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- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- INCLUDES INSERT
- 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LEGENDARY ALBUM
- REMASTERED AUDIO

Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s. With their hyperactive, self-conscious diversity, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary, the group gained a sizable cult following during the late '80s.

Truth and Soul is their second album, originally released in 1988. The album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, elements of hard rock and blues. Truth and Soul contains a cover version of Curtis Mayfield's Freddie's Dead', originally from the soundtrack of the film Super Fly and it is the first single of the album.

Three other tracks were released as singles Ma and Pa', with a video directed by Mike Lipscombe, Change' and One Day'.

The album was awarded four-out-of-five stars in 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Music critic Tom Moon called the album one of his 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die' and Robert Dimery listed it as one of his 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'.

This year we are celebrating the 30th birthday of Truth and Soul. The album is finally available again on vinyl and includes the original insert with lyrics and liner notes.

Released in 1973, Grinding Stone was Gary Moore’s solo debut. The music on this album could be described as experimental, but on the album, Moore explores a number of styles, from the title track’s instrumental “Boogie Rock” to soulful vocals on “Sail Across the Mountain” and 17 minutes of guitar and keyboard excursions on the surprisingly funky “Spirit”.

Often cited as an overlooked gem and totally ahead of its time, Grinding Stone showcases Moore at his most experimental, mixing up styles and a taste of the triumphs that followed with his work in Colosseum II & Thin Lizzy.

Grinding Stone is available as a 50th anniversary edition of 1500
individually numbered copies on flaming coloured vinyl

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• DELUXE HEAVYWEIGHT SLEEVE WITH LEATHER LAMINATE
• FIRST AND ONLY ALBUM BY THE GARY MOORE BAND
• RECORDED IN 1973 AFTER GARY MOORE LEFT SKID ROW AND BEFORE HE JOINED THIN LIZZY
• 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF 1500
INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON FLAMING COLOURED VINYL

Under The Big Black Sun is the third studio album by American rock band X and was released in 1982. It’s arguably their finest record. All 11 songs are exceptional, from both a performance and compositional point of view.

Before the recording of the album, singer Exene Cervenka’s sister was killed by a drunk driver, and the band decided to work out their grief in the music, which eventually resulted in two of the album’s best tracks: the melodic “Riding With Mary” and the vintage ‘50s sound of “Come Back to Me”.

The record was produced by Ray Manzarek, who is best known as the co-founder of The Doors. The cover art illustration was made by Alfred Harris.

Under The Big Black Sun is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on turquoise coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDES INSERT WITH LYRICS
• PRODUCED BY RAY MANZAREK (THE DOORS)
• LIMITED EDITION OF 750
INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON TURQUOISE COLOURED VINYL

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDES COVER FROM LEE HAZELWOOD’S CLASSIC “THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING”
• FEATURES THE TRACKS “SKINHEAD MOONSTOMP” AND “SKINHEAD GIRL” A.O.
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON SMOKEY COLOURED VINYL

Symarip was a ska and reggae band from the United Kingdom and originating in the late 1960s. The group had built their reputation as Prince Buster's backing band. They are widely marked as one of the first skinhead reggae bands. Symarip recorded only one studio album; Skinhead Moonstomp. An instant classic and it includes fan favorites like "Skinhead Girl", "Skinhead Jamboree", and "Skinhead Moonstomp". Singer and trombone player Roy Ellis was the man behind many of their classics. This is the ultimate party album, with an excellent mixture of ska, reggae, and soul music.

Skinhead Moonstomp is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on smokey coloured vinyl.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) is the award-winning drama film adaptation of the novel of the same name, produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment. The original score and songs were composed and conducted by John Williams (the Star Wars & Indiana Jones trilogies, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and many more). The album won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score, BAFTA Award for Best Film Music and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. It was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Directed by Rob Marshall, the film stars Zhang Ziyi and Ken Watanabe amongst others. The story revolves around a young girl who is sold by her family to an okiya, a geisha house. Her new family then sends her off to school to become a geisha. The story focuses on her struggle as a geisha to find love, while in the process making a lot of enemies. The film was nominated for and won numerous awards, including nominations for six Academy Awards, eventually winning three: Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design.

Memoirs Of A Geisha is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl. The package includes an insert and side D contains an etch.

“First release on the Chicago-born artist’s own label, Inco Music. Drawing inspiration from Birmingham and Berlin, it settles in it’s own crevice of sonic territory. Five loopy tracks for use as seen fit.”

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.”

T was released on the New York-based he second live album by the funk band Kool and the Gang, Live at P.J.’s,
De-Lite label in 1971. As the title indicates,
the LP was recorded at P.J.’s, which was a
popular nightclub and music venue in West
Hollywood, California. Kool & the Gang would
score a bunch of hits in the ‘80s, but that period
was nowhere near as funky and full of groove
and jazz flourishes as their earlier recordings.
That soul-jazz hybrid that they excelled in
playing can be found on this amazing club
performance. The band is predictably on fire
throughout the set, tearing through some hot
instrumentals, along with some nice vocals
on the medley of “Ike’s Mood” and “You’ve
Got That Lovin’ Feelin’.” The song “N.T.”
(No Title) contains a widely sampled drum
break which has been used in songs by
such artists as Nas, Q-Tip, N.W.A., Public
Enemy and Blue Boy

Elemental Music presents a newly remastered 180-gram LP reissue of Masterpiece, the acclaimed 1973 album by The Temptations originally
released by Norman Whitfield on the Gordy (Motown) label. Having already produced songs for The Temptations such as “Smiling Faces Sometimes” and “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”, which emphasized his instrumental musical backgrounds over the group’s vocals,
Whitfield went one step further here.

The title track, at nearly fourteen minutes long, includes just three minutes of group vocals. Masterpiece reached #1 on the Billboard R&B singles chart, and #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Hey Girl
(I Like Your Style)” also became a Top 40 hit in the late summer/early fall of 1973.

Mr. B is the album recorded in 1983 by Chet Baker and is considered one of the best from that period. Baker plays compositions from “Dolphin Dance” (Herbie Hancock), “Strollin” (Horace Silver) and “In Your Own Sweet Way” (Dave Brubeck). The sadness of the songs is felt throughout, in a lazy sometimes slow and sluggish tempo. The album includes two bonus tracks “White Blues” and “Father X-mas” and band members include Michel Graillier (piano) and Ricardo Del Fra (bass).

Mr. B is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent red coloured vinyl. The album sleeve contains liner notes by Wim van Eyle.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• SLEEVE PRINTED ON HEAVY CARDBOARD WITH LINEN LAMINATE FINISH, CONTAINING LINER NOTES BY WIM VAN EYLE
• CHET BAKER PLAYS COMPOSITIONS FROM HERBIE HANCOCK “DOLPHIN DANCE”, HORACE SILVER
“STROLLIN”, DAVE BRUBECK “IN YOUR OWN SWEET WAY” PLUS 2 BONUS TRACKS “WHITE BLUES” AND “FATHER X-MAS”
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON TRANSLUCENT RED COLOURED VINYL

Realm was an American heavy metal/ technical thrash band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band was formed in 1985 by guitarists Paul Laganowski and Takis Kinis. Genealogical lines from Mercyful Fate, the NWOBHM over Metal Church to Agent Steel and even Slayer will pop to mind, while listening to this album. Also a close kinship with metal bands as Toxik, Watchtower and Annihilator can be heard. Discussing Realm primarily in terms of overlap with these other acts, would do injustice to the distinct musical identity the band has carved out for itself.

Endless War breathes intensity from start to finish, even a thrash rendition of the Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby can be found on this album. Realm found the perfect blend for an unforgettable dynamic delivery of their own thrash to the max.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDES INSERT
• FEATURES THE CD-ONLY TRACK
“THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR” AS BONUS TRACK
• LIMITED EDITION OF 1000
INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON SILVER COLOURED VINYL

Tripping Daisy is a neo-psychedelic pop rock band that was formed in Dallas, Texas, by lead singer/guitarist Tim DeLaughter in 1990 along with Jeff Bouck (drums), Wes Berggren (guitar) and Mark Pirro (bass). The group disbanded in 1999 following the sudden death of Berggren. The remaining members reformed for a few reunion concerts in 2017 and 2019. Their debut album Bill was released in 1993 and features 10 tracks which are evidence of the early 90’s alt-pop sound.

Bill is available on vinyl for the first time and includes an insert.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDES INSERT
• 1993 DEBUT ALBUM FEATURING “MY
UMBRELLA” AND “BLOWN AWAY” A.O.
• AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME
• FEATURING “MY UMBRELLA”, “BLOWN AWAY” A.O.

The soundtrack to the 2006 film Casino Royale was composed by David Arnold and is Arnold's fourth soundtrack for the popular James Bond movie series. Frequent collaborator Nicholas Dodd orchestrated and conducted the score. The traditional James Bond Theme builds throughout the film before appearing in its full form over the end credits as track 25, “The Name's Bond... James Bond”.

Casino Royale takes place at the beginning of Bond's career as Agent 007, as he is earning his license to kill. The plot has Bond on an assignment to bankrupt terrorist financier Le Chiffre in a high-stakes poker game at the Casino Royale in Montenegro; Bond falls in love with femme fatale Vesper Lynd, a treasury employee assigned to provide the money he needs for the game. The film begins a story arc that continues in the 2008 film, Quantum of Solace.

Casino Royale is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on gold coloured vinyl. The vinyl package includes 2 printed innersleeve, a large movie poster and features secret inscriptions in the run-out groove.

Born Jephté Mbisi in Genève, Varnish La Pisicine is a 25 year Swiss Rap author,composer & producer . After his former works under the name Pink Flamingo who maDe him work with Sébastien Tellier & Philippe Zdar, Varnish La Piscine also became a movie director and realized his first film “ Les contes du Cockatoo” whose Ost enhanced with bonus Tracks was released by Color Records under the name “ Metronome Pole Dance Twist Amazone”. After they met, Pedro Winter signed him on Ed Banger Record for his next works. “This Lake Is Successful” is the brand new 7 song mini-album.

Nach dem Release von "Inspirations" im Jahr 2021, ist "More Inspirations" das zweite Album mit Coverversionen, mit denen Saxon ihren musikalischen Einflüssen huldigen, die Inspirationen, die sie in ihrer über 40-jährigen Karriere begleitet haben.

Als erste Single kommt die überraschende Version von "The Faith Healer" der The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Ob es ihre Version von "We've Gotta Get Out Of This Place" von den Animals ist oder das dynamische "From The Inside" von Alice Cooper oder aber die grimmig vorgetragene Version von Kiss' "Detroit Rock City", More Inspirations ist ein unkonventioneller Trip der Saxon Männer, die ihre
Musik noch heute im Original zu Hause und im Tour Bus hören.

Produziert wurde das Ganze von Biff Byford, aufgenommen mit der Hilfe seines Sohnes Seb Byford, gemixt von Jacky Lehmann.

More Inspirations beinhaltet passionierte Songs von Rainbow, ZZ Top und Cream, das dröhnende "Razamanaz? von Nazareth, eine eigene,
geschmackvolle Version von "Substitute? (The Who) oder das mit einem fetten Groove angereicherte "Gypsy? von Uriah Heep. Diese Aufnahmen zeigen deutlich, aus welcher Ecke Saxon kommen.

Nach dem großen Erfolg der Seize the World Tour 2022 kommt Saxon im März mit einigen Dates zurück auf Tour, diesmal mit den deutschen Metal-Titanen Rage als Support.

Reissue on black Vinyl

25th Anniversary Edition: Das erste Album von *NSYNC aus dem Jahr 1998 ist jetzt auf schwarzem Vinyl erhältlich. Das Debütalbum enthält 13 Titel, darunter die Hits "Tearin' Up My Heart" und "I Want You Back".

Black 2 LP mit 18 Hits
Diese legendäre Greatest Hits-Sammlung wird zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl veröffentlicht. Sie enthält 18 Klassiker wie "I Want You To Want Me", "Surrender", "The Flame" und viele mehr. Plus Track-by-Track Liner Notes von der Band

A studio album recorded by Gilberto with arrangements by for Verve in 1967, Astrud Eumir Deodato and Don Sebesky, Beach
Samba successfully showcases the singer’s soft, soothing, playful, ethereal voice. The program consists of laid-back beach bossa nova tunes. The opening track, “Stay”, is a true highlight, while
“Beach Samba” is a wordless delight and “Canoeiro” rolls the Portuguese lyrics into a snaking rhythm. A real standout is “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” a duet with her then-six-yearold son. Gilberto’s vocals are backed by a sumptuous Brazil pop-cum-U.S.
orchestration feel (Ron Carter and Toots Thielemans are among the sidemen, as well as Brazilian stars Marcos Valle and Claudio Slon). Some of the more pop choices are also remarkable, particularly
Tim Hardin’s gorgeous “Misty Roses.” Beach Samba was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The first of for the tone for his work for the company: Leon Russell Freddie King ’s Shelter label set ’s three albums
superb electric blues with a prominent rock/ soul influence. The massive Texan and the longhaired Oklahoman got it right the first time
around with the aptly titled Getting Ready LP. Recorded at the legendary Chess studios in Chicago, it might well rank as Freddie King’s most creatively satisfying work.

An array of styles is assembled here, ranging from deep Texas Blues to touches of country church Gospel and hard sockin’ funk. Also, Freddie delved deep into blues history to give his spin on some classic pieces of the genre. Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom” is done acoustically, with just Freddie and his Spanish guitar. The production on Jimmy Rogers’ “Walking by Myself” is equally low-fi, adding Russell’s honky-tonk piano ramblings and a tambourine.

Willie Dixon’s “Worried Life Blues”, however, features King at his most powerfully expressive on this electric blues. The fast-paced stomper includes lightnin’-fast solos from King and he can be heard duelling with the studio guitarist Don Preston, as well.

“Going to A Go-Go”, and “My Girl Has Gone”. This was the only Miracles studio LP to climb into the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it remained for 40 weeks, peaking
at #8. It also peaked at #1 on Billboard’s R&B albums chart and achieved Gold Record status in 2003.

It was ranked #271 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest
albums of all time, #273 in the 2012 revised list, and #412 in the 2020 revised list.

The Underground Culture Tourist is a new label from the artists of the same, aka Moss Shamshad. He has been making music since the eagerly 2000s on top labels like Classic Music Company but now takes the power into his own hands on this self-releases 12". It finds him back in the heart of the classy deep house underground with a debut vinyl release that will immediately turn heads. 'House Music Anthem' is stylish, stripped back yet atmospheric with its rolling drums and cosmic synth work while 'P To You' has a little playful funk to its beatdown drums and steamy chord work.

“Pour les gens supercool.” This slick tagline caused a commotion among Belgian electronic music fans in 1985 as a jingle in Liaisons Dangereuses, the infamous radio show on local station S.I.S. Antwerpen. Hosted by Paul Ward and DJ Sven Van Hees and playing an exhilarating mix of EBM, house, new beat, acid house, Detroit techno, synthpop and more, the transmit was without a doubt trendsetting, presenting music on the radio that before was only to be witnessed in dark clubs or underground record stores. Listeners needed to make an effort though, since the S.I.S. waves only reached about 10km out of the city center. But a network of copied tape recordings and a fast growing bunch of fans - some of which even driving their cars to parking lots inside the broadcast area to hear the show - created a buzz that would easily exceed the limits of the transmission signal.

In 1989 Ward and Van Hees formed their own band named after the radio show, but to avoid confusion with the eponymous German new wave band, they signed their records with Liaison D or Liaisons D. Assisted by Jan Van Den Bergh (Mappa Mundi, Kumulus, Buzz), Marcos Salon (Outlander), Frank De Wulf (B-Sides, World Party II) and J.P. Ruelle, Liaisons D released a solid string of EP’s and the album “Submerged In Sound” on USA Import Records between 1989 and 1992. We are extremely proud to present four tracks from the album here as a brand new EP, a must-have for fans of their unapologetically rough and ravy sound, testimony of a unique era in Belgium’s electronic music history.

Orange Vinyl

The garage -psychedelic French duo The Liminanas straddles since 2009 the boundary between psychedelic ,shoegaze,garage & French yé-yé up to cool vocals . Quintessentially French but first known at the start in the US before hitting homeland France. 7 studio albums so far, 2 rare tracks compilations, many Eps,some OST, collabs such as L’Epée with Anton Newcombe & Emmanuelle Seigner : time for a first time Best of, and actually more than a Best of : Double Cd , Ltd Triple Vinyl& Digital editions offer 12 exclusive bonus tracks -new songs + rare songs when they called themselves les Bellas, before The Liminanas-.
“Electrified” also includes 23 classics songs , with featurings such as Peter Hook, Anton Newcombe and French pionners Laurent Garnier, Etienne Daho & Pascal Comelade.
Features liner notes written by Iggy Pop, Peter Hook & Keith Streng (Fleshtones) : because it’s only rock’n’roll.

AfroPhysicist is the third full-length album by jazz trumpeter Theo Croker. Known for his adventurous and spiritual playing style, Theo worked closely with Dee Dee Bridgewater to create this work of art. Croker’s recognisable fusion style blends perfectly with the funky rhythms of drummer Karriem Riggins. The result is compositions that blend the more traditional fusion with a very modern feel, with contemporary R&B and hip hop influences.

Avid Habibi Funk listeners may be familiar with Libyan composer / producer Najib Alhoush, who’s track “Ya Aen Daly” - the Bee Gee’s “Stayin Alive” cover - was included in our second compilation. While the original track never excited us, Najib’s version managed to strip it from its pop approach that had taken over disco during the genre`s peak. At that time, disco tracks mostly were aiming to appeal to the widest audience possible. Najib had turned the original track into something different and very unique. Upon further research we found that Najib was actually the singer and founder of The Free Music band alongside Fakhreddin, Salim Jibreel, Abdulrazzak ‘Kit-Kat’, Mukhtar Wanis and Mohameed Al Rakibi.
Initially, we only licensed Najib Alhoush’s “Ya Aen Daly” from Yousef Alhoush, Najib’s son, who was pleased to hear that there was interest in his father’s music form someone abroad. In the process of exchanging and learning about Najib’s music and career, our understanding was that The Free Music only recorded the one album. This couldn’t be further from the truth, in fact, there were ten albums produced by the group, all impressively coherent with a clear influence from disco, soul, funk and reggae.
The Free Music album was probably the longest it ever took us to gather information, photos and musical source material in a good enough quality to be reissued. This is largely due to the complicated political situation in Libya, compounded by the fact that Libya is still largely cut off from international payment systems, so getting an advance payment to the right person can be a process that takes weeks. The same goes for getting master tapes to a studio abroad and afterwards back to Libya.
When we look for music that works under the umbrella of Habibi Funk, we often come across albums where bands experimented with influences from Soul, Jazz, Funk, Disco and more, usually on a single track or two but then they often go down to a different path for the rest of the album. This was not the case for The Free Music. All their albums are fully dedicated to their unique blend of Disco, Reggae and Funk and it feels that when we made the selection for this album, we could have chosen a completely different number of tracks and the album would be been equally strong.
The lead-off single is the stupendously groovy “Ana Qalbi Ehtar” out February 3rd along with LP pre-order to capitalize on Bandcamp Friday. From the outset, the rhythmic strumming of the funkified guitars give way to the galloping drums and bass, opening up to anthemic vocals and rounding out with a blistering guitar solo, a certified disco-funk classic through-andthrough.
Second single, out February 17th is the disco slammer “Hawelt Nensa Ghalaak.” Guitars, harmonized horns, synths and bouncing bass and drums collide w/ spaced out vox to make the track a dancefloor sureshot for any party.
Third single is “Mathasebnish,” out March 3rd, a pure disco-funk slammer if there ever was one – with stabbing horns, funky bass riffs, a riding rhythm guitar and anthemic vocals, rounded out with stunning flute and guitar solos – the track will surely be on repeat along with the arrival of warmer weather.
Album focus track “Men Awel Marra” is another standout disco-infused tune, showcasing the immense creativity out of Najib and The Free Music. This past summer we finally had the opportunity to get together with Yousef face-to-face at a coffee shop in Istanbul’s central Istiklal road together with our friend Anas El Horani. Yousef told us the whole story of how his father got into music, the start of the band and his father’s continued conflicts with the Gaddafi regime that probably kept his career from becoming even bigger. As always, both vinyl and CD come with an extensive booklet featuring background on The Free Music and Najib Alhoush, including words from Najib’s son, Yousef, as well as unseen photos, cassettes and more.

Slow Meadow is ambient compositions from multi-instrumentalist Matt Kidd. After working as a touring / session musician since the early 2000s, Matt took a serious interest in creating music focused less on performance and more on inner experience. Slow Meadow began when Kidd befriended Marc Byrd of Hammock, who signed Slow Meadow to his label, Hammock Music, and released his debut in 2015. Available for the first time on vinyl, Singles Vol. 1 features a collection of nine Slow Meadow singles recorded between 2016-2018, containing some of the Houston multi-instrumentalist's most popular pieces. To connect these compositions, new segues/crossfades were written from song to song in both the vinyl and digital versions, allowing the pieces to be experienced in one cohesive and harmonious flow.

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.

Auf dem neuen Longplayer Crime Scene lenkt die bayuwarische Artrock-Institution ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf das Morbide, das Perverse, das Böse im Guten, die Abgründe des menschlichen Verhaltensspektrums in all seiner unvorhersehbaren Vielfalt, die dann manchmal auch so bizarr verstörend schlüssig daher kommt, wenn man denn ansetzt sie ergründen zu wollen.
In sechs dicht-atmosphärischen Tracks haben sich RPWL wieder einmal auf intensive Reisen durch die eigene Bandvita, als auch die jeweils eigenen Plattensammlungen begeben. Das Bemühen von Vergleichen ist immer so eine Sache, denn immerhin ist dies die 19te Veröffentlichung dieser international erfolgreichen Band. Die teils morbid-düsteren Themen werden mit old-school Fuzz konterkariert, das knapp 13-minütige "King of the World" mit seinem knurrenden Big Muff und seinen flächigen Vibes, oder "Life beyond Control", das mit seinem Offbeat-Einsatz sicher zu den härtesten Stücken in der RPWL Diskographie gehören dürfte, legen ihr Geständnis auf der Crime Scene ab. "Live in a Cage" bringt das das Kalkül des wie immer akribischen Sounddesigns dieses neuen RPWL-Albums auf den Punkt, nahtlos schließt sich "Red Rose" daran an. Pflaster auf Schusswunde als Prinzip. Aber der Wahn der normalisierten Gewalt wabert in so vielen Haushalten unter der vermeintlichen Harmonie, die die vier Musiker hier den Hörer glauben lassen. Wie fühlt es sich an, überhaupt kein Konzept von Freiheit zu haben, die Angst die bürgerliche Sicherheit zu verlassen aber größer ist? Allein im Lockdown-Jahr Jahr 2020 erfasste die Polizei über 119.000 Fälle von partnerschaftlicher Gewalt, 139 davon mit tödlichem Ausgang, die sich in über 80% der Fälle gegen den weiblichen Part in der Beziehung richteten.

Yogi Lang kommentiert aus künstlerischer Perspektive er sei schon immer von gesellschaftlichen und persönlichen Schattenseiten fasziniert gewesen. Kalle Wallner stellt die Gretchenfrage, wie man es denn mit dem Bösen an sich halte: "Wer macht uns zu dem wer wir sind? Ist es eine Frage der Genetik oder sind es doch die sozialen Umstände, unsere Kindheit, Schicksalsschläge, Druck oder Kränkungen?"

Das ‚Böse' bildet eines der Kernthemen auf Crime Scene, welches über das Band-eigene Label Gentle Art of Music erscheint. Als wertig aufgemachtes Digipak, drei unterschiedlichen Vinyl-Versionen (180Gr. Schwarz, 180Gr. Lim. Rot, 180Gr. Lim. Blau) und natürlich Digital.

eclipsed - Album des Monats:
"RPWL ist damit ein geradezu kriminell spannendes Werk gelungen. ....Auf "Crime Scene" spielen RPWL alle ihre Stärken aus. Tatorte gesichert. Fälle geklärt. Mission erfüllt. ... Wuchtige, cineastisch anmutende Arrangements, wunderschöne Melodiebögen, bewegende, leise, behutsame Momente und ein ausgesprochen spannendes Konzept hinterlassen einen starken Eindruck..."

SLAM (Highlight März/April)
Wieder einmal haben die bayrischen Artrocker RPWL ein Konzeptalbum am Start und wieder einmal kommt nach dem ersten Durchlauf der übliche Gedanke: Das ist absolut großartig, aber man hat keine Ahnung warum genau. Was haben die in Freising in ihrem Wasser, das ihnen erlaubt zu scheinbar egal welchem Thema eine Klangwelt zu bauen, die es so kein zweites Mal gibt? (...) Man kann gar nicht hoch genug einschätzen, wie wertvoll die Existenz so einer Band ist, es bleibt am Ende ein einfaches "Danke".

Zu seinem 20jährigen Jubiläum wird das zweite Album des britischen Soul/R'nB-Stars Craig David als Doppelvinyl (black & coloured) neu aufgelegt.

Zu seinem 20jährigen Jubiläum wird das zweite Album des britischen Soul/R'nB-Stars Craig David als Doppelvinyl (black & coloured) neu aufgelegt.