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2024 Repress

Next up on Greek label Lower Parts is a fierce EP from the one and only DJ Stingray, who serves up one of his strongest releases in a while and, at the same time, marks his comeback with a bang. Featuring a remix by Athens talent Kon001, who Stingray has been meaning to release for years and who got personally handpicked by him for this assignment, the EP's titles tell us of the Detroit man's interest in science, biology and evolution and covers plenty of musical styles.

Stingray has won plenty of acclaim with serious releases on labels like Naked Lunch, Bleep and Itinerant Dub. He wastes no time here in nailing down a nervy techno groove on 'Acetylcholine', with its hurried kicks, electro synths and slithering bass lines all racing along as you do the same. Dendrite is then a half time, lurching number with serious dub weight and serene synths that manages to be beautiful and brutal at the same time.

On the flip, 'eRbB4' is a slick, journeying bit of electro-techno with real soul and emotion in its bones, before kon001 does Stingray proud with a dynamic, spangled remix that is metallic and reflective, groovy and evocative. This is a killer release from Stingray and is yet another fine offering from Lower Parts.

"The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the romantic drama, THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, features music from Ed Sheeran, Birdy, Charli XCX, Grouplove, Lykke Li and more! NO Sales Notes

In the film, Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Gus (Ansel Elgort) are two extraordinary teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them -- and us – on an unforgettable journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous, given that they met and fell in love at a cancer support group. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, based upon the number-one bestselling novel by John Green, explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love."

Two-Piers präsentiert die nächste Killer-Compilation: "Weird Scenes From The Hangout (Psychedelic & Freakbeat Dancefloor Anthems 1967-1982)", kuratiert von Richard Norris (The Grid, Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve, The Time And Space Machine) und zentriert um seine Liverpooler Clubnacht "The Hangout" in den 1980ern. Dort brachten er und weitere DJs bewusstseinsverändernden Wahnsinn aus Psychedelia und Freakbeat auf die Tanzfläche. Herausragende Songs wie "The Left Banke - I've Got Something On My Mind", "The Turtles - Buzzsaw" oder "Can - Outside Your Door" wurden zu echten Hangout-Hymnen. Man widmete der eher trendy Ausbeute der Spät-Sechziger ebenso viel Zeit wie angesagten Acts, solange der Groove auf dem Dancefloor funktionierte. Das Hangout kam und ging im Nu, aber sein Erbe, psychedelische Fußstampfer auf die Fläche zu bringen, lebt weiter, gemeinsam mit der Liebe zu allem, was mit Beat und Freak zu tun hat.
** Exclusive tracks to Vinyl Format

Repress!

“Natale in tangenziale” (“Christmas on the highway”) – available in all digital stores and in 7” format – marks an extraordinary tribute to the timeless Italo Disco style and captures the charm of an Italian Christmas, almost like in a dystopian “cinepanettone” (the stereotypical Italian, Christmas-themed, comedy movie).

The record is a creation by Maurizio & Dandolo, and represents the debut of Mirella Records, a label founded by Cosimo Mandorino, already known for several projects in the italo and electronic styles on specialized labels such as Best Record, Slow Motion Records, Disco Segreta, Bordello A Parigi.

“Natale in tangenziale” will instantly transport you into an Italian Christmas atmosphere, with captivating synthesizers and engaging rhythms. The voices perfectly capture the warmth and joy of the holidays.

The original song is accompanied by a breathtaking remix curated by Whodamanny.The remixer’s unique touch on the special dub version present on the B side adds further rhythmic elements that make it perfect for the dancefloor.

A 45 rpm single from an alternative 1983, to be enjoyed during the holidays; a gift for music lovers and a celebration of Italianness. You can’t help but dance and sing to the rhythm of music, a characteristic that unites two such fundamental aspects of Italian culture.

Merry Christmas on the highway!

“Music is my forever cove,” writes Portland, Oregon’s Luke Wyland of the ideas that give shape to Kuma Cove, his latest album under his own name. Though named after a real place on the Oregon coast, Kuma Cove casts its gaze far beyond the sightseer’s line of vision. Recorded live in the studio and blurring obvious lines between computer-based composition and electro-acoustic instrumentation, it is an album about flow, borders, transitory states, and shelter. Composed of discontinuous ripples and repetitions (“I’m forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse,” Wyland says), shaped into richly emotive arcs, and informed by his experience as a person who stutters, it is also an album about identity, self-expression, and the energies that sluice through and across what we perceive as linear time—like floodwaters seeking an exit, like streams running into the sea.

Artist’s Statement:
I made this record while spending significant time in the woods by the Sandy River in Corbett, Oregon,
where I've had my studio for the last five years. It is a diary of spontaneous live recordings edited to highlight the moments of clarity that emerge from long-form improvisations. These compositions express a slowing internal rhythm. An unwinding. A somatic recalibration as I enter middle age. A newly empowered vulnerability.

Here are the internalized cadences of my stutter, flowing freely from my fingers. The musicality of my disfluency is revealed in its frictions, elongations, and foreshortenings. Disruptions in linear time, where the bubbling cadences of my stutter find unexpected pathways, reveal the elasticity of the present moment. This is my idiosyncratic language, shaped and inspired by my disability. Subliminally mirroring internal processes, neural firings, cognitive entanglements...

The title, Kuma Cove, refers to a beloved cove on the coast of Oregon my wife and I return to yearly. There has always been something so magnetic about coves. The way they cradle one from the overwhelming enormity of the ocean beyond, muting a primordial fear. I experience these improvisations as ecosystems I'm able to inhabit for stretches of time, embodying the particular rhythms and sensorial textures within each. Music is my forever cove. Everything you hear is created live in Ableton on a setup I've been honing for 15 years. I celebrate MIDI and computer music as an extension of self and strive to make it as expressive as any analog instrument. I was a visual artist for the first half of my life and quickly adapted those skills to composing and producing on a computer. The transition felt natural within the landscape of DAW's interfaces, especially as a synesthete. Ableton and its community of Max creators continue to surprise me with its expansiveness.

I'm forever searching for a better descriptor than looping, which feels too simple and flattened by overuse. I envision sonic loops as tangled masses of time, three-dimensional knots spinning on tilted axes, or overlapping wreaths refracting out a myriad of colors. My practice is continually refocusing my ear to what is revealed in the repetitions, searching for the fingerprint of each. I find it incredible how technology lets us manipulate time like this. Nothing on this record is quantized or locked to a universal bpm. Experiencing numerous tempos at once feels important. Recordings as mirrors. Freedom from expected (conversational) flow as we hold time for each other.
-Luke Wyland, August 2024

Artist Bio:
Luke Wyland is an interdisciplinary artist, composer, and performer based in Portland, OR (USA). Wyland has been releasing critically acclaimed records for the past 20 years in the groups AU and Methods Body, as LWW, and under his own name, working with such labels as New Amsterdam, Beacon Sound, Balmat, The Leaf Label, and Aagoo Records. As a person who stutters, Wyland’s approach to music is informed by his idiosyncratic relationship with language. Wyland believes deeply in the cathartic power of live performance as a means for collective healing. Through an interdisciplinary art practice that focuses on improvisation, somatic embodiment, bespoke tuning systems, the cadences of disfluent speech, and time manipulation technologies, he’s collaborated with choreographers, high-school choirs, filmmakers, sound designers, and renowned musicians such as John Niekrasz, Holland Andrews, Colin Stetson, and Abraham Gomez-Delgado. He’s also the co-creator of the “It’s A Fucking Miracle” dance class with Tahni Holt.
Wyland has toured nationally and internationally and performed at the Whitney Museum, Ecstatic Music Festival, Issue Project Room, PICA’s Time-Based Arts Festival, End of the Road Festival, and Les Nuits Botanique, among others.

Oscar Smit (DJ Oscar) has been a fan and collector of, especially the latest, Christmas music
since the 1980s. As a connoisseur, he is invited almost annually by the national Dutch radio.
As a journalist, he writes for the Christmas blog Christmas A Go Go and music magazine
OOR.
“Nowadays, there are many young acts active in the Dutch underground scene that I find
original and good. I enjoy their concerts, which usually take place in small clubs. Being a
huge fan of Christmas music, I got the idea to ask a couple of my favorite young artists to
record a contemporary Christmas song. They could do this with complete freedom. Dutch
electro-garage duo De Delegatie chose to cover a song by Daniel Lohues (singer of Skik) and
Herman Finkers from 2009. The choice of the Haarlem electro-wave band Dorpsstraat 3
goes even further back. In 1976, Dutch ‘volks’singer Andre Hazes had his very first hit with
this Christmas song. The Amsterdam punky female trio Earwurms recorded a contemporary
and adapted version of ‘Jingle Bells’. Schlager punk trio Yodel Queen also includes two
women. They provide an impression of a flexitarian at the Christmas dinner. Both girl bands
are appearing on vinyl for the first time. XA4 is Xavier Boot. He has already released an
album on Philip Glass’s label and treats us here to minimal Christmas music. In contrast,
there is the maximal danceable dark-electro from the Amsterdammer Raderkraft. He has
already released a few records and is quite well-known abroad. On this record, Stippenlift,
a one-man project from Amsterdam, has the most experience with Christmas music. Every
year, he writes a new Dutch-language track, usually sad or melancholic in tone. This very
danceable song sounds optimistic for his standards. Truus de Groot is a category of her
own. She has been making music since the early eighties, in bands like Nasmak or Plus
Instruments. She is still active and proves that you can still make urgent music after such a
long time. She is an example for many young musicians. Her song is a variant of the music
from the timeless Charlie Brown Christmas film.” — Oscar Smit.

Oscar Smit (DJ Oscar) has been a fan and collector of, especially the latest, Christmas music
since the 1980s. As a connoisseur, he is invited almost annually by the national Dutch radio.
As a journalist, he writes for the Christmas blog Christmas A Go Go and music magazine
OOR.
“Nowadays, there are many young acts active in the Dutch underground scene that I find
original and good. I enjoy their concerts, which usually take place in small clubs. Being a
huge fan of Christmas music, I got the idea to ask a couple of my favorite young artists to
record a contemporary Christmas song. They could do this with complete freedom. Dutch
electro-garage duo De Delegatie chose to cover a song by Daniel Lohues (singer of Skik) and
Herman Finkers from 2009. The choice of the Haarlem electro-wave band Dorpsstraat 3
goes even further back. In 1976, Dutch ‘volks’singer Andre Hazes had his very first hit with
this Christmas song. The Amsterdam punky female trio Earwurms recorded a contemporary
and adapted version of ‘Jingle Bells’. Schlager punk trio Yodel Queen also includes two
women. They provide an impression of a flexitarian at the Christmas dinner. Both girl bands
are appearing on vinyl for the first time. XA4 is Xavier Boot. He has already released an
album on Philip Glass’s label and treats us here to minimal Christmas music. In contrast,
there is the maximal danceable dark-electro from the Amsterdammer Raderkraft. He has
already released a few records and is quite well-known abroad. On this record, Stippenlift,
a one-man project from Amsterdam, has the most experience with Christmas music. Every
year, he writes a new Dutch-language track, usually sad or melancholic in tone. This very
danceable song sounds optimistic for his standards. Truus de Groot is a category of her
own. She has been making music since the early eighties, in bands like Nasmak or Plus
Instruments. She is still active and proves that you can still make urgent music after such a
long time. She is an example for many young musicians. Her song is a variant of the music
from the timeless Charlie Brown Christmas film.” — Oscar Smit.

Oscar Smit (DJ Oscar) has been a fan and collector of, especially the latest, Christmas music
since the 1980s. As a connoisseur, he is invited almost annually by the national Dutch radio.
As a journalist, he writes for the Christmas blog Christmas A Go Go and music magazine
OOR.
“Nowadays, there are many young acts active in the Dutch underground scene that I find
original and good. I enjoy their concerts, which usually take place in small clubs. Being a
huge fan of Christmas music, I got the idea to ask a couple of my favorite young artists to
record a contemporary Christmas song. They could do this with complete freedom. Dutch
electro-garage duo De Delegatie chose to cover a song by Daniel Lohues (singer of Skik) and
Herman Finkers from 2009. The choice of the Haarlem electro-wave band Dorpsstraat 3
goes even further back. In 1976, Dutch ‘volks’singer Andre Hazes had his very first hit with
this Christmas song. The Amsterdam punky female trio Earwurms recorded a contemporary
and adapted version of ‘Jingle Bells’. Schlager punk trio Yodel Queen also includes two
women. They provide an impression of a flexitarian at the Christmas dinner. Both girl bands
are appearing on vinyl for the first time. XA4 is Xavier Boot. He has already released an
album on Philip Glass’s label and treats us here to minimal Christmas music. In contrast,
there is the maximal danceable dark-electro from the Amsterdammer Raderkraft. He has
already released a few records and is quite well-known abroad. On this record, Stippenlift,
a one-man project from Amsterdam, has the most experience with Christmas music. Every
year, he writes a new Dutch-language track, usually sad or melancholic in tone. This very
danceable song sounds optimistic for his standards. Truus de Groot is a category of her
own. She has been making music since the early eighties, in bands like Nasmak or Plus
Instruments. She is still active and proves that you can still make urgent music after such a
long time. She is an example for many young musicians. Her song is a variant of the music
from the timeless Charlie Brown Christmas film.” — Oscar Smit.

Black vinyl 180g made only in 100 numbered copies.

This record is different. It is different from what might be expected of Jan Emil Mlynarski by those who know him, from sold-out shows and platinum albums of his bands – Jazz Band Młynarski – Masecki and Warsaw Dance Combo, as an old-timer, curator and reenactor of pre-World War II Warsaw's plush dancehalls and backyards folklore. Quite likely they may not recognize him until the last song, when he removes his shaman mask and bows down: Yeah, that's really me, folks, your good ol' Jan Emil, the entertainer. They might not have even known that he ever played drums because in his flagship bands, clad in a white tux in the former or in a Peaky Blinder hat in the latter, he sings and plays mandolin banjo. In fact, Młynarski has been a drummer for a lot longer than a singer. He stands clear of the jazz mainstream but is active on the progressive scene. A record he contributed to, trumpeter Tomasz Dąbrowski's 2022 release The Individual Beings, was recognized by Downbeat magazine as "excellent" and awarded the highest rating of five stars.

However, this is the first instrumental record to bear his name. As an album by a drummer, it stands out from other records, especially as it features drums as the principal content rather than the performance by a band with a drummer as the leader. It's all about drums, there is neither an articulate melody – because the melodies that are there are only micro-linesencased in ostinato modules – nor is harmony as an intentional chord progression – because whatever harmony-wise there is, is rather a product of the counterpoint of overlapping voices. All sounds other than the drums make only a riverbed through which runs a raging stream of rhythms. And indeed, this record took off just with this stream. At first all the drums were recorded live onto an analog tape, all at once, without overdubs or editing. After that, synthesizer riffs were added, and the record was ultimately assembled on tape without the use of computers or complex postproduction, which sets it apart from most releases today.

Młynarski the drummer acknowledges that he follows the trail beaten by Art Blakey, Max Roach, Roy Haynes, and Billy Higgins, but he walks it in his own strides. He treats the jazz drumming with specific reversed engineering by decompiling the jazz drum kit originally compiled by the pioneer jazz drummers from an array of instruments that had made their way from a jungle to New Orleans, first to Congo Square and then to street brass bands.

This takes him back to the jungle, his drums don't sound like jazz drums, the snare is rare, and the hi-hat and ride aren't there at all. Instead, there are drums and bells from Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Côte d'Ivoire. He doesn't sound like a jazz drummer either, but like a gang of drummers, each playing their own rhythm, and it's hard to believe that all this is the work of one man.

Not only his drumware comes from the jungle, but also the software – his approach to rhythm and time. Its essence is polyrhythm and ostinato. The polyrhythmic matters were unveiled to Młynarski and Piotr Zabrodzki, his creative partner in many projects and co-composer/producer of this album, by the legendary eccentric veteran-drummer Władysław Jagiełło, who introduced them, aged thirteen, to his concept and practice of "17 Latino rhythms at once". Ostinato, an obstinate repetition of a phrase or rhythm, "arrests" time, turning its linear course into cyclical in-place rotations. This is specific not only to African music but also to cultural music of other regions and differs from Western artistic music in that it does not "run" to fulfil an aesthetic intention but "stays" to provide the framework for recurrent routines of communal proceedings.

So, this record is different. And, if you are different too, this is the record for you.

Gavin Vanaelst runs the space Aboli Bibelot in Antwerp where exhibitions and musical performances can happen side to side with dealings in centuries-old furniture and unique pieces of folk art or volkskunst. Gavin makes music under the aliases DJ Charme, Kassett and So Sorry. This is the first album under his birth name. Takeaway Loops cycles back to the days when Gavin was working as a courier for .

is a food delivery company. Their couriers - ehm, brand ambassadors, as the company prefers to call them - dressed in bright orange, they race their bikes around the city. They deliver meals and groceries for all sorts. Thanks to them, the privileged can stay tucked in their private spaces. Interaction between the two groups - the privileged and the brand ambassadors - is mostly kept to the bare minimum. And sparse communications are often driven by annoyances - “my Coke is warm because you kept it too close to the French Fries.” And on the streets the general public dis-approaches the brand ambassadors with pity. We tell our peers: “That’s not a good job,” and “stay away from the Sharing Economy.” Because, you know, in our capitalistic dollhouse we all stand our grounds and play our parts wholeheartedly.

During his shifts for , Gavin recorded location sounds on his phone at fast food restaurants while waiting on the orders he had to pick up and deliver. Later in his home studio Gavin added piano and electronics to this source material. The result: a gloomy soundtrack for a shadow world. Seven songs in evening blue with a bright orange glare.

A few years ago, our favorite Belgian publishing house Het Balanseer released Seizoenarbeid by Heike Geissler (available in English trough Semiotext(e)). Geissler writes about her job at Amazon in Leipzig. Because her writing and freelance work did not pay the bills any longer, she was forced towards this underprivileged shadow-world of unwanted jobs. Seizoenarbeid shed a light on freedom in an unfree world. A monument of ‘we are all in this, but not together’. Takeaway Loops gives us a similar peak in a world that is at the same time so visible, but then also very veiled for many. A world that we prefer to use, yet that most of us prefer not to see - a world that we don’t like to enter.

Last year at Harbourland subway station in Kobe i was mesmerized by its sound design, created by Hiroshi Yoshimura. For each part of the subway station he composed a short phrase. While walking trough the station, a full composition grows in your head. The looping melodies guide you trough a microworld. Trough a blue world of commuters, of the homeless, of the lonely, of the fast paced, of the tourist. Gavin creates a similar effect with Takeaway Loops. The tonality somehow corresponds to Yoshimura’s work. Yet instead of being guided trough a building, we are now taken to the after dark. You feel the concrete evening heat of the city. You hear the rain. Stiff fingers during cold winters’ nights. You are alone on the bike, cruising. Your maps app telling you where to go. You just left the fake leather bench of the well-lit pastiche interior of a fast food restaurant.

Next order, number ECN44! Please wait outside, sir?

J. Written has been preparing for this moment almost his entire life. From early on he has been writing. You might even say he was obsessed with writing. It did not matter what he was writing, he just felt compelled to write. Hence the name Written.
Born on January 18, 1994 (yes, he will gladly accept birthday greetings!) in the Payne Land neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica, J. Written entered this world as Jason Rasheed Wright. Due to certain financial instability in his family they had moved around a bit to various locations within the Kingston area. His parents, wanting him to be safe, encouraged him to be at home with his two sisters and to occupy his time at home he began to write. And write and write. And write some more.
He would write daily journals and even create newspaper articles written on the walls of their home. This creative outlet gave way to writing poems, speeches and essays while a student in high school. At 16 he started a dance trope known as the ACEZ dancers who were quite popular around Kingston.
He was then drawn to music around age 18 and began to create beats at a studio in Trench Town. He became part of the Trench Town community and is still very connected with the people there. His drive to write songs became his new medium for expressing himself. And this has led to him being recorded for various producers and included in the song “Fear To Understand” with Albarosie. Other songs and music videos followed and J. Written was brought to the attention of reggae producer Doctor Dread.
“When I first saw a video with J. Written and began to listen to more of his songs I knew this was a unique artist with a special vibe and a knack for writing interesting songs” says Doctor Dread. So he came to Jamaica and produced a first album “Kaleidoscope” for J. Written which is due for release in late 2024.

“My mission is to be active and positive. Not to confirm with the norm. To sometimes make people feel uncomfortable with issues impacting our community and society at large. To give thought to what is happening in the world and presently around us”. J. Written has made his intentions clear and it is revealed through his music.
And of special note is that J. Written has a role in the Bob Marley movie “One Love” as Junior Braithwaite, a member of the early Wailers in the scene when the young Wailers first come to audition for Coxsone Dodd of Studio One.
The future is bright for J. Written. He is creating music and lyrics as a constant in his life. And now the world will be able to share in his vision of creative expression.

Dark Evergreen VInyl. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. Despite Che's initial unfamiliarity with Dunn's musical output, their personalities bridged any and all gaps_both Che and Dunn share a flair for the comically absurd and musically adventurous, a mindset that shines throughout See You at the Solipsist Convention. Che has become legendary for his calculated polyrhythms and undeniable physicality, while Dunn is known for relentless experimentation and productivity akin to a freight train. Quickly, the unlikely pair transformed into destined collaborators. Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion_uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other - our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

»Nuts of Ay«, the thirteenth album by the Berlin-based electronic pop duo Tarwater (Ronald Lippok and Bernd Jestram), is their first in a decade, since 2014’s »Adrift«. Beautifully poised and smartly dressed, it's an album that draws Tarwater’s various pasts into a high-definition present, while bringing the duo, yet again, into productive dialogue with all kinds of fellow travellers.

Tarwater’s music has always been marked by a hypnotic pop-ness, but that’s particularly evident on »Nuts of Ay«, where a song like »Hideous Kiss« weaves together jangling guitar, pastoral flute, and flittering electronics into a gem-like construction. While the lyrics of »Hideous Kiss« are written by the duo, »Nuts of Ay« also continues a longstanding Tarwater tradition of recasting the words of others in their own mould. This time, their remit is broad: poetry from Derek Jarman (»All Nuns«) and Millner Place (»Trapdoor Spider«); lyrics from Jean Kenbrovin (»I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles«), the late Shane MacGowan (»USA«) and, again, John Lennon (»Everybody Had a Hard Year«).

This cast of found and borrowed lyricists also finds collaborative echo in the guest musicians dotted throughout »Nuts of Ay«. Schneider TM turns up on the lovely, Felt-like »Spirit of Flux«, where guitars channel the tangled reveries of Vini Reilly and Maurice Deebank into lush pop. Carsten Nicolai joins, as Alva Noto, dappling »On Waves and Years« with intimate glitching textures; he also provides the album cover art. Elsewhere, Masha Qrella appears on »Down Comes the Goose«, and actor Lars Rudolph pitches in for »USA«.

It may have been ten years since the album's predecessor, but Lippok and Jestram have kept active with other projects. They’ve collaborated with Masha Qrella, Immersion, and Iggy Pop; worked on radio plays with Kai Grehn, some based on the writing of Nick Cave (»The Sick Bag Song«, featuring Tilda Swinton, Paula Beer and Alexander Fehling) and William S. Burroughs (»The Cat Inside«); and made music for several radio-tatorts (radio plays based on »Tatort«, a long-running German police TV series) by playwright Tom Peuckert.

Both voracious and committed in their creative energies, Jestram and Lippok report back from these experiments with »Nuts of Ay«, one of their most compelling, deeply lustrous, dreamlike albums yet. They say there was no concept for the album, which is surprising, perhaps, given its holistic mood, explaining it »grew together like a coral reef in the studio over a period of several years«. There’s something to be said for letting an album gather and mutate naturally, without an overarching framework in place, and »Nuts of Ay« certainly feels like an unforced collection of material that nonetheless inhabits a similar space, one where guitars twist like driftwood next to amorphous, aqueous electronics, Lippok’s droll yet completely convincing vocal delivery riding songs that pulse and plume with curious, unpredictable rhythms.

But you can also hear elements – submerged but still present – of other music that’s inspired the duo: they’ve drawn some connections for us with psychedelic folk, Bowie in Berlin, Burial, and the film music of Popol Vuh and Krzysztof Komeda. This music shares a strong sense of place – whether in the world, or the mind – and the twelve songs on »Nuts of Ay« have such similar presence; a shared mood, a shared world, a shared sense of the possibilities of what electronic pop music could, and should, be. A bold and brave pop experiment.

Artwork by Carsten Nicolai
Mastering by Bo Kondren, Calyx Berlin

»Trapdoor Spider«, »On Waves and Years« & »Breaking Day«: lyrics by Milner Place
»All Nuns«: lyrics by Derek Jarman
»USA«: lyrics by Shane MacGowan
»Down Comes the Goose«: lyrics from a traditional song
»Forever Blowing Bubbles«: lyrics by Jaan Kenbrovin
»Everybody Had a Hard Year«: lyrics by John Lennon

At long last! Finally on vinyl! Can Fifteen Great Christmas Songs be collected together on one lovely 12-inch vinyl disc featuring bands and artists from the Damaged Goods archives? …you betcha bottom dollar they can! Each song has been recorded with the Christmas spirit in full flow and we’d guess the odd mince pie was consumed along the way as well. The full-on Christmas feeling that is flowing through these wonderful tracks is a joy to behold and we implore you to not just read these sleeve notes but to go crimble-crumble-crazy and actually buy this record and treasure it, not only this year but for many years to come. We are very proud to have put this album together as Christmas is our favourite time of the year. We love the feeling at special Christmas gigs - the over-inflated people and prices of things and the way everyone just has to go out and drink as much as they possibly can in the name of the good old lord Jesus. We did this for you, and only for you because we really, really care and want to share the joy that only Damaged Goods Records can bring you at this special time of the year. So enjoy some great music from the likes of Will Billy Childish, Miss Holly Golightly, Helen Love, Goldblade & Poly Styrene, The Courettes and so many more and remember, this LP is not just for Christmas it’s for LIFE! Ian Damaged, National Elf

Opeth are one of the biggest acts in the Prog Metal genre with numerous top 10 albums worldwide, ”The Last Will and Testament” is their new album set for release November 22. Guest vocals by Joey Tempest (Europe), and guest flute by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull). “A restless musical journey in a way mirroring my own relationship with music as a consumer of it," narrates band leader Mikael Åkerfeldt. "I pick up something here, dismiss something there. I worship and I hate music at the same time. This ambivalence leads me down some type of creative path of my own and then, all of a sudden, a collection of songs has been written. Best case scenario, these songs are good enough to impress the band. Good enough for the ”powers that be” in terms of the industry. Good enough for ”you”?! I love this record. I have to say it (write it). Maybe I’m proud even? There are some familiar ingredients in there I suppose. Most of our music has sprung from the same source, so I guess it’s not much of a shocker if it’s going to sound like ”us”. I’m a bit in awe of what we did with ”The Last Will and Testament”. It feels like a dream. There is some ”coherence" and ” songwriting skills” I hope, but what do I know? I tend to favour the ”strange” over the ”obvious”, but I feel like I’m in the minority, and that’s fine. So…fair warning! Don’t expect an instant rush (as per usual), but if you do ”get it” (have you got it yet?) right away, that’s ok too!"

The dark lord of the dance returns to Sneaker with the 'No Favours' EP, another ominous set of non-conformist shellers rough-cut from obsidian and set in steel.

We first broadcast our love of Christoph de Babalon's distinctively destructive, hard-boiled hardcore via the Evident Ware compilation back in 2020, but a longer release has been an ambition of ours ever since. From his early years on Digital Hardcore through his prolific return in the 2010s across a broad tapestry of underground operators, de Babalon has left a fascinating trail of albums, EPs and scattershot tracks behind him that feed into the cult fervour around his music.

As this EP demonstrates in reliably gritty fashion, the magic in the German producer's music lies in his ability to take the tropes of jungle and hardcore and subvert them through signal chains which owe more to noise and industrial than dance music. The structure of his tracks is equally maverick, pushing and pulling according to its own whims rather than following the dancer-centric energetic flow of a standard club record. Somewhere in this alchemy between classic ingredients and confrontational experimentation, he evokes the original chaotic spirit of hardcore when it seemed anything was possible within the music.

'For Nothing' is the perfect example — a tunnelling odyssey of ferrous atmospheres, roundhouse drums and bass bloated into the red on a force-fed diet of saturation. 'Total Deceit' turns up the pressure on the break chopping science de Babalon is capable of, teasing gamelan flurries and elegiac swirls that hit at the emotional depth he can wrench amidst such bludgeoning material. 'Jaded Memory' funnels Mentasm bass into a strange new form amidst staggering, tightly clipped drumfunk, leaving enough space for haunting ballroom reveries stretching out across the mid-section. That leaves it to 'Dearth Mill' to mop up with gloriously creepy detuned piano notes slopping over each other in between the most ferocious blasts of drums on the whole record.

You didn't expect something straight-forward, did you?

The Hippo Sound System is a collective formed in 2018 by Bristol UK’s notorious ‘samba junglist’ DJ Hiphoppapotamus. "Origins" is their long-awaited debut album!

Touring the festival scene across the UK and Europe their explosive live performances have earned them a well trusted reputation for blowing up dancefloors, moving feet and uplifting souls! Their tracks have been featured on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 6 by Jeremiah Asiamiah, Don Letts and Craig Charles. Don Letts also included their track “Into The Jungle” on his “Best of 2020” round up. Fusing their favourite elements of world music and sound system culture, they explore new possibilities between musical cultures, fusing ancestral rhythms with modern dance music.

Percussive rhythms and heavy bass drive this vibe train as this Hippo and his percussionist/production partner, Munki, draw influence from all over, Including Afro/Latin/world music, Jazz, Hip Hop, House, Breaks, Dub, Drum and Bass & Jungle for their productions. The result? A uniquely high energy and psychedelic global bass sound – complete with the flair of live musicians and the exciting builds and drops of bass music! Passionate about collaboration with both their recordings and performances, they often call upon guest features from artists such as K.O.G, Franz Von, Simo Lagnawi (Electric Jalaba), MC Spyda, Dr Syntax and many more.

With almost no tempo untouched from 70-180BPM, they’re an extremely eclectic and versatile band that can customise sets for most stages and occasions.

Even as the obstacles to meaningful connection mount into an Everest-ian hurdle, artists nevertheless find ways to bend the technologies of our days to foster visceral human connection, rather than bereft isolation. Comprised of a West Coast bassist (Kristian Dunn of El Ten Eleven) and an Appalachia-adjacent drummer (Damon Che of Don Caballero), Yesness forges a friendship mediated through the language of collaboration, all formed through emailed song sketches and text exchanges of Van Halen demos. The odd couple of Kristian Dunn (El Ten Eleven) and Damon Che (Don Caballero) was the result of some clever musical matchmaking by Karl Hofstetter, founder and curator of Joyful Noise Recordings. Karl introduced Dunn and Che via email in April 2023 after Dunn's prolific output outgrew the resources and abilities of his instrumental duo El Ten Eleven. Less than a year later, after countless text messages and song sketches were exchanged, and one fateful meeting at a recording studio was organized, their nascent project's debut record, See You at the Solipsist Convention, was complete. "We were ships in the night of the musical variety until Karl found a way to merge our paths," Che said of his introduction to Dunn. "There are very few comparisons in the aesthetic approach to how we created the music. We worked remotely for eight months before physically meeting for the first time at the recording studio." Neck-deep in their own ambitions, Che and Dunn swapped musical ideas and quirky song titles throughout the summer, working at a breakneck pace. Star Wars references were intertwined with walloping bass lines ('If You Say So'); non-sequiturs were punctuated by Che's signature frenetic percussive jabs ('Horror Snuggle'). Scaffolded around eight-string bass, knotty percussion, and intricate syncopation, See You at the Solipsist Convention is a carnival of delights for fans of the post-everything persuasion—uncategorizable yet reverent to the altar of instrumental rock. Tearing through the record's evocative instrumentals is a delightful bolt of strangeness, felt as much as heard in the spontaneous chemistry between Che and Dunn. "Occasional Grape?" dances like a waltz played with a sledgehammer—delicate moments shattered by bursts of aggression, while still embedding a rhythmic earworm deep into your heart. 'Nice Walrus,' a string-studded panorama featuring Kishi Bashi, volleys between nervy hyperactivity and heartfelt grandeur. The album's closing track, "Non-incredible Visitor," contrasts Che's meticulous precision with Dunn's imaginative instrumentation, bonding bass and percussion like nesting dolls. Just as the track seems to settle, it drives off an uncharted auditory cliff—abruptly, without ceremony, leaving the listener grasping for meaning in the murk. Beyond all measure, Yesness stands as a testament to the powerful dividends of friendship and collaboration. We are nothing without each other – our partners, our local record store clerks, our neighbors. Music, too, thrives on our entanglements. With twelve tracks, an upcoming tour, and an unexpected friendship stemming from one email, Yesness underscores the brilliant machinery of human connection.

Not at all dangerous, but no less powerful and devoted to one another, the Coppola family have loomed large in film and the arts for decades.
The head of this particular family was not a Don lurking in the shadows, but a brilliant composer arranger and conductor: Carmine Coppola.
On the face of it, this album is a bit of a curiosity, though it was surely the first recording to bring together music from both Godfather films in this way.
Its original release coincided with a high-profile television event called The Godfather: A Novel for Television (also known as The Godfather Saga).

The extended cut necessarily featured additional music and arrangements, which were overseen by Carmine Coppola.
We can safely assume that at least some of that forms part of what is included in The Godfather Suite. For it, Coppola selected and re-arranged musical highlights from the two films,
including all of Rota’s main themes and his own source music pieces, creating what is essentially a 14-part symphonic suite.

It’s all rather beautifully executed, with great romantic flourishes, and it’s a fitting tribute to Carmine Coppola’s talent, not to mention his contribution to two legendary films.
Carmine Coppola himself passed away just months after the release of The Godfather Part III. A highlight of that final score is the ‘Love Theme’,
which was the basis of Carmine Coppola and lyricist John Bettis’s Oscar-nominated original song ‘Promise Me You’ll Remember’. The instrumental arrangement is included here in addition to the Suite.

A1 Dharma
Opening the LP in lively fashion, JLM liberally flecks a detailed composition with exquisite breaks cymbals playing a key role in the evolving patterns as the track progresses while heavy layers of synth work forms a substantial atmosphere. Musical and resonant with micro melodies and sprinkles of FX, Dharma encapsulates JLMs everimpressive attention to detail throughout its seven minutes.

A2 Artha
Where to start with Artha Setting the scene immediately with an epic synth intro that whooshes through your mind to prepare you for what is to come, its immediately obvious JLM has crafted a modern day classic here. Crisp Hot Pants breaks drop before we are treated to inspiring, continually developing and rousing melodies with a tuneful 808 bassline playfully dancing below. One to drop any chance you get Artha deserves to be heard.

B1 Moksha
Delightfully clear, characterful percussion introduces Moksha, a dancefloor friendly piece which rolls along beautifully thanks to old school breakbeats seizing the initiative while fluid keys, filtered synths and waves of serene effects punctuate the production. The
kick-light breaks will stay long in the memory as perfect for both the headphones and the discerning dance floor, just as weve come to expect from JLM.

B2 Kama
Taking you back to the early Progression Sessions era with a modern scifi twist reminiscent of your favourite space operatics, Kama will sit effortlessly alongside tracks from those days and now with its simple yet memorable core wind melody, sprawled
across energetic breakbeats and wide layers of synths & pads to a typically appropriate bassline. Another fine example of the evolving diversity in JLMs production with Spatial.

C1 Boundary
Switching things up, JLM treats us to a notably laid back vibe as Boundary is introduced by understated, filtered synth work and explorative kicks before a mellow yet chunky break pattern provides energy to the track. Detailed as ever, a myriad of effects and
samples are introduced and dance around the mix with a wistful complexity, in a track destined to be in your playlist for some time to come.

C2 Hexis
Kicking things off with a filtered DJ friendly beat intro, Hexis soon drops with constant old school jungle synth work and periodical strings alongside rasping, striking breakbeats that drive the track forward with impressive energy. The breaks reverberate in and out of the mix at intervals as JLM toys with the listener at will, creating a tonally unique and vibrant composition very much worthy of our attention.

D1 Ideal Forms
Low pass breaks echo and jostle for position with FX free counterparts early doors in the finely crafted intro to Ideal Forms, slowly developing with a triumphant assortment of keys and synths before a third layer of breaks are added which underpin a detailed, yet never busy, breakbeat landscape. Occasional breakdowns offer respite in a glistening wilderness of comforting melodies and light ambience.

D2 Physis
JLM rounds the album off very much on form with Physis a suitably climactic piece that opens with a detailed array of percussion, synths and effects before superbly programmed breaks take over the mix. An occasional, all encompassing sci fi synth rush
permeates the atmosphere to almost cinematic levels, while a melodic bassline nestles below leaving you with a track (and an album) you will not forget.

Words by Chris Hayes (Spatial / Red Mist)

A collaboration between Duncan Bellamy (Portico Quartet) and Belinda Zhawi (MA.MOYO), Jump Ship, Sit Lean, Be Still, Stand Tall is a collection of sonic-poetry that sets Zhawi’s illuminating, elliptical words in dialogue with diffuse, explorative music and sound by Bellamy. Fluctuating between expansive contemporary classical arrangements and intimate layered vocal experiments, together they render these disparate forms into something distinct, melancholic and luminous.

Belinda Zhawi is a literary & sound artist based in London & Marseille, author of Small Inheritances (ignitionpress, 2018), & experiments with sound/text performance as MA.MOYO. Her work explores African diaspora research and narratives, and how art and education can be used as intersectional tools. Her literary & sound works have been featured on various platforms including The White Review, Vogue, NTS, Boiler Room & BBC Radio. She’s held residencies with Triangle-Asterides, France; Cove Park, Scotland; Serpentine Galleries; ICA London and was a Brixton House Associate Artist 2022 - 24. Belinda’s the co-founder of literary arts platform, BORN::FREE. She is working on her first full poetry collection.

Duncan Bellamy (b. Cambridge, UK, 1986) is a multidisciplinary artist based in London. His diverse practice encompasses painting, silkscreen, photography, sound and music. His work examines the shape of time, loss and our relationship to the past and present in a period of compressed transformation. He is a founding member of Mercury Prize nominated Portico Quartet, and has contributed sound work to the artist Hannah Collins audio-visual installation I Will Make Up A Song. Bellamy is working on a debut exhibition and new music.

Released in 1974, "Lotus" by Santana is a landmark live album showcasing the band's incredible fusion of rock, jazz, and Latin music. Recorded during their Japan tour, the album features Carlos Santana's signature guitar work and the band’s dynamic improvisations. "Lotus" captures performances from Tokyo, presenting a mix of Santana's classic hits and extended jams, including tracks like "Toussaint L'Overture" and "Oye Como Va." Known for its energetic solos and vibrant rhythms, the album highlights Santana’s ability to blend diverse musical influences into a cohesive, powerful sound. The 1974 release is praised for its high-quality sound and passionate performances, solidifying Santana’s reputation as a pioneering force in rock and Latin music. For fans and collectors, "Lotus" remains a quintessential representation of Santana’s live prowess and innovative spirit. Lotus is a limited edition of 1500 copies on translucent yellow coloured vinyl.

The work of GMM carries the echo of folk wedding melodies inspired by Oskar Kolberg's collections, interpreted in modern arrangements with electrifying sound.The trio, consisting of Michał Górczyński, Michał Marecki and Patryk "TikTak" Matela, explores the roots of the Mazovian tradition, translating them into the language of contemporary music. Oskar Kolberg's descriptions and a collection of melodies specific to the Polish region of Mazovia give the GMM band a foundation for creative existence in this old world and transferring it to the modern world.The freshly recorded album opens the traditional wedding gates in an unexpected way, where folk nostalgia meets contemporary avant-garde. The contrabass clarinet weaves deep, warm sounds into the compositions, adding them mystery, while the spinet boldly carries a note of baroque sophistication, creating a pleasantly contrasting texture. The modernity of synthesizers and dynamic beatbox balancing between stillness and dense, dirty tones, gives the whole mix a modern touch.In this characteristic journey full of rhythmic complexity and harmonic discoveries, you will find depth, a cynical smile and plenty of room for your own reflections.Michał Górczyński - specializes in playing the double bass clarinet, in 2004 he graduated from the clarinet class at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Composer, soloist and chamber musician. Co-founder of Kwartludium - a band specializing in performing contemporary music. Member of the band Bastarda. Author of music for theatre performances.Michał Marecki - instrumentalist, producer, composer. Collector of electronic and electroacoustic instruments. Associated with the bands Warsaw Village Band & Bassałyki, Mamadou & Sama Yoon, T.Love, Sidney Polak, among others. He is interested in creativity in artistic processes. Master of social sciences.Patryk TikTak Matela - beatboxer and beatbox activist. For over 20 years he has been giving concerts and teaching the art of vocal percussion. He conducts workshops for preschoolers, students, young people from orphanages and community centers. Author of the first book in Poland about beatbox (Human Beatbox -Personal Instrument!), organizer of the Polish Beatbox Championships, promoter and musician in film and theater. Creator of advertising and reportage films, megafan of Lego Technic.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

High Hopes - New album from the Mole.
High Hopes is 17 songs across 40 minutes on one slice of wax that, as advertised, sounds nothing like last month’s Ep, High Dreams. Here, rather than the long form dance form, is a continuation of the beat tape pacing from the last album, a collection of moments posing as ideas posing as a narrative stuffed with oddities and surprises that reward the close listen.
What’s heard on High Hopes is the Mole’s exploration of a love letter, from one person to a family, from the northern Pacific to the southern Atlantic, from a boy to a painted bird. Vancouver Island to Manantiales. The songs range from ambient sound bath and hip hop sludge, up to micro boogie and almost House before tumbling back down and forth again. Bubbling synths, MPCs swung out, samples chopped and chewed, bass and violins from Rick and Sophie, field recordings of birds and frogs and beaches, friends and family and fiestas. Did we mention the love ?! This album has got it all! Original collages from Antonio Carrau envelope this wax: jacket, sleeve and cookie. Antonio’s work is typified by playful combinations and bold statements about living in a embrace of analog and digital health. His co lages marry the corporeal world with an updated, digitalized age of reproduction, inducing feelings of gratitude for the simple everyday scenes we sometimes lose touch with when we forget to slow down. Good living, like breathing, requires inhaling as well as exhaling.
We can’t always produce content, make art, we must also pause, and listen. And enjoy. The Mole is joined by friends and colleagues on several songs included on High Hopes. Rick May plays bass on both Que Rico and album stand out GoinF4er. Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor) plays and arranges violins on GoinF4er and Danuel Tate (Cobblestone Jazz) and Julz Chaz (Wagon Repair) both play Vibes and Emaxx throughout the album. Working with these incredible talents not only enriched this album, but fulfilled a long standing goal of the Mole’s; to work again with the musicians from whom he learned so much. People who helped inform the shape of Mole to come.
The Mole who was As High As The Sky. The Mole has been ‘recognized’ by the ‘global underground’ since his critically celebrated premiere album, As High As The Sky, but his earlier Eps (Wagon Repair, Philpot, Musique Risquee) got the attention of Top DJs, clubs, and festivals around the world first. His sound remains unique, fresh and deep: enjoying plays in a wide variety of spaces and places.
High Hopes is the Mole’s 5th solo album and his 2nd album for Circus Company (The River Widens) who have also proudly released two eps of Mole magic (Little Sunshine, High Dreams).
*Isn’t that too much time for one record? Short answer - No. Long answer - depends on the material. Due to the many quiet passages in the album, the groove spacing can be modulated and the needle can slow it’s progress towards the center/end resulting in longer sides with continued high gain and low distortion.

Robin Carolan's latest soundtrack for Robert Eggers' highly anticipated Nosferatu is a haunting, gothic-infused and meticulously crafted work that draws from a vast palette of sounds, instruments, and inspirations. Following their successful collaboration on The Northman, Carolan reunites with Eggers to bring the legendary tale of Nosferatu to life, infusing the film with a score that is as complex and nuanced as the story itself. With Daniel Pioro, one of Britain's most exciting young classical musicians, at the helm as the orchestra leader and first chair for a vast majority of the recording, the soundtrack features a vast orchestration, including 60 string players, a full choir, various horns and woodwinds, a harpist, and two percussionists. Despite the grandeur of the orchestration, one of the most challenging pieces was the music box used at the film's beginning. Carolan and Eggers struggled to perfect its sound, a process marked by their meticulous attention to detail, which Carolan describes as almost telepathic. Set in the 1800s, Nosferatu allowed Carolan to incorporate contemporary instrumentation, though he made a deliberate effort to ensure the score didn't sound overly modern. Letty Stott, who also worked on The Northman, contributed ancient horns and pipes, enhancing the soundtrack's eerie atmosphere. Additionally, percussionist Paul Clarvis custom-built a toaca-like instrument for added authenticity. Carolan's inspirations for the soundtrack were as eclectic as they were profound. He frequently drew upon the works of Bartok and Coil, while films like The Innocents, Angels and Insects, and Eyes Wide Shut provided cinematic inspiration. Additionally, he explored the more obscure side of Hammer Horror soundtracks and found a deep connection to the music of the Ukrainian film The Eve of Ivan Kupalo, which helped shape the score's otherworldly tone. Carolan intentionally moved beyond the typical horror score, focusing on capturing the tale's melancholy and tragic elements while weaving in a sense of warped romanticism. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the film but also stands on its own as a testament to Carolan's artistry and the enduring power of collaboration.

Robin Carolan's latest soundtrack for Robert Eggers' highly anticipated Nosferatu is a haunting, gothic-infused and meticulously crafted work that draws from a vast palette of sounds, instruments, and inspirations. Following their successful collaboration on The Northman, Carolan reunites with Eggers to bring the legendary tale of Nosferatu to life, infusing the film with a score that is as complex and nuanced as the story itself. With Daniel Pioro, one of Britain's most exciting young classical musicians, at the helm as the orchestra leader and first chair for a vast majority of the recording, the soundtrack features a vast orchestration, including 60 string players, a full choir, various horns and woodwinds, a harpist, and two percussionists. Despite the grandeur of the orchestration, one of the most challenging pieces was the music box used at the film's beginning. Carolan and Eggers struggled to perfect its sound, a process marked by their meticulous attention to detail, which Carolan describes as almost telepathic. Set in the 1800s, Nosferatu allowed Carolan to incorporate contemporary instrumentation, though he made a deliberate effort to ensure the score didn't sound overly modern. Letty Stott, who also worked on The Northman, contributed ancient horns and pipes, enhancing the soundtrack's eerie atmosphere. Additionally, percussionist Paul Clarvis custom-built a toaca-like instrument for added authenticity. Carolan's inspirations for the soundtrack were as eclectic as they were profound. He frequently drew upon the works of Bartok and Coil, while films like The Innocents, Angels and Insects, and Eyes Wide Shut provided cinematic inspiration. Additionally, he explored the more obscure side of Hammer Horror soundtracks and found a deep connection to the music of the Ukrainian film The Eve of Ivan Kupalo, which helped shape the score's otherworldly tone. Carolan intentionally moved beyond the typical horror score, focusing on capturing the tale's melancholy and tragic elements while weaving in a sense of warped romanticism. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the film but also stands on its own as a testament to Carolan's artistry and the enduring power of collaboration.

"Good Lovelies are proud to reissue their holiday classic EVERGREEN just in time for the upcoming holiday season. Originally released in 2019, this fifth anniversary limited edition of 500 has been pressed on beautiful peppermint green vinyl.

Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough and Susan Passmore are a trio of songwriters, multi-instrumentalists, and gorgeous harmonizers known for their nostalgic sound during the holidays that crosses between folk-roots, old-time swing, soul and bluegrass. ""Evergreen"" includes three original songs that the band have added to the Christmas canon alongside their versions of songs like ""Little Saint Nick"", ""Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"" and ""(Everybody’s Waiting For) The Man with the Bag"" to really get you in the mood for the season ahead.

The band’s annual Christmas tour hits the road again this December, bringing classic holiday songs, timeless winter selections, and original Good Lovelies material to the stage. A Good Lovelies holiday show is a guaranteed good time for the whole family.

“...while most festive albums are best experienced during the correct season, when it comes to the amazing talents of the Good Lovelies, the rule book can be tossed out.” - GREAT DARK WONDER -

“Some of the most gorgeous Christmas harmonies you’ll ever hear on an album jammed full of warmth and good cheer. Featuring a mix of fun favorites, lesser-heard gems and three truly fine originals, the trio strikes the perfect blend of smiles and sentiment...” - BOB MERSEREAU

Good Lovelies first came together in 2006 and have since recorded thirteen albums, including two Christmas collections. They have toured extensively across North America, Europe, the UK, and Australia, and have earned such accolades as a JUNO Award, a SOCAN #1 Single award, and four Canadian Folk Music Awards. Their latest album “We Will Never Be the Same” is in stores now."

There are few hidden gems that we can find on the different streaming channels, and it is precisely our job to have them for you. This Saturday we want to bring you a Chilean band that is born from transversal rock and its variants. We talk about The Cruel Visions. The Cruel Visions is the name that Pablo Giadach (founder) proposes to imagine a luminous and nostalgic interior landscape, expressed in songs of subtle composition and evocative beauty. The guitarist and musician in the bands Casino, Trancemission and The Ganjas, brings with him an album weathered by the passage of time in nightly improvisations and his recording studio, influenced mainly by the sounds of the early 80's, new wave, paisley underground, post punk and dark wave. The Cruel Visions was born from the idea of grouping together different recordings that Pablo made in parallel to his work with The Ganjas between 2015 and 2017 at different times and formats. Most of the album is a collection of demos and improvisations with a Rickenbacker 12-string guitar, an echo chamber and a drum machine, which were then worked on for almost 3 years in the free time at Estudio Lautaro, where he also performs. as an engineer and producer. His authorial present discovers the ethereal and light sounds that bands like The Cure or The Jesus and Mary Chain decanted, who left the initial rawness to give way to a more atmospheric and personal repertoire, which, although luminous, maintains traces of the darkest noise of the post-punk era. This time the path taken in other formations where Pablo provides precise sounds, completed with effects such as reverb and distortion, gives shape to a more personal list of songs that sails with the wind in its favor through foggy waters, already known to listeners of English 80's alternative music. Vocals and some arrangements were done at Woodbine St Recording by John A. Rivers, who has produced records by Love and Rockets, The Specials, Nikki Sudden, Close Lobsters and Dead Can Dance, among many others

Introduction: Janeff the Poet is a dynamic artist whose spoken word performances transcend boundaries, blending socially conscious poetry with the soulful rhythms of jazz and R&B. As an attorney and college professor hailing from Southside Chicago, and an alumnus of a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), Janeff brings a unique perspective rooted in community, intellect, and cultural heritage to his craft. Concept: "Love & Liberation," Janeff's latest EP, features six new tracks that explore themes of love, empowerment, and the pursuit of social justice. Each song is a testament to Janeff's lyrical prowess and his commitment to storytelling that challenges, inspires, and provokes thought. Artistic Vision: Janeff's spoken word pieces, set against the backdrop of jazz and R&B beats, create a captivating fusion of poetry and music. His lyrics, crafted from personal experiences and academic insights, resonate deeply with audiences, offering introspective narratives that celebrate resilience and advocate for change. Release Date: Experience "Love & Liberation" as it is set to release on Date. Prepare for a transformative musical journey that celebrates the power of words and the liberation found in self-expression. Conclusion: Janeff the Poet invites you to join him on a journey through "Love & Liberation," where every word and melody serves as a testament to the beauty of love, the quest for justice, and the enduring spirit of community. Through his artistry, Janeff continues to inspire and empower, leaving an indelible mark on the cultural landscape and hearts of listeners worldwide.

If Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira were a utopia instead of its opposite, this EP could be a possible sound track. Using the ingredients of classic house as a platform (pianos anyone?), Nick Nikolov‘s imagination as a producer for his new new NKLV project is far too vivid to stay on the beaten track.

The sound design and nerdy attention of IDM and ambient (Clusters) connects with the brazen boogie approach of the French touch, micro-sampling manifestos have to stand up to the weirder moments of signature sounds like Basement Jaxx or KiNK‘s musical side (Heartbeat). Not too far off from his peer‘s early approach, the Bulgarian‘s take is emotionally charged, play- and powerful.

For instance, Speak to Me and No More hit their respective topical nails on the head and the EPs title track Inbetween is sultry serotonin soul. If you are looking for plain and pure euphoria in between all the hardships, happiness is just around the bend.

Multi-talented artist Poppy Ajudha will be announcing her sophomore album, titled ‘Poppy’, which will be released 22nd November 2024. This follows Poppy’s triumphant return to releasing music this year with the release of 'My Future', following a two year hiatus. ‘Poppy’ was created alongside Mike Malchicoff (Kanye West/King Princess) with contributions from the likes of producers Maestro (Rihanna), Fred Ball (Alicia Keys/Raye/Mariah Carey), Grades, (Kali Uchis, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), and Travis Sayles (Ariana Grande).

Poppy says: “I can’t believe I’m writing this, but my sophomore album is finally coming out! After numerous trips back and forth from London to LA, millions of revisions to perfect each song and a lot of moving the track listing around, I’ve made an album I’m so in love with, with people who I felt truly seen by, who I respected and found a natural synergy with. I really put everything into this album, it is a reflection of my growth over the last 2 years, an outward pouring of my raw vulnerability, the inner workings of my chaotic brain and the deep desire I have to challenge myself with everything I do. I’m really proud of what we made, and I hope that when you hear it, it means something to you too.
Thank so much to all the special people who contributed to the making of this project, the producers, engineers, musicians, visual creatives, the friends who listened to me while I processed my life in order to write it down, I wouldn’t have been able to manifest this dream without you.”

Alongside the announcement of her upcoming album, Poppy has also released new single ‘Lean On Me’, a bold pop banger about the importance of community and showing support for each other even during challenging moments. ‘Lean On Me’ was written by Poppy with production from Wesley Singerman (Kendrick Lamar/Anderson Paak).

On ‘Lean On Me’, Poppy says: “We realise true friendship in the moments we are most vulnerable with each other. When I wrote ‘Lean On Me’ I was going through a breakup and struggling to make sense of my world. My friend who was experiencing their own kind of grieving found the time to give me the advice I needed, and the next day I wrote this song about the power of friendship, community, unconditional love and showing up for each other through our hardest times.”

"Between Two Fires is an album by English singer Paul Young. It was originally released in 1986 and peaked at #4 on the UK Albums Chart. The album, featuring a combination of cover versions with original songs written by Young and Ian Kewley, went on to achieve Platinum certification. It features the singles ""Wonderland"", ""Why Does A Man Have To Be Strong"", and ""Some People"" amongst others. In 2007, an expanded edition of the album was released on CD. This vinyl release of Between Two Fires presents this expanded edition for the very first time available on vinyl, including 7 bonus tracks containing 12"" mixes and B-sides. Between Two Fires (Expanded Edition) is available on vinyl for the first time as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on flaming coloured vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics. "

Deluxe Edition = "Queen's Tassel Pink" Vinyl + bonus 7". Video Age make breezy and timeless songs that are so ineable, they can only be the result of a decades-long friendship and songwriting partnership. Across four albums, Ross Farbe and Ray Micarelli have gleefully worn their influences on their sleeve, writing inviting tunes that reference sounds ranging from disco to pop and indie rock. On their latest LP, Away From The Castle, the New Orleans duo have strayed from nostalgia and instead have honed their own unique musicality, making songs that sound like themselves with a taste of inspiration from classic singer-songwriters of the 60s and 70s. The album is a testament to the possibilities that come from getting out of your comfort zone, the freedom of writing vulnerably and unselfconsciously, and the joys of getting to work with your closest companions. After releasing and eventually touring their critically-acclaimed third album Pleasure Line in 2020, Farbe and Micarelli sought inspiration for their next project through collaboration. They worked with Drugdealer on his album Hiding In Plain Sight, Micarelli gigged throughout New Orleans' jazz and blues scenes, and Farbe recorded local artists at his home studio, most recently producing Esther Rose's new album Safe to Run. Feeling refreshed, they rented a cabin in Eunice, Louisiana with touring members Nick Corson and Duncan Troast, where they spent eight days in August 2022 jamming, cooking and writing together. Through this process, Video Age have made their best collection of tracks to date by perfectly alchemizing their influences and experiences into a record still tinged with nostalgia, but moving towards a more succinct and authentic voice. Away From The Castle is a document of a band having fun and rediscovering their love for making music together, but it's also their most honest and personal work yet-Video Age distilled to its purest form.

Two Lights is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Five for Fighting. The album is released in 2006 and includes the singles "Two Lights" and "The Riddle". The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart, making it Five for Fighting's highest-charting album to date. It has sold over 287,000 copies in the United States as of November 2009. Two Lights is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl and includes a renewed insert with lyrics.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is available as a limited edition of 2500 copies on “Muncher” coloured vinyl (crystal clear & transparent green). The heavyweight gatefold sleeve has a special UV Spot varnish + embossing finish. The package contains a printed innersleeve and 4-page booklet (featuring several of your favorite mini-pufts!) and a special litho of the gatefold artwork.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is co-written and directed by Jason Reitman and stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhar, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts, and Paul Rudd. The film follows a single mom and her two kids who arrive in a small town, where they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

Rob Simonsen rejoins director Jason Reitman with his score for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, having scored The Front Runner & Tully for the director. Other recent film scores include The Friend, The Way Back, and Love, Simon. Based in Los Angeles and ever with his finger on the pulse of contemporary music, he co-founded the influential collective The Echo Society with the mission ‘to inspire, challenge, enrich and connect the community through the creation and performance of new sonic and visual art’. Simonsen’s debut artist album Rêveries was released in 2019 on Sony Masterworks.

Wicked: The Soundtrack features performances by the stars of Universal Pictures’ new cinematic event, Wicked, with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar® winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The soundtrack includes songs performed by Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winning powerhouse and Oscar® nominee Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Elphaba and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda. In addition, the soundtrack features the musical talents of Oscar® winner Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University’s regal headmistress Madame Morrible; Olivier Award winner and Emmy nominee Jonathan Bailey (Bridgerton, Fellow Travelers) as Fiyero, a roguish and carefree prince; and pop culture icon Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz. Based on one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on stage for the past two decades, the spectacular, generation-defining film adaptation of Wicked is destined to be the most talked-about film of the holiday season. The official soundtrack track list includes iconic Wicked songs “Defying Gravity,” “Popular,” “Dancing Through Life” and more, performed as you’ve never heard them before! Wicked, in theaters November 22, 2024, is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in theaters next year, on November 21, 2025.

"Entitled Silêncio, the new album is due in September and will arrive as a natural continuation of the first, featuring songs that had been left out as well as those that were part of Nigro's shows with the band. ""The songs have come to life. Today I feel more confident about doing my own thing, more assured. I want to propose this listening to silence, to the hidden subtleties that are revealed in existence"", he concludes.

Recording the first album was a personal adventure with an uncertain destination. Apocalip Se embodies this feeling of conducting an internal investigation, a rediscovery from the inside out. On the new album, the image on the cover is about being open, with your hands absorbing the outside, feeling the power of nature reflected in its greatness,"" Nigro reflects.

""I always woke up at 4 a.m. to the sound of a variety of birdsongs, and I kept thinking 'what are these birds saying? Do they even think about us?'"". The artist then composed the instrumental part with his guitar and sent it to the poet Eveline Sin suggesting this theme, and she responded years later, at the time of the recording of Apocalip Se. The song was formed in several movements, also bringing together pianist and partner Dustan Gallas, with a new arrangement featuring more than 20 musicians, taking the new version to another level of interpretation. As for the construction of the melodies, Nigro reflects: ""I think the voice is an instrument, a fascinating harmonic instrument"". In addition to producing for numerous well-known artists, such as Russo Passapusso, Francisco el Hombre, Curumin, and Anelis Assumpção, onalbums that have marked the history of independent Brazilian music, Zé Nigro has used his role as a singer as a long experiment in self-knowledge."

Gwen Stefanis Debütalbum Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
Das Album ist auf 45 RPM 2LP neonpinkem Vinyl gepresst. Mit enthalten ist die #1 Single “Hollaback
Girl”, sowie “Rich Girl”, “Cool” und “What You Waiting For?”
Anlässlich des 20-Jährigen Jubiläums des 5x Platin Albums wird diese Neuauflage am 22.11.2024 veröffentlicht.

On November 8th, 2Tone Records/Chrysalis Catalogue will release a 40th Anniversary Half-Speed Mastered Edition of The Special AKA 'In The Studio' album. This release has been liaised and approved by the band's founder and main songwriter Jerry Dammers. Formed in Coventry in the mid-1970s, The Specialswas the idea of musician Jerry Dammers, who brought together an eclectic array of individuals to fulfill his vision of a multi-racial band, fusing the energy of punk with the legendary but, at the time, often overlooked, sound of Jamaican ska. The band rose to prominence along with the 2Tone movement, which included two No. 1 singles, Too Much too Young and 1981's Ghost Town, which theme still resonates today before Terry Hall, Lynval Golding and Neville Staple left to form the Fun Boy Three and Roddy Byers left to tour with his band the Tearjerkers. The remaining members, Dammers, Bradbury and Panter, recruited guitarist John Shipley from The Swinging Cats, ex-Bodysnatcher Rhoda Dakar and lead vocalist Stan Campbell,reverting the original band name of The Special AKA and set to work on a new album. Released in 1984, 'In the Studio' was a brave mix of bold and challenging music, with a strong political, social and moral conscience. The album made it into the Top 40, and while it might not have been a huge commercial success, it was, and still is, an astonishingly unique work: a haunting, claustrophobic mix of lounge, soul, reggae, jazz and Arabic rhythms, with uncompromising subject matter. It featured two classic singles: the joyous, yet serious rallying anthem for the then imprisoned South African ANC leader, 'Free Nelson Mandela', and 'What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend'. As time has gone by, the status of 'In The Studio'has grown, and today it is rightly viewed as a genuine lost classic. Like the previous two Specials 40th Anniversary vinyl editions, this has been newly remastered and cut at half-speed by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, London. Format: Wide spine sleeve, 2LP 180gm Black Vinyl cut at 45rpm with insert inside and OBI.