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Powder Blue Vinyl. In den letzten fünfzehn Jahren haben Beach Fossils ihren Status als eine der definitivsten und beständigsten Bands des New Yorker Undergrounds der 2010er Jahre stetig ausgebaut und neue Hörer erreicht, während sich ihr Sound vom DIY-Soloprojekt von Dustin Payseur zu einer einflussreichen vierköpfigen Dream-Pop-Band entwickelt hat, die selbst produziert, selbst gemanagt und selbst veröffentlicht wird. Bunny steht für Stärke durch Verletzlichkeit. "Bunny" setzt die atemberaubende Entwicklung des Beach Fossils-Sounds fort, indem es Elemente aus der jangligen Melancholie der "What a Pleasure" EP (2011), den düsteren, Post-Punk-inspirierten Tracks von "Clash the Truth" (2013) und den üppigen Arrangements von "Somersault" (2017) aufgreift und ihren "Dream-Pop-Instinkt mit jeder weiteren Veröffentlichung schärft" (INTERVIEW). Inspiriert vom Psych-Pop der frühen Verve- und Spiritualized-Alben sowie von Einflüssen wie The Cure, Wire, den Byrds und Velvet Underground wurde "Bunny" von Payseur selbst produziert und aufgenommen, wobei Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Soccer Mommy, Lil Peep) als Mixer fungierte. Payseur merkt an, dass bei der Entstehung dieses Albums mehr Wert auf eine stärkere Ausrichtung auf Popstrukturen gelegt wurde. "Als ich die erste Platte schrieb, gab es keine Refrains, sondern nur instrumentale Gitarrenparts zwischen den Strophen. Dies ist die erste Platte, bei der ich bewusst darüber nachgedacht habe, einen Refrain zu schreiben." Unterstützt wird er dabei von den Bandmitgliedern Tommy Davidson (Gitarre), Jack Doyle Smith (Bass) und Anton Hochheim (Schlagzeug). "Bunny" ist das bisher lebendigste und persönlichste Werk der Band. Die Songs handeln von Depressionen, Liebe, Abenteuern, Verlusten, Fehlern, New York City, Freundschaften, die kommen und gehen - eine Melange aus körnigen Stücken im Prozess der Selbstfindung. Payseurs collageartige Texte kommunizieren durch Ton und Stimmung ebenso wie durch Erzählungen; New Yorker Dichter wie Frank O'Hara, Ted Berrigan und Anne Waldman sind Einflüsse, ebenso wie das Tao Te Ching.

Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates its outrageous cover, Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades, and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and body.

Cleveland Eaton was a revered bassist who played an active role in the backing of Count Basie, the Donald Byrd Quintet, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Terry Callier and Minnie Riperton; amongst many, many others. Half And Half was the first album released under his own name, initially released as a private press record on his - awkwardly named - Cle An Thair Records. It was then picked up by Gamble & Huff for Gamble Records. Varied, string-adorned and with stupid funky grooves, it's just exceptionally good.

Whilst Half And Half is treasured for its famously brilliant interpretations of gold funk-soul standards, Eaton proves an imaginative composer in his own right. Indeed, the album opens with a striking original; the earthy, laconic jazz-guitar-funk fusion of "Keep It Funky". Cleveland and co. do exactly that. Up next is a properly moving cover of Aretha Franklin's eternal "Day Dreaming". The flute and guitar combo truly achieve celestial greatness here. "Here Comes Funky Lou" rides a bassline from the Gods and a driving soul-jazz groove allows the track to go off in all sorts of directions. Serene guitar soul of the breezy variety one moment, crazy hectic violin-driven wig outs the next, courtesy of Ed Green who played with Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.

His blistering two track salvo of Stylistics covers to close out this A-Side of A-Sides will leave your jaw dropped, and they're likely the reason you're here for this. And why not? "Betcha By Golly Wow", which uses a bed of acidy synths and harmonica to create a unique atmosphere, is on some next level business. Melancholic, wistful, beautiful. "People Make the World Go Round" is so good, dripping in wonderful horns and ace percussive breaks, it could even be regarded as the definitive version. Seriously!

Opening Side B, War's gigantic "Slipping Into Darkness" is tightly tailored to Eaton's funky flute fusion arrangement whilst the insistent "Missing You" is a swaggering horn-heavy version of Luther Ingram's track from the Dilla/Ghostface-linked LP, I've Been Here All The Time. The creeping, screeching guitar-drenched original "John's Groove" features more fantastic horn lines and neck-snapping percussion whilst "The Love Gangster", written by Bill Wyman and Stephen Stills for his seminal Manassas LP, contains a heavy break with slick drums high in the mix and fuzzy guitars.

The album closes with two more Eaton originals. Written with Johnny Guitar Watson, "Lie" is one hell of a funky string and guitar-driven gem whilst the wild, celebratory "Ah Movin' On" cleverly quotes "Wade In The Water" (which he'd recorded with Ramsey Lewis in 1966) folding it into his new free-jazz composition. A message to his old boss, perhaps, as a sign-off?

We've worked on this reissue for 3.5 years, spending the whole time making it sound super sharp and looking as perfect as it possibly can. An absolute must-have for fans of soulful jazz-funk, Half And Half was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman at Final Tweak. The bizarre artwork, mutant beast and all, was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months! Hopefully, this new edition, a real labour of love, should bring Cleveland Eaton into the homes and record boxes of many more people.

Lucky For You is Bully's most close-to-the-bone album yet. It's an album that's searing and unmistakably marked by its creator's experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving on-and it's all soundtracked by Bognanno's rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound that's impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognanno's put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them. Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. "Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it," she explains while discussing their recording process together. "It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize what's actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me." The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways. The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punk's grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For You's thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognanno's dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single "Days Move Slow" was written shortly after Mezzi's passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognanno's incisive wit in the face of adversity. "There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good." And then there's the passionate opening track "All I Do," which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. "Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and it's still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path I've moved on from?" In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. "I'm so overly emotional and sensitive, it's a blessing and a curse" she says with a laugh, but there's no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; it's the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back.

Lucky For You is Bully's most close-to-the-bone album yet. It's an album that's searing and unmistakably marked by its creator's experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving on-and it's all soundtracked by Bognanno's rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound that's impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognanno's put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them. Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. "Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it," she explains while discussing their recording process together. "It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize what's actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me." The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways. The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punk's grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For You's thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognanno's dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single "Days Move Slow" was written shortly after Mezzi's passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognanno's incisive wit in the face of adversity. "There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good." And then there's the passionate opening track "All I Do," which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. "Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and it's still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path I've moved on from?" In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. "I'm so overly emotional and sensitive, it's a blessing and a curse" she says with a laugh, but there's no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; it's the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back.

Lucky For You is Bully's most close-to-the-bone album yet. It's an album that's searing and unmistakably marked by its creator's experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving on-and it's all soundtracked by Bognanno's rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound that's impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognanno's put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them. Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. "Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it," she explains while discussing their recording process together. "It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize what's actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me." The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways. The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punk's grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For You's thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognanno's dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single "Days Move Slow" was written shortly after Mezzi's passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognanno's incisive wit in the face of adversity. "There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good." And then there's the passionate opening track "All I Do," which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. "Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and it's still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path I've moved on from?" In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. "I'm so overly emotional and sensitive, it's a blessing and a curse" she says with a laugh, but there's no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; it's the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back.

"After Georgio Moroder, Dieter Moebius or Jeff Mills, it is Joakim’s turn to get inspired by one of the greatest masterpieces of Cinema - actually the first movie to enter UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

It's a dark journey into the depths of Metropolis, its industrial noises but also its moments of light through Maria’s character and Freder. Quite a change of scenery, from the exploration of the living realm on Joakim’s previous album Second Nature to the quintessential dystopian human-built city !"r.

On Unknown Road, Pennywise steps up their songwriting, maintains all their fury and intensity, and
lays out their philosophy of independence and the importance of daring to live every moment to its
fullest. This album features a number of songs that played on tons of skate, surf and snowboarding
videos, making this, and other PW records to come, the soundtrack to the exploding extreme sports
board scene. Featuring such Pennywise classics as “Homesick,” “Unknown Road,” “It’s Up To Me,” and
“You Can Demand,” Unknown Road is arguably the quintessential So Cal hardcore record of the ‘90s.
Reissued on limited edition Sunset Boulevard vinyl to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary!

On Unknown Road, Pennywise steps up their songwriting, maintains all their fury and intensity, and
lays out their philosophy of independence and the importance of daring to live every moment to its
fullest. This album features a number of songs that played on tons of skate, surf and snowboarding
videos, making this, and other PW records to come, the soundtrack to the exploding extreme sports
board scene. Featuring such Pennywise classics as “Homesick,” “Unknown Road,” “It’s Up To Me,” and
“You Can Demand,” Unknown Road is arguably the quintessential So Cal hardcore record of the ‘90s.
Reissued on limited edition Sunset Boulevard vinyl to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary!

Deerhoof's fan-favorite breakthrough album, Apple O', gets a 20th-anniversary edition after years of being out of print in the physical realm. They say the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge was actually a pomegranate. But Pomegranate O' did not sound as catchy. Of course, knowledge of what, exactly? Could be the serene and orderly discipline of music, it could be the ability to instantaneously destroy the entire species in an apocalyptic fireball. This album is a love story. It is about Satomi's mom being a Japanese girl when Truman got that ecstatic glint in his eye and blew up chunks of her country in a mushroom cloud, and next thing you know Satomi has moved to San Francisco and taken over an American noise-rock band. It is also about a different US president with an ecstatic glint in his eye, selling a criminal invasion with lies about weapons of mass destruction. This edition of Apple O' is on vinyl the color of cotton candy accompanied by a bonus 7" of previously unreleased live recordings.

Thantifaxaths zweites Album Hive Mind Narcosis ist nicht nur ein großer Sprung für die Band, sondern auch für den zeitgenössischen Extrem-Metal insgesamt. Von den ersten Tönen an entsteht ein Gefühl der Transzendenz jenseits des Genres und der Szene.Früher als Avantgarde Black Metal bezeichnet, übertrifft Thantifaxath solche banalen Presse-Etiketten und zaubert stattdessen ein ausladendes, disharmonisches und bewusstseinsveränderndes Gebräu hervor, das niemals nur Black, Thrash, Death oder Doom Metal Psychedelia ist.

Vollständig von der Band selbst produziert, haben Thantifaxath ihren Sound auf erdrückende Perfektion zugeschnitten - eine Produktion, die so gewaltig ist, dass der Hörer sich bis zum bitteren Ende nicht zu bewegen wagt. Genau wie die Musik ist auch Hive Mind Narcosis eine lyrische Mischung aus zwei gegensätzlichen Idealen: "Das Album besteht aus zwei Ebenen, die im Gegensatz zueinander stehen. Auf der einen Ebene gibt es einen starken Widerstand gegen etwas, und auf der anderen gibt es eine totale Akzeptanz derselben Sache. Darüber hinaus überlassen wir es der eigenen Interpretation."

In der Karriere jeder wirklich bahnbrechenden Band gibt es einen Moment, in dem sie sich von der Masse abhebt und eine Insel wird. Für Thantifaxath ist Hive Mind Narcosis ein solches Album. Dieser unheilige kanadische Gral des zeitgenössischen Black Metal wird über Dark Descent Records veröffentlicht.
Das Cover von Hive Mind Necrosis zeigt das Gemälde "Hexenflug" (1798) von Francisco Goya, eine Lizenz des Museo Nacional del Prado.

Thantifaxaths zweites Album Hive Mind Narcosis ist nicht nur ein großer Sprung für die Band, sondern auch für den zeitgenössischen Extrem-Metal insgesamt. Von den ersten Tönen an entsteht ein Gefühl der Transzendenz jenseits des Genres und der Szene.Früher als Avantgarde Black Metal bezeichnet, übertrifft Thantifaxath solche banalen Presse-Etiketten und zaubert stattdessen ein ausladendes, disharmonisches und bewusstseinsveränderndes Gebräu hervor, das niemals nur Black, Thrash, Death oder Doom Metal Psychedelia ist.

Vollständig von der Band selbst produziert, haben Thantifaxath ihren Sound auf erdrückende Perfektion zugeschnitten - eine Produktion, die so gewaltig ist, dass der Hörer sich bis zum bitteren Ende nicht zu bewegen wagt. Genau wie die Musik ist auch Hive Mind Narcosis eine lyrische Mischung aus zwei gegensätzlichen Idealen: "Das Album besteht aus zwei Ebenen, die im Gegensatz zueinander stehen. Auf der einen Ebene gibt es einen starken Widerstand gegen etwas, und auf der anderen gibt es eine totale Akzeptanz derselben Sache. Darüber hinaus überlassen wir es der eigenen Interpretation."

In der Karriere jeder wirklich bahnbrechenden Band gibt es einen Moment, in dem sie sich von der Masse abhebt und eine Insel wird. Für Thantifaxath ist Hive Mind Narcosis ein solches Album. Dieser unheilige kanadische Gral des zeitgenössischen Black Metal wird über Dark Descent Records veröffentlicht.
Das Cover von Hive Mind Necrosis zeigt das Gemälde "Hexenflug" (1798) von Francisco Goya, eine Lizenz des Museo Nacional del Prado.

What’s Mu about? Mu is about everything: Songs about heartbreak and parting share the album with songs marvelling at the scale of the universe. Mu is a concept from Zen and Chan Buddhism that means: “nothingness” and also, “pure awareness.” The awareness at the source of all things. In Hannah’s words: “There is so much life in every moment. Endless patterns, algorithms and instances repeating and changing and adapting. Spiralling outwards from the source. What source? The source.” In search of the source, Hannah has composed and arranged an undefinable, cinematic album that leads the listener on a winding path through her imagination. Sonically as well as thematically, Mu is an album of extremes and lofty ambitions. Fragile and delicate vocal and violin textures contrast with crunchy noisescapes and brooding synthesizers. Hannah’s commanding voice shares the spotlight with a string section and is backed by spacious production featuring many acoustic instruments. Sonically, producer Nick Herrera has brought a reassuring chunkiness to this unplugged palette, in particular the head nodding drums that anchor Hannah’s celestial musings. Like a film soundtrack or a symphony Mu is best listened to and understood as a whole - it circles back to themes and refrains and re-examines them. Sometimes a song is a song, sometimes it’s a soundscape dreaming of a song. “When making this album, I had a specific concept for how I wanted the music to sound. I don’t mean in terms of genre… it was more of a visceral, sensory concept which I knew I could only realise by allowing myself to experiment and create simultaneously, believing in my rough ideas enough to grow them, to weave them into stories. I began allowing myself to enter and remain in a very heightened state of awareness, which is a state I have continued to pursue and learnt to enjoy ever since. I let my mind dissolve into blackness each day. From there the most wonderful colours can appear. I have decided to call the album “Mu” to signify the empty chasm I allowed to hold within me whilst these songs were born.”

Wie? Schon wieder Kärbholz? Kam nicht gerade erst Kapitel 11: Barrikaden; und jetzt schon wieder? Wer hat sich denn da vertan?
Eine wohl kalkulierte Promokampagne oder doch ein mathematischer Totalausfall? Im Hause Kärbholz scheint mit dem ersten Lockdown der kreative Funke einen Flächenbrand ausgelöst zu haben. Abwarten was die Zeit bringt, diese jedoch nicht verschwenden war das Kredo und so hat die Band im letzten Jahr nicht nur Material für einen Longplayer komponiert. Nein, Songs für ganze zwei volle Alben sind entstanden; alle relevant und keiner, von dem man sich hätte trennen können. Der einzige Weg für Kärbholz: Double In, Double Out.
Die Songs, die in einer Episode geschrieben worden sind, wurden vor Produktionsbeginn auf die zwei Alben aufgeteilt: Kapitel 10 und Kapitel 11. Und genau in dieser Reihenfolge erfolgten die finalen Aufnahmen gemeinsam mit den Produzenten Alexander Dietz und Eike Freese. Woche um Woche wohnte, lebte und arbeitete man zusammen. Kapitel 10: WILDE AUGEN wurde fertiggestellt - Halbzeit - und ab in die Herstellung.
Weiter ging es mit Kapitel 11: Barrikaden und genau dem Moment, in dem sich alles ändern sollte...
Während der finalen Studiophase zum eigentlich zweiten Album "Kapitel 11: BARRIKADEN" machte sich dieses Gefühl breit… dieses Gefühl, das jeder hatte, aber niemand wagte:
Dieses zweite Album ist eigentlich das perfekte ERSTE Album. Dies sind eigentlich die Songs, mit denen man aus der Stille heraustreten will und sollte, die sich dafür einfach aufdrängten.
Kapitel 10: WILDE AUGEN ist rudimentärer und ungestümer. Es ist der ungezogene Bruder mit den zerrissenen Hosen. Aber auch das musikalische Bindeglied zwischen heute und gestern, erinnert es doch vielleicht am ehesten an das Album RASTLOS von 2009.

Aber was tun? Kapitel 10: WILDE AUGEN war bereits produziert. Das Vinyl lag schon auf dem Tisch. Und darauf stand nun mal: KAPITEL ZEHN! Unumstößlich und unumkehrbar. Und mag hier auch niemand als mathematisches Wunderkind gelten, 10 kommt VOR 11.

Aber wie war das noch vor ein paar Jahren…"Immer mehr Herz als Verstand…"

Also was soll's! Ihr kennt Kapitel 11? Dann lernt nun Kapitel 10, die WILDEN AUGEN kennen. Diese Augen sind hungrig, wollen mehr und drehen sich im Kreise… da kümmert es doch am Ende nicht… dieses kleine bisschen Mathematik.

The Inter-Atlantic duo of George Btp Dan Piu & Roger K. Versey return to your shores to traverse more mystery, adventure, and musical journey with an all new double 12" album.

Passport - Wonderful Elixir. Named for its nutritious flavor and mixture, Wonderful Elixir is crafted for the deep frequency connoisseurs, explorers not constrained to genres, not afraid to vibe with the tides of life, but rather seek the deeper feeling that is true and Indigo Blue. The main ingredients are 10 visions that await inside the fine grooves of two 180 gram disks crafted to capture the moments in the best way; a seamless connection of Air, Land and Seaways that harbor elements of Jazz, Acid, Deep House and Street Beat. From the organic forests to the concrete jungles, From Zurich to St.Louis, your Wonderful Elixir is here. Featuring very special appearances from DJ Nata, Jesus Gonsev, and Grant.

Presented on 2×12" vinyl by the legendary No Acting Vibes label, and on CD and Digital by Deep Inspiration Show. Includes original acrylic paintings by Zara Versey.

Das Debüt- und bisher einzige Album der Alt-Country-Folkrock Supergroup Middle Brother von 2011 jetzt wieder auf Vinyl erhältlich.

As Generationals, Grant Widmer and Ted Joyner have been stretching the boundaries of pop music for over a decade. From Con Law, their ebullient 2009 debut, to their adventurous and groove-infused LP from 2019 Reader As Detective, the New Orleans based duo have made songs that are consistently immediate and memorable. Even though their music always sounds effortless, they approach their songwriting with an auteurlike perfectionism: constantly tweaking and fine-tuning their craft. Their


forthcoming LP Heatherhead showcases the band at the height of their powers: writing joyous & catchy ear-worms that straddle the line between classic songwriting and modern pop sounds.

Returning after three years, the husband and wife duo of Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdiceaka. The Saxophones have announced the arrival of their third album, To Be A Cloud, for 2nd June 2023. Out today is the first single to be taken from it, Desert Flower, featuring a video directed by Rainbow Tunnel. "Alison wants me to try therapy, "says Alexi. “She’s a therapist herself, but I’ve never been to one. The idea of going makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like being vulnerable in front of strangers. So, instead of confronting my discomfort, I look for an easier path. It’s never easier and it’s always unsatisfying or destructive. “Desert Flower” is about avoidance and fear impeding personal growth and the deepening of relationships. The album itself was recorded at Phil Elverum’s (The Microphones, Mount Eerie) Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA last autumn. A former Catholic church where the pair lived during 24/7 recording sessions, time was no object as they experimented and developed the sound of the record. Its magical setting and ample space provided natural acoustics for Alexi’s arresting vocals which were recorded live to 24-track tape, suspending them in an ambiguous historical and chronological context between analogue and digital. Enhanced by Alison’s percussion alongside the bass and keys of Richard Laws, together they made the most of the studio’s many instruments which fill out and bookend their exploration of the billions of years of evolution that have led to this moment in time.

Wicca Phase Springs Eternal is the creative persona of Scranton, PA singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Adam McIlwee. Stark transmissions of obsession, melancholia, and raw emotion compliment acoustic guitar and digital percussion as if Peter Murphy and Metro Boomin had been playing Ouija together. Beneath the deep 808’s, moody synthesizers and cackling guitar, McIlwee’s singular voice effectively resonates with a generation raised amidst the frenzied collage of modern digital expression.

Wicca Phase first materialized in 2010. After receiving the name suggestion in an email from a friend on tumblr, McIlwee began writing and recording under the moniker. “Once I heard the name, it felt perfect,” he explains. Evoking mystical, occult resonances, the name serves as a passageway to explore the parallels between the material world and that of mystery. “My music is very representative of what I’m doing in the moment,” he continues. “The influence of the name seeps in and lets everyone know they’re getting into something deeper.”

Im November 2021 startete De Staat sein Projekt „red yellow blue“. Nach mehr als 1,5 Jahren wird das Projekt im Juni 2023 seinen Höhepunkt erreichen und in voller Länge veröffentlichen. Dazu gehören Songs wie: “Who’s Gonna Be The GOAT?” (yellow), “Look At Me” (red) und “Running Backwards Into The Future” (blue).

Während der Pandemie gab es mehr Ruhe und Raum, um gemeinsam an neuen Songs zu arbeiten. Während des Entstehungsprozesses bemerkten De Staat verschiedene Stile in ihren Demos wieder - alle mit dem erkennbaren, eigenen Sound. Nachdem die ersten Songs fertig waren, wurden sie der Einfachheit halber in Primärfarben unterteilt. Diese drei Farben stehen für Gemütszustände: Rot für die dunkle Seite, Gelb für unbeschwerte, tanzbare Songs und Blau für Melancholie. Zusammen bilden sie das gesamte Spektrum
dessen ab, was De Staat im Moment ausmacht. Sobald sie das erkannt hatten, konnten sie die Grenzen innerhalb dieses Rahmen erweitern.

Während Torre schon immer den Großteil der Musik geschrieben hat, war die Band mehr als früher am Schreiben neuer Songs beteiligt. So entstanden Stücke, die sonst nicht geschrieben worden wären. Andrew Scheps ist der Mischtechniker dieser Songs. Er erhielt Grammy-Auszeichnungen für seine Arbeit an Red Hot Chili Peppers „Stadium Arcadium“, „21“ von Adele und „Fly Rasta“ von Ziggy Marley.