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 With ‘Resonanzen’ (Resonances), Johanna
Summer has extended her extraordinary art and
deepened the way she re-tells the music of
classical composers through improvisation.
 The album spans a wide range, starting with Bach,
Schubert, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and
Ravel and ending with Mompou, Ligeti and
Scriabin.
 Johanna Summer’s deep insights into the two
worlds of composition and improvisation are the
result of the particular path along which she has
developed as a musician. In her childhood and
youth, she solely studied classical music. Jazz and
improvisation came relatively late, but when they
did, it was with a powerful focus.
 Her classical grounding remained in place, and yet
there were many things that she needed to relearn for ‘Resonanzen’. As she says: “It was very
important that I should master the original pieces
first. That was particularly demanding for
‘Resonanzen’, because each of these very
contrasting compositions makes very different
demands on me as a player. At the same time,
improvisation is also an art which you have to keep
practising and developing, so that the music can
attain its own natural flow. To do justice to both of
these sides, and to find a balance between them,
these really are lifelong tasks for me.”

15 years after the album’s release, ‘City Of Echoes’ is now
available in a deluxe 2LP edition, newly remastered by
Josh Bonati and featuring a full LP’s-worth of bonus
material, including original album demos, alternate takes,
and pieces originally only available on the rare ‘Pink
Mammoth’ EP.
‘City Of Echoes’, originally released in 2007 by Hydra
Head Records, marked a paradigm shift for Pelican.
Coming off the heels of the glacial ‘Australasia’ and their
even more expansive and acclaimed follow-up, ‘The Fire
In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw’, their third album is
a study in precision.
Inspired by their non-stop tour schedule following ‘The Fire
In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw’’s release, the
quartet composed ‘City Of Echoes’ to be a lean
powerhouse of non-stop melodic hooks and lurching
rhythms that reflected the energy of live performance.
Guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent
Schroeder-Lebec trade crisp riffs that twirl in opposition
before thundering together in monoliths. The sheer
amount of potent interplay between the two, often
borrowing from disparate edges of rock and metal at a
whim before completely transforming, is mind-boggling.
Bassist Bryan Herweg and rhythm section compatriot /
drummer / brother Larry Herweg lock into a wider array of
grooves than ever before. Their considered bedrock
guides the band’s dynamics into some of the ensemble’s
most tender moments as well as their most ferocious.
Recorded by Andrew Schneider at Electrical Audio Cover.
Art designed by ISIS and SUMAC founder Aaron Turner,
with photography by Robin Laananen.
Also available to independent retailers on Translucent Blue
vinyl.

15 years after the album’s release, ‘City Of Echoes’ is now
available in a deluxe 2LP edition, newly remastered by
Josh Bonati and featuring a full LP’s-worth of bonus
material, including original album demos, alternate takes,
and pieces originally only available on the rare ‘Pink
Mammoth’ EP.
‘City Of Echoes’, originally released in 2007 by Hydra
Head Records, marked a paradigm shift for Pelican.
Coming off the heels of the glacial ‘Australasia’ and their
even more expansive and acclaimed follow-up, ‘The Fire
In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw’, their third album is
a study in precision.
Inspired by their non-stop tour schedule following ‘The Fire
In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw’’s release, the
quartet composed ‘City Of Echoes’ to be a lean
powerhouse of non-stop melodic hooks and lurching
rhythms that reflected the energy of live performance.
Guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent
Schroeder-Lebec trade crisp riffs that twirl in opposition
before thundering together in monoliths. The sheer
amount of potent interplay between the two, often
borrowing from disparate edges of rock and metal at a
whim before completely transforming, is mind-boggling.
Bassist Bryan Herweg and rhythm section compatriot /
drummer / brother Larry Herweg lock into a wider array of
grooves than ever before. Their considered bedrock
guides the band’s dynamics into some of the ensemble’s
most tender moments as well as their most ferocious.
Recorded by Andrew Schneider at Electrical Audio Cover.
Art designed by ISIS and SUMAC founder Aaron Turner,
with photography by Robin Laananen.
Also available to independent retailers on Translucent Blue
vinyl.

As we journey on with part two of the States of Bliss project. Opening we have a reminiscent moment with “NY”. A snapshot of early BJC which was remixed for 2014’s cult classic “Selected Compiled By Fred P”. Then we move on to a more ambient affair of the trance inducing “Awakening Desire” an example of celestial electronica at its finest. Closing part two is the trippy jazz fusion house sound Private Society has been spearheading for a of couple of years now, “High Fusion” is a none stop ride into galactic ascension that has been moving festivals from the UK to India. Fred P continues to go deeper into his sound defining a rare characteristic propelling the artist forward via lawed frequencies garnering a cult following world wide!!!

What humbly began as the amateur strums of a 10-year-old on the
ukulele, catapulted into an expansive 60-year long career that has taken Athens stalwart, Davis Causey, everywhere from playing with Marvin Gaye, Jerry Butler, and Jackie Wilson to Derek Trucks, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson, just to name a few
Next in the long line of his musical contributions is his second album on Strolling Bones Records: New Things From Old Strings, a perfect collection of songs that have followed him through time. This album is the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to loving and making music or, in Davis' words, a great way to almost make a living! The album features old friends Randall Bramblett and Chuck Leavell plus a special appearance from Duane Allman's 1961 Gibson Les Paul
(SG).)This started out as a form of musical therapy to get through the pandemic, but soon became something more. Most songs began with just a chord progression and grew from there with the help of the other musicians. Some songs came fully formed while others had to be coaxed into existence. These songs reflect my many influences. From Chet Atkins and Johnny Smith to Duane Allman and Mark Knopfler to Martin Taylor and many others. My mom was a
great believer in me and my music being herself a writer. Once heard it said that if you steal from one source it's called plagiarism, but if you steal from a lot of sources it's called research. Consider me a researcher

“Avada Kedavra Deluxe,” by Seattle rapper AJ Suede, is a 21-track, self-produced, self-referencing, double-vinyl labyrinth of experimental boom-bap. Building on a signature style that SPIN magazine describes as “stream-of-consciousness rhymes, containing everything from socio-political commentary and blunted cinematic allusions to psychedelic visions,” Suede’s creation is as compelling as it is unclassifiable. On the first LP, Suede demonstrates his substantial skills as a beatmaker and rapper, chopping up what Seattle’s KEXP calls “the smoothest, jazziest, weirdest samples” and overlaying parkour bars about Grunge, success, and social justice. From the first cut, “Nebuchadnezzar,” which New York’s Major Stage describes as a “powerful chant-like hypnotic loop,” these 10 tracks capture an elusive mood of too many hours inside watching YouTube and trying to piece together fractured connections. The album’s title is derived from an Aramaic spell: “Let this thing be destroyed.” On the second LP, Suede invites 13 guests to “destroy” the original songs. This disc of remixes and reworkings showcases underground voices from across the Northwest (Seattle’s Wolftone, Khrist Koopa, Portland’s Fines Double), from across America (New Jersey’s Fatboi Sharif, California’s mudwater, Ohio’s Lord Olo, New York’s Bloodblixing), and around the world (Tel Aviv’s Argov and Japan’s Wazasnics). Seattle rappers Astral Trap, Blake Anthony, Mika’il, and Greg Cypher are featured on a bonus “posse” cut. AJ Suede has been grinding for years in the underground, building a solid, devoted global fanbase. He’s released acclaimed cassettes and CDs through respected labels such as Fake Four Inc., Candy Drips, Chong Wizard, and Blackhouse. In May 2022, a 100-copy vinyl run of his album “Metatron’s Cube” sold out in less than four hours. With “Avada Kedavra Deluxe,” AJ Suede has tapped into the moment, using what Deeply Rooted Hip-Hop calls “a subconscious steeped in the mystical.” As KEXP says: “Quite predictably, the whole album bangs.”

The album’s seemingly brief tracklisting belies a work of great beauty and depth, and one which turned into a one-man crusade for singer/guitarist Lars Andersson, intertwining deeply personal stories with his love for the era of Romanticism. “Every time I go to a museum and I’m about to pass through the era of Romanticism I stop in awe,” says Lars of the enduring appeal of the 18th century artistic movement. “Whatever it is – stories, paintings, music – it triggers something deep within me, something profoundly human. It really hits a nerve, and it utterly immerses me to a point where I can’t move.” The album replicates this feeling; a gloriously over-the-top blend of Slowdive and Sigur Rós, mixed with the single-mindedness of Daniel Johnston and the noisiness of Nirvana, it’s as bold and beautiful and every bit as ornate as the art that inspired it. Unlike their acclaimed debut, 2019’s All That Ever Could Have Been, which gradually came into focus with a 15-minute opening track, Picturesque hits home from the very first note of the short and sweet opener, ‘Ballerina’. That’s not to say there aren’t epics here – ‘Metamorphosis’ is essentially a 12-minute suite of three movements; blistering closer ‘The Lot’ is 11 minutes of Swans-inspired heaviness – but everything is much more direct and focused. This isn’t an album to lose yourself in, it’s one to get swept away by. “‘More is more’ was definitely the credo when making this record,” agrees Lars. “A big inspiration were bands like Pond and the way they manage to fill their songs up with stuff to the absolute maximum. While I definitely tried to give the listener some room to breathe at certain points and while, in good old post-rock fashion, it still builds up and breaks down, it relies much more on simple melody and harmony as opposed to noisy experimentation to transport feeling.” Never more so than on the first single, ‘The Golden Age’, which is the album’s centrepiece; a soaring slice of über-shoegaze that is so stunning you can’t take your eyes or ears off it. Like all the songs on the album, it’s based around a fairy-tale from the Romantic era. In this case, it’s Heinrich von Ofterdingen by the German poet, author and philosopher Novalis (other influences are: The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen; The Seven Ravens and Hans in Luck by the Brothers Grimm; Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué and The Golden Pot by E.T.A. Hoffmann), with Lars drawing parallels between the titular character’s mystical and romantic searchings and his own personal quest. This is apt as the album has been an overriding obsession for Lars for the past two-and-a-half years; as well as writing and recording the songs (bandmate Phillip Dornauer played drums), he also mixed and mastered them at his Alpine Audio studio and Picturesque is very much his Brian Wilson or Kevin Shields moment. MOLLY were in the middle of their European tour when Covid hit in early 2020, forcing Lars to retreat back to his home outside Innsbruck and giving him time and space to think about every detail of the record. “Well, I was on a quest I guess,” he admits. “Like everyone, I was stranded at home and at some point I just said to myself, ‘If not now, then when?’ It was an intense process. I’ve worked on music from other bands and artists before but producing and mixing your own music is an utterly different animal. It was probably the most intense thing I’ve ever done, but it was also incredibly rewarding and the feeling of it all coming together piece by piece is incomparable.” The artwork is just as effective. “I think of Radiohead’s OK Computer – what you hear on the record is what you see on the cover,” explains Lars. “We were inspired by what we call ‘wimmelbilder’ hidden pictures in German, a very specific style in art where there are a lot of little things happening. When you see it from further away, it looks organic like a lost painting from the area of Romanticism, but the closer you look the more digital it gets. It’s a nice analogy.” He’s right, it perfectly sums up the conflict between Romanticism and 21st century life. “Romanticism was basically an answer to the Industrial Revolution as well as the social and political norms of the Age Of Enlightenment,” concludes Lars. “Now, we all live in a much more industrialised, materialistic, individualistic and sterile society than any early Romanticist could have ever possibly imagined. Over 200 years later the Romanticists have lost the battle.” With the divine and downright pulchritudinous Picturesque, MOLLY begin the fightback.1.Ballerina 2.Metamorphosis 3.The Golden Age 4.Sunday Kid 5.So To Speak 6.The Lot

Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.

Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.

Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’

The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such?

Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.

A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.

It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

Totó's music has been sampled and remixed by countless DJs and producers from Timbaland to Michel Cleis - indeed the trance-like grooves of her tambores and the majesty of her voice continues to be an irresistible formula.
The Garabato Sessions brings influences from Bristol to Bogotá, with new remixes of Totó's classic Adios Fulana. DJ, musician and remixer, Rob Smith (RSD), best known for making and playing breakbeat, drum & bass and dubstep, and as half of the duo Smith & Mighty (with Ray Mighty) provides the Bristol connection with his remixes.
Bogotá-based Richard Blair - from the band Sidestepper - retains the earthy Colombian sound of the traditional African-influenced drums and adds his own dub twist

This September sees the fourth release from the label Either. Label founder Jamie Clarke is behind the title track ‘Angor Animi feat. Emdee’ and a second track featuring Emdee, the third track is a remix of the title track from Romania’s Barac.

Either is built on Clarke’s sure feel for early hours dance floor tunes. The releases to date are enriched by remixes from Pablo Mateo, Ryan Crosson, Silverliining…

On Clarke’s title track Emdee’s vocals carry us along over squelchy acid bass, gritty stab lines, saturated drums and tribal-tinged percussion. On track 2 ‘Extraction’ Clarke picks up the journey theme. Here the mood brightens and trips-out, Emdee’s chanting vocal carry us over sonorous organs, swinging rhythms. Track 3 returns to the dynamically processed elements of the title track, Romanian minimal maestro and Moment Records Boss Barac sweeps us into a twelve-minute rushing tide of organic drums and swaying subs.

Mystery Circles is busy at the moment with a great series of tapes, albums and 7"s all dropping in relatively quick succession. This one is a nice heavy 180-gram vinyl long player with only 100 copies pressed. It's Brooklyn's Tyler Gilmore, aka BlankFor.ms, at his best, if you ask us. His highly textured ambient uses gorgeous spinet piano, dusty and degraded tapes and analog synthesisers to make for something that evokes deep memories and transports you to places you had long forgotten. It is a touching record that leaves an indelible mark.

BLUE MOON PHASE VINYL

After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before, one where only one of them will survive. As Halloween Ends marks the last chapter of the David Gordon Green trilogy, so it ushers the essential return of original director and composer John Carpenter to score the iconically hair-raising soundtrack alongside Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. Recorded in its entirety at Carpenter's home studio and Davies' studio, the unmistakable mix of software synths, vintage analogue equipment, and live instrumentation once again provides the signature sound of Halloween, one of the most distinctive aspects of the movie franchise to date. The soundtrack was tracked scene by scene but the album itself plays like a standalone piece of music. The general atmosphere is one of dread yet the record includes some groove laden moments reminiscent of Escape From New York or some of Carpenter's other more dance-able scores. Exquisite and delicate ambient pieces weave their way between some of the score's more arresting moments and yet maintain a subtle pop sensibility. The overall achievement showcases three master musicians, one of whom invented the entire horror-synth genre, crafting an evocative, playful and deeply listenable score that honors a legacy and expands on the decades of work that have been leading to this triumphant climax. Halloween Ends is the soundtrack of the final battle against evil. Watch your back this Halloween, Michael may be near you.

After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before, one where only one of them will survive. As Halloween Ends marks the last chapter of the David Gordon Green trilogy, so it ushers the essential return of original director and composer John Carpenter to score the iconically hair-raising soundtrack alongside Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. Recorded in its entirety at Carpenter's home studio and Davies' studio, the unmistakable mix of software synths, vintage analogue equipment, and live instrumentation once again provides the signature sound of Halloween, one of the most distinctive aspects of the movie franchise to date. The soundtrack was tracked scene by scene but the album itself plays like a standalone piece of music. The general atmosphere is one of dread yet the record includes some groove laden moments reminiscent of Escape From New York or some of Carpenter's other more dance-able scores. Exquisite and delicate ambient pieces weave their way between some of the score's more arresting moments and yet maintain a subtle pop sensibility. The overall achievement showcases three master musicians, one of whom invented the entire horror-synth genre, crafting an evocative, playful and deeply listenable score that honors a legacy and expands on the decades of work that have been leading to this triumphant climax. Halloween Ends is the soundtrack of the final battle against evil. Watch your back this Halloween, Michael may be near you.

Orange Vinyl

After 45 years, the most acclaimed, revered horror franchise in film history reaches its epic, terrifying conclusion as Laurie Strode faces off for the last time against the embodiment of evil, Michael Myers, in a final confrontation unlike any captured on-screen before, one where only one of them will survive. As Halloween Ends marks the last chapter of the David Gordon Green trilogy, so it ushers the essential return of original director and composer John Carpenter to score the iconically hair-raising soundtrack alongside Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. Recorded in its entirety at Carpenter's home studio and Davies' studio, the unmistakable mix of software synths, vintage analogue equipment, and live instrumentation once again provides the signature sound of Halloween, one of the most distinctive aspects of the movie franchise to date. The soundtrack was tracked scene by scene but the album itself plays like a standalone piece of music. The general atmosphere is one of dread yet the record includes some groove laden moments reminiscent of Escape From New York or some of Carpenter's other more dance-able scores. Exquisite and delicate ambient pieces weave their way between some of the score's more arresting moments and yet maintain a subtle pop sensibility. The overall achievement showcases three master musicians, one of whom invented the entire horror-synth genre, crafting an evocative, playful and deeply listenable score that honors a legacy and expands on the decades of work that have been leading to this triumphant climax. Halloween Ends is the soundtrack of the final battle against evil. Watch your back this Halloween, Michael may be near you.

Melanie Martinez’s debut album “Cry Baby” has remarkably kept growing in stature since its 2015 release, now approaching its high-water mark of 1 BILLION global audio streams for the second consecutive year. The RIAA recently re-certified the record at 2x platinum, in large part due to TikTok trending moments for several of the album’s tracks. These trending moments, occurring over the course of 2020-1, most notably included the digital bonus cut “Play Date,” which became a TikTok phenomenon and is now Melanie’s most popular song with over 700M streams.
On this expanded deluxe edition, “Play Date” and 2 additional digital bonus tracks (“Teddy Bear” and “Cake”) are – for the first time – added to the original, standard vinyl album. These songs were only previously available on vinyl on the now out-of-print, limited edition Extra Clutter EP from 2016.
With an expanded booklet featuring 3 new illustrations for the 3 bonus tracks, this deluxe edition will be the one, primary Cry Baby vinyl product moving forward.

After spending his debut album exploring techno and mechanical sounds in the depths of the Pas-de-Calais mines, Toh Imago looks up to the sky, with an open breeze on his face, as tree branches and canopy filter out the sun’s rays on Refuge. All the machines used during the album recording are tuned at 432hz, carrying the mystical benefits of Earth’s resonance. Spending just seconds with the opening track, the listener is drawn into the safety that Refuge was intended to provide, and each subsequent piece pulls you deeper and deeper into the album’s forest.

Textextext - (add your write up)

‘Refuge’ was recorded on the edge of the Mormal forest, in the North of France. With nature as a setting and studio accomplice, the album features synthesizers, field-recordings, as well as the acoustic qualities of reverbs from the nearby forest. As the artist’s inner world and nature converge in moments of self-reflection, so the album’s 11 recordings harmoniously unfold in a cavalcade of machines and organic sonorities.

While the first LP 'Nord Noir’ explored his family’s mining past, ‘Refuge' is about being present and the desire to re-contextualize the relationship between nature and humans. It is a record of uplifting tones that is filled with optimism, imbued with the lightness of those who finally reconnect with nature, their roots, and the feeling of groundedness.

Like the steps taken on a walk in the woods, the 11 tracks sonically tell the story of an inner journey divided in three chapters. "Asile sauvage", "Sylve barbare" and “Avril Mormal" take the listener into a fast-paced progression of rhythms. When the heart of the forest is reached, the journey becomes intimate, revealing a sacred space where breathing becomes the leading tempo ("Locus Neminis") and the traveller becomes a spirit lost in space ("Cosmos Intra”). The journey's climax is reached with "Monde intérieur". The album closes with "Chiff Chaff" which accompanies the listener back to a reality, hopefully a more reassuring one.

Across the album, Toh Imago finds inventive ways of opening a dialogue between nature and machine, both literally and metaphorically, creating a soundscape that both feels like and was created by the natural world that surrounds him.

The album offers a shelter from a predetermined world. It’s a story told through ambience, racy and subtle electronics, and the memories of lichens clinging to shoes.

One of our all-time favourite artists and extended Circus Company member The Mole returns to the label for a proper presentation of his album The River Widens. Originally a limited, cassette-only release via fellow Canadian Eddie C’s Red Motorbike, we are proud to offer this album in its full glory for the first time on all formats.
Never one to shy away from synth deep dives, or raw sample flip collaging, this collection of 21 works checks all the boxes. Ambient trippers to straight up neck-snapping instrumental beats. Not forgetting tastes of the more uptempo, highly-assured and hypnotic dance floor feels the world has come to love The Mole for. Moments of casual chillin are interspersed with effortless, emotive angles, some evoking the charm of his Little Sunshine release for us in 2017.

X-pert Profat opens the set with sly statements that give way to relaxed and subtle keys over gentle, midtempo rhythms. Things switch up nicely into easy, Northwest Coast boogie-meets-beatdown feels inBreak For Ma, followed by a solid array of almost Jaylib-schooled boom bap twists, like the aptly-titled Drums 2002 and Jo Barker. Ambient cuts like AR Dayand New Family offer a refreshing tap of the brakes, setting the scene for the gorgeous, Jarre-esque Weak Stranger. We also get treated to Repepepater’s nod to Detroit house, urban-mode Balearic feels on They Work For Mr. O, and sneak
attack lo-fi future funk in the form of UFOs Over Egypt, with Montreal co-pilot Cristobal on a wild shisha-lit vox narrative, earlier versions of which have blessed many of our label comrades’ DJ sets, from Dave Aju to Vincent Lemieux.
The River Widens expands beautifully on the breadth of unique musical directions The Mole is capable of taking us in, now spread across fresh 2x12” vinyl and available digitally for the first time, along with another limited edition cassette run - we hope you enjoy the ride as much as we do!

A pure journey inward into the headspace of an artist, that reveals his gaze at the earth-ly zones he walks in: “Song for Joni”, the new album by Japanese musician Shunji Mori, brings pure natural music full of artificial nuances who create in conversation with ana-logue tones a new kind of musical nature, loaded with vibrant seasons, unknown to us, the unwise humans. moreover, the album is a fine continuation of Japan’s rich ambient leaning music traditions, carrying them into Lorren Connor’s like pending guitar galaxies.

In the 1990s Tokyo based Mori was part of the trip hop, nu-jazz, deep house, and down-tempo duo natural calamity, releasing a string of albums and EP’s on labels like legend-ary London based imprint Nuphonic, Japanese Idyllic Records or Down 2 Earth Record-ings.

In 2003 he launched the instrumental guitar duo Gabby & Lopez with his buddy Masayuki Ishii. Together they created three albums and performed live. Additionally, Mori plays improvisational concerts with Japanese musician, multi-instrumentalist, and stage direc-tor Daiho Soga and finds time to invent his very own, charismatic guitar music.

His solo work now finally gets introduced with a full-length album for Studio Mule, con-sisting of recent and a decade ago compositions, all merely recorded with the electric guitar, pedals, and field recordings.

In the center of “Song for Joni” is the guitar, spreading longing, drifting melodies. Free floating, yet deeply felt compositions, performed in an accurate journey music style. around the string notes, ambient landscapes soar and vanish.

In some moments, the guitar works like a slow-mo yacht rock lead, flying speed less over and under imaginative sonic clouds. Then, Mori’s music distributes psychedelic ef-fects in the tradition of krautrock legends like Günter Schickert, just without the echo fuzz.

Additionally, in warm vibrating seconds, his creations remind on the calm flashes in the musical work of English photographer, musician, and artist designer Steve Hiett, while Mori’s ambient spheres come close to the magic vibe of records like “Pier & Loft” by his fellow countryman Hiroshi Yoshimura.

A mixture, that transports considerate listeners into the meditative world of Shunji Mori, a calm island of bliss, made for all those that follow the heedful path of life.

Soul Jazz Records are releasing Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation’s seminal 1975 album Tales of Mozambique in an expanded double album/single CD/digital format, fully remastered and with the inclusion of two bonus rare single-only tracks, full sleevenotes, exclusive photographs and interview.

Count Ossie is the central character in the development of Rastafarian roots music, nowadays an almost mythical and iconic figure. His importance in bringing Rastafarian music to a populist audience is matched only by Bob Marley’s promotion of the faith internationally in the 1970s.

Count Ossie’s drummers performed on the first commercially released single to integrate Rastafarian traditional music with popular music: the vocal group The Folkes Brothers’ groundbreaking song ‘Oh Carolina’, recorded for producer Prince Buster in 1959. In 1966 his drummers greeted the momentous arrival of Haile Selassie at Kingston airport.

His legendary jam sessions up in his Rastafarian compound in the hills of Wareika, Kingston, are famous for the many Jamaican musicians who attended including The Skatalites players – Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Johnny Moore, Lloyd Knibbs – and many others.

The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari formed in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1970, a union of Count Ossie’s Rastafarian drummers – variously known as his African Drums, Wareikas or his Afro-Combo – and the saxophonist Cedric Im Brooks’ horns group, The Mystics.

The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari are the defining group in bringing authentic Rastafarian rhythms into the collective consciousness of popular music, their unique music is at once rooted in the deep traditions and rituals of traditional drumming and chanting alongside a forward-thinking, even avant-garde, artistry influenced by the likes of John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders and other pioneering African-American jazz artists radicalised and charged by the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

Tales of Mozambique is a truly unique and fascinating ground-breaking album.

Count Ossie and The Mystic Revelation of Rastafari are the central group featured on Soul Jazz Records recent "Rastafari - The Dreads Enter Babylon” a collection showing the influence of Rastafari in Reggae and Jamaican popular culture.

Soul Jazz Records will also be releasing Count Ossie and The Rasta Family 'Man From Higher Heights’ in the near future.

* Bonus tracks

REVIEWS

" All roads in Rastafarian roots music lead to Count Ossie.He’s the lead character in this compelling subplot, the musician who was one of the first to put Rasta tenets into the heart of popular music.

He did so from his camp in the hills above Kingston, Count Ossie and his drummers casting a spell on the musicians who gathered to check him out and then went on to spread the word about the powerful nyabinghi rhythms and mesmerising percussion.

This is a reissue of the 1975 album Count Ossie made with his Rastafarian drummers and saxaphonist Cedric ‘Im’ Brooks’s group The Mystics.

It’s a groundbreaking, majestic work, by turns righteous in tone and joyous in execution. It’s the sound of Ossie and his ensemble narrating a history lesson and you’d be daft not to want to find out more." IRISH TIMES

Arma Records is about to drop its 25th release, an album by Vakula, an Ukrainian producer, active contributor to the underground community that has been united around Moscow's Arma17 since early 2010s.

On the 25th of June, '108 Mysteries' — a double vinyl comprising 9 tracks created by Vakula at his studio, mostly by the artist himself, few in collaboration with the vocalist Amrita Ananda — will be available on major distribution platforms.

Affected by circumstances, the release was repeatedly postponed until a mutual decision to move forward with its publication was made by the artist and the label. The tragedy that was forced upon Ukrainian and Russian people, throwing both nations into an unthinkable circle of pain, hatred and death, had a devastating effect on our cultures, historically perceived as a whole. The catastrophe unwraps further, taking lives, burning homes, destroying connections between people. At that terrifying moment we, the community of artists, still have the voice that used to bring us together — our music.

Philosophical and meditative, '108 Mysteries' is a new chapter in Vakula's discography. 'Highest Love', 'A Breath Of Life', '?????? ?????', 'Spirit Okarine' are a high-spirited mix of oriental and Ukrainian folk motifs — an unusual combination that happens to sound so full of life.