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Musica Per Immagini is about to go beyond vinyl reissues of soundtracks and music libraries, with a brand new series of products.
From 2024 onwards, it will release a series of albums of contemporary and electronic music often "inspired by" different sources, both sonic, if not literary and cinematographic. A way to embrace the future without forgetting the past.

Heinrich Dressel's “Polarlys” is the first album of unreleased tracks published by Musica Per Immagini, or a soundtrack for a imaginary noir film set in the icy waters of northern Europe, inspired by the book “The Mystery of the Polarlys” by Georges Simenon. Drones and ethereal atmospheres are paired with a cinematic background in order to describe the frost of the northern seas and the restlessness of the journey: beyond the classic analog sounds, a specific use of additive and vector synthesis particularly in vogue during the Nineties and typical of vintage synthesizers.

Auf seinem dritten Album ,Sleepwalking" verwebt der neuseeländische Komponist, Multi-Instrumentalist und Produzent JONATHAN BREE mit seinem unverwechselbaren Baritongesang stark orchestrierte Elemente - üppige Streicher, Hörner, Celeste- und Sopranchöre - mit Kammerpop aus einer vergangenen Zeit (LEE HAZLEWOOD & NANCY SINATRA). Die Songs tauchen auf eine ausgesprochen moderne Art und Weise in die Avantgarde ein und aus ihr heraus, darunter der Hit ,You're So Cool", dessen Masken-Video Ende 2023 über 31 Millionen Views auf YouTube hat und zum Musikvideo des Jahres 2017 im New Yorker Time Out Magazin gekürt wurde. ,You're So Cool" zeigt seine mysteriöse Band im Masken-Outfit, welches JONATHAN in den letzten Jahren mit einem weißen Ganzkörperanzug, einer Gesichtsmaske (mit Wangenknochen!) und einer Schalenperücke verfeinert hat. Ein gezupftes Cello, eine minimale Bass-Line und ein Schlagzeugmuster bilden JONATHANS Markenzeichen, dass sich durch das gesamte Album zieht. Mit ,Sleepwalking" blickt JONATHAN BREE in Richtung 60er Jahre Lounge, Exotica und französischen Pop. Es gibt mehrere Duette auf dem Album, insbesondere mit der neuseeländischen Musikerin PRINCESS CHELSEA (in ,Static" und ,Plucking Petals"), mit der JONATHAN seit vielen Jahren zusammenarbeitet. Die katalanische Musikerin CLARA VINALS ist zu Gast auf der Single ,Say You Love Me Too", die einen ausgeprägten SERGE GAINSBOURG-Stil hat, mit geflüsterten, intimen Vocals, die über einer markanten Basslinie und einem Drum-Pattern sitzen, das den Song antreibt.Als bekennender Workaholic und sozialer Einsiedler verbringt JONATHAN seine Tage (und Nächte) in einem schäbigen Heimbüro und versucht sein Plattenlabel Lil' Chief Records (Home of PRINCESS CHELSEA, RUBY SUNS u.a..) zu leiten, während er gleichzeitig Alben für Künstler wie PRINCESS CHELSEA produziert, in viralen Musikvideos für Duette über das Rauchen (,Cigarette Duet") auftritt und dann noch Zeit findet, sein eigenes Material aufzunehmen und seine Masken-Videos zu drehen. Und manchmal schläft er sogar. Aber nur manchmal.

Egil Kalman has levelled up on this one; we were stunned by his last solo opus, and on ‘Forest of Tines’, the bassist/synthesist has traded the EMS Synthi 100 for the Buchla Series 200, recording at Stockholm’s illustrious Elektronmusikstudion (EMS). Here, he builds on themes he explored on his debut with a generous 20 track double album that marks firmer lines between Scandinavian folk music and contemporary electro- acoustic minimalism.

Using woody, synthesised tones that gradually open into sawing wails, Kalman suggests harmonies that lie between the 17th century polska and earlier, pre-Renaissance sounds, mimicking the tonal and textural fluctuations of strings with advanced tuning and sequencing techniques. There are plenty of artists delving into the past to unravel their identity, but Kalman’s approach is refreshingly unadulterated. He recorded the entire set on the fly, using just spring reverb to add extra texture, without overdubs or modern DAW-style layering, the Buchla 200 played almost like an acoustic instrument.

There’s a glimmer of vintage acid on the lithe ‘Dub One’, a complex, rhythmic experiment that lashes its pulses together with willowy portamento slides. And on ‘Klystron’, he absorbs warehouse techno’s architectural oomph, splaying psychedelic, reverberating ascending sequences over jagged kicks; listen carefully, and there’s something else going on in the background too, as Kalman meets his stabs with flute-like echoes. It’s a peculiar cocktail of ideas and provocations: ‘Mbira’ finds the composer shaping his synth into dusty, fluttering hits that resemble the titular Zimbabwean finger harp, and on ‘Drums’, he pipes pre-recorded percussion through the system, triggering its oscillators and helping shape its rhythmic patterns. He’s most comfortable when he’s mines a hazier past, ‘Autumn Leaves’ is a mystickal, just intoned droner that harmonises with Mattias Petersson’s awesome ‘Triangular Progressions’, and ‘Subtines’ sounds as if Kalman has deployed his instrument in a subterranean crevice, resonating his rumbles around synthetic water droplets.

If it’s uncanny court music you’re particularly interested in, there’s plenty of that too. ‘Polska’ is another sublimely hauntological Swedish folk interpolation, while closing track ‘Ocquet’ appears to blur Kalman’s ideas more thoroughly, melting folk phrasing and peaceful, uneasy drones to draw us to a neat conclusion. Soft-hearted but animated, it’s modern electronic music that isn’t afraid of employing vintage techniques to suggest new directions.

Brasilian Producer Apoena kicks off 2024 in style for Hudd Traxx following an impressive back catalogue of releases on labels like Jimpster's Freerange and Jus Ed's Underground Quality.

Pure Feeling opens up proceedings in a deep and hypnotic style reminiscent of Ron Trent and Chez Damier's early releases on Prescription. Rico Balanço follows in a similar vain oozing with raw Berlin vibes, which is where Apoena currently resides.

The B side features In between the beat and the title track Mystic which are melodic trippy groovers for early hour vibes. 2024 is shaping up to be a big year for Hudd Traxx keep em' peeled.

After the test pressings mysteriously vanished on the Victoria line, the brothers Bend return triumphantly with their second outing on the fledgling Benders imprint. BNDRS002 has been timed to mark the quadrennial celebrations of leap day on the 29th of February and represents their most bent work to date. ‘Rip It Off’ and ‘How’s Your Father’ both chug along at a lazy pace that only the chief benders themselves could get away with. Once again, you have familiar melodies delivered with a twinkle in their eye and a side of acid filtered squelch. Perfect for the last song of the night or first song of the morning.

REPRESS of the sophomore album Sang Dragon. "The whole tone of the album is one of pure DOOM though shades of Psych Rock and Stoner Metal do appear to show you there is much more to the bands sound. Though this will take a few listens to fully appreciate as Witchthroat Serpent have created quite a complex album at times. Tracks such as - Lady Sally, Into The Black Wood and Mystical Detective - even venture into the world of Prog Rock as some of the guitar solos can only be described as epic." - Outlaws of the Sun

REPRESS of the sophomore album Sang Dragon. "The whole tone of the album is one of pure DOOM though shades of Psych Rock and Stoner Metal do appear to show you there is much more to the bands sound. Though this will take a few listens to fully appreciate as Witchthroat Serpent have created quite a complex album at times. Tracks such as - Lady Sally, Into The Black Wood and Mystical Detective - even venture into the world of Prog Rock as some of the guitar solos can only be described as epic." - Outlaws of the Sun

Die progressiven Sludge-Meister LORD DYING aus Portland verwandeln Tragödien in Triumphe. Zwei Alben, angetrieben von zermalmenden Riffs und konfrontierendem Howls haben die Doom Dogs der Welt vorgestellt. Im Jahr 2019 lieferten sie Mysterium Tremendum ab, ein Album, das Kerrang!

als "Prog-Metal-Meisterwerk" bezeichnete.
Die berauschende und abenteuerliche existenzielle Meditation über den Tod bildete den Auftakt zu einer Trilogie. Diese Geschichte wird 2023 mit einem zunehmend ambitionierten Nachfolger fortgesetzt, dem treffend benannten Clandestine Transcendence.

"Letztlich geht es auf dem Album um Selbstfindung und darum, das zu werden, was man angesichts von Hindernissen werden will, egal wie die Karten gegen einen gestapelt sind", sagt Olson. "Ich bin nicht wirklich ein spiritueller Mensch. Aber ein Text auf dem Album handelt von der Umwandlung von Energie und davon, dass Materie weder geschaffen noch zerstört werden kann. Das ist vom issenschaftlichen Standpunkt aus betrachtet." Er lacht. "Aber vielleicht ist die Wissenschaft spirituell."

Sepulchral Voice, 12“ LP, black 140g / printed insert, 'Procul His' ist ein unerbittlicher Katarakt aus mäandernden Riffs, der jeden Aspekt früherer Veröffentlichungen erweitert und verbessert. Einzigartig, eindringlich und mysteriös, eine weitere schwarze Manifestation von Drowned's Korpus der auralen Halluzinationen. Drowned haben ein Album produziert, das zwischen versengendem Death-Thrash, treibenden remolo-Noten und doomigen Klageliedern oszilliert und in der Zeit transzendiert: in der Vergangenheit verwurzelt, und doch nach vorne blickend.

The mysterious Black Fan is back! After his releases on Local Talk and Quintessentials, Black Fan is for sure one to watch in 2024. „I know – I am“ is his most mature work to date and shows his love for House and Techno when it started – New York, Detroit, Sheffield! Black Fan has his roots in the good old rave and early House days and has many stories to tell! He was DJing at places like „The Dance Factory“, „The Eclipse“, „Tolerance“ plus more times at the now legendary „Energy“ parties than he cares to remember, and has kept in love with House and Techno ever since. Be ready for „I know – I am“, a proper New York/New Jersey styled house tune or „deep rotation“ and „TE2“ - raw, deep and detrotish with a touch of UK techno! Ready for 2024!

Artwork pic shows the aftermath Blackburn warehouse party, Nelson 1989/90.

He's back - again! Years after the end of the Heisei era, the big G came back to film in 1999 with the first of a new era: GODZILLA 2000: MILLENNIUM. Directed by Takao Okawara (GODZILLA VS. DESTOROYAH), a new look Godzilla is still harassing Tokyo, with the Godzilla Prediction Network out there trying to figure out where he'll show up next. To make matters worse, the government's Crisis Control Intelligence care more about firing missiles, but everything changes when they discover a mysterious meteor has a UFO inside. All of this results in Orga, a kaiju made from Godzilla's DNA, and of course it's up to the Big G to kick its ass back to space. Scoring GODZILLA 2000 was Takayuki Hattori, who had previously composed 1994's GODZILLA VS. SPACEGODZILLA. Hattori's music is very much about mood; the composer brings a sense of lyricism to proceedings, but of course, he also knows how to get us excited for Godzilla's appearances. Hattori does that with a spectacular new theme for the Big G that perfectly captures the creature's grandeur and immense power. There's also a fantastic piece for the UFO that has a wonderfully primevil beat, and of course, Akira Ifukube's classic theme for Godzilla returns in a big way. A perfect start to the Millennium era! (Charlie Brigden)



Artwork by Matt Ryan Tobin

2X 140gram Eco-Vinyl

Creeping through an imaginary border, sidesteppin’ through the night like cyber phantoms eavesdropping on early morning machinery shifts, an industrial solstice for pagan mystics. After five years Torino’s mysterious SabaSaba are back with ‘Unknown City’ an imaginary soundtrack for a dystopian city: digital raga, horror Exotica, half-speed techno, metallic dub and organic electronics.

The duo of Andrea Marini (synth, guitar, electronics, tapes) and Gabriele Maggiorotto (drums, percussion, effects, programming) return with their most political manifesto yet, an intricate musical essay inspired by China Miéville’s novel ‘The City And The City’, examining border control, repression, an unknown city where people move like ghosts without personality and without communicating, monitored on sight by the authorities. SabaSaba’s personal OST is a whirlwind of analog and digital instruments colliding, textured samples, syncopated drums and spiritual synth sweeps often heightened by Ambra Chiara Michelangeli’s eerie viola playing, an ancestral force resisting under a cement tower, modulars gasping for air, endlessly reverberating into noir-soul and gray landscapes.

Like Miéville’s two imaginary cities Ul Qoma e Besźel, SabaSaba’s journey is cavernous, claustrophobic at times, but a clear sense of evasion and resistance breaks through, small flickers of light, like a cyborg calibrating himself - the hypnotic dub ambient of ‘False Speech’ - for an ecstatic liberation - the trance inducing ‘Wrists Free’ featuring UK industrial techno duo Jerome. ‘Ul Qoma’ unites

The long lost 1968 debut album by singer-songwriter, Scott Fagan, once tipped to be bigger than Elvis, is set for release on 9th February 2024 via Earth Recordings. 'South Atlantic Blues' will be reissued for the first time in its original artwork, with an iconic portrait of Fagan by famed rock photographer, Joel Brodsky, following a widely celebrated 2015 release. Revisiting his mystical, mythical, and deeply soulful masterpiece, this psych-folk gem doffs a Tropicalia hat direct from downtown New York. "His songs embrace a broad sonic fantasia, swirling in '60s New York R&B and '40s jazz, as well as the Caribbean rhythms of calypso, meringue and Pachanga." New York Times Scott Fagan's story is worthy of a movie in itself. A swinging hipster who landed in 60s Greenwich folk scene, escaping the abject poverty of his U.S. Virgin Islands upbringing, Fagan found himself mentored by the Brill Building's Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, and feted as the next big thing. "Forget Rodriguez, forget Searching for Sugar Man," says Sharyn Felder, daughter of the late Doc Pomus, the legendary songwriter who signed Fagan to management in 1964. "Scott was so much more. He was cut from a different cloth." 'South Atlantic Blues' is the perfect soundtrack to this tale, an epic song cycle wrapped around an impassioned love story, driven by Fagan's dense, allusive lyrics, and production by Elmer Jared Gordon (Pearls Before Swine) and rich arrangements by Horace Ott (Nina Simone, Sam Cooke, The Shirelles). The Earth Recordings reissue coincides with a resurgence in activity for Fagan, with a new album in the works - the never-recorded soundtrack to 'Soon', the 1971 Broadway rock musical he co-wrote and starred in - and a documentary 'Soon: the Story of Scott Fagan' currently filming through Scissor Kick Films, from director Marah Strauch, writer Chris Campion (who rediscovered the singer-songwriter in 2015), and producer Eric Bruggeman. Classic Black Vinyl + DLC

Robert Wienes Stummfilmklassiker von 1920 in neuem Klanggewand, komponiert von ex-Kraftwerk-Musiker Karl Bartos. Die Filmzeitschrift Licht-Bild-Bühne hatte damals nicht mit Superlativen gegeizt: "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari" sei nichts Geringeres als "der modernste, aktuellste, gewagteste Film, den die Welt je gesehen hat", schrieb das Magazin 1920 und damit kurz nach der Premiere über den ersten Psychothriller der Filmgeschichte. Einer, der sich besonders intensiv mit diesem Meilenstein der Geschichte des expressionistischen Films auseinandergesetzt hat, ist der Komponist und Musiker Karl Bartos - vielen gut bekannt als langjähriges Bandmitglied und Co-Komponist von Kraftwerk, jenen Pionieren der Elektronischen Musik, die in ihrem Bereich mindestens ebenso "modern, aktuell, gewagt" waren. Seit fast 20 Jahren hegt der ursprünglich klassisch ausgebildete Musiker eine Leidenschaft für diesen wohl einflussreichsten deutschen Stummfilm aller Zeiten und arbeitet daran, dem experimentellen Film ein ebenso experimentelles Klanggewand zu schneidern. Mit kristallklaren Bildern, die von der Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung digital restauriert wurden, ist der Film nun in der besten Qualität zu sehen, die es je gab, und mit Bartos" Soundtrack gibt es nun auch einen beeindruckenden Sound zu der eindringlichen Vision.

Green Vinyl

A bass rumble seems to rearrange your organs like a spiritual doctor, fast techno kicks and a funky as hell percussion line emerge - it's the lucky 13th release on Lisbon's Para?so, this time by local mainstays Shcuro and Vil - the first, label co-founder, the second a longtime friend and impeccable DJ with a range that runs from dubstep to the hardest strains of techno and beyond. The opener track 'Rumble The Funk' evolves with infectious stabs and cut-up vocal and our legs can't seem to stand still. The groove continues on with the A2 'Recoil', a soulful, dubby, relentless ode to techno that feels authentic and purposeful. Emotional tones find their way in via a mysterious, melodic string, introduced in the breakdown. Dubbed out motifs, delay + feedback strokes make a welcome return on the appropriately titled 'Chime Dub' that opens the B side of the record: skippy rhythmic layers and a warm bassline complete the picture, string flourishes give us glimpses of radiant dancefloor revelations. On the B2 the duo's opener track gets the remix treatment by another exciting duo: Blasha & Allatt, who are the women behind the iconic queer techno raves Meat Free. They flip the original's melody into a rapid, dreamy affair, conveying an optimism that perfectly wraps up this solid record by continuing the celebration of collaborative work.

Penelope Scott is a songwriter and producer who absorbs the mania and magnificence of Gen Z life in her expansive, entrancing, and extreme musical vision equally steeped in tender acoustic balladry and hyperpop paroxysms. Gathering hundreds of millions of streams and receiving widespread acclaim from Billboard and more, she showcases both sides of her sound on the 2023

double-EP, Girls Night and Mysteries for Rats.. “When I was making the project, I realized there was a split down the middle,” she reveals. “Half of the songs are in the more acoustic folky style, and the other half are computerized synth sounds. So, I decided to do multiple EPs. It gives people different options and flavors already sorted out for them.” Penelope explores every facet of who she is on the double-EP and appeals to a myriad of emotions in the process as just “a singer-songwriter, aspiring music software knower.”

The Sex featuring members of Mercenary God and No Suicide. A mixture of different elements with a rock substrate for an uncategorized result. Another Post-Punk gem from the 80's Italian North-Eastern scene.

My adventure buddies? The silent, enigmatic Patti, former singer of the mysterious No Suicide, and the young, faithful Chris, a passionate Police fan, we met on the battlefield and he immediately became my brother. For him, learning to play the bass was a way to get close to Sting, in other words, just one step below Paradise. Patti instead played keyboards as an extension of her mysterious and glacial presence, so still and distant that the audience sometimes wondered if she was real. And then there was my fixation for the drum machine, a futuristic device which could transform the drumming sweat into an invisible, yet physical, dreamlike pulsation. A particular combination of characters and a special astral conjunction, that’s what you need to get a nucleus source of sonic emotions, and in some ways this is what we were. You could clearly feel it during the concerts. When at the end of ‘81 My Mercenary God lost their drummer and had to disband, I felt clearly that the music had already changed.

Our old 70’s rock ‘n’ roll sound was no longer representative of the day. We were like some sort of yesterday’s newspaper. Thus I Sex was born (later The Sex). According to Freudian thought that sees sexual instinct as the driving force behind every (creative or destructive) human act. And in fact we immediately started creating, destroying, assembling and deconstructing our sound. Suddenly “tomorrow became now”. It was an outburst of creative independence in the form of homemade cassettes put together with makeshift tools, at least until the arrival of the legendary 4 track recorder. I was 19 years old, Chris was only 17. Nothing more than kids after all. Yet we were already veterans, veterans of a lost war. Wise, naive, disillusioned dreamers, everything and the opposite of everything. But, above all, we were totally devoted to our creative delirium up to the point of losing touch with reality, crossing limits, breaking down barriers and almost bordering on madness. Perhaps we were just too involved, especially if in relationship with what we could receive in return. We always spread our energies as if there was no future. We unconsciously felt that we had to live in the moment, now or never, and in retrospect it really was like that, and this is why these songs exist now. Songs created with the intent to tell an inner universe that is, now as then, far from any convention.

An F-bomb saturated hip-hop call & response club cut...from Sun Ra?! While the most renown track in this omniversal opus is the atomic expletive-filled repartee 'Nuclear War,' there is so much more to this dark mysterious journey through the mind of Sun Ra. The sprawling, suite-like 20-minute title track sustains a lyrical edge in spite of an open framework and textures, which encourage sonorities to surface and emerge from the band as if there was no human intention behind them. In opposition to 'Nuclear War,' Ra's organ playing here was built less on bombast and sonic terror than it is on whispers, stutters, shivers, and swells. Fireside Chat offers a wide stylistic array, as was the artist's intent, reflecting his eclectic, seemingly irreconcilable approach to compositional extremes. With Sun Ra you get everything... except predictability. First ever reissue of this iconic album!

A Fireside Chat With Lucifer by Sun Ra, released 2 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Makeup" and more.

This version of A Fireside Chat With Lucifer comes as a 1xLP.

The vinyl is pressed as a yellow disc.

Originally recorded in 1987 at Tabansi recorded Studio & Roger All Stars and pressed by Wilfilms, Nigeria. You’ll find six tracks of drumcomputer driven lo-fi jams laced with catchy synth lines from the mind of producer Austine Onwurah, who was quite active in the 80’s.. The project with Mr. Idigo resulted in a highly addictive cosmic boogie album which includes four absolute highlights. The record starts with one of the standout cuts; Flight 505, which is a tough electro/boogie crossover with vocals and sparse vocoder on top. Followed by the heavy boogie jam ‘We Got To Love’ , that is the personal favorite and a great track for DJ’s . The magnificent A-side closes with the catchy title track, again great production with top chorus and synth hook. On the flip you’ll find the wicked digital reggae tune ‘Mystic World’ with still ever relevant lyrics that closes the LP.. There is something special about this sought after record, the way the instrumentation has been played and programmed is very groovy and musical with a certain sound to it that is unmistakably Nigerian. The synth melodies weave in the tracks with ease and layers of funky bass and guitar float on top. Music that will grow on you every time you listen to it, one of the clever wonders coming from Nigeria! Officially licensed with courtesy of the family. Carefully restored and remastered with respect to the original sound and artwork. ‘’The need to ‘Search’ has come oh’ people of the world we have taken earthly forms the wisdom of love and unity thou shall love one another for love and unity is the route of life so do I search for Love, Peace & Unity’’ – Alphonsus Idigo

This is the new 20th anniversary edition of one of Soul Jazz Records’ classic Studio One releases, now available as a one-off special blue vinyl very limited-edition pressing (2000 copies worldwide). 


Studio One Roots set the standard for Soul Jazz Records’ long-standing series of Studio One collections and features many of the classic artists from Clement 'Sir Coxsone’ Dodd’s mighty roster of reggae. This album includes Freddie McGregor, Willie Williams, Cornell Campbell, Alton Ellis, Devon Russell alongside some of the defining crack-session men groups of Jamaican reggae history – The Sound Dimension, Brentford All-Stars, The Skatalites, New Establishment and more. As ever the album is filled with a mixture of
seminal cuts and super-rarities from the vast vaults of 13 Brentford Road. 
Stand-out tracks include Alton Ellis’s Blackish White, a surreal and powerful Afro-centric dream, Count Ossie Nyabinghi and Rastafarian drummers genre-defying interpretation of Booker
T and The MGs ‘Meditation’, Willie Williams awe-inspiring versioning of the Skatalites seminal Rastafari anthem Addis Ababa and many, many more.
 This album has been fully digitally remastered, analog cut and packaged complete with the following: Original sleevenotes by Lloyd Bradley (author of When Reggae Was King),
compiled by Mark Ainley (Hones Jons), high-quality Soul Jazz mastering, wicked images of Count Ossie and the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari on the cover, and a rare image of Clement Dodd and musicians inside the studio at Studio One on the full colour inner
sleeves.
 “The music of this compilation is of a rare, rare beauty and is essential to anyone's reggae collection” All Music

Two years after the release of his first self-titled album, DJ producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea presents the new 'Sacred Love', in which he once again avails himself of the collaboration of his friend producer and bass player Salvo Dub, as well as a combo of respected musicians: singer Kadi Koulibaly - originally from Burkina Faso - already featured on the first album, Giulia La Rosa, author of the lyrics and performer of the title track, pianist Mario Pappalardo, percussionist Sergio Spitaleri and drummer Luciano Cantone.
'Sacred Love' is definitely a more mature, intense and profound journey than the previous album of the same name, which enhances the magical dreamlike and spiritual atmospheres of a certain African culture.
The album guides the listener along a path of multi-ethnic contaminations: "Divinité", "Ouaga" and "Koloko", well interpreted by Kadi, touch on the sacredness and mysticism of the African continent and blend well with the Spiritual Jazz sounds that have evolved in the West.
"Divinité", through the spoken word of French poet Diego Hernandez, tackles the themes of faith, life and the relationship with one's 'self', with references to French chanson productions, in which Kadi's spiritual song, at times 'Saharan', intersects and expands into cosmic space.
The title track, the first single from the album, also released on 7" (45rpm) in two versions, is an Afro-American gospel with a typically afrobeat rhythm, vaguely reminiscent of Nina Simone's 'See-Line Woman'.
North Africa is represented by "Equator", while we climb further north into the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with "Medican Blues", to land in Stromboli with the Deep Jazz of "Ginostra", whose title recalls the village of the marvellous island in the Aeolian archipelago.
Then we have the Cuban track "Caminito", a sort of Cha-Cha with a romantic piano melody (à la Chucho Valdez) well performed by maestro Mario Pappalardo; and then again "Eos", strongly Balearic with a Brazilian mood; "Impression", a dreamy journey of impact; "Sirens", already present on the first album and here reworked in a new Spiritual-Ambient version produced by Agosta.
"Sacred Love" is thus an original and musically borderless album, which expands a certain African sacred culture and naturally blends Afrobeat, Jazz and Blues atmospheres with the Balearic sounds of Mediterranean culture.
Enjoy listening!

FOLLOWING THEIR RECENT REUNION, THE DELGADOS REISSUE THEIR FOURTH STUDIO ALBUM HATE ON COLOURED VINYL AND CD TO MARK ITS 21st ANNIVERSARY

Ushering in a new era of emotionally vulnerable and cinematic songwriting for celebrated Glasgow group The Delgados, 2002’s Hate is the group’s most ambitious recorded statement to date. Recorded amidst a backdrop of personal change and international crisis, Hate’s internal alchemy transmogrifies darkness into light. It’s an enclosed universe full of tragedy and magic, a swirling galaxy of lush orchestration, misanthropy dealt with kindness and black humour. Above all it showed a band coming to terms with their fragility with a new power and grace.

In Hate, the band’s ambition saw them striving to reflect the breadth of human experience, both the joy and tragedy of living in tumultuous times. Initially commissioned by The Barbican in London to compose music for a film about artist Joe Coleman, the instrumental music that instigated Hate was laden with darkness from the outset. The Delgados’ worldview has always been informed by nuance, an oblique but incisive lyrical perspective but on Hate a new rawness is woven throughout the songs. Coleman’s original subject matter - portraits of troubled historical figures like Ed Gein, Mary Bell and Jayne Mansfield - influenced the tonality of the music but the songs were written against a backdrop of international tumult and personal life changes for the band members. Beginning writing sessions following a family bereavement in drummer Paul Savage’s family, Hate was then recorded while both Alun Woodward and co-singer/guitarist Emma Pollock were expecting new additions to their young families, the latter with drummer Paul Savage. In the background to the recording process were the attacks on the World Trade Center of September 2001 and their aftermath. In this context, it’s remarkable that an album was made at all, let alone one so grand and compassionate. It’s a masterclass in restraint and imagination.

Hate sounds like the world in all its ugly glory. Recorded in Glasgow and New York with Tony Doogan, Dave Fridmann and the band as producers and using over 20 additional musicians, Hate grabs the baton from the group’s breakthrough critical and commercial success The Great Eastern. Bolder, broader and more all-encompassing than anything the band had previously attempted, the album’s palette is furnished by a string section, brass and reed instrumentation, a choir and electronic elements augmenting the core group of Emma Pollock, Alun Woodward, Paul Savage and Stewart Henderson. Far from being over the top, the group’s skill is in attention to detail, in honing and refining each arrangement, allowing each element its space.

It’s a fine balancing act that pays massive dividends. Woodward’s new lyrical vulnerability is spotlighted on tracks like The Drowning Years, which throws elegiac string arrangements against the narrative of characters living in darkness, punctuated by couplets that bring a real-life documentary feel to the narrative. All Rise brings a black comedy to the idea of a confessional before a transcendent, choir-led refrain brings ecstatic resolution to Woodward’s vocal in its highest register. On the single All You Need Is Hate, Woodward’s trick of subverting the Beatles standard showcases the dark humour at the centre of Hate. Here The Delgados’ perversity is in full flow, nurturing a glowing light from darkness, the resolving melody and Fridmann production recalling contemporaries The Flaming Lips (whose Michael Ivins assisted in mixing) or Mercury Rev. The perversity is the surging serotonin induced by the group while singing the lines “Hate is everywhere, inside your mother’s heart and you will find it there. You ask me what you need? Hate is all you need.”

It’s a dark magic that pervades Hate, indeed it’s almost the driving force throughout the album. Flipping minor to major and back again, Favours is fuelled by fear and violence before blasting into the heavens with the gauche line “and you’re feeling fine,” operating in stark contrast to the verses’ tone. Album opener The Light Before We Land finds Emma Pollock in the aftermath of recent family trauma. Her vocal is effortless; a study in steady restraint against the massive, Fridmann-patented drum sound powering Savage’s playing and Henderson’s instantly recognisable melodic basslines. Coming In from the Cold is Pollock in full flight, lifted to the heavens by wide-screen, instrumental texture. Her presence on Hate highlights her knack for lyrical impressionism, the timbre of her voice lending itself to drama while always retaining a mystique. Never Look At The Sun, inspired by the Coleman painting The Big Bang Theory (itself an explosives-themed study), revels in paranoia, her performance ringing out in the eye of the storm conjured by the swirling arrangements. It reaches the peak of a redemptive arc while seemingly parodying the very idea of redemption.

Hate was the sound of The Delgados completely fulfilling their potential, a fully realised vision buoyed by the weight of coming through a darkness into light. For its 21st anniversary, the album is being reissued on the band’s own Chemikal Underground on coloured vinyl and CD. Hate is all you need

180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL

HEAVYWEIGHT SLEEVE FINISHED WITH LEATHER LAMINATE
INCLUDES INSERT WITH LYRICS AND PICTURES

THE LEGENDARY 1985 DEBUT ALBUM FEATURING THE HIT SINGLES
“YOUR LOVE”, “ALL THE LOVE” & “SAY IT ISN’T SO”

LIMITED EDITION OF 3000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON
PURPLE MARBLED VINYL

Into the best Balearic tradition boldly steps Milan’s Rollover crew. As well as a regular party in Milan, the Rollover DJs (Tiberio Carcano & Rocco Fusco) have been making edits and releasing tunes over the past several years, but with this release there has been a step change in ambition. The latest collection of songs has been produced in a studio with actual musicians and songwriters, but with the ear of an experienced DJ. The best of both worlds. It was recorded almost exactly one year ago in December 2022, with the cream of Italian players, including bass player and Jovanotti collaborator, Saturnino, sticksman Sergio Carnevale, vocalist David Blank and guitar and synth boffin Lorenzo Morresi, who’s helped the guys with production. It follows in the tradition of a new generation of Italian musicians, like Nu Genea, Mystic Jungle Tribe and also DJs like Volcov. The lead single, ‘What Do You Live For’ was what Rocco & Tiberio describes as, “a funky track inspired by the early 1980s” and grooves so hard, with Blank’s message hitting right in the solar plexus. This will be followed by a pair of bangers, ‘Change My Mind’, a mid tempo disco chugger that is a tribute to LTJ Experience, the Bologna DJ Luca Trevisi, while ‘Never Found The Way’ heads towards Arthur Russel, before pealing off directly to the dancefloor. There’s also a Bawrut remix that adds some urgency and darkness to proceedings. The package is completed by lovely artwork by Riccardo Corda, whose work has adorned the Nu Genea releases. Is it Balearic? We think it is.

Cryovac is a family of artists that work as one machine. Individual style bands together and moves, as cogs, this machine forward. A.Garcia maintains and manages production on every level, even the pressing at the world famous Archer Record Press. Cryovac is a collaboration between artists and craftsmen to make a quality product. Each project Cryovac champions is meant as a gift for the true believer.

Cryovac #28 starts out with Jason Garcia's frantic head banger “Trapped in purgatory”. This classic 4/4 rocker builds intensity by layering screaming tones to crescendo in a steady drive. “Ichabod”, Garcia’s second track on the A side, is a spartan groove with a stoic delivery of minimalism; a stripped down rhythm with a serious attitude.

A.Garcia and M.Kretsch begin the B side with a reggae-punk techno experiment that delivers a rowdy funk.“Rock the dance bah” is Clash inspired minimal with a walking bassline, texas style percussion, and a guitar twack on the up beat. Garcia and Kretsch collab again on the B2 with “Stillgar”; a blend of synths working around each other as one storm guiding a rambunctious beating to a mystic reverie. These tracks illustrate the duo's production method and approach to the techno sound.

Our artwork for this release was provided by Nick Retzlaff. He is an artist and stand-up comic living with autism, and expressing his unique view of the world.

Adam Pit’s Grounded EP sees the space•lab favourite exploring deeper, techno-inspired terrains. Opening track, ‘Schtoopbloop’ traces mystical synth lines and expansive vocals, underpinned by a satisfyingly substantial, driving baseline. Track two, ‘Tiptoe’, enters Pits’ iconic breaksy palette - equal parts dreamy and slick, this is the wipeout soundtrack for the next century. On the flipside, Konduku dips his toe into remix duties, offering up a shimmering, spiralling rework of the original. Finally, closing up the release, title track ‘Grounded’ growls into view, rising from sub-heavy foundations into dubby, treacle-speed sounds.

What I can say about TORRES is I think the music comes from a convicted place. Not convicted meaning a person is narrowly and foolishly committed to an ideal, or unshakably convinced of themselves, or a zealot, or stubborn. I mean dedicated, I mean: If TORRES' music gets weird, gets brainy, gets funny, gets defiant, provokes, deliberately scandalizes, employs the crass to undermine the austere, courts lofty philosophical truth-it's all done with the conviction of an artist with the (essential) belief in the worth of their task. I think you can hear it in the songs, someone reaching, leaning over the boundary between known and not, probing the almighty. After a decade and six studio albums and however many one-offs and tours and articles read and conversations had, the parts of this pursuit I've been able to observe are all marked by a dedication to creation that treats the act-ongoing-with as much preciousness as the evidence of the act that is left in a record. The modes of being are different: heartbroken, broke, furious (right- and unrighteously), awestruck by love, compelled by desire. sometimes resigned to death, sometimes fascinated by and reverent of the future. Sometimes viscerally present, other times suspended in heady awareness, poised on a fulcrum of observation and participation in the phenomenon that aliveness is. The tools are the same: instruments that growl and shriek and moan, a lyrical voice shouting, swooning, chuckling, snarling as the moment commands. TORRES' music-making is conducted in a melodic vocabulary unique to itself-methods, equipment, circumstances shifting around the impulse to affirm the self within the world, to make art that bears all these little artifacts of the divine and of the real and show it to people and know it is valuable. I think that's what Mackenzie's music does. And I think it's just incredibly good music to listen to. -Julien Baker TORRES is the pseudonym of Mackenzie Scott. She was born January 23, 1991, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife Jenna, stepson Silas, and puppy Sylvia. She has been releasing albums and performing as TORRES since 2013. What an enormous room is TORRES' sixth studio album (her third with Merge). It was recorded in September and October 2022 at Stadium Heights Sound in Durham, North Carolina. It was engineered by Ryan Pickett, produced by Mackenzie Scott and Sarah Jaffe, mixed by TJ Allen in Bristol, UK, and mastered by Heba Kadry in NYC. The album contains 10 songs. Mackenzie wrote all of them. Sarah played bass guitar, synths, drums, organ, and piano. Mackenzie sang vocals, played guitar, bass, synths, organ, piano, and programmed drums. Additional synth bass, tambourine, and shakers were played by TJ Allen.

What I can say about TORRES is I think the music comes from a convicted place. Not convicted meaning a person is narrowly and foolishly committed to an ideal, or unshakably convinced of themselves, or a zealot, or stubborn. I mean dedicated, I mean: If TORRES' music gets weird, gets brainy, gets funny, gets defiant, provokes, deliberately scandalizes, employs the crass to undermine the austere, courts lofty philosophical truth-it's all done with the conviction of an artist with the (essential) belief in the worth of their task. I think you can hear it in the songs, someone reaching, leaning over the boundary between known and not, probing the almighty. After a decade and six studio albums and however many one-offs and tours and articles read and conversations had, the parts of this pursuit I've been able to observe are all marked by a dedication to creation that treats the act-ongoing-with as much preciousness as the evidence of the act that is left in a record. The modes of being are different: heartbroken, broke, furious (right- and unrighteously), awestruck by love, compelled by desire. sometimes resigned to death, sometimes fascinated by and reverent of the future. Sometimes viscerally present, other times suspended in heady awareness, poised on a fulcrum of observation and participation in the phenomenon that aliveness is. The tools are the same: instruments that growl and shriek and moan, a lyrical voice shouting, swooning, chuckling, snarling as the moment commands. TORRES' music-making is conducted in a melodic vocabulary unique to itself-methods, equipment, circumstances shifting around the impulse to affirm the self within the world, to make art that bears all these little artifacts of the divine and of the real and show it to people and know it is valuable. I think that's what Mackenzie's music does. And I think it's just incredibly good music to listen to. -Julien Baker TORRES is the pseudonym of Mackenzie Scott. She was born January 23, 1991, and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her wife Jenna, stepson Silas, and puppy Sylvia. She has been releasing albums and performing as TORRES since 2013. What an enormous room is TORRES' sixth studio album (her third with Merge). It was recorded in September and October 2022 at Stadium Heights Sound in Durham, North Carolina. It was engineered by Ryan Pickett, produced by Mackenzie Scott and Sarah Jaffe, mixed by TJ Allen in Bristol, UK, and mastered by Heba Kadry in NYC. The album contains 10 songs. Mackenzie wrote all of them. Sarah played bass guitar, synths, drums, organ, and piano. Mackenzie sang vocals, played guitar, bass, synths, organ, piano, and programmed drums. Additional synth bass, tambourine, and shakers were played by TJ Allen.

Soundtrack of the documentary program for Japanese art history, “Japan: Its Heart and Form” which was aired on NHK educational channel from 1987 to 1988. Akira Mitake worked on it, and after the dissolution of Ippudo, he produced music for the media and provided music to many artists, mainly pop music. It’s an electronic work that expresses the silence, space, romance reminiscent of Japanese spirit. The entire contents has a mysterious atmosphere, “Yasha” and “Keisetsu” are particularly captivating, evoking the beauty of Japan. Truly amazing piece left by the talent behind Masami Tsuchiya, who can be interpreted as ambient music.

Exzellenter LP-Sampler mit Kult-TV-Titelmelodien. Eine fantastische Reise in die Vergangenheit durch diverse Generationen. Mit der Originalmusik aus Die Simpsons, Magnum, Stranger Things, MacGyver, Game Of Thrones, Benny Hill, Die Sopranos, Full House (La Fête à la Maison), Seinfeld, Better Call Saul, Der Rosarote Panther, Der Sechs-Millionen-Dollar-Mann, Code Quantum - Zurück in die Vergangenheit, Verrückter Wilder Westen, The Office, Rick And Morty, u.v.a.

Presenting the second thematic volume on the “Aquapelagos" series - a collection of split LPs where selected artists offer their own take into water surrounded cultures and communities. After the initial release of the Anthology compilation Aquapelago in 2022 (Discrepant ,CREP91) and the split LP Atlantico by Lagoss & Banha da Cobra (Keroxen, KRXN027) we proudly introduce an unique collaboration in the series in the shape of no other than two improvising giants, Mike Cooper and Pierre Bastien.
This second volume blows the lid wide open with a sound journey inspired by the equally majestic and mysterious Indian Ocean, a wide space of open ocean bounded by Africa, to the west, Asia to the north and north-west and Australia, to the south west.
From Philip Hayward and Matt Hill’s liner notes:
‘’The album opens with Return To Chagos by emphasising human presence in the oceanic space, opening with gentle percussive taps and distant looped male vocalisation that gradually come into sharper focus, layered and thickened, accompanied by thicker percussion and mouth harp. The sense of departure is taken up in Trincomalee, which lifts over the oceanic textures, opening with slow, struck and scraped metallic sounds before thick low pitched wind instrument sounds enter, oscillating around shifting microtonal frequencies. The shore returns on Side 2, with the miniature epic of Nicobar elaborated over looped ‘atmos’ sounds of birds and insects over which tonal, slightly distorted electric guitar lines enter before looped high pitched feedback squeals join the texture. Summoning tropical storms and the disruption to the region caused by western intrusion, strong and startling brass accents appear, melding with the looping guitar feedback, creating eeriness and a sense of alarm. Tuangku is permeated by restrained dynamics and an expressive, breathy, low pitched, animalistic melodic voice that offers intermittent and ambiguous utterances, as if rendered in a language essential to and evocative of a place and time but impossible to precisely comprehend – coming from an ocean-aquapelagic beyond that can only be glimpsed and rendered by affect.’’
Philip Hayward and Matt Hill, March 2022

Ty Segall follows 2022"s acoustic introspection opus "Hello, Hi" with a deeper, wilder journey to the center of the self. With Three Bells, he"s created a set of his most ambitious, elastic songs, using his musical vocabulary with ever-increasing sophistication. It"s an obsessive quest for an expression that answers back to the riptide always pulling him subconsciously into the depths. Questions we all ask in our own private mirrors are faced down here - and regardless of what the mysterious "Three Bells" mean in the context of the album"s libretto, you can be assured that Ty"s ringing them for himself, and for the rest of us in turn.

KingUnderground Records present the instrumentals version of Lewis Parker’s sought after hip-hop record ‘Frequency Of Perception’ - a record that continued to cement Parker as a stalwart of the 90s hip-hop sound, think Tribe, Slum Village, The Pharcyde et al.

The prolific UK born hip hop legend, proves to be as tapped into the feel of a pocket as he was when he came on the scene in the 90s. “All I Got”, the album's first track, has a groove to the bassline that you won’t forget. The spacey keys show themselves early in the record and are a constant that give the record a dreamy feel, adding a mystical and psychedelic energy. Whereas “All My Life” is a well executed balance between that energy found in the flute held up by a taught backbeat, allowing it to maintain a free spirit.

The attention to detail and the intent in the sequencing and production on “Frequency of Perception” is best noticed when listening front to back.
The whole album touches on dynamics in line with the iconic sound that Parker built his reputation on for decades. All while finding new ways to tell stories by further exploring instrumentation. Lewis remains consistent in his craft, continuing to cook up beats and productions with classic techniques and fresh ingredients. There is no sense of reaching, the productions exude an attitude that reaps a true passion for his craft.

Comes with a biographical interview insert telling the fascinating story behind Fantasy Train and the creation of their unique 1984 album for the first time.

File together with: Donnie & Joe Emerson - Dreamin' Wild and Jr. & His Soulettes - Psychodelic Sounds albums.

"From a southern small town this after school project is hard to describe other than there's nothing else like it. Teens exploring soul, funk and rock and this album is their interpretation of all three. Catchy tunes, plenty of effects and earnest vocals. Fantasy Train is one of the freshest sounds I've heard in many years of digging." Rich Haupt (Rockadelic).

"Cool teen rock meets DIY modern soul laden with psyched guitars, weird sci-fi effects, and alternate male/female vocals. There's also cheesy synth-wave realms and dreamy late night gospel overtones." Taro Miyasugi (Vinyl Anaconda).

"Fantasy Train is a unique, genre-bending album cooked up in the sweltering Southern heat that impresses me with a special kind of style and panache. It is an amazing venture - their sound is clearly rooted in the soul of the '60s and the funk of the '70s but flourishes even further with the added electro-swagger of the '80s, and there is a certain genius to its fluidity. I don't really believe in genres anyway. The band's wild imagination and their excellent musical use of a laser pistol made clear to me that this album was one of a kind." Sam Swig (Mystery Brew).

Negative Time! The new 12" vinyl EP of Xenomorph has a name that suits our global crisis. The best way to face these dark times is through the therapeutic powers of music. This 3-track 12" EP is the harbinger for the upcoming album "Netherverse" in early 2024. Fans of Mark Petrick know what to expect for sure. Goa-trance with a darker twist, but still filled with powerful melodies, unique kicks and psychedelic effects

The opening track, Negative Time, is a musical interpretation of zero point energy creation and quantum physics. Cutting, yet melodic goa-riffs take the listener on a journey backward in time through a mix of darkness leading to a positively melodic final. Danger on the High Seas is a deeper, more straightforward technoish track where light and dark are doing a wonderful mating dance between the crests of the high waves. The song was inspired by the mysterious vanishing of flight-19 in the bermuda triangle. The last track, Lost In An Old Junkyard, is known to the people that bought the Carpe Noctem compilation on Suntrip. But now it is available on vinyl as well as a different mix: the Tow Hook Mix! This track is the most classic Xenomorph track. Alienated tearing effects, mixed with exalted melodies.

Cam Cameron appears to be another one of those performers from an infinite list of Black American artists that cut a solitary 45 single and then disappear into obscurity never to be seen or heard from again. Couple this with the passing of any of the relevant protagonists from the time along with any of the surviving ones ever diminishing memories and the job of collating events and artists back stories from over 50 years ago becomes that much harder.

Cam Cameron appears to be one of those artists (although our investigations are ongoing). Therefore, from the information currently gleaned, the artist Cam Cameron was none other than Alvin Cameron the writer of the featured song “You Say”, with Cam being a kind of nickname. The string arrangements on both “They Say” and “I’m A Lonely Man” were provided by the late John Andrew Cameron a hugely respected arranger, producer and songwriter within the Chicago music scene of the 1960’s and early 70’s, more often credited as Johnny Cameron. Johnny’s credits can be found on many recordings of the time often working with fellow Chicago music scene producer Clarence Johnson, some of the highlights from this liaison being the song “I Really Love You” recorded by both Jimmy Burns (Erica) and Bobby James (Karol) and the girl group, ‘The Lovelites’, on their acclaimed album “With Love From The Lovelites” (Uni). Johnny’s involvement with the Scott Brothers goes as far back as 1965 when he provided the musical arrangements on The Howard Scott penned song “I’ve Got To Get Over” recorded by Syl Johnson for the TMP-Ting label. Although they share the same surname, Alvin (Cam) Cameron is believed to be of no relation to Johnny Cameron.



“You Say” would gain a release on the independent Capri label owned by Sephus Howard Scott who together with brother Walter Scott composed the 45’s flipside “I’m A Lonely Man”. Howard also featured as one of the songs producers alongside the mysterious Edgar Mullins (a name which has been found on a couple of other tape boxes, the investigations continue).

Musical accompaniment was provided by The Scott Brothers Band, with both songs being recorded at RCA Victor’s Chicago number 2 Recording Studio at 445 North Lake Shore Drive, in the Navy Pier section. on the 10th of August 1967 and released on Capri Records during the month of February 1968.



Cameron’s “You Say” was another 45 that was first introduced to UK Soul Collectors via those much lamented and fondly remembered soul packs, always regarded as a quality collector’s 45 the only regular turntable action remembered was provided by Northampton’s very own discerning DJ Cliff Steele at venues such as ‘Detroit Academicals’, ‘Bretby Country Club’ and later ‘Albrighton’ during the leaner days of the UK Rare Soul Scene?! Hopefully a wider appreciation of both sides of this soulful Windy City 45 beckons! The second release in Soul Junction’s Capri series.

This ain't from Chicago. But it could well be. The mysterious production duo operating under the sonic nom de guerre CHIHUAHUA ON ACID works the box like jack never left the dancefloor, fully indulging in a classic, ever so positive and ecstatic AcidHouse vibe that makes us feel like it still is 1988. An absolutely banging - or better: jacking - vinyl debut for the project, proudly presented by Intrauterin Recordings as a hand-stamped, limited to 300 copies one-sided yellow vinyl 7“ edition.

"Javelin" verbindet musikalischen Schwung mit emotionaler Weite. Manchmal hat man das Gefühl, dass das Album von einem großen Team produziert wurde - aber das ist es ganz und gar nicht: Fast jeder Sound hier ist das Ergebnis von Stevens zu Hause, der selbst etwas geschaffen hat, das sich manchmal wie ein Zeugnis der Studio-Opulenz der 70er Jahre in Los Angeles anfühlt. Die Beiträge stammen von einem engen Freundeskreis - Adrienne Maree Brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui und Nedelle Torrisi -, die bei vielen Songs Harmonien beisteuern, sowie von Bryce Dessner, der bei "Shit Talk" akustische und elektrische Gitarre spielt. Der zärtliche und mystische Abschluss des Albums, "There's A World", wurde von Neil Young geschrieben. Während "The Ascension", das von der New York Times als "ein Schrei der Verzweiflung und ein Gebet um Erlösung" gelobt wurde, eine kunstvolle, aber dringliche Elektronik verwendet, um sich dem Moment zu nähern, beginnt "Javelin" wie ein Selbstporträt, detailliert und doch schlicht. Dies ist Stevens' intimstes Werk, das an "Seven Swans" oder "Carrie & Lowell" erinnert und den Hörer in die Nähe seiner inneren Abrechnung ruft. "Javelin" wird von einem 48-seitigen Booklet mit Kunst und Essays begleitet, die alle von Stevens geschaffen wurden, darunter eine Reihe von akribischen Collagen, zerschnittenen Katalogfantasien, Puff-Paint-Wortwolken und sich wiederholenden Farbfeldern. Die 10 kurzen Essays - abwechselnd lustig, tragisch, ergreifend, stumpfsinnig und spezifisch - bieten kleine Einblicke in Lieben und Verluste, die ihn und diese Lieder geprägt haben.

"Javelin" verbindet musikalischen Schwung mit emotionaler Weite. Manchmal hat man das Gefühl, dass das Album von einem großen Team produziert wurde - aber das ist es ganz und gar nicht: Fast jeder Sound hier ist das Ergebnis von Stevens zu Hause, der selbst etwas geschaffen hat, das sich manchmal wie ein Zeugnis der Studio-Opulenz der 70er Jahre in Los Angeles anfühlt. Die Beiträge stammen von einem engen Freundeskreis - Adrienne Maree Brown, Hannah Cohen, Pauline Delassus, Megan Lui und Nedelle Torrisi -, die bei vielen Songs Harmonien beisteuern, sowie von Bryce Dessner, der bei "Shit Talk" akustische und elektrische Gitarre spielt. Der zärtliche und mystische Abschluss des Albums, "There's A World", wurde von Neil Young geschrieben. Während "The Ascension", das von der New York Times als "ein Schrei der Verzweiflung und ein Gebet um Erlösung" gelobt wurde, eine kunstvolle, aber dringliche Elektronik verwendet, um sich dem Moment zu nähern, beginnt "Javelin" wie ein Selbstporträt, detailliert und doch schlicht. Dies ist Stevens' intimstes Werk, das an "Seven Swans" oder "Carrie & Lowell" erinnert und den Hörer in die Nähe seiner inneren Abrechnung ruft. "Javelin" wird von einem 48-seitigen Booklet mit Kunst und Essays begleitet, die alle von Stevens geschaffen wurden, darunter eine Reihe von akribischen Collagen, zerschnittenen Katalogfantasien, Puff-Paint-Wortwolken und sich wiederholenden Farbfeldern. Die 10 kurzen Essays - abwechselnd lustig, tragisch, ergreifend, stumpfsinnig und spezifisch - bieten kleine Einblicke in Lieben und Verluste, die ihn und diese Lieder geprägt haben.