Suche:n you up

ITALIAN LIBRARY GEM RE-IMAGINED BY BEATMAKER KORALLE AND RAPPER ILLA J

Four Flies is proud to present a new installment in the RELOVED series, 'New Levels / Chartreuse', with an original track from late-70s Italian ensemble Modern Sound Quartet and a rework from producer and beatmaker Koralle featuring iconic rapper Illa J.

In keeping with the aim of the series, which is to put a modern and urban spin on tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music, Koralle has used the unique jazz-funk sound of the original sample to create a smooth and stylish hip-hop beat to which Illa J adds irresistible swag and coolness. More than a remix, 'New Levels' is a new composition that takes 'Chartreuse' into the world of contemporary hip-hop and rap.

Lorenzo Nada, aka Koralle, is a musician, beatmaker and producer from Bologna, Italy. Nada is best known for his project Godblesscomputers, which kicked off a couple of years ago while he was living in Berlin. After releasing four albums/EPs and touring Europe with a four-piece band, Nada is heading into a new direction as Koralle. Firmly rooted in hip-hop, Koralle is taking his jazz crates and field recordings to the studio. Equipped with an array of synths, Rhodes and bass, he creates deeply textured tracks that touch mind, body and soul. "Each beat is like an object found at the bottom of the sea," says Koralle to describe his music. And adds: "The samples emerge from the depths of my record collection and find a new meaning, transformed, like corals from the bottom of the ocean."

Rapping on Koralle's beat is Detroit artist Illa J. Raised in a musical family (his father played piano, his mother sang, and his older brother is the late hip-hop producer J Dilla), he grew up surrounded by jazz, gospel and soul, before building a name for himself as a rapper with a distinctive flow and timbre, but also as a singer and songwriter. Illa J has said of his approach to lyric writing that "the melody comes first, then I bring the words in, even when I'm rapping, you know rhythmically. I'm a singer, so melody comes first, but in terms of the subject matter, the music tells you."

The Modern Sound Quartet was an ensemble led by Milanese pianist and composer Oscar Rocchi. It included Rocchi on keys, Andrea Surdi on drums, Ernesto Verardi on guitars, and Luigi Cappellotto on bass. 'Chartreuse' (written by Cappellotto) comes from their 1976 library LP Cocktail Bar – a collection of jazz-funk/jazz-rock/fusion tunes, each named after a famous spirit. While little known to the general public, Cocktail Bar is highly sought after by diggers, DJs and beatmakers.

'New Levels / Chartreuse' is the fifth release in the RELOVED series, following Jolly Mare's retouch of Piero Umiliani's 'Discomania' (12"), Free The Robots' rework Gianni Safred's 'Autumn 2001' (7"), Dengue Dengue Dengue's remix of Giuliano Sorgini's 'Oasi Nella Giungla' (7"), and Fratelli Malibu's reversioning of Alessandro Alessandroni's 'Tema di Susie' (12"). The 7" releases are co-curated by fellow independent label Little Beat More.

Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) return with their 14th studio album Bauhaus Staircase, over six years after the triumph of their Top 4-charting record The Punishment of Luxury. The album was born from the impetus to kickstart new explorations during lockdown when as Andy McCluskey admits: “I rediscovered the creative power of total boredom.”

The album’s first offering as a single is the title track which serves as a nod both to Andy McCluskey’s love of the Bauhaus era & the power of protest art. “I am a huge lover of visual arts especially mid 20th century movements” Andy comments. “The song is a metaphor for strength and artist passion in the face of criticism and adversity. When times are hard there is a tendency for Governments to look at cutting funding for creativity just at the moment when the arts are most needed to nourish our souls. It seems appropriate that the song and its eponymous album were created during Covid Lockdown.”

Ranging further from the beautiful film noir ballad of ‘Veruschka’ and the dance stylings of ‘Anthropocene’ - a term for the current epoch in Earth’s evolution to the sinister ‘Evolution Of Species’ and the hectic ‘Kleptocracy’ - OMD’s greatest straight-up protest song - the new album is a broad electronic sonic masterpiece that lyrically tackles the topics of the future. The record closes on ‘Healing’ - a moment of reflective calm.

By rights OMD should be in semi-retirement performing classics like Enola Gay and Maid Of Orleans on the nostalgia festival circuit like so many peers. Instead they’ve created a landmark album worthy of their finest work. Bauhaus Staircase remains unmistakably the work of a duo who are still perfectly in sync 45 years after their first gig at legendary Liverpool club Eric’s.


“I’m very happy with what we’ve done on this record" McCluskey summarises. “I’m comfortable if this is OMD’s last statement.”

One year after their Rock'n Folk (Fr) and Maximum Rock'n Roll (USA) acclaimed debut single, Paris based punk band Cheap Riot is returning with their first long player.

Sharping their new songs while heavily touring in mainland Europe, sharing the bill with bands like Hinds or Cosmonauts, Cheap Riot recorded this first album in a week with French analog wizard Lo' Spider. If the band will certainly not play at your prom, Ballroom Portrait is showing us red-hot catchy songs, remembering us class of '77. As any good punk record should be, Ballroom Portraits is heavily political, sarcastic and raging, but they never forget to bring up the melodies during the rampage.

In our opinion, Riot is still the best way to solve problems, especially when it's a Cheap Riot.

For fans of : Television Personnalities, The Undertones, The Clash, Nerves, Dogs

ISLAND APES is a British band, formed in the East Midlands around 2018. The current line-up consists of ex members of Bivouac, Force Fed and Fudge Tunnel; guitarist/producer Dean Selby, drummer Antronhy, vocalist MKJ and bassist David Ryley. Their roots lie in anxiety, ritual and underlying melody. Call it what you like. Answers on a postcard to God Unknown. So the Germans call English football fans Island Apes? I guess they don’t know about the punk band of the same name. ISLAND APES features a lineup of UK underground punk legends. Antronhy, the drummer, was Nirvana’s infamous dancer at their Live at Reading performance. David Riley was the bass player in the legendary UK noise rock band Fudge Tunnel and current bass player in doom masters Conan. MKJ was in Forcefed and Meatfly; two early 90's influential UK hardcore bands. They have paid their dues and have produced a wild, lo-fi trip into an alternate punk universe where they tame audio chaos and explore the psychedelic side of consciousness. It’s grungy and grimy, guttural and grating, and even dubby, all in the most beautiful way. Their debut self-titled record is available on limited vinyl copies via God Unknown Records. To keep it punk the album will be released on vinyl only. Limited to 300 copies.

"The Dive is a 2023 scuba-diving movie, starring Sophie Lowe (Medieval) and Louisa Krause (Billions), with much of the footage – underwater and topside – shot in the popular diving destination of Malta. Directed by Maximilian Erlenwein and written by Erlenwein with Joachim Heden, The Dive focuses on two sisters, Drew and May, whose dive together off the rocky shoreline is abruptly cut short when a landslide above water sends a cascade of boulders down on top of them, leaving May trapped down at 28m by the debris. With dangerously low levels of oxygen and cold temperatures, it is up to her sister to fight for her life. The score to The Dive is composed by Volker Bertelmann & Raffael Seyfried. Bertelmann is a German composer who is also known under the name Hauschka. In 2022, he won an Academy Award and BAFTA for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front. For the soundtrack for The Dive, he teamed up with Raffael Seyfried, who previously scored the acclaimed 2018 drama series Patrick Melrose. The Dive is available as a limited edition on turquoise coloured vinyl."

Dive by Various Artists, released 25 January 2024, includes the following tracks: "Do You Hear That", "Go To The Surface", "Ship", "Are You OK" and more.

This version of Dive comes as a 1xLP.

The vinyl is pressed as a turquoise disc.

Straight from the island of X-Coast, Riviera Records is back -
this time introducing Villa, an emerging duo from Frankfurt.
A side features their fast tribal infused techno killa beats
with ltered disco vocals. To spice things up even more, its
the Get On Up remixes by electro powerhouse DJ Mell G and
XL Traxx (Lag & X-Coast) on the ipside. This music is
meant to be played off of a record!

With her captivating voice and richly detailed songwriting, Sarah Jarosz has emerged as one of the most compelling musicians of her generation. A four-time Grammy Award-winner and ten-time nominee at the age of 30, the Texas native started singing as a young girl and became an accomplished multi-instrumentalist by her early teens. After releasing her full-length debut Song Up in Her Headat 18-years-old, she went on to deliver such critically lauded albums as Follow Me Down, Build Me Up From Bones, and Undercurrent, in addition to joining forces with Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan to form the acclaimed folk trio I’m With Her. Her fifth studio album, World On The Ground, produced by John Leventhal, went on to win the Grammy award for Best Americana Album. In 2021 Jarosz released the Grammy-nominated Blue Heron Suite, a much-anticipated song cycle which she composed after being the recipient of the FreshGrass Composition Commission.

The seventh album from Sarah Jarosz finds the highly decorated songwriter at the apex of change. A Texas native, she’s spent most of her adult life living in New York City, but shortly before writing the album Jarosz left her adopted home to join her soon-to-be husband in Nashville, TN. The geographic shake-up led to a sonic one as well for Polaroid Lovers. For the first time in her career she opened herself up to collaborators, leading to writing sessions with Daniel Tashian, Ruston Kelly and Natalie Hemby. The creative reorganization of her writing process evolved to include a much richer and more electric sound in the studio and being in Nashville meant access to a world of hot shot players. She tapped guitarist Rob McNelley (Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood), Tom Bukovac (Tom Petty, Vince Gill) on guitar and organ, her husband- bassist Jeff Picker (Nickel Creek), and drummer Fred Eltringham (Sheryl Crow, Lucinda Williams) for the album recording. Tashian took the helm as producer and the whole album was laid down at the legendary Sound Emporium.

As it goes with all change, Jarosz’s major life events had her feeling contemplative. While sitting on the precipice of adulthood, Polaroid Lovers finds her reflecting on past loves, childhood dreams, the places she lived in and all the versions of herself that she’s been. Although the listener experiences the sonic shift forward, the album’s subject matter is a photo album of the past. Jarosz has never sounded more assured. Polaroid Lovers is filled with the kind of confidence that comes from hard won life experiences and the conviction of someone who truly knows herself.

Svaneborg Kardyb are Nikolaj Svaneborg – Wurlitzer, Juno, piano and Jonas Kardyb – drums, percussion a multi award winning duo from Denmark, with a fast-rising international reputation and with an NPR Tiny Desk concert – number one on many artist’s wish lists - in the bag before even the release of their Gondwana Records debut album Over Tage last November.



Their beautiful, exquisite compositions draw on Danish folk music and Scandinavian jazz influences, resulting in a joyful melding of beautiful melodies, delicate minimalism, catchy grooves, subtle electronica vibes, Nordic atmospheres and organic interplay. All of this and more shines through on their NPR session, first broadcast in May 2022 on YouTube. But of course, not everyone watches YouTube and so here, remastered for vinyl and download, is a strictly limited to 1500 vinyl, four tracker - At Home (An NPR Tiny Desk Concert) featuring bespoke artwork from Gondwana Records’ Daniel Halsall.



Here is what Kara Frame had to say for NPR, “Svaneborg Kardyb's Tiny Desk (home) concert was recorded in the countryside of Djursland, Denmark. "You have to drive for a while on a gravel road, and then you come to a lovely old house surrounded by hills and a stream on one side and a very flat landscape on the other, where you can see 10 miles away," the band wrote to us, describing the location of the shoot. It's this place that inspired Svaneborg Kardyb's second album, Haven (or "garden" in English). "Haven celebrates places we like to be," the duo said.



The Danish jazz duo is composed of Nikolaj Svaneborg on the Wurlitzer, synthesizer and piano, and Jonas Kardyb on drums and percussion. Their instrumentation set-up is untraditional, with the drums and keys facing each other, a position that they play in on stage just as they do in Kardyb's kitchen and living room here. They open up their set with the title track from Haven, which begins with a quiet melody over an effervescent loop. The sound mimics the shimmy of leaves in the breeze.”

Two sublime unreleased scores from Basil Kirchin. Need we say more.
So here we are. The next Trunk / Kirchin assignment. Basically some more unreleased music from the unpredictable and slightly chaotic Kirchin Tape Archive.
Very Limited Black Vinyl.

These tapes were labelled up as follows:
Assignment K (with lots of pencil scribbles everywhere). The Strange Affair (with lots of pen scribbles everywhere).
As usual with Basil tapes / things there is little else to go on, no tracklist, no list of musicians, no singer names, no dates or anything. I have actually tried to establish the name of the singer on the song from Side One (we have called it “Love Is To Walk Away “ as it is unnamed) but having played it to a handful of knowledgeable collectors and enthusiasts who I would count as experts in this field, no one has a clue who it might be. If you think you know please get in touch. We know who it isn’t.

We can tell you that Assignment K dates from 1968, was a film about a toy maker who has a double life as an international spy. It was directed by Val Guest, who’d just finished trying to rescue the cinematic hotchpotch that was Casino Royale - he had been brought in by the Bond producers after Peter Sellers had walked off the movie. We imagine Assignment K may have been a slightly less stressful few months of shooting. As for the Kirchin score that we have here, we can tell you very little indeed, apart from the fact that the bass player was Ron Prentice (an ex blacksmith turned musician and craftsman) who worked on several Bond scores, but we know little else. And we only know this because it says so in the academic tome “Jazz On The Screen” by David Meeker.

The Strange Affair is also from 1968, and was not only controversial but also a reasonably unsuccessful movie. Directed by David Greene who also directed, amongst other films, I Start Counting and the quite brilliant Sebastian. In this rather grubby flick a policeman called Peter Strange (played by Michael York) falls for an underage girl (played by Susan George), finds himself compromised by a pair of pornographers and gets lured into an errand for a smack gang. We can tell you little else because I have no more information about it all.
But we do know that this music has all the classic Kirchin mid-period sonic hallmarks that have always set him apart.

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.

Early Life Forms is a new quartet fronted by Belgian guitarist and sound wizard Vitja Pauwels, and on the 26th January, they are set to release their self-titled debut album via W.E.R.F. Records; a stunning, one-off live show recorded with American guitarist Marc Ribot (Robert Plant, Tom Waits, Wilson Pickett, Marianne Faithfull, The Black Keys, John Zorn).

Having already earned his spurs as a sideman with artists including Naïma Joris, Bombataz and Lara Rosseel, rising Belgian star Pauwels released his debut album 'Day at Half Speed' in 2019, which explored the possibilities of acoustic guitar and live electronics. This experiment became a new artistic path for Pauwels and showcased his musical versatility, with second album 'Drift By, Sink In', released to critical acclaim in 2022.

The same year, Pauwels was invited as special guest by the BRAND! Festival, Mechelen, to showcase new material and he came up with the idea of putting together his 'dream' live band which included his hero Marc Ribot, one of world's most accomplished and acclaimed guitar players. Reaching out to him via videos and early demos for this new recording project, Ribot liked what he heard and agreed to perform with Pauwels and his new project Early Life Forms in what would be the band's first ever live show.

Joined by Frederik Leroux (baritone guitar), Laurens Dierickx (Hammond organ) and Casper Van De Velde (drums), during the lead up to the festival, Pauwels wrote a number of songs he felt would work for the live show, with the only agreement being that there would be no rehearsals ahead of the performance, only a brief soundcheck beforehand with Ribot. The music was stripped down to its essentials - compelling melodies, themes, and clear forms but with the possibility to change direction at any given moment. "The music was played and heard for the first time, and it felt like a birth of something that needed to be alive. We felt connected in the right state of mind - relaxed and focused - and it all happened in a rush of shared energy. No ego's or fear, only connection and the music", states Pauwels.

Drawing on latin, jazz, cuban, and rock with a touch of exoticism and cinematic explorations, 'Early Life Forms' cites Ry Cooder, Henry Mancini, Los Lobos, Ennio Morricone and of course Ribot, as heavy influences. There is something existential, primary, something epic and at the same time youthfully uncomplicated, which is strongly associated with the music. From the mischievous and imaginative 'My Little Renaissance' to the adventurous and hypnotic 'Latin Dancer', 'Early Life Forms' is overflowing with sharp twists and turns, with Ribot's heavily rhythmic, distorted guitar amplifying the cinematic feel to the sound. The on-stage relationship between each member of the band and Ribot is childishly uncomplicated, something primary but always epic. The music is left to the moment and the magic of their first encounter with their hero Ribot. "Marc's commitment in the music was better than I could have hoped for. What he played was with 200% intention, putting the rest of us in a state of hyperfocus. Given the fact that it was a one-time thing and a recording, we took risks without 'overplaying' or overthinking it. Right before the gig, we felt an urge to play, Marc said, "Let's rock!!" and we hit the stage", says Pauwels.

Belgian independent label De:tuned celebrates 15 years with an expansive series of new releases throughout 2024. Founded in 2009 by Ruben Boons and Bert Hermans, De:tuned and British influential electronic music pioneers The Future Sound Of London team up to mark the beginning of its momentous 15th anniversary.
The inimitable Future Sound Of London grace De:tuned with 'Pulse Five', the 5th installment and follow-up to the classic Pulse EP series. 'Pulse Five' contains 8 tracks of previously unreleased DAT tape material from the early 90s. These unheard vintage recordings date back to the era of FSOL's much sought after classic singles and highly acclaimed Accelerator album. Brace yourself for visionary techno-driven rave work under their iconic aliases such as Mental Cube, Indo Tribe, Yage and a rare Smart Systems track. This is the sheer brilliance of the iconic duo in full effect.
The impeccable Kevin Foakes (Openmind, DJ Food, Ninja Tune) created all the matching graphic work. Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis to ensure the highest quality. De:tuned would like to thank you for the continued support, stay tuned!

Wildacre presents Hanzeverbond EP.

Wildacre & Qindek have teamed up, both hailing from the east of Holland, with 5 cuts of straight up, modulair analog techno. You'll hear 25 years of experience which created this forward driven, staggering, killer EP. Strongly recommend to play in a warehouse techno rave!!

From the outskirts of the Netherlands!

PRESSING OF 200 COPIES ON CLEAR VINYL.

RIYL Zero 7/ Plaid / Hot Chip / Weather Report / Isolee / Baby Fox

Old friends Julian Bates and Alex Gray —working together as Mighty Truth for the first time since 1995’s From The City To The Sea — filled a car with old analogue synths, kids’ noise toys, and collected field recordings took a road trip down to hole up in an old water mill in southwest England’s bird-twittery, bee-loud Quantock hills.

Things got cinematic: unequal measures of early Weather Report, Wim Wenders, and Serge Gainsbourg kept them wonderfully lost in their imagined world. Back in London with guest singers Allonymous (Paris via Chicago) and Wayne Paul (London), they completed the album and decided to just call it Mighty Truth. With an aim to present the live show at moonlight pop-up cinema venues, Mighty Truth are here for the next chapter in their epic saga.

Back then….

Old friends Julian Bates and Alex Gray first met through their shared obsession with classic cars (both owned old SAAB 96s). At the time, Julian’s band Nightrains was signed to ACE Records in the UK whilst Alex worked first as a session keyboardist for the likes of Edwyn Collins, Billy Mackenzie, and Busta “Cherry” Jones, and later as a mixer and remixer working with S’express producer Pascal Gabriel, Malcolm McLaren, and soul DJ legend Dr Bob Jones.

Working together in the studio for the first time producing Vanessa Freeman (4 hero), Alex and Julian decided to embark on a drop-tempo jazz trip project they named Mighty Truth. Dr Bob heard that first self-released vocal track “Rebirth” and started dropping it on Kiss FM (UK). After guest DJ slots on Coldcut’s Kiss show, Alex and Julian signed to Tongue and Groove records.

The album From the City to the Sea produced a number of singles and both “Rebirth” and “Is it a Wizard or a Blizzard” were licensed to many compilations both in the UK and internationally (eg. Dope on Plastic, Mole Listening Pearls, Eight Ball).
The Sound of Sinners is a NYC boutique record label focused on vinyl and digital releases by Indie, ambient, avant-garde and electronic artists.

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.1[2] Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.
The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.1[2] Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.
The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

The vinyl edition of Klein's 2022 album: »STAR IN THE HOOD« plays like a cracked, tarnished mirror of contemporary numbing music, replacing long-form expression with tighter, more explosive and sometimes completely freeform transmissions that will wake you up from your overly comfortable environmental music slumber. Opening with cycling ghost drones, dialog and piano motifs that blur into heartfelt noise, »black star« is all loping, looping piano and chthonic vocals spiked with cheese-grater noise and chipmunked chirps. It’s Klein’s delirious vocal runs that push the album to the next level though; like her style-defining »Lagata« and the Hyperdub-released »Tommy,« she subverts the raw material that makes up R&B, turning memorable hooks into blurry impressions that will glue to your mind like a diva moment on a Suburban Bass cut.

She keels into longform on »schooled,« fogging organ drones into hazed clouds that gust into imposing shapes over a 10-minute duration, rekindling the dialog between contemporary noise and gospel music. Grandiose classical sounds receive a similar treatment on ‘Friend in the Mirror’, pulled into disorienting shapes that dispel any notions of class gatekeeping; in the final third, Klein’s voice interrupts the mood, before machine-gun percussion reminds us not to get too comfortable. If yr in search of beauty, »postcode wars« finds Klein fuzzing euphoric chords into an afterparty woosh of half-heard voices and dribbling synths. She simultaneously channels rapture and wrath, poignantly torching the contemporary societal skeleton without losing her near-at-hand community in the process.

Midway through the album there’s a thematic pivot signalled by the brief »shorty alert,« a trilling mass of carnivalesque vocal quirks that sound like spiders spitting DMT into yr eardrums. From here, things get darker and more unsettling: there’s doomed subterranean ambience on »signed and delivered«, Disney-esque piano motifs, blown-out lo-fi outsider rawk on »Swerve,« and speaker garbling free eccentric soul on »brand new day,« each struck through with that unmistakable high-vs-low culture posturing. It all brings us to the album’s unsettling one-two punch of ‘haha hehe business’, maybe the foamiest track we’ve heard from her this year, and the zonked »winter« - a piece that’s as crystal clear as Klein gets, an unprocessed heartstring-tugging vocal performance over acoustic guitar twangs.

"Cross My Heart" is a tribute to the harmonica player and singer James Cotton, one of Boney Fields" heroes and companions on the road, is certainly the most representative track of this thrilling groove mood that authentic blues musicians know how to infuse. Boney Fields possesses that almost funk tone matured enough to tickle our ears and make us tap our feet. By revitalizing, for example, "The Thrill Is Gone" in the spirit of its original author (Roy Hawkins), Boney Fields perpetuates the tradition of spirited orchestras of yesteryears without compromising the modernity of its irresistible tempo. Much more personal than all his previous albums, "Just Give Me Some Mo" is also the expression of introspection, that of a man who remembers without drowning in dark nostalgia. He thinks of the courage of his mother bravely facing obstacles in an unequal America. "Back in the Day" is not a sad song. It makes one stronger and nurtures faith in the future. This melody is certainly the most touching of the six compositions written by Boney Fields. From "Control of you" to "Something" holding me" or "I know yes I Know" he invites us into his intimate biography, the story of a large family shaken by inevitable upheavals that must be faced, the destiny of a combative musician who resists adversity. Boney Fields chose to let his soul speak. This effort of truth had to be supported by the artistic direction of a master. By enlisting Sebastian Danchin for the production of this album, Boney Fields turns to a historian of African-American culture whose keen ear has already won over Little Milton, Mighty Mo Rodgers, Toni Green, and Jean-Jacques Milteau, among others... Their exchanges uncovered a perfect understanding of "Chicago Blues" the brassy vigor of which they experienced firsthand 40 years ago. Surrounding oneself with the right people is quite a challenge. Fortunately, Boney Fields knows how to spot true talents. He was convinced that the Senegalese guitarist Hervé Samb would also be a good musical director. Hadn"t he been the first to highlight the expressive power of this luminous composer and arranger? The enduring vitality of the blues, when narrated with precision and insight, always manages to find its legitimacy. The months of reflection, of questioning, will not have been in vain. They have given substance and depth to this thrilling record which, we wager, will be a milestone. Boney Fields has waited long enough. Does he want more? We will give him more! "Just Give Me Some Mo" will now be a shared leitmotif, that of an insatiable conductor and that of enlightened admirers.

Bitchcraft was born in a move from New York City, where Bitch had lived for 15 years, to a log cabin in the woods. There was all the time in the world to make art, and it was there, in the cabin, that Bitch began to write some of the songs that would appear on Bitchcraft. 'It gave me space to think about the biggest version of myself that I could be,' she says of those early days in the cabin. The songs she wrote were a departure from anything she'd ever written before, and she began to craft huge pop tracks with the help of her trusty violin. Then, she moved to LA and Bitchcraft began to shapeshift again. In the time that followed, Bitch assembled a coven to complete it. She called on Anne Preven (Beyonce, Madonna, Demi Lovato) and God-des who helped her crystalize her vision in terms of writing and production. She called on Roma Baran (Laurie Anderson) to produce the violins on 'Polar Bear.' She called on Melissa York (Team Dresch, The Butchies) and Faith Soloway (Transparent) to co-write a couple of the songs. The resulting record is one that is full of glorious pop tracks that go in unexpected directions. Bitchcraft is like Joni Mitchell set to a click track, it's queer Cyndi Lauper. It's neon pink, in your face, ready to hex you with its brilliance. It's an unbelievably fun record that is extremely capable of breaking your heart a little bit. It also makes you think: about the state of the world, about evil politicians, about what it means to exist as a woman, and how to find joy along the way.

Escape Music is delighted to announce the release date for the long-awaited Robert Hart fourth studio album title “Circus Life” (Bad Company / Manfred Man’s Earth Band / Diesel / The Jone’s). Limited Edition Vinyl in “Green Leaves” colour (500 all numbered 001 to 500), also will include hand signed postcard by Robert Hart! Produced by Steve Overland & Steve Morris / Robert Hart – Vocals (Solo / Bad Company / Manfred Mann / Diesel) / Featuring guests: Steve Morris - Guitars (Heartland / Lonerider / Ian Gillan) / Steve Overland Official - Backing vocals (FM / Lonerider / solo) / Robert Säll - Guitars (Work of Art / WET) / Steve Mann - Keyboards (MSG / Ousey Mann / Lionheart) / Chris Childs - Bass (Thunder / Lonerider) / Harry James - Drums (Thunder / Shadowman) / Keith Atack - Guitars (Atack / Bonnie Tyler / David Cassidy) - Robert Hart is a much-loved British vocalist and has been involved with many top acts over the years such as Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Bad Company and The Jones Gang. He is also remembered for his fine solo albums, more recently “Pure” which was released by Escape music in 2020. Robert has such a versatile vocal range and can adapt his vocals to many types of rock music, such as AOR, Hard Rock and Blues rock and he has demonstrated this admirably on many occasions since the 1980’s. This is no exception. “Circus Life” also features many musicians and songwriters such as Steve Overland and Steve Morris who wrote the songs we have on show here. The style of “Circus Life” is an extension of what Robert gave us for the “Pure” album but this new recording tops even that. We have bags of melody and some excellent musicianship, as you would expect for such a line-up. If you like Bad Company then you are not going to be disappointed with these 12 tracks.

The MENZINGERS are an absolute institution. The Philadelphia punk legends’ multi-decade reputation as road warriors with an unbeatable catalog is cemented as hard truth—and their seventh album, Some Of It Was True , stands as their most immediate-sounding and energetic record to date. The follow-up to 2019’s sensational Hello Exile accomplishes the daunting task of capturing The MENZINGERS’ distinctive live energy in the confines of the studio, resulting in a sound that’s both rich, raw, and complementary to the group’s increasingly prismatic songwriting approach. More than 15 years in, the MENZINGERS are still holding their listeners square in the immediate present, and Some Of It Was True documents that power in thrilling fashion. “We wanted to make a fun record and write songs that we wanted to play live, and that’s exactly what we did,” co-vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett says “We’ve always said that we want every album to sound live, but we never recorded an album live before. This was the first time we committed to that idea. We wanted to sound like how our band sounds onstage.” Making the process easier: Grammy-nominated producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, the War on Drugs, Waxahatchee), who joined The MENZINGERS in El Paso’s legendary Sonic Ranch studios and lent his incredible ear for raw, immediate sound to help the band achieve Some Of It Was True‘s in-the-room live feel. “ T H E M E N Z I N G E R S are as real as it gets,” Cook says on his time in the studio with the band. “I had an absolute blast working with these guys and was moved to tears many times. They are truly dedicated to artistic growth, and to each other, in ways I found both refreshing and beautiful. I am now a lifer.”

The MENZINGERS are an absolute institution. The Philadelphia punk legends’ multi-decade reputation as road warriors with an unbeatable catalog is cemented as hard truth—and their seventh album, Some Of It Was True , stands as their most immediate-sounding and energetic record to date. The follow-up to 2019’s sensational Hello Exile accomplishes the daunting task of capturing The MENZINGERS’ distinctive live energy in the confines of the studio, resulting in a sound that’s both rich, raw, and complementary to the group’s increasingly prismatic songwriting approach. More than 15 years in, the MENZINGERS are still holding their listeners square in the immediate present, and Some Of It Was True documents that power in thrilling fashion. “We wanted to make a fun record and write songs that we wanted to play live, and that’s exactly what we did,” co-vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett says “We’ve always said that we want every album to sound live, but we never recorded an album live before. This was the first time we committed to that idea. We wanted to sound like how our band sounds onstage.” Making the process easier: Grammy-nominated producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, the War on Drugs, Waxahatchee), who joined The MENZINGERS in El Paso’s legendary Sonic Ranch studios and lent his incredible ear for raw, immediate sound to help the band achieve Some Of It Was True‘s in-the-room live feel. “ T H E M E N Z I N G E R S are as real as it gets,” Cook says on his time in the studio with the band. “I had an absolute blast working with these guys and was moved to tears many times. They are truly dedicated to artistic growth, and to each other, in ways I found both refreshing and beautiful. I am now a lifer.”

The Bronx in the 1970s, marked by the presence of notorious gangs, presented a complex and challenging urban landscape. Amidst the crumbling infrastructure and economic decline, neighbourhoods bore the scars of disinvestment, reflected in abandoned buildings and neglected public spaces. The prevalence of street gangs, such as the Ghetto Brothers, contributed to an atmosphere of heightened tension and occasional violence. Graffiti adorned subway cars and buildings, expressing both social unrest and the vibrant creativity of the community. Despite the challenges, there was a resilient spirit among residents, evidenced by grassroots efforts to address social issues. The Bronx during this era was a dynamic yet tumultuous mix of cultural expression, social struggle, and the determined spirit of a community facing adversity. The Ghetto Brothers, originating from the Melendez family who moved from Puerto Rico to the South Bronx in the 1950s, faced challenges involving violence and crime. Despite this, Benjy, a key figure, directed the group towards community improvement. The Ghetto Brothers embraced music, crafting a potent, NYC-flavored musical fusion that caught the attention of record mogul Ismael Maisonave (Salsa Records). Their collaboration resulted in the recording of eight tracks in a single electrifying day at Manhattan's Fine Tone Studios, skillfully produced by Latin studio maestro Bobby Marin (Harvey Averne, La Lupe, Brooklyn Sounds…). This musical odyssey showcases the band's ability to seamlessly blend genres, creating a NYC-flavored stew that captivates listeners with its authenticity. The hypnotic rhythms, infectious guitar riffs, and impassioned vocals reflect the Ghetto Brothers' commitment to expressing their unique experiences and uplifting their community through the universal language of music. "Power-Fuerza" is not just an album; it's a sonic testament to the Ghetto Brothers' fusion of resilience, cultural richness, and musical innovation. Each track is a vibrant tapestry, weaving together the

raw energy of the South Bronx streets and the soulful melodies born from the trio's Puerto Rican heritage. Embrace the timeless resonance of the Ghetto Brothers’ “Power-Fuerza”, one of the best Latin funk albums ever recorded…

Few bands have burst quite so brilliantly onto the scene as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Fewer still can say their debut album defined a scene, a time, and marked a paradigm shift in the music industry. But the then five-piece, fronted by the enigmatic Alec Ounsworth, managed all this and more; no wonder their self-titled record is still considered one the finest, and most influential, indie releases of the 2000s.A heady blend of left-field pop and melodic, exuberant indie rock, the record repurposed a number of classic new wave references for a new generation of music fans. Fun-loving and quirky, the band achieved that rare alchemy - synthesising a dizzying array of styles and influences into something wholly their own. And that something was utterly glorious, full of buzzing synths, trebly guitars, bustling drums, and lilting, wailing vocals. The record's raw, ramshackle sound was an integral part of its appeal; time has merely magnified that charm. In `The Skin Of My Yellow Country Teeth' and `Upon This Tidal Wave Of Young Blood' Ounsworth wrote two of the most uplifting, celebratory tracks of this millennium, obvious highlights on an album of consistent excellence, and one rightly lauded for re-writing the rules of what indie bands could be.

If the Corona pandemic and the accompanying concert bans have at least one good thing going for them, it's the extra time musicians have to write songs and live out their creativity. This circumstance was also the driving force for the SAMURAI PIZZA CATS, who come from the Electric Callboy environment. Frontman Sebastian Fischer was behind the microphone in their predecessor band Her Smile In Grief, whose line-up also included Daniel "Danskimo" Haniß, who is now celebrating success as guitarist, songwriter and producer of Electric Callboy. The contact between the two never broke off and so Daniel also produced Sebastian's later band Fall Of Gaia in recent years, whose former drummer and multi-instrumentalist Stefan Buchwald is also involved in this new project - family business from downtown Castrop Rauxel! So while Stefan contributes the music, Sebastian writes the lyrics and Daniel, as a creatively involved producer, ensures a well-rounded overall result. Okay, before we try your patience any further, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the band name. The SAMURAI PIZZA CATS have named themselves after a Japanese anime series from the early nineties. Why? Stupid question! Of course, because they are fearless warriors on their instruments, love to eat pizza and like cats! And maybe a little bit because they have soft spots for anime and silly band names - but only maybe. Rumour also has it that "Banzai! Smack! Meow!" is an onomatopoeic description of the band's sound.

Blue Raspberry is Katy Kirby"s follow up to her renowned debut album Cool Dry Place, which came out in February 2021. Singer/songwriter Katy Kirby introduced her warm, articulate vocals, perceptive lyrics, and playful adult-alternative style on her debut album as she toured tirelessly supporting bands like Waxahatchee, Andy Shauf, Julia Jacklin and Alex G. That record was a tried-and-true folk collection, perfectly displaying the chops of a young songwriter and emanating the warm feel of a band in a room; Blue Raspberry, made with the same band and producers (Logan Chung and Alberto Sewald) , hits the gas and enters completely new territory as we see Katy truly step into her own as a songwriting force. She fearlessly leans far into baroque piano pop on tracks like "Redemption Arc" and the title track "Blue Raspberry", and lyrically she explores themes of loss and queer love. Very few are able to capture the same emotional, theatrical magic of artists like Fiona Apple, Tom Waits and Joanna Newsom but Katy pulls it off on this record; standout "Drop Dead".

Cardinal Fuzz (UK) and Feeding Tube Records (USA) once again join forces to release this behemoth of an album! “Attack Of Sound” is an unapologetic swooning love letter to pop music. It’s the perfect album, where dissonant and harsh guitars are juxtaposed with almost bubblegum pop. Sheets of feedback over inept tribalism and sugared by amazingly sweet vocals. This album works brilliantly as Ajay & Holly show their innate love of classic 60s pop and psychedelia as much as the Stooges. The ghosts of Love and Phil Spector haunt the wasted grooves of "What The Girl Does" and "Damned And Drowned", while the lurching punk noise mayhem of "How We Made It Seem" resurrects the in-yer-face Detroit icons like the MC5. "Attack Of Sound" remains a touchstone for all the people who ever believed that rock was for waking you up....equal parts Beach Boys’ melody and Velvets’ minimalism. It still provides that visceral thrill…an attack of sound!

Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998-2016 versammelt 26 akustische Songs aus Whites breit gefächerter musikalischer Karriere, darunter Solomaterial sowie Tracks von The White Stripes und The Raconteurs, inklusive Albumtracks, B-Seiten, Remixe, alternative Versionen und bisher unveröffentlichte Songs.

Das zweite und letzte Studioalbum der Punk-Ikonen - X-Ray Spex. Das heiß begehrte Album wurde 1995 in einer sehr kleiner Auflage nur auf CD bei Receiver Records in Großbritannien veröffentlicht und war in den letzten 27 Jahren offiziell nicht erhältlich! Das Album vereinte die original X-Ray Spex-Sängerin Poly Styrene mit der ursprünglichen X-Ray Spex-Saxophonistin Lora Logic und dem Bassisten Paul Dean sowie dem Kula Shaker-Frontmann Crispian Mills an der Gitarre unter seinem damaligen Pseudonym Red Spectre. Das Reissue wurde von den Original-Masterbändern neu gemastert und ist zum ersten Mal überhaupt auf LP erhältlich! Mit dem originalen und erweiterten Artwork, einschließlich bisher unveröffentlichter Texte und originaler Cover-Notizen von Poly. Die Popkultur ist voll von klassischen Alben, die iregndwie durchrutschen. In den letzten Jahren haben die verstorbenen Poly Styrene und X-Ray Spex mit ihrem 1978er Debütalbum "Germfree Adolescents" Kultstatus erlangt, aber das 17 Jahre später veröffentlichte Nachfolgealbum "Conscious Consumer" ist im Sand der Zeit untergegangen. Heutzutage wissen die meisten Leute nicht einmal, dass X-Ray Spex ein Nachfolgealbum hatten. Diese liebevoll zusammengestellte Neuauflage rückt ein verlorenes Juwel ins Rampenlicht, das viele Merkmale des Debüts aufweist, aber durch eine andere Brille betrachtet wird. Conscious Consumer" war eine Weiterentwicklung des klassischen Debüts mit derselben Punkrock-Dringlichkeit und denselben Konsumthemen, aber mit einer poppigeren Kante und einer durchdachteren Weisheit, die aus der Perspektive eines älteren, weiseren Krishna-Anhängers aus den Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens geschöpft wurde. Im Jahr 1995 war das Album ein unerwartetes Comeback und wurde ein verlorener Klassiker. Es war das erste neue Material, das die Band seit Jahren aufnahm, obwohl viele der Songs bereits ein Jahrzehnt zuvor geschrieben worden waren. Nach der Veröffentlichung verschwand das Album jedoch schnell vom Radar, lang bevor Poly dihren verdienten Kultstatus erlangte. Die Band, die sich 1991, 1995 und 2008 neu formierte, wird heute weltweit dafür verehrt, dass sie eine neue Art von musikalischem Lebensgefühl ausgelöst hat. Die verstorbene Poly ist heute ein Pin-up der Punk- & Popkultur für eine Originalität und einen Feminismus, die zu dieser Zeit kaum existierten. Ihre bissigen, witzigen und brillanten Texte und ihre unverwechselbare Stimme haben den Test der Zeit bestanden, und zusammen mit der ursprünglichen Saxophonistin der Band, Lora Logic, ist sie Teil der Punkrockgeschichte geworden. Die unscharfen Schnappschüsse der kurzen frühen Besetzung zeigen den frechen und scharf gekleideten Teenager-Kern, der vor Talent, Originalität und Stil strotzt, in einem Standbild der popkulturellen Punkrock-Perfektion. Wenn er sich das Album nach einer langen Pause wieder anhört, ist Bassist Paul Dean überrascht. Conscious Consumer" klingt jetzt so viel besser als in meiner Erinnerung. Damals wurde es nicht richtig veröffentlicht und deshalb kennt es niemand. Wenn du Germfree Adolescents liebst, wirst du Conscious Consumer lieben, sie sind miteinander verbunden. X-Ray Spex hatten nicht nur ein großartiges Album, sie hatten zwei!" CD, Eco Mix LP (random colour) & Crystal Clear LP (for Indies Only)

Mit mehr als 100 Millionen weltweit verkauften Alben zählt die Gruppe KISS zu den erfolgreichsten Rock-Bands. Mit ihrem Sound in den 70s & 80s
Jahren beeinflussten Kiss nachfolgende Generationen von Musikern. Noch heute sind die US-Amerikaner eine der beliebtesten Rock-Bands. Diese
strikt limitierte 12inch Schallplatte enthält Radio Broadcasts aus den USA, aufgenommen und übertragen im Jahr 1992.

Bob Balch from FU MANCHU here. The idea for the SLOWER project started around four years ago. I was teaching a student how to play "South Of Heaven" by SLAYER but she was a beginner so we slowed it down. I thought that sounded cool so I tuned down to B standard and tried it. I added some drums and thought "someone in the doom community should do this and name it SLOWER." A few years later I befriended Steven "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford, best known for his work as the drummer in the influential Oregon punk band Poison Idea. He was backstage at a FU MANCHU show. Oddly enough I was wearing a POISON IDEA shirt and he told me that my shirt sucks. I asked who he was and why he was in our backstage. He told me and I felt stupid. We started drinking whiskey and talking about music. We stayed in touch over the next year or so and during Covid I told him about my SLOWER idea. He asked me to send him tracks. I waited too long because the day I sent the tracks he passed away. Totally tragic. I'm glad I got to know him even for a few years. He was a monster musician with a giant heart. He will be greatly missed. I shelved the project for a while after that. One day Esben from MONOLORD posted about musical collaborations. I love MONOLORD so I thought what the hell. I sent him some tracks and he killed it on drums. So I sent more. Then more. Shortly after that we started reaching out other musicians to get them involved. That's how we ended up with this lineup. Everyone that contributed completely knocked it out of the park and I can't thank them enough. This project has been a long time coming and I'm beyond stoked on how it turned out. Without all of the players involved, Steven Hanford and my baritone Reverend guitar it wouldn't have happened. Thanks to everyone involved and I hope you dig it! I'm a giant SLAYER fan so it's been a treat to dig into these classic songs. Hopefully we can do another record in the near future. Look out for shows because they will happen! Esben Willems - When Bob first approached me with the idea and I heard his scratch guitars, my first thought was "This is genius". Those iconic tracks we all know by heart suddenly unveiled an unexpected dimension. I'm really proud of how this turned out. Peder Bergstrand - "This might be blasphemous considering the circumstances, but when Bob reached out and asked if I'd want to play bass on sludged-out Slayer covers, I had to admit some of these tracks were brand new to me. That made the experience even more special though, hearing and playing on the Slower version first, and then comparing to the original. Bob has really transformed these songs into something totally their own, and on a personal level I feel the rest of the band's insane performances pushed me to my most inspired playing to date. So incredibly stoked for people to hear this album."

Neon Green Vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Bob Balch from FU MANCHU here. The idea for the SLOWER project started around four years ago. I was teaching a student how to play "South Of Heaven" by SLAYER but she was a beginner so we slowed it down. I thought that sounded cool so I tuned down to B standard and tried it. I added some drums and thought "someone in the doom community should do this and name it SLOWER." A few years later I befriended Steven "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford, best known for his work as the drummer in the influential Oregon punk band Poison Idea. He was backstage at a FU MANCHU show. Oddly enough I was wearing a POISON IDEA shirt and he told me that my shirt sucks. I asked who he was and why he was in our backstage. He told me and I felt stupid. We started drinking whiskey and talking about music. We stayed in touch over the next year or so and during Covid I told him about my SLOWER idea. He asked me to send him tracks. I waited too long because the day I sent the tracks he passed away. Totally tragic. I'm glad I got to know him even for a few years. He was a monster musician with a giant heart. He will be greatly missed. I shelved the project for a while after that. One day Esben from MONOLORD posted about musical collaborations. I love MONOLORD so I thought what the hell. I sent him some tracks and he killed it on drums. So I sent more. Then more. Shortly after that we started reaching out other musicians to get them involved. That's how we ended up with this lineup. Everyone that contributed completely knocked it out of the park and I can't thank them enough. This project has been a long time coming and I'm beyond stoked on how it turned out. Without all of the players involved, Steven Hanford and my baritone Reverend guitar it wouldn't have happened. Thanks to everyone involved and I hope you dig it! I'm a giant SLAYER fan so it's been a treat to dig into these classic songs. Hopefully we can do another record in the near future. Look out for shows because they will happen! Esben Willems - When Bob first approached me with the idea and I heard his scratch guitars, my first thought was "This is genius". Those iconic tracks we all know by heart suddenly unveiled an unexpected dimension. I'm really proud of how this turned out. Peder Bergstrand - "This might be blasphemous considering the circumstances, but when Bob reached out and asked if I'd want to play bass on sludged-out Slayer covers, I had to admit some of these tracks were brand new to me. That made the experience even more special though, hearing and playing on the Slower version first, and then comparing to the original. Bob has really transformed these songs into something totally their own, and on a personal level I feel the rest of the band's insane performances pushed me to my most inspired playing to date. So incredibly stoked for people to hear this album."

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).

Here it finally is, the first ever official reissue of all recorded material by Zyklome A, and as a bonus one unreleased track plus unreleased live recordings! One of Belgium’s earliest and most primitive hardcore punk bands’ legendary ‘Made In Belgium’ LP has been one of the rarest artifacts in the genre, and although it was bootlegged many times, the reason why an official reissue on vinyl has never been published is complicated. Zyklome A’s story starts in the middle of nowhere: in Bonheiden in early 1980, above a bank office. Brothers Bie and Toon Puttemans started shredding and terrorizing ears and minds with Markus Verbeeck, without any knowledge of anything close to a scene or other people doing what they were doing. Completely isolated, they were struck by lightning with the genius idea of speeding up punk, playing Ramones chords backwards and letting the bank office’s fire alarm go off with their wall of noise. When drummer Bie got to hear other hardcore records through a school mate, he was baffled to hear there were other folks out there doing what they were doing as well. After a fire alarm and family drama too many, the trio moved to a tiny shed in the garden of the Verbeeck family to refine their special blend of primal hardcore. The rest is history! For just 5 years they became one of Belgium’s most active HC bands, befriending many other classic main stays such as The Dirty Scums, Moral Demolition, Vortex, Wulpse Varkens etc., creating pits everywhere, and turning many a nazi skin’s skulls into pulp! When guitarist Toon “forgot” to fulfil his army service, he had to flee Belgium, and as the police harassed the other band members constantly about this, it became next to impossible to maintain Zyklome A. Zyklome A morphed into Ear Damage, with different members. In a later, army free future, a reunion of Zyklome A was not possible due to Toon’s heroin problem. It is strange, and sad to say, that the cards played differently when Toon passed away. Zyklome A played 2 reunion gigs in 2016 with guitarist Pieter Coolen (of Toxic Shock fame) before Markus’ severe back pain sadly also led to his passing. This record is dedicated to Toon and Markus, whose spirits live on through their incredible music. You will find the entire first album plus an extra LP with their part of the split single Moral Demolition, their tracks of the ‘Alle 24 Goed’ compilation LP, their tracks of the ’Second Time Around’ compilation cassette, an unreleased track and a live recording at the height of their game from 1984 in Deventer (which includes covers such as ’These Boots Are Made For Walking’ and ‘Rock ’n Roll Rebel’) and a 76 page book filled with tons of archive material such as flyers, lyrics, drawings, pictures and a lengthy interview with Bie Puttemans on this most possibly last Ultra Eczema release, Zyklome A’s ‘Uitgesproken (1980-1985)’.

To mark the 15th year of both Static Shock Records and Hygiene, we bring you the '15 Minute City' EP, which is also the 100th release of the label. Has it really been four years since their ‘Private Sector’ album on Upset the Rhythm?? In that time the band have had a small tweak in line up with the addition of Lucy from Primetime on bass. Hygiene have returned with their most urgent and essential recordings and not many bands can say that after 15 years. Lead track '15 Minute City’ is an absolute bundle of DIY greatness…it has the chaos and chorus of one the classic 70’s / early 80’s Swell Maps 7”s. ‘L.T.N’ is a robotic and stiff post punk song that doesn’t outlast it's welcome as it lasts just over a minute. Last track ‘Petrol’ is a childlike punk gem that gets stuck in your head after one play. Hygiene are one of the most underappreciated bands in London in 2023.

A tape with the rather factual title “Rosa Beton – Demo 83” gained currency in 1983, albeit among an inner circle, or as it says in a lexical note on the band: Rosa Beton “achieved beyond-regional fame in and around Berlin”. Unlike some other bands that were merely rumoured to exist, this name was widely recognized in the East Berlin punk scene and the demo tape was received with some delight. It had been made in the suburb of Hönow, or more precisely in music enthusiast Thomas Wagner’s childhood bedroom. The band was less a classic combo than a short-lived pro- ject run, for a brief underground season, by 16-yearold Wagner and Ronald Mausolf, who was known as “Mausi” and had just come of age. An old clunker of a four-track machine served as an impor- tant nutritional supplement for the duo, allowing bass and vocals to be overdubbed separately. For a project without a professional background, especially for an illegal punk band in the East, this conventional procedure was clearly exceptional. Punk bands would usually record vocals and instruments simultaneously and on a cassette recorder. Recording gear was not readily available in the GDR, and it was disproportionately or prohibitively expensive. The adversities that had to be overcome in starting up a punk band were certainly challenging for teenagers. Rooms for rehearsals were few and far between despite wide- spread vacancies, and public space was taboo thanks to the state. Concerts, whether in flats and studios or under the protection of the Protestant church, remained rare events and, moreover, risky; starting with the party-loyal neighbour alerting the People’s Police as if there were a war on, to the ever-present “digging activity” of the Stasi. The only planned appearance by Rosa Beton never materi- alised. Whether it was the goddesses of fate who averted a show or the Stasi who prevented it can no longer be reconstructed. In any case, Rosa Beton never played live and thus joined a long list of GDR punk bands that, in the early 1980s, did not make it out of illegality into a public sphere, not even into a conspiratorial one. ausi compensated for the band’s lack of live performances by at least distributing a few copies of the demo tape. Among others, at the Kult, the Kulturpark Plänterwald, which provided an initiation field for the Berlin punk scene and a hotspot with a pull beyond it. The punks adapted the Kulturpark to their understanding of an amusement park.
They would thrash about to Schlager music and pogo to third-rate Ostrock bands, make fun of overwhelmed provincials, hang out and exchange half-baked ideas as superior knowledge. In between, the punks liked to ride the chain carousel, there was a certain liking for chains. The Kulturpark management made quite a fuss about the riot the punks put on. Initially they were banned from the chain carousel, then, when the punks switched to bumper cars, they were banned from the bumper cars, then from the roller coaster, and finally from the ghost

The Bones are a punk ’n’ roll band from Karlskrona, Sweden founded in 1996. With the high energy punk and rock recipe of The Ramones and Motörhead as the base, some 50's and 60's rock'n'roll thrown in to
the mix and topped off with sweet melodies à la The Bay City Rollers and The Barracudas, The Bones know for sure how to produce catchy, uptempo earworms. Their sophomore album Bigger Than Jesus (2002), originally released by People Like You, is 14 solid hits of beer-soaked punk 'n' roll hymns guaranteed to put a big smile on your face. Green colored vinyl

Murdock will release his second album in January 2024. The first was released in 2018, collected 20 million streams, and reached radio in Belgium and abroad with a number of strong singles, partly thanks to guest appearances from UK legend Jenna G and reggae hero Errol?Dunkley.?Studio Brussel chose 'Make Me Stronger' and 'Different Way' for daytime radio, George FM in New Zealand played 'Dollars Aren't Cheap' so much that the track made it into the top 10 of the national Shazam list, and in the UK it was 'Double Dutch' with?Roni Size that convinced BBC Radio 1.?

This time he once again brings Sena Dagadu on board, with whom he scored his biggest hit to date: Can't Keep Me Down has almost 12 million streams and the title is tattooed on loads of body parts worldwide.?She will provide goosebumps again on the upcoming album with 'Reign'.?Omar Perry (son of!) gets on board for 'Fire Burning', which will also be the anthem of the upcoming Rampage edition in the Sportpaleis, Ayah Marar helps the euphoric 'Lost In You' to a dose of soul, and new talents Emilie Rachel and Medyk?steal the show on 'Living In The Moment' and 'Runaway' respectively, on which Murdock combines drum & bass with their pure songwriting skills.?Advance single 'Cola' has already done extremely well: 600,000 streams in a few months, and a lot of radio play in Belgium, New Zealand and United Kingdom.?The album is called X-Ray as each track represents a piece of the identity that makes Murdock a whole.

The group takes a psychedelic turn, adding lush orchestral arrangements to the group’s tight harmonies and narrative lyrics. The album was recorded at the famed IBC Studios in London. Barry Gibb commented that their recording process was one of impromptu creativity, in which they’d “think up a subject, then write a song on the spot.” The instrumental parts were added later, adding a fullness to the songs. For instance, ‘Bee Gee’s 1st’ opens with strains of oboe and harpsichord on the whimsical “Turn of the Century,” while “Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You” begins with dark Gregorian chants.

Sign Libra's third album Hidden Beauty is an intimate voyage through feminine nature, guided by the arts of subtext, musical collage, and mysterious allusions. Elegantly arranged, enigmatic, and mischievous, Hidden Beauty seeks to "release the invisible and bring fragility to the surface." From the rainforests of Closer to the Equator (Sounds of the Dawn, 2016 / Antinote, 2018) to the surreal lunar landscape of Sea to Sea (RVNG Intl., 2020), Agata Melnikova, the Latvian musician behind the Sign Libra symbol, has developed a signature blend of evocative composition with lyricless, ethereal vocalizing. Hidden Beauty attends to a closer space than her first two albums, a playfully layered pastiche of refined references, drawing musical inspiration from the assortment of Erik Satie, the early work of Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, and 90s R&B. The first inklings of Hidden Beauty arrived in 2019, with the basic contours of the album sculpted in 2020 and early 2021. Like Sea to Sea, Hidden Beauty was invented as a solitary creative effort, but this time under uniquely hermetic impositions. Tethered to the world only by screen, the artist sought inspiration from an unlikely array of activities: new, unorthodox approaches at composing, learning French, a virtual pedagogical practice, and plenty of jubilant dancing in her flat, sunglasses on, to 90s dance music. Hidden Beauty moves inward from the distant spaciousness of Sea to Sea in favor of a "chamber-like" sound, reflecting the intimate environs of its creation. Balancing the New Age balletic resonance of Closer to the Equator and the cosmic-dancerly tracks of Sea to Sea, Hidden Beauty combines deft, postmodern arrangements with popular, contemporary suggestions. The reverb drenching her previous recordings is sponged up in the songs of Hidden Beauty, giving the exercises contained within a feeling of presence, and closeness. And always Agata's crystalline vocal furnishings, less a lead vocal than a first instrument, the ever-returning counterpoint in a beatific swirl. The other hidden elements of this work are plenty, and perhaps best left concealed for the listener's enjoyment. Or perhaps they are hidden in plain sight and sound, depending on what the puzzle pieces reveal to your imagination. Sign Libra's Hidden Beauty will be released in vinyl, Japanese import CD, and digital editions on November 3, 2023. A portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Coral Guardian, a non-governmental organization working internationally and with local communities to protect coral ecosystems.

Hard salsa with rocking tropical electric guitar! Príncipe's 1967 debut album, featuring powerful Afro-Latin rhythms like guaguancó and pachanga played with youthful exuberance and originality. Truly unique sound from the dawn of salsa in Venezuela. Príncipe y Su Sexteto, from Caracas, Venezuela, were early pioneers of "salsa con guitarra eléctrica" (salsa with electric guitar), a subset of the salsa genre where the electric guitar is the main melodic rhythm instrument, often taking the spotlight in place of the piano and brass section. They were the perfect combination arriving at the right moment, when salsa spontaneously emerged as a new musical movement coming from working-class youth of the barrios in Caracas. All the compositions are original to the band, and hold up really well more than 50 years later. Though the arrangements and playing are deceptively simple, the effect is both mesmerizing and energizing, like early rock 'n' roll fed through a Caribbean filter. This first time reissue has been remastered directly from the original tapes and licensed from Discomoda. With in-depth liner notes it has also been augmented by three smoking bonus tracks that were never released during Príncipe y Su Sexteto's existence as a band. 180g vinyl.

The rather naughty Pilot label is back and ready to take you on a trip to the heart of the dancefloor here as Wodda steps up with more fresh garage, minimal and tech fusions. 'T Total' is a perfectly infectious swinger with rasping bass notes and crisp percussion that will get faces screwed up and floors pumping. 'Aphrodite Curse' picks up with more damn sexy sound designs and super silky grooves that will take any crowd for a cruise. There is some bright and old school piano action to 'With Me' while 'Keep It' then offers a turbocharged future house excursion that is all about the good times.

19 songs to follow up “Recreation” released in 2020, and shortlisted for rap album of the year by Wordplay Magazine. This record is a showcase of styles, flavours, moods and emotions, directed through and narrated by Mosik Rhymes. Entirely self produced with stellar features from genre defining artists - George Fields, Alecs DeLarge, Grim Sickers and Soul Supreme. Available on a limited run of black
vinyl from Spinning Wheel Music.

Past Inside The Present wastes no time at all in getting back to serving up essential sounds in 2024, this time with Live Improvisations offering up music by zake, From Overseas, Hakobune and Chihei Hatakeyama. The first side is music made back in 2014 in a session between Yorifuji and Hatakeyama in rural Japan and the flipside is a response to it from zake and From Overseas. It makes for two delightfully crepuscular ambient pieces that slowly and subtly unfurl and draw you in deep to their ever-shifting layers and billowing synth-scapes.

The Vinyl Only label rolls on towards its 20th release here with Mar De Novo serving up the irresistible Apericena EP. 'Quantity Check' is a low-slung funker with noodling baselines and nice loose percussive rhythms under some exotic vocals. 'Blue Eyes Clear' is a more lavish and downtempo number of chilling by the Med come sundown and then comes Ryu's Rub of 'Quantity Check' which is more funky and fat-bottomed. 'Nao Fazer Nado' rounds out an escapist EP with some dreamy melodic chill-out sounds that will have you gazing off to the stars.

After their first European tour in May 2023, Tokyo-based Jazz trio Nautilus has received an amazing response from concert visitors and the professional audience!

So we decided to press their last gig of the tour at the legendary King Georg in Cologne, Germany on limited mixed media. This is for all concert goers to soak up the vibes again and for all those who couldn't make it to the concert to see them playing live! And believe us, this is a real experience, please enjoy this cross-section of songs - from old to new - and: it is recorded as a multitrack recording session for your listening pleasure.

A new tour for 2024 as well as a new studio album are already in the planning and making, so stay tuned!

This is a welcome return to the label for Amazingblaze who released his Can't Stop EP in January this year and his Venture EP in 2022. Since then he has continued to innovate with his heavy-hitting trance, techno and hardstyle influenced sounds. His ever evolving studio skills see him mix up old school influences with new school sound design that is perfect for engaging dance floors. His signature imprint is all over these four new cuts with their mix of big synths, bigger drums and all consuming grooves.

“Believe EP says it itself. All I wanted to say is that you have to believe in yourself”, Amazingblaze says. “This brand new EP contains 4 full-power tracks that definitely goes through your heart. Massive trance synths combined with vocals make it sound really mysterious and groovy. Hope you enjoy it, and believe in yourself.”

Charlotte de Witte adds: “It’s no secret that to me, Amazingblaze is one of the purest talents out there. This guy really understands what music is about and manages to create dancefloor bombs time after time. I’m super proud to have him on board for another EP on KNTXT and to watch him grow and become one of the top level artists out there.”

'Believe' kicks off with intense drum patterns and smart vocal samples that are lit up with bright and electric synths full of euphoric energy. 'Strange Candy' is a bulky and physical mix of clipped techno funk and throwback rave sounds with strobe-like lasers shooting across the face of the track. There is more peak time brilliance in the hard drums and hands-in-the air synth magic of 'It Happened Again' while 'Boyz Makin Noiz' shuts down with twitchy stabs and twisted acid lines and dark vocals appear from the shadows.

Amazingblaze delivers yet another exceptional EP, seamlessly blending forward-thinking techno and trance elements.

The concept of naught (Ø) has challenged Salvatore Mercatante throughout his musical career, specifically, trying to understand how the idea of ‘nothing’ fits into the realm of sound, and at the same time, exist in a world of influence at every turn. In the absence of everything, are we able to create something truly free?
As a lifelong New York-based musician, Mercatante’s influences and productions run a wide spectrum. Just as happy producing 80s-inspired horror soundtracks as he is refining acute drum patterns over and over again, Salvatore is the first to ask himself, where next? When a musician’s output can be influenced today by so much, and there is no self-defined or perceived artistic goal in mind, how do you start from a place of nothingness, again and again?
This approach has born many minimal and experimental albums of note in the past, but with Ø, Salvatore ended up with an almost controlled maximalist approach. Beginning with open spaces and allowing sonic textures to live and evolve past where you may expect, Ø allows the space between notes to become equally as important as the notes themselves. Walls of noise, soaring soundtracks, dense techno, glittering IDM, and minimal glitch, sit side-by-side to present an all-encompassing palette of sonic possibility.
Often, even without any intent, what can be born from nothing will somehow transpire back into something more recognizable. It’s human nature after all. A subtle fingerprint, as a sequence, melody, pattern, or drum kick. Whether Salvatore intended for this record to represent his defining sound or not, only time will tell.
Mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci @Enisslab, Rome, Italy.
Artwork by Brandon Locher
Written and produced by Salvatore Mercatante

With a string of releases on prestigious labels such as The Gods Planet, Affin, Edit Select and Circular Limited - the London-based Acaera (formerly Basis Change) has become a reputable name in the realm of hypnotic techno. We are truly honoured to present this EP as our label’s first release, and we hope to return Acaera’s trust in us with the pressing of a beautifully packaged limited edition vinyl alongside the digital release.

The vinyl includes two vinyl-only ambient tracks that book-end the release, with the first being the track from which the EP takes its name. Unfold begins a deeply personal journey, and immediately the listener is welcomed by a rich and atmospheric soundscape. This depth remains through the rolling enchantment of Apex and the off-kilter percussion and shifting grooves of Anaesthesia. Onto the B Side, Learned Behaviour is a track of slow revelation, pulling the listener mesmerically through its unfolding landscape. Forella will resonate with those who know Acaera’s signature sound, with broken rhythm work soaked in beautiful pads. Closing out the EP, Reorientation culminates on an uplifting note, leaving you contemplating feelings of warmth and hopefulness.

Nachpresssung 2021 als Audiophile Black Vinyl! Doppel-LP auf schwarzem 180gr Vinyl. "Aufheben" oder "Aufhebung" ist ein deutsches Wort mit einigen scheinbar gegensätzlichen Bedeutungen. Über das bloße Aufheben eines Gegenstandes oder das Aufheben einer Regelung hinaus benutzt Hegel den Begriff, um zu erklären, was passiert, wenn These auf Antithese trifft. Als neues Album von THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE wurde ,Aufheben" im Studio von Anton Newcombe in Berlin und in der berühmt-berüchtigten DDR-Radiostation ,Studio East" aufgenommen. Mit dabei: Matt Hollywood als Originalmitglied der Band. Außerdem versammeln sich hier Will Carruthers (SPACEMEN 3 , SPRITUALIZED) , Constatine Karlis (DIMMER) und Thibault Pesenti (ROCKCANDYS); zum Gesang trägt Eliza Karmasalo (auf Finnisch!) bei. Hier trifft sich der traditionelle Sound des BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE mit vermischten östlichen Einflüssen und bringt die gesamte Verrücktheit mit, die man in den letzten 40 Jahren entdeckt hat. Das BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE hat sich über die Jahre hinweg zu einer musikalischen Kommune für respektierte Musiker entwickelt und brachte seit den 90er Jahren große Bands hervor: BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, THE WARLOCKS, THE SILVER ROCKETS, THE BLACK ANGELS, THE RAVEONETTES und THE DILETTANTES (um nur ein paar zu nennen) sprießen aus dem musikalischen Stammbaum des BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRES. Die Konstante: Frontmann Anton Alfred Newcombe.

Following the reissue last year of Fairuz's classic 1979 album "Wahdon", Wewantsounds pursue their exploration of great Lebanese music with the reissue of Fairuz's highly sought-after LP "Maarifti Feek," released in 1987. Recorded in Beirut around 1983-84, the album features the Diva's superb voice combined with Ziad Rahbani's jazz and funk orchestration, making it one of the most in-demand albums on the Arabic funk scene. The release will coincide with "Arab Divas," a major exhibition set in the prestigious Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris, celebrating the greatest singers from the Arab World and starting 13 May 2020. One of the greatest singers of the Middle East, Fairuz started her career in Lebanon in the 50s and quickly established herself as the most renowned Diva in the Arabic world, playing the most prestigious venues in the world. At the end of the 70s, Fairuz was at a turning point both professionally and personally. Her Husband Assi Rahbani, who, with his brother Elias, had penned her biggest successes, has suffered a stroke a few years earlier. This setback ultimately led to both the demise of their marriage and the end of their professionnal partnership. Enters Ziad Rahbani, Fairuz and Assi's son, a young musician, playwright and producer who had cut his teeth writing a handful of Fairuz's song - including her 1973 hit "Sa'alouni El Nas" - at just seventeen. Ziad Rahbani swiftly took over from his father and uncle as the singer's musical director and composer and this fruitful association, which started in 1979 with the album "Wahdon," broke many new grounds for Fairuz with funkier rhythms and edgier lyrics. It was recorded at the same time as Rahbani's own 12 inch "Abu Ali" which became a sought-after disco classic in its own right. The association between the two continued with a second album, "Maarifti Feek" ("Our Encounter"), recorded between 1983 and 84 in Beirut but only released in 1987. The album was another groundbreaking mix of influences ranging from the traditional arrangements of "Oudak Rannan" and "Ma Kdirt Nseet" to the brazilan flavour of "Version 1" via the synth funk of "Ouverture 83" and its follow up "Reprise 83". Also featured on the album is a beautiful remake of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concerto de Aranjuez" in the form of a tribute to the lebanese capital, "Li Beirut." This blend of Oriental grooves with jazz and funk orchestrations by Ziad Rahbani is a unique document of Fairuz's career development in the 80s and explains why "Maarifti Feek" is such a sought after album on the DJ and collector circuits which Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue for the first time since the album first came out.

Flee new issue tries to document a Caucasian musical phenomenon mixing criminal songs, Adygean culture & post-soviet society; and features original recordings of traditional songs, and contemporary reinterpretations by a selected line-up of electronic-esque producers: Emmanuelle Parrenin & Colin Johnco, Misha Sultan, Zongamin, Minami Deutsch, Valentina Goncharova, Simone Aubert, Ben Wheeler...

Ulyap is a village in the Caucasus, where one can find an enormous number of accordion and harmonica players. "Ulyap Songs: Beyond Circassian Tradition" represents an attempt to document ancient bards' chants and their entanglement with popular rural heritage as well as post-Soviet culture during modern times, through a critical prism.

This publication reflects on a music phenomenon involving talented female and male musicians, performing in lively (and sometimes festive) social dynamics. It does so by revealing important songs of the repertoire on the one hand, inviting original artists to experiment with Ulyap songs on the other.
Built around an important work of documentation on this genre mixing criminal songs, Adygean culture and lyrics related to post-Soviet society, the book and record (available separately or as part of a bundle) include essays, archive and contemporary photographs as well as three art commissions questioning this original phenomenon from various point of views. Written in English and Russian, the book encompasses a dozen contributions.

Musically, the double LP conists of rare and unpublished archives as well as recordings made by FLEE, Ored recordings and Nikita Rasskazov over the last years in various locations of the Caucasus. These original celebration and drinking songs performed by group of professional and amateur musicians alike have been used as a creative fabric by sonic sound artists and musicians.

Flee new issue tries to document a Caucasian musical phenomenon mixing criminal songs, Adygean culture & post-soviet society; and features original recordings of traditional songs, and contemporary reinterpretations by a selected line-up of electronic-esque producers: Emmanuelle Parrenin & Colin Johnco, Misha Sultan, Zongamin, Minami Deutsch, Valentina Goncharova, Simone Aubert, Ben Wheeler...

Ulyap is a village in the Caucasus, where one can find an enormous number of accordion and harmonica players. "Ulyap Songs: Beyond Circassian Tradition" represents an attempt to document ancient bards' chants and their entanglement with popular rural heritage as well as post-Soviet culture during modern times, through a critical prism.

This publication reflects on a music phenomenon involving talented female and male musicians, performing in lively (and sometimes festive) social dynamics. It does so by revealing important songs of the repertoire on the one hand, inviting original artists to experiment with Ulyap songs on the other.
Built around an important work of documentation on this genre mixing criminal songs, Adygean culture and lyrics related to post-Soviet society, the book and record (available separately or as part of a bundle) include essays, archive and contemporary photographs as well as three art commissions questioning this original phenomenon from various point of views. Written in English and Russian, the book encompasses a dozen contributions.

Musically, the double LP conists of rare and unpublished archives as well as recordings made by FLEE, Ored recordings and Nikita Rasskazov over the last years in various locations of the Caucasus. These original celebration and drinking songs performed by group of professional and amateur musicians alike have been used as a creative fabric by sonic sound artists and musicians.

Sasu Ripatti's complete "Dancefloor Classics" series. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton.

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.
He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?
He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.
”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”
New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.
She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”
”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Dancefloor Classics”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

I’ve been slowly writing these sort of dance music pieces and finally curated them together for a conceptual release. I like to create music for a dancefloor that exists only in my imagination and doesn’t try to suck up to the standardized reality.

2) Your vinyl format is 10” which is quite special (as opposed to LP / 12”). Why did you choose it?

It’s my favourite format, absolutely. The size is perfect, and you can make it sound really good @ 45 rpm. And you still can make great artwork.

3) You seem interested in sampling/repurposing, what does it mean to you as an artist to approach something already existing from a new angle? How does the source material inform you about the approach to take?

I guess i could flip it around and just say I’ve outgrown synths or electronic sounds to a great extend, and having gotten rid off all my synths already good while ago I’ve used samples as my main source material a lot. It’s obvious on this series that i’ve sampled existing music, but I also sample instruments and things in the studio and resample my own library that I have built over the years, it’s quite large. To me the end result matters, not so much how I get there. Once I have something on my keyboard and play around, it’s all an instrument, though with sampling other music it becomes a really interesting and complex one as you’re possibly playing rhythm, but also harmonic content and maybe hooks or whatever, all at once.
I never sample premeditadedly, like listening to records and looking for that mindblowing 3 sec part. I just throw the cards in the air and see what lands where, just full intuition and hopefully zero mind involved, playing tons of stuff, trying things, just recording hours of stuff. Then comes the interesting part to listen to hours of mostly crazy stuff and finding that mindblowing 3 sec part.

4) What is your relationship with the dancefloor (conceptually and/or in experiences / as a performer)?

Very complicated. I have never really felt comfortable on a dancefloor but have always wanted to. There’s something in club music, in theory, that really speaks to me. It has never really materialized for me – speaking mainly from a performer’s point of view who goes to check on a dancefloor for a moment after a concert. I never have DJ’d or felt much interest towards it. But again, I love the idea and concept of DJing. As well as producing music for imaginary DJs. Lately, as in the past 10+ years, I haven’t even performed in any sort of club spaces. So my relationship to the dancefloor is quite removed and reduced, but there’s quite a bit of passion and interest left.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork & photography by Marc Hohmann.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

It's the pair you've all been waiting for! FINALLY!

Alan Tew's driving jazz-rock, sleuth-funk masterpiece, Drama Suite Part I is finally reissued to sate your appetites for arguably the very best library two-parter in existence. If you don’t know, get to know. Originally released in 1976 but wonderfully timeless, Drama Suite Part I is at the top of every library funk collectors' list. It's easy to see why...

Racing out the gate, the gritty crime funk of "The Detectives" makes for a thrilling, wild ride. A dramatic action theme, it's packed with strident playing and bags of attitude. There follows 10 (ten!) drama-tinged, horn-heavy, wah-wah-laced, conga-enhanced, synth-riddled links for neat segues and maximum funk fever. "Helicop" is another fast paced and energetic dramatic action background with great breaks and horns. "The Big One (Prelude)" has an ace bassline and creeps along superbly to create expectation and contains an amazing rolling piano loop that just stops you dead in your tracks. It's all building to "The Big One", a driving, dramatic, full-band action with fantastic funk breaks, heavy horns and *that* piano refrain. It was sampled by Jay-Z, and you can't really blame him, can you? The brief, tense "Headlights" and (even briefer) burner "The Burn" add some - you guessed it - deep drama over insistent rhythms to close out Side A.

Flip over for "The Detectives (Slow Version)", a relaxed, thoughtful version featuring synths. You might recognise it as being sampled by Domo Genesis and Evidence for "Tallulah" from their brilliant collaboration a few years ago. "The Detectives (Interlude)" is another slow, pensive version featuring electric piano and a trombone solo in the centre section. There follows 6 further links, Detectives versions essentially, with guitars, electric pianos, flugelhorns - all very cool and relaxed rhythms. The strutting majesty of big-time highlight "The Build Up" is next. It's a medium-slow drama background with occasional light statements of The Detectives theme peppered throughout. Nice. The fantastically-titled "Snout" is a slow, tense background theme which features a repetitive guitar figure with alto flutes over the top. The tense, stabby funk of "The Prowler" rounds out proceedings, with nervous figures over a slow, insistent cymbal beat.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Drama Suite Part I comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity. We're not quite sure what else to say about this landmark record, other than, GET IT!

Good things take time. What’s 17 years? Not even a quarter of Keith Richards! 17 years lay between Heiko Voss’ debut album “Call Me Killer” and the incredible follow-up “3:30 Minutes To Live”, which saw the light of day in 2022 on Michael Mayer’s “other label” IMARA. There are serious voices saying that the 80s were only really complete with the release of this album. Now it took the blink of an eye of a year for the remixes to be finished. And they turned out so well that Michael Mayer from KOMPAKT licensed the “3 Remixes for Heiko Voss” without further ado.

Running back guru GERD JANSON was an early adopter of the album. Highly motivated, he twirls “Follow Your Line” rhythmically somehow in the direction of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. How did he do that? Never mind. It grooves like crazy and keeps even larger floors moving.

ADA, the Hamburg grand dame of techno pop, has taken on the in tongue speaking funk banger “Talking Man” and dipped it in fairy dust. The result is probably the most sensational, soulful club track ever. Honestly.

The package is rounded off with a powerful Dub Version of “Follow Your Line” by the IMARA and KOMPAKT boss himself. Because he can do it.

Open your heart, let the remixes in.

Gut Ding will Weile haben. Was sind schon 17 Jahre? Nicht mal ein Viertel Keith Richards! 17 Jahre lagen zwischen Heiko Voss’ Debutalbum “Call Me Killer” und dem unglaublichen Nachfolger “3:30 Minutes To Live”, der 2022 auf Michael Mayers “anderem Label” IMARA das Licht derWelt erblickte. Es gibt ernstzunehmende Stimmen, die besagen, dass die 80er Jahre eigentlich erst mit der Veröffentlichung dieses Albums vollendet waren. Nun hat es einen kurzen Wimpernschlag von einem Jahr gedauert, bis die Remixe fertig waren. Und die sind so gut geworden, dass Michael Mayer von KOMPAKT die “3 Remixe für Heiko Voss” kurzerhand lizenziert hat.

Ein “early adopter” des Albums war Running Back Obermotz GERD JANSON. Top motiviert zwirbelt er “Follow Your Line” rhythmisch irgendwie in Richtung Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. Wie hat er das nur gemacht? Egal. Es groovt wie Bolle und hält auch größere Floors in Bewegung.

ADA, die Hamburger Grand Dame des Techno Pop hat sich des in Zungen sprechenden Funk Kloppers “Talking Man” angenommen und ihn ordentlich in Feenstaub getunkt. Dabei entstand der wohl sensationellste, soulfulste Club Track ever. Ehrlich.

Abgerundet wird das Paket mit einer kräftigen Dub Version von “Follow Your Line” vom IMARA bzw. KOMPAKT Boss selbst. Weil er’s kann.

Herzklappen auf, Remixe rein.

New Heavy Sounds is super stoked to announce a very very special team up between our favourite punk sisters, Shooting Daggers and Death Pill. Both bands have recorded a brand new song, and what better way is there to present them (or any kind of punk) than a good old split single. So kicking off the Shooting Daggers/Death Pill split, is this never before recorded Death Pill track 'MONSTERS'. Ukrainian punk trio Death Pill certainly made a stir when they hit the UK as part of their first ever European tour. Articles in the likes of the Guardian and Sunday, featured in all the music mags, plus the band showed that they were a pretty ferocious musical outfit, as those who were witness to the full on live experience can testify. Whilst in London, the band also had time to cut 'MONSTERS'. Recorded live in the studio with Wayne Adams (Pet Brick, Big Lad and producer of Green Lung) at the helm, MONSTERS is a short, sharp shock. An angry, sardonic and skewed amalgam of riffs and full on blast beats … it growls and it rips. The band says .. “This track is about how our parents knowingly or unknowingly lose their children. As an example - here are the most painful things you could hear from your folks: "When will you finish your music games?” "You will never achieve anything!” "When are you finally going to do something useful?" Therefore, when there was an opportunity to record a one live song in London, the choice of a song became obvious. Just imagine the "surprise" on the faces of our mums... Many thanks for Ged and Paul from the NHS label for supporting this idea, and to Wayne from Bear Bites Horse for the sick and fat sound” What makes this release all the more exciting, is that Shooting Daggers are dropping their first new music since last year's EP 'Athames'. Sal, Bea and Raquel are most definitely on the way up, their exciting blend of hard as nails hardcore, punk attitude and a neat melodic sense have made them a much sought after outfit, for gigs and festivals here and across Europe. They are slowly but surely proving themselves to be one of THE bands to watch in 2024. If the EP left their growing legion of fans gagging for more, new track 'NOT MY RIVAL' will not disappoint. It's a catchy, pogo-tastic, queercore punk banger, full of feminist grit and a killer earworm chorus. The band says ... "Not My Rival, is a song about dismantling the male gaze, fighting against the internalised patriarchal messages that we all unconsciously absorb. It's about breaking the cycle of female rivalry. We want to encourage lifting each other up instead of tearing each other down" The Shooting Daggers debut album is due in the new year .... you have been warned, this is the shape of things to come. But there’s more ... a very special 7” single strictly limited to 250 copies. Classic black vinyl, with a reversible foldover sleeve with artwork from each band on each side so you can choose your own cover, full colour printed labels housed in a poly overbag

It's the pair you've all been waiting for! FINALLY!

Alan Tew's Drama Suite Part II. What can we really say? Honestly? We guess the first thing that strikes you is how clean the drums are. Almost impossibly slick but dripping so, so heavy with the neck-snapping funk you'd expect from perhaps the most sought-after library funk set of them all! The cheapest on Discogs is, currently, £1300+. Now's your chance to remedy that. If you know, you know. And we think you know...

"The Rub" is a cool, low-slung heavy-funk roller with relaxed brass and alto flute phrases. Up next, "Money Runner" is another edgy funk glider, its easy-tempo moving in harmony with slinky rhythmic riffs and featuring a seemingly ad-libbed electric piano solo. Strutting along after, "White Elephant Walk" is another laconic, deeply stoned walking theme with electric piano and alto flutes. There follows a couple of brief "walking" links before the brilliantly tense "Master Plan" slowly builds. Expectancy grows to the main theme around a minute in and then a melodic theme builds slightly to the 3 minute mark before floating down gradually and elegantly to its climax. It's utterly fantastic. The smoky, after-hours "Night Watch" is a slow, cool gem featuring alto flutes and synths.

Now we're talking, "The Fence (a)" is just sensational and worth buying this album all on its own. It's likely the reason you're here, anyway. Another impossibly funky, slow and easy tempo with a bass riff to die for, dramatic guitar with gorgeous electric piano and alto flute phrases. It was sampled for "Action Satisfaction" by J5, way way back. "The Fence (b)" is a slower, more deliberate version of the previous heater, but it's no less essential. Indeed, it's absolutely jaw-drooping. Closing out this remarkable side, "Surveillance" is another horizontal masterpiece of relaxed yet dramatic jazz-funk. Vibes ad-lib in centre section and give you an idea of how Roy Ayers making library funk in the mid-late 70s might've sounded. Sensational.

Flip over for "Total Silence", a near-beatless and understated scene-setter featuring neat interplay of guitar and synthesizer themes over bass and hi-hats. The slow "Eyes" follows, a brief gem with subdued electric piano solo and a light climax. The fantastic "Drama Backcloth (1a)" is up next, a repetitive piano and bass refrain with guitar figures over the top. Its creeping crime-funk vibe was pilfered for "Outta Town Shit" by Ghostface Killah in 2006. "Drama Backcloth (1b)" is a short, subdued version without the guitar figure. "Drama Backcloth (2)" features an expectant, background marimba figure over light rhythm whilst the cool "Drama Backcloth (3)" centres around a relaxed riff and the angular "Drama Backcloth (4)" presents eerie progressions with piano interjections. It's decidedly non-rhythmic!

We're then onto 14 (!) different half-minute "Scenechanges", all jazzy and funky, some cool and dramatic, some slow and rhythmic. All ace and groove-fuelled. The aptly-titled "Final Statement" closes proceedings, a slow, pensive theme on guitar joined by cool brass and a solo trumpet to its climax.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Drama Suite Part II comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity. We're not quite sure what else to say about this landmark record, other than, GET IT!

Vladislav Delay's complete "Hide Behind The Silence" series. Intuitive and raw music, momentary and reflective, released on Ripatti's own label Rajaton.

Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.
Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.
Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’
The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such? Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.
A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.
It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Hide Behind the Silence”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

Exploration of inaction. Of many kinds. In arts and in personal life, or at bigger and more serious levels. Questioning myself as a human being as well as an artist. Acknowledging the growing activism all around, and the very clear need for it, and how it reflects my own inaction.
Musically speaking, after Rakka, Isoviha and Speed Demon, I finally found some relief, but more importantly lost the need to go musically ever more outward and intensive. I felt quite strongly certain periods/moods from the past and they made me revisit some musical ideas or states of mind I was exploring early on.
It’s about live moments being captured, not much premeditation or editing. More intuitive and raw, even though the end result (to me) feels and sounds quite introspective and calm. It’s not very ambitious. Momentary and reflective.

2) Your music doesn’t sound very silent. Does it come from somewhere behind the silence?

Oh, this time to me it sounds quite quiet and playing with space if not silence. I don’t know what’s actually behind silence, but I think silence is the source of everything. We just don’t understand it yet.

3) What kind of thoughts or experiences gave inspiration to this series?

Writing this in Nov ’22, it’s not a stretch to say the world has been really unwell. Sometimes, like Mika Vainio put it, the world eats you up. I feel a bit like that. And I try to hide in my studio and stay away from it all, but it’s getting harder by the day. I’ve been questioning myself and thinking if what us artists are doing is worth anything, and whether it’s just a selfish thing I’ve been doing for the past 25 years, running away from everything. I haven’t come to a conclusion yet.

4) Is it easy for you to be in silence, or around silence?

Absolutely. I not only hide behind silence but I also love silence. It’s only since I started going back to nature as a grown-up person that I sensed and was enveloped by silence, true silence. I have begun to appreciate it a lot. I think all the people should spend more time in silence.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork by Marc Hohmann, photography by Shinnosuke Yoshimori.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

SLIFT's ILION is a towering work of rock music, a steamrolling record that starts at the highest peak and never lets up. If that sounds overwhelming, trust that this Toulouse trio have you in good hands. Their third full-length feels massive and oceanic, merging the furious intensity of metal and the wigged-out guitar heroics of psych rock with post-rock's epic sense of scale. ILION is the kind of music where you listen to it and think to yourself, "This came from only three people?" It sure did, and SLIFT's utter ferocity is way more than a tempest in a teacup. It reaches outwards for miles and creates new zeniths within unforeseen horizons of rock. SLIFT is made up of brothers Jean and Remí Fossat, and Canek Flores, who first met the brothers Fossat at school. After the band formed in 2016, they quickly made their 2017 debut EP, Space Is the Key, which merged stoner rock's heaviness with the sugar-rush qualities of garage rock. From there, things only got weirder: The trio experimented with faster tempos and bongos(!) on the following year's full-length La Planeté Inexploreé, and in 2019, their KEXP session recorded at the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes became a viral sensation, racking up more than 1.4 million YouTube views. UMMON from 2020 represented SLIFT's pivot towards the celestially crushing confines of psych-metal, marked by Remí's rolling basslines and Flores's relentless skin-pounding. But nothing in their catalog could prepare you for ILION, a huge and melodically dense record that at once recalls Godspeed! You Black Emperor's perpetually uplifting surge, the passionate burn of post-hardcore legends _And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Led Zep's psychotic blues-rock mysticism, and the psychedelic swirl of Swedish greats Goat.

SLIFT's ILION is a towering work of rock music, a steamrolling record that starts at the highest peak and never lets up. If that sounds overwhelming, trust that this Toulouse trio have you in good hands. Their third full-length feels massive and oceanic, merging the furious intensity of metal and the wigged-out guitar heroics of psych rock with post-rock's epic sense of scale. ILION is the kind of music where you listen to it and think to yourself, "This came from only three people?" It sure did, and SLIFT's utter ferocity is way more than a tempest in a teacup. It reaches outwards for miles and creates new zeniths within unforeseen horizons of rock. SLIFT is made up of brothers Jean and Remí Fossat, and Canek Flores, who first met the brothers Fossat at school. After the band formed in 2016, they quickly made their 2017 debut EP, Space Is the Key, which merged stoner rock's heaviness with the sugar-rush qualities of garage rock. From there, things only got weirder: The trio experimented with faster tempos and bongos(!) on the following year's full-length La Planeté Inexploreé, and in 2019, their KEXP session recorded at the Trans Musicales festival in Rennes became a viral sensation, racking up more than 1.4 million YouTube views. UMMON from 2020 represented SLIFT's pivot towards the celestially crushing confines of psych-metal, marked by Remí's rolling basslines and Flores's relentless skin-pounding. But nothing in their catalog could prepare you for ILION, a huge and melodically dense record that at once recalls Godspeed! You Black Emperor's perpetually uplifting surge, the passionate burn of post-hardcore legends _And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Led Zep's psychotic blues-rock mysticism, and the psychedelic swirl of Swedish greats Goat.

- Newly Expanded Deluxe Double LP Edition! - Includes the original 1972 album, plus all of Larry Mark's acoustic demos and tracks from his unreleased 1970 LHI LP for the first time on vinyl - Previously unreleased session outtake of "Cold Hard Times" plus demos of obscure Hazlewood compositions "Drums," "The - Start," "Susie," "Miracle on 19th Street," and "Peppermint Morning" - 30 total tracks - Remastered by GRAMMYr-nominated mastering engineer John Baldwin - Liner notes by GRAMMYr-nominated reissue producer Hunter Lea including interviews with Larry Marks, Joe Cannon, Torbjörn Axelman & Suzi Jane Hokom - Lee Hazlewood comic strip, the story of 13 told through original artwork by Jess Rotter - Double LP housed in a gatefold jacket // DESCRIPTION "Pimps_ whores_ pushers_ dopers_ gangsters_ and bottom of the human chain shit-heels. Now you're probably thinking I'm writing about major record companies and their unscrupulous executives_ and lawyers. You could be right_ but this time_ YOU'RE WRONG! I'm describing the characters in my album `13' _Some I knew_ some I invented _ some are true_ some are false_ some I liked_ some I didn't. But they all had a story to tell and I told it_none of `em seem to care_ and I don't either_ have fun_" - Lee Hazlewood "He (Lee) took my voice off the album and put his voice on the album. Now don't forget these were in my keys, it was my charts, it was my everything. Lee Hazlewood was not even remotely going to be considered as an artist for this album and that's the way he wanted it." - Larry Marks The album 13 was never supposed to be a Lee Hazlewood album. It is perhaps the strangest record in one of the most varied discographies in music. The Bombastic brass heavy funk, deep blues and soul paired with Hazlewood's subterranean baritone would be best enjoyed with a tall Chivas in an off-strip seedy Vegas lounge. By 1972 Lee Hazlewood had settled in his new homeland of Sweden. His days were spent carousing, making movies with Torbjörn Axelman and releasing albums. To keep up his prolific recorded output, Lee began to mine the recently defunct LHI Records archives for material. One such gem, was an unreleased album by Larry Marks (LHI producer, artist and the voice of the first Scooby-Doo theme). Larry's concept was to take Hazlewood's strongest compositions and arrange them in a soul vibe. An album was completed, but with no distribution in America and no funding, Lee had no vehicle to release Larry's record. The tapes were taken to Sweden, Larry's voice was wiped and Hazlewood's was dubbed_ 13 was born.

Impossible to find in the wild, KPM's Image is exactly that; this record paints extraordinary, hyper-vivid scenes with music, in the way only the library greats can. Originally released in 1974, Image is an absolutely stunning listen from start to finish, and arguably the most wanted KPM grail that's still not been reissued - until now! Just too good…

Worth the price of admission alone, and likely the reason you're all already drooling about this release, the mellow, dramatic beat of "Image", Brian Bennett's opener and title track, is a Jaylib-sampled firecracker. A reflective, scenic underscore which grows to full orchestra and ends as it begins - it's just beautiful. Next up, swoon to "The Little Orphan" by Neil Richardson featuring strings and harp. It's a deeply emotive, sweeping orchestral piece. Just straight gorgeous. It's followed by "Paradise Island", a lush, horizontal Balearic gem courtesy of Gordon Rees and David Gold; it'll send you into a blissful reverie with its elegant strings and gentle drums. From the same pair, "Forbidden Fruit" is, again, string-drenched but the strings are more insistent, stabbing even, and, with drums and Blaxploitation guitars high up in the mix, it's definitely a funkier proposition. "The Enchantress", again a Rees-Gold special, is a slower, groovy, synthy wonder. Closing out the A-Side, "Phenomena" is a mysterious gem, a Gold solo effort set at a breezier tempo with propulsive percussion and head nod, fast-paced breaks with ace keys.

Flip over for "Infinite Expanse", John Scott's dramatic panorama adorned with proud, triumphant horns. Scott's "Static Objects" paints patient, pastoral scenes; there's a serenity and stillness to the proceedings. Next up, Be With favourite John Fiddy delivers shifting shapes and patterns with his wonderful "Metamorphosis", all wah wah, harps, dramatic percussion and strings. It's by turns billowy and blasting. "Cubist Pictures" follows, Neil Richardson's brilliant nebulous, fragmentary piece. Better yet, Richardson's gorgeous, beatless "Analysis" follows, and it's an orchestral beauty featuring cello, harps and woodwind. It's no exaggeration to describe this as transcendental. His "Crystal Ball" presents more static scenes with cello, twinkling percussion and strings, before Steve Gray's fantastically-titled softly-ace "Gliding Through Clouds" closes out this remarkable set.

As with all of our KPM re-issues, the audio for Image comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. And as usual, the sleeve reproduction duties were handed over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM’s brand identity.

The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, the triple LP With pats on the head, just one too few is evil one too many is good that's all it is. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experiments with novel instrumentation that have defined the trio’s decade of working together. Containing some of the most delicate music the three have committed to wax since the gorgeous 12-string acoustic guitar and dulcimer tones of Only wanting to melt beautifully away is it a lack of contentment that stirs affection for those things said to be as of yet unseen (BT011), this wide-ranging release also offers up some of their most blistering free rock performances yet.

The side-long opening piece finds Haino on a single snare drum in duet with O’Rourke on unamplified electric guitar, playing in the lovely post-Bailey vein heard on his classic 90s recordings with Henry Kaiser and Mats Gustafsson. Spiky dissonance and ringing harmonics interweave with flowing melodic fragments as Haino single-mindedly explores the resonance of the snare like an untutored Han Bennink. On ‘Right brain, left brain; right, left; right wing, left wing. Just how many combinations can be made from these?’, O’Rourke moves to synth and electronics, joined by Ambarchi on drums, who at first focuses on sizzle cymbals before hypnotic cycles of gentle tom rhythms combine with electronic burbles and flutters to suggest a dream collaboration between Masahiko Togashi and Jean Schwarz. Ambarchi’s percussion is then joined by Haino on wandering, overblown flute, before the man in black switches back to the snare for a bizarre, stuttering drum duet.

For the first trio performance, Haino makes another new addition to his seemingly infinite catalogue of instruments, this time a homemade contraption he refers to as ‘Strings of Dubious Reputation’. Joined by O’Rourke on increasingly spaced-out electric guitar and Ambarchi on skittering percussion, Haino’s wonky, slack strings adds a definite ‘musique brut’ edge to this side-long performance, certainly one of the most enchantingly odd in the trio’s discography. When the group reconvene for the second set, spread out across the final three sides, they seem ready to breathe fire from the first instant. O’Rourke slashes distorted chords on the six-string bass, Ambarchi breaks into his signature irregular caveman thump, and Haino squeals and squawks on heavily delayed oboe before unleashing an overpowering electrical storm when he first picks up the guitar. For over half an hour, the trio pound out one of their most relentless performances, a constantly rearranging kaleidoscope of tortured fuzz guitar, insanely busy bass riffing and propulsive, tumbling drums. A hushed atmosphere initially reigns on the final long piece, given the mournful title ‘There are always things I wish to say but I can only convey them in this language August 6 August 9’. Haino’s clean guitar strumming calls up the shimmering tones of his PSF classic Affection, gradually building to a surging wall of sound, bass and drums lumbering through a roar of jet-engine guitar. Arriving in a deluxe trifold package with photos by Lasse Marhaug alongside inner sleeves with extensive live images, this epic release is perhaps the most remarkable document yet of this unique trio’s stamina and continuing inventiveness.

Are You There, Boy ? is an album by Beharie, released in 2024. Are You There, Boy ? includes a.o. the following tracks: “Wake Up”, “Desire”, “Don't Forget Me (featuring Judy Blank)”, “Deserve It” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, Limited Edition pop LP.

Dutch lute player and composer Jozef Van Wissem's new album The Night Dwells in the Day out 19th January 2024. “It's like a part of my body,” says Jozef Van Wissem of the relationship he has to his chosen instrument, the lute. “The complexity of it is what keeps me going because you can always find something new.” The ability to constantly extract something different and explore fresh terrain is evident throughout Van Wissem’s sprawling back catalogue and up to his latest album, ‘The Night Dwells in the Day’. Over the years he’s released countless solo albums stretching into double figures, there’s been collaborations with Jim Jarmusch and Tilda Swinton, award-winning computer game soundtracks, along with award-winning film soundtracks, from Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive to Pierre Creton’s 2023 film A Prince. Since studying the lute in New York with Patrick O'Brien in the 1990s, Van Wissem has gone on to create works equally as rooted in classical Renaissance and Baroque forms of lute music, as contemporary sounds spanning drones, electronics and field recordings. Throw in some of his formative influences from the no wave and industrial scenes, alongside a dedicated approach to minimalism and this has resulted in Van Wissem producing distinct and singular work whose sound is often a marriage of opposites; meditative and intense, forward thinking but with a sense of the arcane. The Quietus has called him “probably the most famous lutenist in the world”. The genesis for his latest album began during lockdown in Warsaw, where Van Wissem splits his time between Rotterdam. “The Call of the Deathbird” was the first song he wrote from the album and is the first to be shared, along with an accompanying video today. Over a hypnotic yet beautifully fluid and plucked melody - captures scenes of deserted streets, death and the intense isolation that gripped us all. One of the relatively rare tracks that Van Wissem sings on - along with some stirring and enveloping guest vocals from Hilary Woods (who will tour with Van Wissem later this year – details below) - his towering voice circles above the music much like the swooping deathbird he sings of. Normally Van Wissem writes all the music for one album within a confined period but this one song from a few years ago stuck around and took on a new lease of life and so joined a bunch of freshly written songs for the album. While one song written during, and about, the pandemic came to be the album’s centerpiece, the rest of the album grapples with the world as it moved on and all the dualism and dichotomies that followed. “It has to do with darkness and light,” Van Wissem says of the album. “The title can mean different things to people but sometimes people say that if I play a happy piece of music that it still sounds sad. So this is why I came up with that title.”

Out of print for quite a few years now, this album is a stunning power-pop gem recorded at a time when this kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual.b This is one of the most iconic albums released on Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records. It now includes bonus tracks on top! Definitely stood the test of time. Check out the titles, these young ladies were wearing their collective hearts on those sleeves of theirs. This kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual at the time and it provided a much-needed antidote to the male dominated skinny tie brigade. Nikki looked like Pam Dawber (Mindy from Mork and Mindy) and sounded like Clare Grogan (of Altered Images) what was not to be instantly smitten by. Born and bred in Detroit, Miss Corvette reportedly ran away from home at age 16 because her mother refused to allow her to attend an MC5 show. Greg Shaw wrote the following in the liner notes to the 20th Anniversary label compilation, Destination Bomp! "Nikki was a tireless worker. Like some coalminer's daughter, she'd travel around the country with her band. Playing 200 shows a year. She knew everybody and was a lot of fun to hang out with so, I figured that if all her friends bought the record... so I signed her. The girl had style and attitude galore plus, she had master guitarist/songwriter and former Romantic Peter James. One of Detroit's most savvy cats." The lady herself kindly supplied the following summary. "We went to LA and signed with Bomp in maybe 1979 but Greg wasn't sure what to do with us. We did the Honey Bop single with Ronny Weiser at Rollin Rock and a couple songs with the Kessel Brothers. We started something with Kim Fowley that did not work out. They kept trying different producers until we finally decided to go back to Detroit and do the album on our own. We didn't have a lot of experience but we knew what we wanted and Detroit was part of that so we recorded the album and had a blast doing it. Peter wanted us to be poppier and I wanted to be more punk. We sort of met in the middle with what I've always called Bubblegum Punk. I can't believe it's been 43 years since this came out and there are still kids discovering it and people who grew up with it that still listen to it. I constantly hear from people all different ages, all over the world about how much they love it album and that really means so, so much to me!" Hear the phenomenon for yourself.

Genre-smashing alternative artist grandson announces his new album I Love You, I’m Trying out on Vinyl 19th January via Fueled By Ramen. Where his past work tackled political and social issues in nature, the new album turns the lens definitely inward resulting in a 12 track collection of grandson’s most personal and vulnerable songwriting to date.

Smokey Brights were early signees to Freakout Records, along with fellow Seattle psych-rockers Acid Tongue, after gaining the love of legendary NW station KEXP. Produced by Andy Park (Death Cab for Cutie, Noah Gunderson, Ciara, Mac Miller), the band's newest full-length, I Love You But Damn, walks a fine line between gritty NW rock and stately arena ready pop. Smokey Brights tirelessly toured and intensely demoed in their basement home studio leading up to recording I Love You But Damn, and their devotion to their craft is unmistakable in every track.

Andy Sharrocks started writing songs in 1976. He found a vehicle for these songs with punk band Accident On The East Lancs. This started out as a covers band, but Andy soon became frustrated when the other members wanted to stay that way. The band disintegrated but Andy retained the name, forming a new cutting edge four piece playing his songs. He financed their first single in 1979 on his own label Roach Records. This was a double A side as one of the sides was a ditty called We Want It Legalised. The other side was a Bo Diddley kind of groove called Tell Me What Ya Mean, which Record Collector magazine recently said sounded like a song The Strokes should cover. This line up fell apart when immediate success failed to arrive, but Andy formed another band out of the ashes of local band Wilful Damage, and the guitarist out of the original covers band. They recorded and released on Roach Records another double A sided single in 1981 as well as an album released on cassette tape on Cargo Records. The singles now exchange hands on the collectors market for over seventy pounds, the album has been rereleased on vinyl twice, once on a German label, and once on UK’s OZIT/MORPHEUS Records which came with a bonus live album The singles have been released on many punk compilations and We Want It Legalised is about to be released on a new Manchester punk compilation on Cherry Red Records. They played many free festivals including Deeply Vale three times, and did many great supports including The Fall, Tractor, Here And Now and Crass. Andy left the band in 1982 for personal reasons, and had a one single deal with I Believe In Love on the Vibes and Vibes record label in 1985. Refusing to compromise and do covers, Andy found it impossible to make a living doing his own material which was now primarily Americana, after discovering alt.country through Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett in 1985. He went on the road as a tour manager, which is where he met Hilly Briggs, who went on to produce Andy’s first solo album in 2004 called Walking In Familiar Footsteps, which featured ex Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor, Bluesband and Manfreds frontman Paul Jones and Bobby Vee’s sons Jeff and Tommy on drums and bass respectively. Andy was now living in London and was gigging regularly on his own or with a revolving circle of musicians going under the collective title of Andy Sharrocks & The Smokin’ Jackets. He played over five hundred gigs all over London and the UK. He also did many supports for Mick Taylor, Buddy Whittington, Steve Gibbons, The Strawbs, Curved Air, and supported John Mayall on a UK nationwide tour, and played the Jazz Café in Camden twice with John. He also played The Hells Angels Bulldog Bash three times, The Skegness Rock n Blues Festival, The Herelbeke Blues festival in Belgium and The Colne Blues Festival. In 2009 he released another album called Dirt with The Smokin’ Jackets, which came out to great critical acclaim. Andy is now releasing a triple album of truly magnificent UK Americana, called Country Rock n Roll n Durty Blues. Press Quotes : "Country Rock ‘n’ Roll ‘n’ Durty Blues is a sprawling album of original rock and blues which takes you from Muddy Waters to modern Americana" – Nigel Carr, Louder Than War // "Good honest earthy rock ‘n’ roll done the old fashioned way with passion and aplomb" – Mark Radcliffe, BBC // "Country Rock ‘n’ Roll effortlessly lives up to its title … and more" – Pete Feenstra, Get Ready To Rock // "As a listener it really is bloody good fun - Briticana, Americana with a very English voice

Emmavie is one of the London R&B's scene most exciting talents - equally shining as both a leading vocalist and a one-of-a-kind producer. Known for her collaborations with Alfa Mist, Soulection, The Alchemist, IAMNOBODI, ROMderful and an outpouring of public support from respected names the like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Phonte, and Knxwledge - Emmavie has quickly become the talk of the town in many music circles at the moment, with her refreshingly unique original production (think late 90's Timbaland meets neo-soul era J Dilla), sharp writing skills, and a voice that instantly pulls you in.

Immerse yourself in the musical universe of ONE PIECE MOVIES - BEST SELECTION! Enjoy over 70 minutes of music from the One Piece films for the first time on vinyl, taking you on a journey through the adventures of the famous Straw Hat crew.

Fully licensed.

Luffy, a mischievous boy, dreams of becoming the king of the pirates by finding the "One Piece", a fabulous and mysterious treasure. But, inadvertently, Luffy one day swallowed a "magical devil fruit" that turned him into a rubber man. Since then, he is able to contort his elastic body in all directions, but he has lost the ability to swim, the height for a pirate! Over the course of ever more incredible adventures and chance encounters, Luffy will gradually compose his crew and multiply friendships with the peoples he discovers, while facing formidable enemies.

Kohei Tanaka worked on the composition and arrangement of this album.

Joseph Omicil, Jr, a.k.a. Jowee Omicil, is a Haitian-Canadian jazz musician. He has worked in the past with artists such as Roy Hargrove, Pharoah Sanders, Tony Allen, Kenny Garrett, Jacob Desvarieux, Glen Ballard, Harold Faustin, Michel Martell, etc. He hosted Quincy Jones' 85th birthday celebration at Montreux Festival. He also starred in the Netflix series The Eddy, produced by Damien Chazelle, and Le temps d'aimer, directed by Katell Quillévéré (Cannes Festival 2023). The Bois- Caïman ceremony was Haiti's first major collective uprising against slavery. On his new album, SpiriTuaL HeaLinG: Bwa KaYimaN FreeDoM SuiTe, Jowee performs his ancestors' revolution in his own way. Joweebroughttogetherallhisinnertubes,soprano,alto,tenor,wood,clarinets, piccolo flute, cornet, that blows, that winds, that rumbles. Thisrecord is an incantation, a therapy, it cleanses the world by drawing onthe fantasized memory of the Haitian revolution. There are FreedomSuites by Sonny Rollins, Max Roach and others. Prayer music, music tobreak the chains in your head and on your wrists, music of black powerandwhitemagic.ForJowee,akidfromMontreal,sonofaHaitianpastor, who sang Jesus in all the tones, and then Michael Jackson, andthen2Pac,wholearnedjazzfromOrnetteColeman,theceremonynecessarilyhasthetasteoffree.Thisrecordisahealinghour-longimprovisation.

Overview:
Nuggets vol. 2 as originally thought of by Lenny Kaye and released to celebrate the 50 years of the legendary compilation.