Search:music machine

The endlessly prolific and unpredictable Richard Youngs returns to Black Truffle with Modern Sorrow. As any Youngs fan knows, one of the great pleasures of following his career comes from not being able to predict what the next entry in his inexhaustible string of releases will bring: Unaccompanied voice? Country songs? Shakuhachi? Guitar pieces played with his feet? Shredding fuzz bass over the top of hyper-speed distorted drum machine beats? Continuing in the grand Youngs tradition of exploring new techniques, instrumentation and approaches while bringing to all of them his idiosyncratic touch, Modern Sorrow serves up two sides of twistedly elegiac, radically stark takes on contemporary pop production. The side-long title track is built from a piano sample, synthetic bass notes and organ swells, and an iterative blurt that seems to have wandered out of a 90s jungle track. Eventually joined by a shuffling drum machine, the track moves very slowly through a series of chords, each delayed long enough that its arrival comes as a major event. Over the top, Youngs’ heavily pitch-corrected voice is heard. The processing paints his signature wandering melodic improvisations with shades of contemporary R&B; at the same time, it cuts the natural swoops and glides of Youngs’ melodies into rapid microtonal trills, giving his voice a quavering, middle eastern feel. Unfolding languorously over more than 17 minutes, the piece’s final minutes make room for an extended drumless coda, returning to the stark palette of its opening moments. On the second side, the two parts of ‘Benevolence’ push this minimalism ever further, its first half consisting of nothing more than a remarkably slow drum machine hit, bass-heavy chords and pitch-corrected voice, here so heavily processed that it starts to resemble a shawn solo. In its second part, the harmonic foundation drops out from under the piece while two more voices join; at some moments the voices pause, leaving nothing more than isolated, metronomic drum hits. Though Youngs has explored the sound worlds associated with dance music and contemporary pop in previous work, here these elements are radically reduced, foregrounding a meditative bed of silence with a boldness equal to any more academically inclined contemporary composer. Embracing the accessible digital tools of contemporary music production just as at another moment he would pick up a kazoo, like much of Youngs’ work Modern Sorrow uses simple DIY tools to generous ends, producing formally radical music that remains both free from pretension and deeply moving.

Circassian-Turkish Producer Sine Buyuka debuts new solo project Sinemis with lush, graceful album ‘Dua’, gently combining the ancestral Sufi music of her homeland with sophisticated techno-inflected ambient. Dua’s life began with a life-threatening illness. “I started feeling unwell last year and no one could figure out the reason,” Sine writes. “It was a scary time, not knowing and trying to manage symptoms while they slowly worsened. In late 2021, while I was visiting my family in Turkey during the Christmas break, I was taken into A&E. After more tests, I had a diagnosis and had surgery in January.” Following this, within the healing process - highly emotional as well as physical - Sine was drawn to the traditional Sufi music of Turkey and the Middle East. Ritualistic music to accompany ancient sema ceremonies, in which whirling dervishes enter a transcendental consciousness through ecstatic movement and repetition. With this influence at heart, Sine began work on ‘Dua’, with a newly-formed artist name to signify new, unfamiliar music from a celebrated electronic producer. For her, the album marks a significant step in her recovery. But it is also a potent marriage of contemporary and ancestral trancestates, interweaving sci-fi synthesis and floor shaking bass tones with mystic imagery, textures and timbres. A meditative, spiritual balm that melds field recordings, found sounds, ambient soundscapes, electronics and acoustic instrumentation to celebrate life and survival in challenging circumstances. The breathy, cinematic tones of album opener ‘Dua’ hover and shiver in preparatory stasis as broken-machine punctuation begins to dot rhythmically through the space. A yearning, repeated vocal sample - a living, beating heart inside the machine - characterises a crucial theme for the album: the marriage of digital instrumentation with the analogue, the human and the organic. Later, ‘Elegy’ reflects its title with heartbreaking chordal shifts and glitching birdsong, conjuring a sound world somewhere between KMRU and Max Richter. Key track ‘Gazel’ moves in glacial slo-mo, like whirling dervishes frozen in time at the peak of their trance. Euphoric ceremony made haunting and poignant without losing a mote of power…Across the album, the timbres of Sufi ritual are often captured by the otherworldly presence of the historic ney flute, said to be as old as the Holy Books. “Sufi music can be created using several different instruments but the ney flute is at the heart of it. The sounds emanating from this fascinating instrument kept capturing my imagination,” Sine tells us. Working both with samples and with Turkish musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Sine achieves a rare balance of reverence and recontextualisation for such a time-honoured instrument, here performed by a lifelong student of its intricacies and mysteries. In Sinemis’ hands, the processing and sonic treatment of the ney even sometimes renders it indistinguishable from Dua’s synthesis and sound-design

Red Vinyl

ASSASSINS did what many bands do: they grabbed a moment out of the air and slammed it onto tape machines and hard drives with relentlessness, cunning, and an attitude.
It was in Chicago, mid 2000’s, and though there was energy in the music scene, it wasn’t coalescing into anything you could use as a heading in the musical encyclopedia. Drag City, Thrill Jockey, Bloodshot, Tortoise, Andrew Bird, 90 Day Men – amazing labels and bands, but discrete and siloed and separated by boundaries that weren’t very real.
In the midst of that complicated morass, ASSASSINS generated a collection of songs that became the album YOU WILL CHANGED US. And it did.
There was confidence built into the fabric of the project: 5 members, 2 singers, massive synced video walls and samples streaming from laptops swirling in three dimensions around the stage. They could go from subtle atmospheric moments to a gargantuan wall of sound instantly. It was hard to do- months in cold practice rooms troubleshooting sections of songs or reworking synthesizer patches put the band through a self-imposed boot camp. And it brought them together as a sort of hive-mind focused on one thing: that these songs could connect. They could cut through the noise and share a state of mind with other human beings.
And it worked. Those early shows were mind bending. It was fun, loud, drunken, and rewarding- that time together, before the record deal, before the tragic let down of being traded and gobbled up by the major label system. The years after that got more difficult, more complicated, more human.
Leading us here: the musical journey of the Assassins has ended. With the up-coming release of their second and final album THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, we finally get to hear, and feel, the final statements of their inspiring chemistry.
In July of 2021, founding member, songwriter and singer Joe Cassidy unexpectedly passed away. THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME is the culmination and end point of a collaboration that started in the early 2000’s with a chance meeting and excited conversation with Aaron Miller at a gig in Chicago. Quickly joined by David Golitko on keyboards, Merritt Lear on vocals and guitar, and Alex Kemp on bass.
It was Miller who saw Joe Cassidy’s song writing in a new context. Cassidy had been known for his beautiful, post- pop inflected BUTTERFLY CHILD, a thoughtful, regal project where Joe’s emotions could soar. Miller saw a different context for that voice- not dreamy, but immediate, not just hopeful, but demanding. He took Joe’s open hand and suggested that it could be a fist, raised in the air, with a crowd of other people doing the same.
At the time of his death legendary composer and songwriter Jimmy Webb (who wrote such hits as ‘Wichita Lineman and MacArthur Park) said Joe ‘was a creative and generous producer but, more importantly, he was a creative and generous friend.’
With the release of THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, this band, this relentless creative force, has to finally relent. No one in the band could see a future ASSASSINS that doesn’t include Cassidy. So in one last act of will, for the love of their friend, they did the rigorous work of finishing the songs that they had started together for the second album.
Assassin’s obsession with the notion of time, from YOU WILL CHANGED US to THE YEAR THAT NEVER CAME, flows from the most natural question we all have to ask ourselves: what do I do now? Because: how we react today to life’s unpredictability - that is the tomorrow we build for ourselves.

After two decades of releasing music on 12" vinyl under multiple pseudonyms the duo from Even Drones have completed their first LP.
The 20 track double vinyl carries the classic "album era" approach of the 60s and 70s into a modern contemporary work.

Each of the 4 sides of "Ethics" feels like the chapter of a story balanced into a synthesis of counterpoints from piece to piece. Twisted arrangements are stringed together with dance-able tracks and are woven into finespun transmutations of sounds. Sometimes peaceful and regulated, sometimes abstract and complemented with tamed feedback, noises, crackling and delightful patterns.

Like a continuous thread through all titles of the album, the multi instrumentalists somehow managed to harmonize a twisted array of methods and structures into a coherent listening experience.
This full feature-length metamorphosis with no boundaries of styles or genres is released just in time for the 10th anniversary of the band on Freund der Familie.

All of us carry a piece of where we’re from with us, but these parcels of fallow land often in a uniquely mysterious way become the prey that nourishes our aspirations. Agnès Gayraud a refined thinker by day that transforms into la Féline at night left Tarbes many years ago in search of greener pastures. After making a name for herself with Adieu l’Enfance (2014), Triomphe (2017), and Vie Future (2019), the author and musician has evolved once again. Her latest release Tarbes reinvents the circle of life and challenges our preconceived notions. She welcomes us to her hometown with sweet and clear melodies over the backdrop of an electronic hum, reminiscent of Mark Twain classic Tom Sawyer. Tarbes is no more than a listen away. Physically prevented from returning to her hometown by the viral threat we all know all too well, Agnès found her way back with a small Electone home organ. The constraints of off-peak hours that called for some DIY savvy, slowly but surely, roused her spirit. With a drum machine, a bass and a guitar, she succeeded in making the young girl inside her smile again. With 13 songs and just as many adventures Tarbes is a concept album that tells the story of a young woman’s formative years, as spent in her hometown. The returning hymn doesn’t only imprint nostalgia, it paints the full emotional portrait of a town. Because for Agnès, Tarbes is not just her theater, but her whole world, showing how fiercely protective she is of her hometown in the song Solazur. Under a magnifying glass of emotion, and with the sentimental testimony that is La Panthère des Pyrénées, the artiste shows us the skeletons in our own closets. Tarbes, more than a brief stopover in a rail journey to the coast, broaches issues that touch on abandonment, desertification, aging and redevelopment that many French towns and cities face today. Alexandre Guirkinger’s photographs serve as album art that illustrates this strangely unique singularity. While fine-tuning this collection of stories, in an oh-so-intimate album where solitude rips away the mask of confidence, Agnès found solace in uniting with other spirits. For 3 songs Tarbes, Jeanne d’Albret and Fum, inspired by an Occitan poem of Louisa Paulin (1888-1944), she invited the young voices of Conservatoire Henri Duparc a building she knows intimately, despite never feeling allowed to enter as a child to breathe the energy of their adolescence into this record. She also collaborated with Lyon’s own François Virot to imbue his delicate rhythms into her work, as well as Belgian guitarist Mocke Depret. Lastly, La Féline entrusted the last production stages to her eternal partner in music, Xavier Thiry, with Stéphane “Alf” Briat on the mixing board. The final piece has a complex tranquility, surrounded by non-verbality, with Jeanne d’Albret, Louisa Paulin and the Pyrénées safeguarding Agnes’ secrets. With the calm reassurance of her metamorphoses, La Féline delivers a slice of silence to her town, serving as both her cradle and theater. Tarbes’ Théâtre des Nouveautés is where Agnès Gayraud, La Féline, has decided to present Tarbes to its residents on October 14, 2022. While “nouveautés” evokes newness, this theater is reminiscent of a future which is already outdated, where modernity is only vague and fictional, carrying reminders of French haute-kitsch accordionist Yvette Horner, whose parents were the caretakers of what was then called the Cani Eldorado a bastion of virtue through the 30s, with its lineup of Catholic films. However, by the 60s, it would have become a temple of pornographic cinema. Tarbes, “Les Nouveautés”, end card. In the mid 90s, then 16 years old, Agnès discovered the volatile dust and the ghosts of the past that were hidden in this apostate theater. This phantom bequeathed song the teenager with the gift of her undeniable talent at her first appearance on stage a high school performance of a guitar-laden ballad sung in Spanish, a language her Andalusian mother has infused her with. On October 14, 2022, Agnès returns to the stage, bass in hand and joined by François Virot (drums), Mocke Depret (guitar), Léa Moreau (keyboard) and the Conservatoire de Tarbes singers to perform the album in its entirety

The incongruous, yet glorious, creative partnership between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood was well underway when the two singular artists reunited to record 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again, a follow-up to their bestselling duet debut, Nancy & Lee. Nancy, the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, had been working with the Oklahoma-born songwriter since 1965, when she topped the pop charts with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Over the next five years, the two artists forged a prolific relationship in the studio, with Hazlewood writing and producing many of Nancy’s solo hits. Soon, the duo found success with a series of duets, including “Sand,” “Summer Wine,” and “Some Velvet Morning” – all of which appeared on their highly-influential 1968 debut.

Not long after the critical acclaim and chart success of Nancy & Lee died down, however, Hazlewood unexpectedly relocated to Sweden, leaving his musical partner in the proverbial dust. America, meanwhile, was in the midst of a cultural shift, as the Vietnam War waged on. By the turn of the decade, the musical landscape had changed significantly. “Trivial music and not profound music became unimportant,” recalls Nancy, speaking to Hunter Lea. “It was a tough time.” And yet, despite the circumstances, the stars somehow aligned for the duo to record some of their most magnificent music together.

Returning to Los Angeles for the project, Hazlewood – who reprised his role as producer – chose to take a new direction with the duo’s sophomore album. Nancy recalls, “It was more dramatic; it was more fun to do, more challenging to do…. It was more grandiose.” For the lush, orchestral arrangements, they collaborated with Larry Muhoberac (an original member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band, whose early ‘70s credits also included Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Lalo Schifrin) and Clark Gassman, who had worked on Hazlewood’s 1970 LP, Cowboy in Sweden. Backing vocals from brothers John and Tom Bahler, who remain two of the most recorded singers in history, added additional texture to several songs.

The big sound that Nancy describes above is exemplified in the album’s cinematic opener, “Arkansas Coal (Suite).” Clocking in at nearly six minutes long, the dynamic overture tells the tale of an ill-fated coal miner (sung by Hazlewood), while Nancy adjusts her vocals to sing as both the miner’s daughter and his wife. Hazlewood’s knack for vivid, nuanced storytelling shines throughout Nancy & Lee Again, particularly in “Paris Summer,” which details the conflict that a married woman faces, as she engages in a passionate affair. Another highlight is the country-inspired hit, “Did You Ever,” which was released as the album’s lead single. After it landed at No.2 on the U.K. pop charts, the song served as an alternate title track in several countries, including LP pressings in the U.K., Germany, and Canada.

One of the most emotionally-charged moments on Nancy & Lee Again is a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Down From Dover.” The heartbreaking tune tells the tale of a pregnant teenager, who has been abandoned by her lover and her family and ultimately gives birth to a stillborn baby. While Parton’s 1970 version was sung from the teenager’s point of view, Hazlewood and Sinatra transformed the country song into a duet. Hazlewood, who offers the man’s side of the story, sings in a notably deeper octave than his signature baritone.

Another poignant selection is “Congratulations,” which describes a soldier coming home from Vietnam. “His face has grown old and his eyes have grown cold/And they tell you of where he has been/Congratulations, you sure made a man out of him,” Hazlewood sings, pointedly. Nancy, who performs as the vet’s wife, argues that the song had a deeper meaning for her duet partner. “Lee started out a hawk, he was an army guy, so he was all for the war in the beginning. We didn’t talk about it, but at some point, he changed radically. ‘Congratulations’ was almost like an apology from him. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but it was as though he was saying ‘I’m really sorry.’”

The song “Friendship Train” could also be interpreted as an apology of sorts – this time to Nancy. “You’ve been hurt and I’ve been hurt/Now we’re living pain,” the tune opens. When Hazlewood moved to Sweden without telling his longtime musical partner, Sinatra was understandably upset. “I felt pretty betrayed. I mean, who does that? Who just up and disappears like that? I’ll never understand it,” she reveals. But the uplifting duet – a slice of ‘70s pop perfection – offers reaffirming words of love between friends. “Lee felt things very deeply and tended to express his feelings in song instead of in real life,” explains Nancy.

The 10-track album closes with the stripped-down “Got It Together.” Backed by an acoustic guitar, the song is equal parts playful and candid, as the duo has an impromptu, spoken-word conversation about their lives. “I wish that we’d quit getting so old,” laments Nancy, who later shares her wish to have children (she would do so in the next few years). Hazlewood, meanwhile, attempts to remedy his past wrongdoings – this time asking his partner, “Can I go back to Sweden?” With that, Nancy gives her blessing.

This definitive reissue of Nancy & Lee Again also includes two bonus tracks. Both are stylistic departures for the duo – but fit right in with the psychedelic pop of the era. The first one, “Think I’m Coming Down,” is a harmony-filled reflection on a toxic relationship. “I think that was one of [Lee’s] drug things. I don’t mean that he used drugs; I mean that he was trying to be part of that culture. Trying to be hip,” explains Nancy, who delivers an emotive vocal performance on the solo track. Also included is “Machine Gun Kelly,” penned by a staple of the 70s singer-songwriter movement, Danny Kortchmar (James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt). Recorded several months after the release of the album, the song found Nancy reuniting with Billy Strange, who arranged many of her solo albums, as well as Nancy & Lee. Sinatra and Hazlewood first performed “Machine Gun Kelly” during their residency at Las Vegas’ Riviera Hotel in February 1972 (later released as a concert documentary on Swedish television). While the recording has long remained a career favorite of Nancy’s, it would be decades before it was officially released.

Nancy & Lee Again remains a creative high point in the careers of Sinatra and Hazlewood and, upon its release, garnered rave reviews from Billboard, Record World, and Cash Box, among others. Yet, Nancy & Lee Again never received the spotlight it so utterly deserved. “We didn’t have label support at all in those days,” recalls Nancy. “Without the strength of a label, records die. We were old. We were old-fashioned. We were just not what was happening. It’s a very ageist kind of business.” Nevertheless, she adds, “I think it’s a very good album. I think it’s timeless.” Now, after years of being a sought-after rarity, this gem in the Sinatra-Hazlewood canon can finally get its due.

Five decades later, Nancy’s legacy only continues to grow, as new generations discover her impressive catalog (which boasts nearly 20 studio albums – her duets with Hazlewood among them – and dozens of charting singles, including the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice). In 2020, Sinatra was recognized by her peers when “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. That same year, Sinatra partnered with Light in the Attic for Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin’ 1965-1976, a definitive survey of her most prolific period. LITA has also reissued Sinatra’s classic debut, Boots, and her iconic, 1968 album with Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee. The label looks forward to celebrating Nancy over the coming years with a variety of special releases, exclusive merchandise, and more.

The incongruous, yet glorious, creative partnership between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood was well underway when the two singular artists reunited to record 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again, a follow-up to their bestselling duet debut, Nancy & Lee. Nancy, the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, had been working with the Oklahoma-born songwriter since 1965, when she topped the pop charts with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Over the next five years, the two artists forged a prolific relationship in the studio, with Hazlewood writing and producing many of Nancy’s solo hits. Soon, the duo found success with a series of duets, including “Sand,” “Summer Wine,” and “Some Velvet Morning” – all of which appeared on their highly-influential 1968 debut.

Not long after the critical acclaim and chart success of Nancy & Lee died down, however, Hazlewood unexpectedly relocated to Sweden, leaving his musical partner in the proverbial dust. America, meanwhile, was in the midst of a cultural shift, as the Vietnam War waged on. By the turn of the decade, the musical landscape had changed significantly. “Trivial music and not profound music became unimportant,” recalls Nancy, speaking to Hunter Lea. “It was a tough time.” And yet, despite the circumstances, the stars somehow aligned for the duo to record some of their most magnificent music together.

Returning to Los Angeles for the project, Hazlewood – who reprised his role as producer – chose to take a new direction with the duo’s sophomore album. Nancy recalls, “It was more dramatic; it was more fun to do, more challenging to do…. It was more grandiose.” For the lush, orchestral arrangements, they collaborated with Larry Muhoberac (an original member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band, whose early ‘70s credits also included Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Lalo Schifrin) and Clark Gassman, who had worked on Hazlewood’s 1970 LP, Cowboy in Sweden. Backing vocals from brothers John and Tom Bahler, who remain two of the most recorded singers in history, added additional texture to several songs.

The big sound that Nancy describes above is exemplified in the album’s cinematic opener, “Arkansas Coal (Suite).” Clocking in at nearly six minutes long, the dynamic overture tells the tale of an ill-fated coal miner (sung by Hazlewood), while Nancy adjusts her vocals to sing as both the miner’s daughter and his wife. Hazlewood’s knack for vivid, nuanced storytelling shines throughout Nancy & Lee Again, particularly in “Paris Summer,” which details the conflict that a married woman faces, as she engages in a passionate affair. Another highlight is the country-inspired hit, “Did You Ever,” which was released as the album’s lead single. After it landed at No.2 on the U.K. pop charts, the song served as an alternate title track in several countries, including LP pressings in the U.K., Germany, and Canada.

One of the most emotionally-charged moments on Nancy & Lee Again is a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Down From Dover.” The heartbreaking tune tells the tale of a pregnant teenager, who has been abandoned by her lover and her family and ultimately gives birth to a stillborn baby. While Parton’s 1970 version was sung from the teenager’s point of view, Hazlewood and Sinatra transformed the country song into a duet. Hazlewood, who offers the man’s side of the story, sings in a notably deeper octave than his signature baritone.

Another poignant selection is “Congratulations,” which describes a soldier coming home from Vietnam. “His face has grown old and his eyes have grown cold/And they tell you of where he has been/Congratulations, you sure made a man out of him,” Hazlewood sings, pointedly. Nancy, who performs as the vet’s wife, argues that the song had a deeper meaning for her duet partner. “Lee started out a hawk, he was an army guy, so he was all for the war in the beginning. We didn’t talk about it, but at some point, he changed radically. ‘Congratulations’ was almost like an apology from him. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but it was as though he was saying ‘I’m really sorry.’”

The song “Friendship Train” could also be interpreted as an apology of sorts – this time to Nancy. “You’ve been hurt and I’ve been hurt/Now we’re living pain,” the tune opens. When Hazlewood moved to Sweden without telling his longtime musical partner, Sinatra was understandably upset. “I felt pretty betrayed. I mean, who does that? Who just up and disappears like that? I’ll never understand it,” she reveals. But the uplifting duet – a slice of ‘70s pop perfection – offers reaffirming words of love between friends. “Lee felt things very deeply and tended to express his feelings in song instead of in real life,” explains Nancy.

The 10-track album closes with the stripped-down “Got It Together.” Backed by an acoustic guitar, the song is equal parts playful and candid, as the duo has an impromptu, spoken-word conversation about their lives. “I wish that we’d quit getting so old,” laments Nancy, who later shares her wish to have children (she would do so in the next few years). Hazlewood, meanwhile, attempts to remedy his past wrongdoings – this time asking his partner, “Can I go back to Sweden?” With that, Nancy gives her blessing.

This definitive reissue of Nancy & Lee Again also includes two bonus tracks. Both are stylistic departures for the duo – but fit right in with the psychedelic pop of the era. The first one, “Think I’m Coming Down,” is a harmony-filled reflection on a toxic relationship. “I think that was one of Lee’s drug things. I don’t mean that he used drugs; I mean that he was trying to be part of that culture. Trying to be hip,” explains Nancy, who delivers an emotive vocal performance on the solo track. Also included is “Machine Gun Kelly,” penned by a staple of the 70s singer-songwriter movement, Danny Kortchmar (James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt). Recorded several months after the release of the album, the song found Nancy reuniting with Billy Strange, who arranged many of her solo albums, as well as Nancy & Lee. Sinatra and Hazlewood first performed “Machine Gun Kelly” during their residency at Las Vegas’ Riviera Hotel in February 1972 (later released as a concert documentary on Swedish television). While the recording has long remained a career favorite of Nancy’s, it would be decades before it was officially released.

Nancy & Lee Again remains a creative high point in the careers of Sinatra and Hazlewood and, upon its release, garnered rave reviews from Billboard, Record World, and Cash Box, among others. Yet, Nancy & Lee Again never received the spotlight it so utterly deserved. “We didn’t have label support at all in those days,” recalls Nancy. “Without the strength of a label, records die. We were old. We were old-fashioned. We were just not what was happening. It’s a very ageist kind of business.” Nevertheless, she adds, “I think it’s a very good album. I think it’s timeless.” Now, after years of being a sought-after rarity, this gem in the Sinatra-Hazlewood canon can finally get its due.

Five decades later, Nancy’s legacy only continues to grow, as new generations discover her impressive catalog (which boasts nearly 20 studio albums – her duets with Hazlewood among them – and dozens of charting singles, including the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice). In 2020, Sinatra was recognized by her peers when “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. That same year, Sinatra partnered with Light in the Attic for Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin’ 1965-1976, a definitive survey of her most prolific period. LITA has also reissued Sinatra’s classic debut, Boots, and her iconic, 1968 album with Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee. The label looks forward to celebrating Nancy over the coming years with a variety of special releases, exclusive merchandise, and more.

Hot on the heels of their sophomore release with DJ Rocca, Cyphon Recordings welcome Tijuana’s Cyborg Nerve to the family for the third installment in their busy label schedule.

A new project helmed by the Cedillo brothers - also known for their work under the monikers Soul of Hex and Mano De Fuego - Cyborg Nerve’s sound tips the hat to the roots of Detroit electro and techno.

The Vicario Musique Recordings bosses have already made a mark under their Soul of Hex alias, pushing their cosmic, vibrant take on deep house. It’s caught the ear of labels and artists across the world; the likes of Delusions of Grandeur, Freerange Records and Quintessentials have shared their music and they’ve even earned the Larry Heard seal of approval, with the legendary Chicago producer stepping up to remix their 2014 track ‘Lip Reading’. As Mano De Fuego they’re also getting their music into the hands of pioneering figures in the American dance music scene - summer of this year saw them release a shamanistic debut via the inimitable Underground Resistance.

For their debut outing as Cyborg Nerve, the pair deliver four tracks of old school electro grooves. Title track ‘Cristalizacion’ kicks things off. A slice of intergalactic electro; celestial pads soar above warm bass and staccato drum rhythms. Their eponymous track follows and takes the energy levels up a notch: a warbling bass line drives the track forward, whirring and revving while crisp hats fizz overhead.

‘Tijuana 3000’ is another cut that's custom-made for the dance floor. As with the title track, the duo call to mind the interstellar jazz-tinged electronics of Detroit outfit Galaxy 2 Galaxy, as they pair cosmic twinkling melodies with a hypnotic acid line that takes centre stage. ‘Machine Effect’ brings the EP to a close. Like its name suggests the track is powered by a raw, machine funk groove and precise drum programming - no bells and whistles, just pure cosmic vibrations to move your body.

Existing somewhere between the post-psychedelic period of Soft Machine and the electric funk of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, Black And White, the 1976 album from Norway's Vanessa is without question a formidable beast of a jazz-rock record. A potent brew of sonic experimentation and pulsating off-kilter groove. Taking their name from the genus of Nymphalidae butterfly, Vanessa was founded in 1971 by saxophonist Svend Undseth and pianist Frode Holm, the founder of the Oslo record store turned imprint, Compendium Records. Unsurprisingly analogous to the music championed across the Compendium catalogue Black And White is clearly influenced by the UK Canterbury scene, highlighted by Compendium's focus on the recordings of Soft Machine alumni Hugh Hopper and Elton Dean. Vanessa's spirit also lies synonymous with the collective pedigree on the label's roster including British progressive jazz stalwart Keith Tippett and Mirage (a UK group consisting of ex-members of Centipede and The Mike Westbrook Orchestra), together with the avant-rock collective Henry Cow and the experimental synthesiser-jazz of US ex-pat Joe Gallivan (together with Charles Austin).

Often dubbed the 'Compendium house band' owing to Holm's association with the label, the Vanessa sound is inherently familiar yet undeniably original. Each of the album's four long compositions are a meld of complex angular jazz laced with swirling electronic textures - furious rhythms that surge in intoxicating intensity before easing into fluid passages of soulful post-bop. The dichotomy of these styles plants the group firmly into radical new jazz territory alongside their Canterbury contemporaries. Despite their brief existence, the band, alongside the label left an indelible mark on Norwegian jazz-rock and the headier side of European progressive music at large.

Reissue of 1976 Norwegian Jazz-Rock album.
Post-psychedelic period Soft Machine meets the electric funk of Herbie Hancock's Headhunters
Transferred and restored from the original master tape.

Big Red Balloon Swirl Edition! Light in the Attic Records is proud to present the next installment of the Nancy Sinatra Archival Series with the first ever reissue of the classic 1972 album Nancy & Lee Again. Recorded during a 1972 reunion between Nancy and the enigmatic Hazlewood, the album contains some of the pair's most enduring and ambitious duets including the epic "Arkansas Coal (Suite)," the sensual "Paris Summer" and the incredibly powerful Dolly Parton-penned "Down From Dover." Equal parts daring, psychedelic, cinematic, and sweet, Nancy & Lee Again reveals with each track a timeless, natural chemistry between two artists who would remain influential for generations to come. Nancy & Lee Again is available in a variety of formats, including vinyl and CD. The vinyl LP is presented in an expanded gatefold jacket and is accompanied by a 20-page booklet, featuring an array of photos from the legendary singer, actress, and activist's personal collection, as well as in-depth Q&A with Nancy Sinatra, conducted by the reissue's GRAMMYr-nominated co-producer, Hunter Lea (also available in the CD package). All formats have been beautifully designed by Darryl Norsen of D. Norsen Design, and include two bonus tracks, "Machine Gun Kelly" (first time on vinyl) and the previously unreleased "Think I'm Coming Down." Nancy, the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, had been working with the Oklahoma-born songwriter since 1965, when she topped the pop charts with "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'." Over the next five years, the two artists forged a prolific relationship in the studio, with Hazlewood writing and producing many of Nancy's solo hits. Soon, the duo found success with a series of duets, including "Sand," "Summer Wine," and "Some Velvet Morning" - all of which appeared on their highly-influential 1968 debut. Not long after the critical acclaim and chart success of Nancy & Lee died down, however, Hazlewood unexpectedly relocated to Sweden, leaving his musical partner in the proverbial dust. America, meanwhile, was in the midst of a cultural shift, as the Vietnam War waged on. By the turn of the decade, the musical landscape had changed significantly. "Trivial music and not profound music became unimportant," recalls Nancy, speaking to Hunter Lea. "It was a tough time." And yet, despite the circumstances, the stars somehow aligned for the duo to record some of their most magnificent music together. Returning to Los Angeles for the project, Hazlewood - who reprised his role as producer - chose to take a new direction with the duo's sophomore album. Nancy recalls, "It was more dramatic; it was more fun to do, more challenging to do_. It was more grandiose." Nancy & Lee Again remains a creative high point in the careers of Sinatra and Hazlewood and, upon its release, garnered rave reviews from Billboard, Record World, and Cash Box, among others. Yet, Nancy & Lee Again never received the spotlight it so utterly deserved. "We didn't have label support at all in those days," recalls Nancy. "Without the strength of a label, records die. We were old. We were old-fashioned. We were just not what was happening. It's a very ageist kind of business." Nevertheless, she adds, "I think it's a very good album. I think it's timeless." Now, after years of being a sought-after rarity, this gem in the Sinatra-Hazlewood canon can finally get its due.

The electronic music producer and DJ whose catalogue of collaborations namechecks acts as diverse as Agoria, Green Velvet, Roman Flugel to Nitzer Ebb, Depeche Mode and David Holmes is set to release his 6th studio album The Strand Cinema on the 24th March on his own label PKR.

The last five years have seen an evolutionary shift for the electronic musician, undertaking more soundtrack work, including for film (Nightride on Netflix, Rough), radio (The Northern Bank Job BBC R4) and theatre (East Belfast Boy).

The Strand Cinema album is a tribute to the art deco cinema building , The Strand, where Phil’s recording studio is. A stirring and beautiful record, it seamlessly traverses the worlds of contemporary classical to beautifully elevated dance music with a recognisably cinematic influence. Managing to sound both grand and expansive, as well as minimal and introspective – it’s a record that explores the macro and the micro.

The opening track “Strand Cinema”, begins with a steady, gentle, looping pulse, almost recalling the kosmische ripples of Cluster, before sweeping and enveloping strings enter, resulting in a track that manages to sound both grandiose and tender in one fell swoop.

Lead single “Atlantic” perhaps most perfectly encapsulates the various sonic worlds that Kieran is operating in, merging a bordering on euphoric dance beat layered with infectious melodies, while remaining anchored to organic sounds, as strings and percussion collide with the driving and hypnotic groove of the track.

“Strike the Match” showcases Kieran’s talents for detail, in a track that feels almost palpably textural and rich in complexity but without feeling overly busy or superfluous; while “Elephant in Castle” utilises intense, almost gargling electronics, that drone with a foreboding and ominous tone, but also produces fractured moments of light, beauty and poignancy.

Created during Covid Kieran’s method was “To literally be like a tuning fork and ask: What's in my chest? If I were to describe what's inside me, and what's going on in the outside world, If I had to score that in a film, what would it sound like right now? I guess I sort of soundtracked my own life”

“One positive side of lockdowns was that we spent more time in natural surroundings where I’d make field recordings. I’d also record acoustic sounds: cello, violin, percussion, guitar etc and then create my own sample bank from all these single one-note sounds. So, creating your own loops and drones. The album was created from organic sounds manipulated by machines; melted, mangled and hacked with computers but machines only sound as good as the human spirit put into them.
The idea of nature and humans versus technology is the concept behind the album’s A/V show which debuts in Belfast in March before touring. Featuring works by 11 artists from across the worlds of film, animation, advertising, architecture, computer science and dance such as Scottish BAFTA nominated Simone Smith, LA based director Frederico Marzio Vitetta who is famous for skateboarding films like ‘Wet Dream’ with Spike Jonze, to futuristic CGI from BAFTA nominated Kris Kelly and a video from contemporary dancer Oona Doherty. onscreen visualisations that explores The visuals explore nature and technology along a timeline from past, present to future with cinema as a loose reference point with varying degrees of utopian versus dystopian moods.

Soundway releases a storming compilation of Cameroonian-born, Nigerian-based super producer Nkono Teles’ solo work.
The pioneer of West African electronic music was known for being tapped by over 100 other musicians to produce or arrange their music, from King Sunny Adé, Guy Lobe, even Steve Monite’s
album “Only You” and more. Having already appeared on Soundway’s best-selling compilation “Doing It In Lagos”, here more of Nkono’s
limited solo work is carefully remastered and reissued on
vinyl for the first time. One of a small handful of pioneers of the Nigerian electronic music scene in the 1980s (alongside the likes
of Jake Sollo & William Onyeabor), Teles was known for being tapped by over 100 musicians to feature on, produce or arrange their music. The list of ‘80s Nigerian records that his sound and style embellished
is seemingly endless: Steve Monite (he arranged and produced the music on the Only You album recently re-issued by Soundway), Dizzy K, Peter Abdul, Odion Iruoje, Steve Black, Rick Asikpo, Feladey, Charly Boy, Majek Fashek & Sonny Okosuns, to name just a few,
all engaged his enigmatic production and keyboard services throughout the 1980s. He became known as the first person in Nigeria to push the use of the drum machine into popular music and created a unique and original boogie-funk sound combining these new
beats with guitars and an array of new and affordable synthesiser sounds that started appearing in the early 1980s.

Elias Devoldere is the drummer in bands such as Nordmann, Hypochristmutreefuzz, Suwi, Robbing Millions, and John Ghost. Following an ep, Kaiku, released last summer, Bloomed > Exploded is his debut full length as a solo artist. Besides writing and singing, he composed, played, recorded, and produced the bulk of the ten songs himself. 'Everything blooms', he explains the title of his first album. 'Until it explodes, and something else is able to grow from it'. In this case, what came full cycle is an intimate coming-of-age album of intangible atmospherics, crisp melodies, and understated rhythmical patterns.

BLOOMED >

'As a kid, I just wanted to play football, you know?', says Elias. 'But when I was eight years old, my parents made me choose between drawing school and music school'. And thus began a dedication to rhythm for Elias. At 18, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Ghent, opting for a jazz education. 'Not because I aspired to become a master 'jazz drummer', but to learn music, to become a good musician'. It was at the academy that, after an impromptu jam session, Nordmann first came together. The exhilarating instrumental quartet went on to win second place at the prestigious Humo's Rock Rally in 2014, and released three albums to critical acclaim, with a new one in the works.

Devoldere, in the meantime, had completed his degree with a craving - ironically - for music. 'I was in over my head with jazz for such a long time, and went on an epic discovering spree. Moses Sumney, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Connan Mockasin... Lots of stuff I had missed over the years. In a way, I reconnected with the kind of music I was into before jazz dominated my life. Pink Floyd was my first love, for instance, and later Radiohead proved to be a game changer. Diving back into those kind of sounds, I was feeling the urge to follow my old dreams, of being a solo artist - or something more than 'just' a drummer, anyway. So I bought a guitar, an interface for my laptop, and started writing'.

EXPLODED

When he released his 5 track ep Kaiku in the summer of 2021, it summarised a lot of firsts for Elias. First time writing lyrics, first time as a lead vocalist, first time recording his own songs all by himself. The songs had been around for a while, but taking those leaps took a long time. 'Making the ep helped me to find my voice, in every way possible'. Still, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the songs on Bloomed > Exploded sprouted in a time of upheaval. 'Musically the album is quite serene, gentle even. But the themes speak of internal unrest and uncertainty. There are a lot of questions on the album, as it turned out. Duality, as the title suggests, coming from the struggle between a wish to turn everything upside down and a search for peace. Honestly: the prospect of my 30th birthday was messing with my head too'.

Recording during a period of solitude in France, Elias initially relied heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. 'Explode / Boalis was one of the first songs I wrote for this album, and pivotal for its atmosphere, based mostly on electronic elements. Later, I did use 'real' drums on most of the other songs, though, and contributions from other musicians, but the overall mood is very cohesive'. 'Pure', that's how Bruno Ellingham, the UK engineer who mixed the album, described it. Much to the delight of Elias, who reached out to Ellingham because of his previous work with bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead. 'Hearing the end result, I thought he really captured the essence of the original demo's. For me, that adds to this album being a sincere reflection of my true self. 'Take a dive/ Into the place where it's more quiet', as I sing in the last song, that kind of sums it up for me'.

Oliver Cherer is back with a new Gilroy Mere record which follows on from his other much lauded Clay Pipe releases (The Green Line, Adlestrop and last year’s D Rothon collaboration, Estuary English).

Over the last two decades Ollie has released numerous collections of music in an ever shifting array of modes, from folktronic, singer-songwriter styles through psychogeographic electronica to jazz-tinged, confessional ghost-pop and most recently, the “guitar tainted machine rock disco” of Aircooled.

Gilden Gate is an album of two halves. Side 1 ‘Rising’ celebrates the sun-drenched beaches, pastures and heaths of rural Suffolk, whereas Side 2 ‘Falling’ explores the underwater world of the lost city of Dunwich and its five church spires.

Oliver says:-

“A few years ago I discovered the lost city of Dunwich. I’d made a trip to Suffolk to shoot a short film about Sizewell Nuclear Power Stations and stayed in the old Coastguard’s Cottage on Dunwich Beach within sight of Minsmere Nature Reserve and the power plants. It’s a wild, sleepy place of pines and heath and North Sea winds and a strangely mysterious air – Sutton Hoo is nearby and Eno’s reference to the very beach that I was staying on made perfect sense. In the small museum at Dunwich I learned that this tiny hamlet had once been a major medieval city of international trade. It seemed unlikely and even now, knowing Dunwich as a small village, I find putting what I know about the place into perspective as a city a certain kind of impossible.

It seems that over a period under the influence of the weather, natural erosion and market rivalry the thriving harbour port was inundated by the North Sea and eventually slipped into and under it. The city of churches was lost and all the spires engulfed and toppled. What remains are the few houses, and the ruin of Greyfriars crumbling inexorably down the cliff and exposing the bones of buried monks as the graveyard follows the building’s stones into the sea.

There are local legends surrounding the site including stories of fishermen hearing the bells of lost churches and seeing the ghostly, lighted city beneath their boats as they return to the shore.
Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”

Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”

Limited first pressing on clear vinyl. Dick Stusso's third album is a document of slow mental unraveling with a world in perpetual decay as its backdrop. With S.P., California-based singer and songwriter Nic Russo has created his most out-there and toothsome record to date, plunging his listeners into a strange and thrilling new world at every opportunity. S.P. is the first Dick Stusso record in four years, following his stellar Hardly Art debut In Heaven from 2018-but this latest missive is more of an indirect sequel to the buzz-building 2015 release Nashville Dreams / Sings the Blues, diving deeper into the fictional character Dick Stusso's crumbling psyche and dystopian surroundings. If our introduction to Dick was someone trying to pursue their dreams and turning into a failure as a result, S.P. reflects the moment where, in Russo's words, "The character is becoming unlikable. He's succumbing to what is taking place around him."Nearly half of its 18 songs-spanning countrified rock duets, Guided by Voices-recalling anthems, and outro noise-burst sound experiments-were completed before the pandemic, when Russo decided to take a beat and allow the music to sprout new, weird buds in his rehearsal space. With mixer Andrew Oswald accentuating the record's unique feel, S.P. bridges the gap between the ultra lo-fi confines of his 2015 debut Nashville Dreams / Sings the Blues and the lush echoes of In Heaven, with a few helping hands to fully flesh out Russo's vision. Grace Cooper (The Sandwitches, Grace Sings Sludge) contributes vocals to "Dinner for Two" and "Self Reflection (Deep)," while his father Marc Russo-a Grammy-winning saxophonist who's currently touring with the Doobie Brothers-lays down expert horn arrangements on "Garbagedump #1." The myriad of twists and turns on S.P. further establish Russo as a fascinating craftsman who's never bound to do the same thing twice.

"Dans cent ans" is not a record: it’s a talisman.
Flavien Berger doesn’t make music, he makes time machines.
In 2015, he released his first album, Leviathan, which he’d imagined like a moment suspended into the bowels of present time.
In 2018, Contre-Temps, his critically acclaimed second album, was narrated like a flashback.
Dans Cent Ans (“In 100 Years”) ends this trilogy and launches into the future with the grace of a poisonous serpent.
Flavien had just finished producing Pomme’s last album and was simultaneously scoring Céline Devaux’s feature film Tout le monde aime Jeanne, when he recorded this album, during six months of isolation.
In the garret of a Belgian house in construction, these 12 tracks were born, close to the sky, both direct and mysterious.
Because Flavien Berger knows how to make machines sound sensual (a key example is the pop song “D’ici là”) and dares to interweave electronics, chanson and art music, organic instruments and synthetic choirs, without ever falling into parodic territory.
Because his voice, more precise, unreverbed, and close-mic’d than ever, sings to our ears – using multisyllabic rhymes (“Trop ivres pour te plaire / Tropiques du cancer”) and surrealist imagery (“la neige restera rose” – “the snow will remain pink”) – stories that feel unknown yet obvious.
And like both previous albums ended with a long eponymous track like a breath of air, “Leviathan” and “Contre-temps”, so does “Dans Cent Ans”, a 15-minute long saga where vocals, wind instruments and machines converse, as if Debussy, Etienne Daho and a Sufi Dervish met in a dream.
After listening to this album, the vertigo of love and the collision of times are one and the same.
In one hundred years, music will survive us all, and its dangerous beauty will awaken other lives. In the meantime, Flavien Berger keeps stunning ours.

A new collaboration of Philoxenia Records founders Luigi Di Venere and Neu Verboten, Affekt Unit is informed by an aim to "spark new feelings on the dancefloor". The three track Discorgy EP celebrates their musical obsessions - Italo house, Frankfurt EBM-house and trance - with the result proving an electrifying crossover of these classic genres together with surprising new sounds. 'Oct-Opus' boasts a serious electro component, fused with progressive trance, UK bass, techno, transcendental rave and even a climactic outbreak of rave-era breaks. The title track 'Discorgy' draws from Euro dance and EBM, experimenting with a polyrhythmic bass line and bringing the kind of 'stadium house' that The KLF were always aiming for. Closing track 'Dreams Of Wrestlers' is cosmic house at its sweetest and beefiest, spruced here and there with Italo stabs and pianos, drum machine fills and some lovely subtle filtering. Not so much a case of something for everyone than everything from everyone, you might even say.

Cosmic synth. Polyphonic analog synthesizers and drum machines interpret ancient Saharan folk ballads in an imagined science fiction future. A proposed relaxation guide, sonically lying somewhere between ambient library music and minimal wave. Recorded in Niger and France in the late 1980s. All Recordings by Mamman Sani Abdoulaye. Recorded 1985 - 1988 at Studio Samira in Niamey, Niger and Studio Kham Mai in Paris, France. Instruments include Crumar Bit 99, RCA Victor 70, Yamaha RX5, and Roland TR-505. Painting by Maria Joan Dixon. Layout and design by Christopher Kirkley.

"Dans cent ans" is not a record: it’s a talisman.
Flavien Berger doesn’t make music, he makes time machines.
In 2015, he released his first album, Leviathan, which he’d imagined like a moment suspended into the bowels of present time.
In 2018, Contre-Temps, his critically acclaimed second album, was narrated like a flashback.
Dans Cent Ans (“In 100 Years”) ends this trilogy and launches into the future with the grace of a poisonous serpent.
Flavien had just finished producing Pomme’s last album and was simultaneously scoring Céline Devaux’s feature film Tout le monde aime Jeanne, when he recorded this album, during six months of isolation.
In the garret of a Belgian house in construction, these 12 tracks were born, close to the sky, both direct and mysterious.
Because Flavien Berger knows how to make machines sound sensual (a key example is the pop song “D’ici là”) and dares to interweave electronics, chanson and art music, organic instruments and synthetic choirs, without ever falling into parodic territory.
Because his voice, more precise, unreverbed, and close-mic’d than ever, sings to our ears – using multisyllabic rhymes (“Trop ivres pour te plaire / Tropiques du cancer”) and surrealist imagery (“la neige restera rose” – “the snow will remain pink”) – stories that feel unknown yet obvious.
And like both previous albums ended with a long eponymous track like a breath of air, “Leviathan” and “Contre-temps”, so does “Dans Cent Ans”, a 15-minute long saga where vocals, wind instruments and machines converse, as if Debussy, Etienne Daho and a Sufi Dervish met in a dream.
After listening to this album, the vertigo of love and the collision of times are one and the same.
In one hundred years, music will survive us all, and its dangerous beauty will awaken other lives. In the meantime, Flavien Berger keeps stunning ours.

Clear Vinyl

Queens Of The Circulating Library stands alongside Time Machines and Nurse With Wound's Soliloquy For Lilith as a post-industrial pinnacle of sensory-warping long-form drone. Crafted by the distilled duo of Thighpaulsandra and John Balance, the 49-minute piece unfurls in swirling, cyclical waves, tidal as much as textural, channeling the spirit of levitational minimalism pioneered by La Monte Young. Touted as the first part in "a continually mutating series of circulating musickal compositions" upon its initial release in 2000, the album remains a compelling case study in Coil's exceptional capacity for mutation and extremes. The theatrical introductory monologue delivered by Thighpaulsandra's mother - a career opera singer, in her 80's at the time of recording - sets the stage for a grandiose ascension. Written by Balance, the text is declamatory but dreamlike, refracted through megaphone echo: "Return the book of knowledge / Return the marble index / File under "Paradox" / The forest is a college, each tree a university." As her voice fades, the lulling synthetic infinity deepens, congealing into transient crests of volume and haze, like slow-motion surf misting in moonlight. Thighpaulsandra describes their aesthetic intention as a "bliss out," static but shape-shifting, an amniotic drift towards an eternal vanishing point. A supreme sonic embodiment of the slogan on the sleeve of Time Machines, two years prior: "Persistence is all.

Ware began as an experimental electronic duo back in the 1980s, when you had to know what you were doing. Comprising Sacha Galvagna, who went on to play with acts as diverse as Rosa Mota, Horsepower, Charles Atlas, Crown Estate, The Last King of England and Carta, and Andrew Wilson a producers’ producer, noise machine maker and DJ, who found underground acclaim for his Crossed Wires output, the band reconnected earlier this decade when they found themselves with some unexpected time on their hands. From across continents the pair took advantage of 21st century technology to resurrect a sketchpad of aural experimentation that would become the foundation of Star Catalogue, Ware’s long overdue long player set for release through Absent Music.

Setting out with the spectral cha-cha of title track Star Catalogue, Ware chart their passage through diaphanous arrangements that veer off mid-song into unexpected new spaces, melting into liminal vibrations that render large parts of the album as continuous pieces inherently connected by overtones and sentiment. Threading its gossamer sounds into a surprisingly unyielding whole, the album takes in the phantasmal glam of Nerve Agency, Sable Bay’s prismatic ache, the infinitesimal disquiet of Eigen State, and the nylon strung desire of New Model. As the pair impart the unhurried entreaties of The Splintered Woods, which gives way to the cabin fever of My Life as a Ghost and its switch up into ebullient arousal, the unexpected focus-pull of Frame, the shadowy elegy of Nepenthe, and the apparitional house of The Apprentice Pillar, Ware artfully draw the listener into a heady intimacy that is a striking contrast to the cookie cutter soul-bearing histrionics of modern pop music.

In an era in which the thrill of anticipation has been extinguished by the attention-free instant gratification of streaming’s ‘what you want when you want it’ model, Ware have delivered a piece of work that is greater than the sum of its exemplary parts. Painted in exquisitely fragile figures that lead inexorably onward through its 11 tracks, Star Catalogue won’t be so vulgar as to demand your attention, but it unquestionably deserves it.

Veils Of Transformation 1972 - 1980 is a collection of the earliest works of Gregory Kramer, one of the 20th century masters of textural electronic music. This collection is available on CD and cassette with liner notes from Gregory Kramer and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who first brought this fascinating work to the attention of Important Records.

“Greg is one of the pioneers of electronic music and these pieces are unique opportunities to discover how intricate and dynamic early synthesizers are.” Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith

Kramer developed a musical language focused on continuous transformation of timbre, yielding a continuity of attention. This musical language, formed of timbral change, is a compelling aesthetic in its own right and a source of meditative experience. The four works on this album share a deep sense of order derived not from organizing pitches or rhythms, but from the evolution of timbre itself.

Gregory Kramer (b. 1952) is a pioneering electronic composer, inventor, researcher, teacher and author. In 1975 he co-founded Electronic Musicmobile, a synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Musicmobile, a series of synthesizer concerts in New York from which he formed the Electronic Art Ensemble, a highly regarded all electronic quartet. His work extended to developing synthesizers and related equipment. Kramer also co-founded the not-for-profit arts organization Harvestworks in New York City. He is recognized as the founding figure of the intensely cross-disciplinary field of data sonification. Since 1980, Kramer teaches Buddhist meditation.

The four compositions collected here each represent Kramer’s unique approaches:

The structure of Meditations on 32 Parts of the Body (1978) is derived from the means of its production. Recording 5 people chanting an ancient meditation text, then layering to gradually achieve more than one million voices. The layering was all done using analogue tape recorders. The decomposition of the sound reflects the anomalies of tape machines out of sync, and the build up of artifacts from the audio tape itself, such as uneven response curves and tape hiss, are all engaged as musical materials.

Role (1972) was generated using one complex patch on a large hybrid Buchla 200/100 system. Emerging from a zeitgeist that valued pure synthesis as a combined artistic and technological research. At the time this piece was realized its as exceedingly difficult to produce electronic sounds that were internally complex.

Blue Wave (1980) is built on Kramer’s timbral development technique Veils Of Transformation which allows for disparate timbres to be woven into a continuously developing sound.

Monologue (1977) is a virtuosic performance of a massive patch on a Buchla/Electron Farm hybrid electronic instrument. Built into the patch is a pathway for continuous transformation of voice and voltage-controlled synthesizer. The blunt, raw and sometimes harsh sounds of this piece reflect an attitude prominent among composers that music can, or even should, be difficult, contrary to what’s already been done and, by all means, new.

LTD. COL. VINYL

Definitive compilation spans solo recordings, rarities and duets with Lee Hazlewood Newly remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMYr-nominated engineer John Baldwin New interviews with the legendary singer, actress, and activist, Nancy Sinatra Extensive essay by Amanda Petrusich Q&A interview with Nancy & GRAMMYr-nominated reissue co-producer Hunter Lea Never-before-seen photos from Nancy Sinatra's personal archive Deluxe CD housed in 7"x7" hardcover book w/ 64-pg booklet Beautifully packaged Double LP featuring a 24-pg book 2xLP available on Standard Black Wax plus Summer Wine Sunburst Orange Release coincides with Nancy Sinatra's 80th birthday celebration Release to be supported by international press campaign in cooperation with Nancy Sinatra // Light In The Attic Records is proud to present Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin' 1965-1976. The definitive new collection surveys Sinatra's most prolific period over 1965-1976, including her revered collaborations with Lee Hazlewood, over 23 tracks. Remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMYr-nominated engineer John Baldwin, the collection is complemented by liner notes penned by Amanda Petrusich (author and music critic at The New Yorker), featuring insightful new interviews with Sinatra, as well as a Q&A with archivist and GRAMMYr-nominated reissue co-producer Hunter Lea. The CD edition comes housed in a 7"x7" hardcover book (featuring 64-pages) and the two-disc vinyl set is presented in a gatefold jacket (featuring a 24-page booklet), with special color editions available exclusively at and independent record stores. Nancy's performance of the Lee Hazlewood-penned song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" was a huge hit in 1966 and became her signature tune. The pair began a three year run of successful albums, duets and singles including "Sugar Town," "Some Velvet Morning," "Summer Wine," "Sand," "Jackson," and the title track to the 1967 James Bond film "You Only Live Twice." Start Walkin' explores Nancy's recordings with Lee, her inspired collaborations with songwriter Mac Davis ("Hello L.A., Bye Bye Birmingham"), producer Lenny Waronker ("Hook and Ladder") and the "should've been hit" song with arranger/producer Billy Strange ("How Are Things In California.") Over the years, she has been cited as an influence by countless artists, including Sonic Youth, Morrissey, Calexico, U2, and Lana Del Rey. Her haunting song "Bang, Bang" gained a new legion of fans when it appeared in the opening credits of Quentin Tarantino's 2003 film, Kill Bill Volume 1.

Critically acclaimed rock group EELS announce
vinyl reissues of earlier records ‘End Times’, ‘Hombre Lobo’ and ‘Tomorrow Morning’, released via E Works / PIAS.
EELS will hit the road this Spring for the longawaited Lockdown Hurricane tour of Europe and North America, starting in March in Nottingham. The reissues follow EELS’ critically acclaimed
2022 record, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’, which found
praise at MOJO, NME, The New York Times,
Stereogum, SPIN and more. EELS have had one of the most consistently acclaimed careers in music. The ever-changing
project of principal singer / songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett), EELS have released 14 studio albums since their 1996 debut, ‘Beautiful Freak’. In 2008, E published his highly acclaimed book,
‘Things the Grandchildren Should Know’, and starred in the award-winning ‘Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives’ documentary about the search to understand his quantum physicist father, Hugh
Everett III. Single LP on standard weight black vinyl in a
gatefold sleeve with matt machine varnish.

Critically acclaimed rock group EELS announce
vinyl reissues of earlier records ‘Hombre Lobo’,
‘End Times’ and ‘Tomorrow Morning’, released via
E Works / PIAS. EELS will hit the road this Spring for the longawaited Lockdown Hurricane tour of Europe and
North America, starting in March in Nottingham. The reissues follow EELS’ critically acclaimed 2022 record, ‘Extreme Witchcraft’, which found praise at MOJO, NME, The New York Times,
Stereogum, SPIN and more. EELS have had one of the most consistently acclaimed careers in music. The ever-changing
project of principal singer / songwriter E (Mark Oliver Everett), EELS have released 14 studio albums since their 1996 debut, ‘Beautiful Freak’. In 2008, E published his highly acclaimed book,
‘Things the Grandchildren Should Know’, and starred in the award-winning ‘Parallel Worlds, Parallel Lives’ documentary about the search to understand his quantum physicist father, Hugh
Everett III. Single LP on standard weight black vinyl in a
gatefold sleeve with matt machine varnish.

For a quarter of an hour, Zürich was the navel of the world. Let's look back: at New York's CBGB's, pre-punks were shredding away, Malcolm McLaren, as a man with a fine-tuned taste for the hip, imported the sound to London, where his sweetheart Vivienne Westwood dressed the test-tube band The Sex Pistols. A few pop magazines later (we are in an analog world!) punk bands sprouted everywhere, like shiny pimples on poorly fed teenagers. Contrary to legend, even back then, it was often those with a musical background who were the most successful. One such example, Henrich "Wüste" Zwahlen, who had learned the violin, attended a jazz school and went into prog-rock before joining the Nasal Boys, one of the first punk bands in Zürich. The scene included the female band Kleenex (cover: Fischli of art heroes Fischli/Weiss), whose minimalism was praised by the London music press, while the world's most important rock theorist, Greil Marcus, wrote an ode highlighting Zürich's role as the birthplace of Dadaism. A fertile ground for the militant youth movement that exploded in 1980 and stirred up the city of banks, protestantism and boredom with raw wit and expressive violence. Gathering at concerts of local bands and fueled by endogenous and artificial substances - they paid homage to exuberance and self-indulgence.
The mantra of "everything-is-possible" was driven forward on the musical front by progress in terms of means of production: analog electronic instruments were no longer reserved for hippie nerds, who sat in front of large plug-in boards like autistic-psychedelic switchboard operators connecting cables for their sound carpets. Now snazzy stage personnel elicited fast-paced sounds from handy devices often made in Japan. Kraftwerk was fashionable, the Zurich duo Yello experimented with new synthetic sounds, and the groundbreaking album "Alles Ist Gut" by the Düsseldorf based duo D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft) was released, which chanted its program of provocation times danceability with lines such as "Tanz den Jesus Christus, tanz the Mussolini, tanz the Adolf Hitler." In England meanwhile, electronically backed New Romantic bands were replacing New Wave. The Human League, Heaven 17, Duran Duran, OMD, Depeche Mode or Visage stormed the charts.
In Zürich's underground, the duo Aboriginal Voices caused a stir at that time. A couple, good-looking, styled, looking cool into the cold neon light, with a danceable beat and sequenced electro sounds, to which Micheline gave a very unique touch when she sang in French and English. Micheline had a classical piano education, had left home early, worked as a lighting technician in a strip joint and at Booster, the hottest boutique in town (one of the relicts that still exists). Voilà: a musician who was as stylish as she was tough. She was already playing with Wüste in the band "Doobie Doos", a band where everyone played an instrument they didn't master. In 1980 the Aboriginal Voices were formed, initially with vocalist Magda Vogel (of later UnknownmiX fame), who was trained as a classical singer.

Frustrated by organizational friction and constant hassles with band lineups, Wüste and Misch decided to do everything as a twosome: self-mixed, self-styled, self-produced. With the top-of-the-line Linn drum machine clocking the beat, Wüste's guitar and Micheline on the Yamaha synthesizer created a unique sound of danceable electronic music. Whereby the Aboriginal Voices acted as a kind of proto-influencer, receiving the latest equipment to try out, especially since they made it a point not to work with tapes, but to design everything for live shows. They had an interface built for the legendary Roland MC-4B, who sequenced the modular Roland System 100M but where one output controlled a light show synchronized with the sound. A pioneering act that fit well into the DIY spirit of punk, with its self-distributed tapes and fuck-you attitude towards the cretins of the music industry. Consequently only two cassettes and an EP were released. There was something futuristic about the sound, the vestiary style and the electronics, while the attitude remained rebellious. Of course something so deeped in the Zeitgeist wasn't meant to last. Wüste moved to New York, Micheline stayed in Zurich, both still active in the music scene to this day.

Sven Regener, head of the band Element of Crime and one of Germany's most successful pop writer said a few years ago when asked if he knew of any Swiss music: "Of course! In 1983, a Swiss band called Aboriginal Voices played with us at a festival in Zurich. Great, avant-garde electro-pop. That was my first encounter."

If you ever saw them live, you never forgot them, and so over the years you belonged to a teeny-tiny circle of insiders, happy to be joined after all these years by new aficionados who appreciate the sound of that quarter-hour, when Zurich was ravishing, creative and exciting.

- Thomas Haemmerli

"El Pasaje del Aumento" is a collection of syncopated rhythms for hypnotic slow dance. An accident of oppressive atmospheres with a humorous sense of rhythm and composition, which moves between downtempo, African rhythms and dub. With a certain oriental softness, it introduces you into a state of enchantment, spell... a hypnotic and mysterious restlessness, almost uncomfortable. Sentuhlà squeezes his Yamaha Rm1x on this second album, creating rhythms that you would never believe possible with a single synthesizer. He spins, twists and strangles it to the limit, til getting the last drop of frequency and oscillation.

Without too obvious references, it recalls the rhythms of Toulouse Low Trax or Wolf Müller, the experimentation of Muslimgauze, the repetition of Huerco S... But if you ask Sentuhlà himself, he will also mention Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Can, Cabaret Voltaire, Tom Zé or Lee Scratch Perry...

Sentuhlà is one of the many aliases of musical jack of all trades José Guerrero, a long-standing figure in the already rich underground scene of Valencia. In this solo excursion, he explores the vast possibilities of mechanical repetition, the machine funk of dirtbag rhythms, and proper boogie DIY synth music, sculpting a syncopated sound that is both modern and atavistic. Coming from a deep knowledge and ability to communicate very diverse sounds, slow jams unfold into dance music for clear-eyed lounge lizards for whom sleaze comes not dizzy but focused. Whitened African rhythms beat up no-wave disco pleasure points, managing the hard task of being very cool and nonchalant, but also hot and dedicated.

We have opened the vault to bring to you for the first time on a 2CD set Roadrunner United ‘The Concert (Live at the Nokia Theatre, New York, NY, 12/15/2005)’, featuring members of Slipknot, Anthrax, Trivium, Machine Head, Fear Factory, Sepultura & more. Roadrunner United was a project organized by the heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records to celebrate its 25th anniversary. On December 15th, 2005, in New York City, the label produced the Metal Concert to end all Metal Concerts: 39 musicians, representing 25 different Roadrunner bands, performed 25 songs from 19 different bands’ repertoire. This unique and unprecedented aggregation of musicians was no jam session. Each song was studiously rehearsed and arranged, coming together with exuberant perfection, to produce a concert that can only be called “Legend.”

Conceived as a follow-up to the Roadrunner United All-Star recording sessions, the label recruited the core team of musicians (Dino Cazares, Adam Duce, Paul Gray, Joey Jordison, Andreas Kisser and Roy Mayorga) as the backbone of the performance. Sure enough, as they fine-tuned the songs and rehearsed them tirelessly, dozens of other musicians came on board.

This 3LP set represents the gathering of a community of musicians that spans the heavy metal history of the first 25 years of Roadrunner Records: from King Diamond to Slipknot and beyond. Those who were lucky enough to be there experienced a night they will never forget. For the first time as a live concert album, this 3LP set on red, white and black coloured vinyl is a chance to relive that special night again and again.

After the success of the Pan Machine album that saw the Ebony Steel Band cover Kraftwerk, OM Swagger’s Ian Shirley was desperate to work again with the talented Delphina James who arranged the tracks on that fantastic LP.

Shirley had the idea of interpreting the works of famed contemporary composer and pianist Ludovicio Einaudi through the prism of the steel pan.

Delphina James wrote out arrangements for classic tracks like I Giorni, Passaggio and Samba as well as lesser-known works like Moto and Respiro. She then formed a trio comprising of Tara Baptise (three pan cello), Nadine McCleary (bass) with herself on Tenor and set to work rehearsing the material. Once the trio mastered the material, James took it upon herself to write and arrange the track Siempre Conmigo as a tribute to the Italian piano master.

Produced by Ian Shirley, Play Ludo was recorded at the internationally famous The Pool studio in Elephant and Castle.

Anyone who enjoyed Pan Machine will love this. Fans of Ludovicio Einaudi around the world will rejoice in hearing the master’s work interpreted in a totally different musical setting. Respiro, for example, takes Einaudi into ambient electronic territory even though the instrumentation used is acoustic.

Like Kraftwerk, Einaudi’s music sounds like it was written specifically for the steel pan.

It's hard not to see the hype around BRUIT= as the next big thing in post-rock. While their 2018 EP Monolith provided a promising indication of their son- ic ambition, it was their debut LP The Machine is Burning and Now Everyone Knows It Could Happen Again which really set off the trig- ger. Receiving rave reviews around the globe and selling out the first vinyl pressing of 3.000 copies within less than a year, BRUIT= have no need to prove themselves beyond what they have already achieved so far. Consisting of three musical meditations, Apologie du Temps Perdu Eng. apology for time wasted sees BRUIT= cut down on their massive sound in favour of a more subtle contem- plation. In contrast with their recent streaming single «Parasite (The Boycott Manifesto)» with its direct message for Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and his listeners, the band have seemingly forgone their activist agenda paring back the grand thematic gestures and poignant spoken-word excerpts. Instead, BRUIT= let the music do the talking, reaching an activism which is more visceral, but all the more personal. "This ambient EP is conceived as a comma between our first album and the next one," explains bass player & violinist Cle'ment Libes about the purpose of this record. "It is an invitation to lose time, a parenthesis in the frantic race of our society." Existing somewhere between the grand genius of soundtrack composers like Hans Zim- mer and Ramin Djawadi, and the experimental prowess of fringe pop artists like Radio- head and Darkside, Apologie du Temps Perdu reveals the hidden power of film scores. We all know that moment in which we cease to be conscious of the musical accompani- ment and we become truly absorbed in the story. The music becomes part of scenery, and in this moment we lose track of time. Talking of his own work Ramin Djawadi (Game of Thrones, Westworld) notes: "If you were to turn the picture off, there is a story there and a connection to the characters and the plots." In the same way, through the sweeping strings of «La Sagesse de Nos Ai"eux», the ethereal tape loops of «Re^veur Lucide» and the undu- lating synths of «Les Temps Perdus», worlds are created to get lost in, and we experience the full power of music with our eyes and ears open. RIYL Hans Zimmer, Nils Frahm, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Balmorhea, Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds, A Silver Mount Zion, Boards Of Canada

Experience the upbeat, feel good music from village to town, and town to village. A beautiful excursion through a landscape of memories lived and futures imagined with electronic rhythms, soulful vocals and Ndebele chants from the heart of Zimbabwe.
Traditional chiming guitars and gorgeous male harmony voices meet the toughest of drum machine kick drums and juddering synths to create something that is both reminiscent of 1980s ‘Jit’ music and a classic electro sound with heavily compressed 808 drums gut-punching through the speakers

Following the tumultuous riots of the late 60's, youths in Washington, DC were looking for two things: positivity and an outlet to relieve tension. MUGO, aka "Music, Unity, Guidance, & Organization", offered just that. Formed by 8 high school friends during the summer of 71', this high-octane machine was driven by Manager and retired Marine Sgt. Reuben McNair Sr. His son, Reuben McNair Jr., was a leader within the group, and consequently wrote the B-side of their only public release. This cut, entitled "Space Travel", boasts a driving rhythm section as well as synthesizer overdubs likely to captivate even musically ambitious extraterrestrials. The flip, "Organize", became the group's unofficial theme song; submitting to the public a deft vocal response to rampant inner city blues.

Castelli is the musical moniker of Milan’s Stefano Castelli. His debut album, Anni Venti, combines all the synth history of his native Italy with soulful song writing. Produced by Luca Urbani, the record draws on inspiration from the analogue sounds of pop and wave whilst commenting on our contemporary condition. Rumbling basslines and clean beats are elevated by the glorious chorus lines of the opening “Festa.” The tracks on offer are short and bursting with energy, like the lilting “Cosmonauti” or the addictively upbeat duet of “Wave Goodbye.” A retrospective future dawns in the vocoder and rhythmic pulses of “Cani,” electro echoes of a man machine world. A range of styles are drawn on to create Castelli’s signature sound, his band background merging with synth warmth in “Paradiso Tropicale.” Italy’s famed soundtracks come to the fore in the measured drama of “Quando Guardi I Film.” What permeates the collection is a tender hopefulness, one that culminates in the enthusiasm and electronic exploration of “Nave.” A ten track journey from the heart of Milan.

Back In Stock!

American West Coast pioneering rave royalty Doc Martin teams up with Boston bred DJ hero Charlie Soul Clap for a power packed extra dance floor friendly new release. Enter the Freaks Of The Valley! Aptly named after a weekend of music production in Sherman Oaks (aka home of Cobra Kai, lol) at Doc's former home studio, this release ranges from the ironic '2 Degenerates & A Drum Machine' house slammer to the amped up and saturated 'Always Have Acid', with a bonus version for ya Booty, IYKYA!

Vive La Musique brings us yet another magical release, compiling four stunning tracks from South African bass player - Sipho Gumede. Taken from two rare albums originally released in the 80s, the music blends South African roots with Boogie influences and is the follow-up to the hugely successful "Jika Jika" reissue.
The release was born through label founder Aroop Roy's relentless search for a copy of the 1983 Peace album, which led to him tracking down the original producer - Greg Cutler - a key figure in South African music from that period and regular collaborator with Sipho. Aroop was blown away by "Uthinina" and "Bayabizana" - two unique tracks, featuring haunting Zulu vocals, African jazz flavours, and epic changes over hypnotic grooves.
"Something to Say" and "City of Gold" were recorded a few years later in the world-renowned Battery Mobile Studio. Sipho had been working there with Caiphus Semenya and Letta Mbulu and their influences can be heard, with drum machines and American Boogie instrumentation laying the foundation for powerful vocal lines sung in English, with soul and gospel sensibility.
The 12" comes with extensive liner notes from Greg Cutler, talking about his time in South Africa. He recalls his experience as a White producer, working with Black musicians under the challenges of apartheid and describes his musical journey with Sipho Gumede, with intriguing details on how the music and production evolved.


Feedback

"The music of Sipho is so good - wow! Uthininia def worth the 3 year search, but even more wonderful to then stumble over a tune like "Something To Say"!"
Hunee

"Chunky, soulful and deep. Thanks for unearthing these beauties!"
Mr Scruff

"Brilliant tracks! Thank you so much"
Gilles Peterson

"This is fucking amazing!!!!"
Eli Soul Clap

"Sipho's Music is great!"
Antal

"Amazing music that is perfect for today's music environment, a lovely blend of South African and boogie flavours."
Patrick Forge

“This music is staggeringly original and innovative, and while it’s possible to locate it in a chain of circumstance that links it to ‘Industrial’ music, P16.D4 indulged in none of the empty cliches associated with the genre, worked incredibly hard, and seem to have been aiming at a form of sound art that was much more profound, varied, subversive, and potentially dangerous. Kuhe In 1/2 Trauer’s accompanying credits indicate their radical approach to making music: lots of improvisation, lots of live electronics, extensive use of tape-loops, some conventional instrumentation, and much that isn’t – like the milk churn on ‘Paris, Morgue’ or the use of baking tray and washing machine elsewhere. Even when guitars, drums or keyboards are used, they’re played very weirdly. It’s not even made clear who was doing what; the main credit is ‘Concept,’ which I assume means that one of the three devised the framework in which the noise would operate itself, and while RLW gets the lion’s share of these credits, a lot of the cuts are evenly divided among the team and I have no doubt that the group operated in a very democratic or libertarian manner. None of this prepares you for the insane and troubling sounds that reach your ears, composed with scant regard for conventional logic and following an exciting, absurdist path, especially in the matter of tape edits and juxtapositions of recordings.” - Ed Pinsent, The Sound Projector.

“Though this German group started out as a the new wave band P.D., by the time of Kuhe in 1/2 Trauer, their first LP under the P16.D4 name from 1984, they had developed far beyond into extremely experimental music similar to other post-industrial artists working with abstract avant-garde soundscapes. There’s a bleak industrial feel to the gritty, lo-fi electronics and tape loops, while the group throws in enough curve balls to keep it interesting. On some pieces, strange, looped choirs bubble out of throbbing pulses and drones of feedback, while others have clanging and clattering, and elements of musique concrète and improvisation blur the boundaries even further. The opening track, “Default Value,” is one of those disorienting pieces with noises flying everywhere, while “Paris Morgue” takes excerpts from one of their old P.D. tracks and messes it up with additional instruments, while the ungainly titled fourth track throws in a heavy texture of percussive noises to create an edgy ambience about to teeter off the edge, and the even darker and more ambient title track takes the tension even further. Arrhythmic and amorphous and capable at moments of becoming quite noisy and abrasive, while at others far more somber and quiet, Kuhe in 1/2 Trauer is quite a fascinating release.” - Rolf Semprebon / AMG

P16.D4 was a German electronic noise music collective, active primarily from 1980 to 1988. P16.D4 embraced tape cut-ups, musique concrète, endless recycling and transformation of previously published material, and many long-distance collaborations with like-minded artists such as DDAA, Vortex Campaign, Nurse With Wound, and Merzbow. Their active participation in the international industrial tape scene yielded collaborative output such as their release Distruct, where bands such as Nurse with Wound, Nocturnal Emissions, Die Tödliche Doris, and The Haters provided the source material. The longest-term collaboration was with the installation and conceptual artist Achim Wollscheid, who used P16.D4 sounds as the basis for LPs he recorded under the name SBOTHI. Ralf Wehowsky, the only constant member of the group, later released solo material under the alias RLW.

Members of P16.D4 were also involved with Selektion, a collective of people involved with sound as well as the visual arts. Selektion published LPs, CDs, books, visual art and design.

The collective worked in a strongly improvised, spontaneous and anti-professional way, using acoustic and electronic instruments, using existing sound fragments, duplicating and alienating them, using repetition, distortion, changes in speed and playing direction. For this they used not only sounds of other artists but also their own material from earlier productions. Late works of the collective are associated with musique concrete.

Kate NV's WOW offers listeners a prismatic shift in perspective and scale, a parallel dimension in which the mundane becomes funny, unfamiliar, and altogether sensational. Turning the contents of her 2020 album Room for the Moon upside down and spilling them across a floor checkered with intrigue and surprise, Kate places sound, object, and ritual under the microscope to magnify the delight hidden in plain sight of everyday life. WOW is Kate Shilonosova's fourth full-length release as Kate NV in six years, and third for RVNG Intl. Her prolific musical output aligns with a highly attuned aesthetic and a deep commitment to visual world building. WOW is one of many of these worlds in which music is fully saturated with color, deeply tactile and textural. Shiny, sproingy, plastic. Where Room for the Moon embraced structure (abstractly speaking) and veered pop, WOW happily abandons conventional song shapes, parsing the experience of musical time into ecstatic fragments. It's difficult to imagine a more fitting album title: pure exclamation, an organic pitch of delight leaving the mouth, with no clear etymological links. On Room for the Moon, Shilonosova's voice was layered and lyrical, with sweeping and urgent melodies. WOW finds her as a peripheral purveyor of high jinks, peeking out from the corners, commenting on her surroundings in non-verbal, and arguably non-human, utterances. Instead of employing lyricism, Shilonosova steps outside of language, and rewards us with a gum ball machine of textures: soda fizz and wind-up teeth and scraps of bubble wrap become comically huge, as if heard from an insect's perspective. Words are tasty plosives, onomatopoeias, percussive chirps and one-liners, and singing serves as another form of what Shilonosova refers to as "funny tiny sounds." WOW skews and skitters, trips over its own feet and laughs about it, plays out of tune on purpose, tilts and leans like a top-heavy flower. Shilonosova is a longtime user of Found Sound Nation's Broken Orchestra sample pack, a sound catalog of over one thousand dilapidated instruments sourced from Philadelphia public schools. These perfectly imperfect instruments are tightly spliced into WOW's patchwork of synthesizer and reworked snippets of Shilonosova's friends playing clarinet, flute, and marimba. It's central to the record's internal logic: a disregard for what is, and isn't, broken, what is, and isn't, a sentence or a song. A commingling of subject and object, with a firmly new wave sensibility. Shilonosova has long had an unusual relationship with inanimate objects (citing her bicycle as her best friend), as if the joys they evoke for her are personality traits of the objects themselves. On WOW, she evinces a kind of inverted anthropomorphism: she shrinks her voice and becomes an object among multitudes, toylike in size and perspective, cohabitating with sedentary, indifferent roommates. This pursuit of childlike perspectives is a thread that runs through much of her catalog, and places her work on a plane with that of her personal hero Nobukazu Takemura, who for decades has treated his music as a portal to childlike curiosity, both in subject matter and tone. With an invitation to pursue this curiosity, WOW further confirms Kate NV's deeply inventive, fluid and technically dizzying artistry. By refusing constraints and rules, Shilonosova embodies a profound freedom, allowing objects, sounds, and processes to unfold organically; or, as she puts it, a commitment to "accepting randomness." She succeeds terrifically at a breed of auditory defamiliarization that is all her own, and the rewards for listeners are many: through her lens, the small becomes monstrous, the abstract becomes sensorial, and the old becomes new. Kate NV's WOW will be released on February 10, 2023 on vinyl and digital formats. On behalf of Kate NV and RVNG, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit War Child, an organization that supports children and their families impacted by conflict, and working to build sustainable peace for generations to come.

Yellow Vinyl

Kate NV's WOW offers listeners a prismatic shift in perspective and scale, a parallel dimension in which the mundane becomes funny, unfamiliar, and altogether sensational. Turning the contents of her 2020 album Room for the Moon upside down and spilling them across a floor checkered with intrigue and surprise, Kate places sound, object, and ritual under the microscope to magnify the delight hidden in plain sight of everyday life. WOW is Kate Shilonosova's fourth full-length release as Kate NV in six years, and third for RVNG Intl. Her prolific musical output aligns with a highly attuned aesthetic and a deep commitment to visual world building. WOW is one of many of these worlds in which music is fully saturated with color, deeply tactile and textural. Shiny, sproingy, plastic. Where Room for the Moon embraced structure (abstractly speaking) and veered pop, WOW happily abandons conventional song shapes, parsing the experience of musical time into ecstatic fragments. It's difficult to imagine a more fitting album title: pure exclamation, an organic pitch of delight leaving the mouth, with no clear etymological links. On Room for the Moon, Shilonosova's voice was layered and lyrical, with sweeping and urgent melodies. WOW finds her as a peripheral purveyor of high jinks, peeking out from the corners, commenting on her surroundings in non-verbal, and arguably non-human, utterances. Instead of employing lyricism, Shilonosova steps outside of language, and rewards us with a gum ball machine of textures: soda fizz and wind-up teeth and scraps of bubble wrap become comically huge, as if heard from an insect's perspective. Words are tasty plosives, onomatopoeias, percussive chirps and one-liners, and singing serves as another form of what Shilonosova refers to as "funny tiny sounds." WOW skews and skitters, trips over its own feet and laughs about it, plays out of tune on purpose, tilts and leans like a top-heavy flower. Shilonosova is a longtime user of Found Sound Nation's Broken Orchestra sample pack, a sound catalog of over one thousand dilapidated instruments sourced from Philadelphia public schools. These perfectly imperfect instruments are tightly spliced into WOW's patchwork of synthesizer and reworked snippets of Shilonosova's friends playing clarinet, flute, and marimba. It's central to the record's internal logic: a disregard for what is, and isn't, broken, what is, and isn't, a sentence or a song. A commingling of subject and object, with a firmly new wave sensibility. Shilonosova has long had an unusual relationship with inanimate objects (citing her bicycle as her best friend), as if the joys they evoke for her are personality traits of the objects themselves. On WOW, she evinces a kind of inverted anthropomorphism: she shrinks her voice and becomes an object among multitudes, toylike in size and perspective, cohabitating with sedentary, indifferent roommates. This pursuit of childlike perspectives is a thread that runs through much of her catalog, and places her work on a plane with that of her personal hero Nobukazu Takemura, who for decades has treated his music as a portal to childlike curiosity, both in subject matter and tone. With an invitation to pursue this curiosity, WOW further confirms Kate NV's deeply inventive, fluid and technically dizzying artistry. By refusing constraints and rules, Shilonosova embodies a profound freedom, allowing objects, sounds, and processes to unfold organically; or, as she puts it, a commitment to "accepting randomness." She succeeds terrifically at a breed of auditory defamiliarization that is all her own, and the rewards for listeners are many: through her lens, the small becomes monstrous, the abstract becomes sensorial, and the old becomes new. Kate NV's WOW will be released on February 10, 2023 on vinyl and digital formats. On behalf of Kate NV and RVNG, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit War Child, an organization that supports children and their families impacted by conflict, and working to build sustainable peace for generations to come.