeist, their forward-thinking modernity stretches the limits of expectations across Metal.wet's ten insouciant tracks. Fans of Tirzah, Hype Williams, and even Angelo Badalamenti will find much to love in this haunting work peppered with ASMR moments and rough sampling wrapped in high production –– twinkling glasses and sirens in the distance, rhythms and voices up front. The result is synth-driven, noisy, and dripping with laidback, confident sensuality.
Although Starheim's voice begins the album in a whisper, it quickly becomes apparent that the group has jettisoned their previous tendency to bury and distort her vocals. Nested in a bed of thorny electronics and broken rhythms, her multifaceted vocals might bring to mind Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead or Hope Sandoval fronting Massive Attack. London MC Brother May (Mica Levi, CURL) makes an appearance on the driving and ethereal “Whip,” while Øystein’s own voice appears for the first time in a state of languid background haze.
Soft as Snow create and record across Europe. Defiantly averse to genre, the pair become vessels for their “electronic music pushed to the brink of collapse” (The Wire), previously released by Infinite Machine and Houndstooth. Informed by backgrounds in film and performance art, “there’s a surrealism that comes with watching Soft as Snow in the flesh,” (Vice) as seen at L.E.V. and Lunchmeat Festivals. Collaborations with visual artist Guynoid, designer AGF Hydra, and sculptor Camilla Steinum add depth to the corporeality of their “strange, mesmerising and utterly unforgettable” electronic experimentations. (DJ Mag).
Clear Vinyl, limitiert auf 200 Exemplare. Gestartet vor, beinahe gescheitert während und endlich fertig gestellt nach der Pandemie ist "Für 3 Minuten 11" das dritte Album der Mannheimer Punkband Kaptain Kaizen. Als Hommage an die durchschnittliche Länge eines Pop-Songs steht der Titel sinnbildlich für die Frage nachdem Wozu des eigenen Schaffens, der Kunst des Abschaltens in der heutigen Zeit und dem unvergesslichen Genuss eines vergänglichen Moments. Die zehn Tracks der Platte durchleuchten verschiedene Themen, meist in kritischer Auseinandersetzung mit aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Entwicklungen.
