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Embark on a sonic journey with Danza Tribale's latest release, "Das Neue Elektronische Volkslied," an album born out of a relentless pursuit of cutting-edge, non-retrospective techno tracks.

The creative process, initiated in 2022, took a unique twist as it drew inspiration from live performances - raw, improvised moments fueled by the electric energy of the club atmosphere.

Tobias., the mastermind behind this musical odyssey, meticulously reproduced and evolved these spontaneous creations in his studio, crafting a seamless fusion of diverse elements. Seeking guidance on the ideal label for this innovative project, the artist turned to the talented Adiel. What transpired was beyond expectation.

Enchanted by the tracks, Adiel proposed something extraordinary - the birth of "Das Neue Elektronische Volkslied" on her label, Danza Tribale. In her words, the energy and dedication poured into the feedback reflected the label's commitment to pushing boundaries. It was an offer, Tobias. couldn't refuse, convinced that Danza Tribale was the perfect home for his musical creation.

Even Tobias. himself found it challenging to put the essence of "Das Neue Elektronische Volkslied" into words. In his enigmatic statement, he remarked, "In general, music is very difficult to describe because everyone feels something different; music speaks for itself and is only understood by those who speak the same universal language." He emphasised the album's title as a poignant nod to the cyclic nature of current clubculture and a heartfelt homage to a true futurist.

Join us in embracing the avant-garde spirit of "Das Neue Elektronische Volkslied" as it marks a significant chapter in the evolution of techno music.

The album consisting of 8 tracks will be available soon on Danza Tribale, it promises to redefine your perception of sound and rhythm. Stay tuned for a release that transcends boundaries and propels us into the future of electronic music!

Innerhalb von sechs Tagen und ”ohne über irgendetwas nachzudenken”, hat Noah Kahan die fünf Tracks umfassende Cape Elizabeth EP fertiggestellt, die bereits 200 Millionen Streams erreicht hat. Das neu verpackte Cape Elizabeth Aqua-Vinyl ist Noahs ”Dankeschön an die Fans, die dabeigeblieben sind, zu den Shows gekommen sind, meine Livestreams gesehen und zugehört haben.” Die Vinyl enthält die FanLieblingslieder ”A Troubled Mind”, ”Glue Myself Shut” und ”Maine”. Verfügbar ab dem 15.03.2024

After putting down the saxophone, the instrument he has become synonymous with, Shabaka returns with his first full length album under his own name. Expanding off the meditative 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, his new album Perceive its beauty, Acknowledge its Grace is a deeply moving suite of primarily instrumental music. The listening experience is reflective and contemplative, with passages flowering from one musical concept to the next, encouraging deep attention that rewards the listener with throughlines and motifs throughout the record. Shabaka is found playing the flute on this album, and has enlisted key artists such as Andre 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, Floating Points, and more to help build this all-encompassing aural landscape.

In the year 2099, ruthless Austrian scientists were working on a secret government project: A cyborg with the ability to reprogram the human mind. Code name: Prozessor. He was sent back in time to 1985 (Miami, Fl) to change the course of history and take over the world. But the sound wave of a Roland TR-808 bassdrum changed his internal programming and so he became the Beatprozessor.

"Nothing and no one can extinguish this flame within you," sings Emilie Simon from the opening title of Polaris, her first true album in ten years. An apparent long eclipse that the French singer, musician, and producer has nevertheless used to explore new territories, open uncharted paths, and reinvent her musical vocabulary and narrative threads. Like Ariane in a dreamlike world, she stretches these threads along her journey, inviting us to blindly follow.

After composing music for the film "The Jesus Roll" with John Turturro, and a musical journey between Earth and Mars through a series of singles, in 2023, Emilie Simon chose to revisit her debut album, both in the studio and on stage, to definitively close a chapter begun twenty years earlier. She also published "Phoenix," a gothic tale with a "vampiric" theme, sung and spoken in alexandrines. The central character, Lily Mercier, is the same one found at the heart of the Polaris adventure. Clearly, Lily is a projection of Emilie, on a quest for the North Star that symbolizes the never-extinguished desire to find her way. The dazzlement too, when one is a musician always eager to ignite again for the infinite mysteries of sound and to translate its shivers into songs.

This album, sung in both French and English, succeeds in combining the clarity of melodies with the demands of production. It immediately captivates (the irresistible burn of the Sun) and enchants over repeated listens, like a lasting iridescence of a thousand sonic fragments. Recorded in New York (where Emilie lived for a long time), Los Angeles, Montreal, Rome, and Paris (where she returned to settle), Polaris has its own cartography. Its universe is the standard scale, its pulsation inspired by cosmic rhythms, and its unique poetry both disturbs and captivates. A sign that nothing and no one can extinguish this flame within her.

This 1997 compilation collects three of Entombed's classic EPs in full (namely, 1991's Crawl, 1992's Stranger Aeons and 1994's Out Of Hand) alongside some other rarities and unreleased gems. Featuring a diverse array of covers of bands like Repulsion, Kiss, Unsane and Roky Erickson alongside the band's own material, this compilation gives a great insight into the myriad of influences that went into creating Entombed's unique sound.

Lemos by FadeFace, accompanied by a remix from heavy hitter Thomas Hessler. The German born artist creates a nostalgic atmosphere with ethereal synth sounds and groovy percussion, while NY native FadeFace explores the depths of hypnotic minimalism. Expect lots of movement, dynamic drones, deep textures and a heavy kick.

Keplar presents the first-ever vinyl edition of the 2003 album »From Tokyo to Naiagara« by Tujiko Noriko. This reissue with new artwork by Joji Koyama is an abridged version of the album as Tomlab label owner Tom Steinle and producer Aki Onda had originally intended to publish it alongside the original CD version. Written by the France-based Tujiko while she still lived in Japan, »From Tokyo to Naiagara« followed up on her two seminal Mego albums and marked a turning point in both the artist’s career and personal life: While she was preparing to leave Japan behind, she succinctly connected the dots between her experiments in pop music and her interest for more abstract sounds. Tujiko worked primarily with a Yamaha synthesizer and an MPC sampler while also incorporating contributions by other musicians such as Onda, Riow Arai and Sakana Hosomi into the pieces. Sometimes approaching an IDM and clicks’n’cuts-style production or working with trip-hop and hip-hop beats while using conventional song structures in the most unconventional of ways, the album showcases her multifaceted influences and skills as a singer and musician to full effect.

Tujiko fondly remembers the time when she made the album. »I had a lot of time for myself back then and I didn’t even feel like I was very busy,« she says today. She describes producing it in close collaboration with Onda, who would relocate to New York City shortly after, as »quite Tokyo and very local.« They explored parts of the city that they hadn’t yet been to for a photography project (finding, among other things, a coin laundry called Naiagara—a transliteration of Niagara). This left its mark on a record that mixes melancholia with joy. The driving opener »Narita Made,« named after one of Tokyo’s airports, already makes this clear: Tujiko’s wistful vocals and lyrics like »I miss you terribly« emphasises the sense of bittersweetness that forms the common thread for a sonically diverse and stylistically open-ended album—this music is looking back while moving forward. It is probably no surprise that its reissue too evokes tender memories of Onda and Steinle in Tujiko, while also reminding her of what lies ahead. »I have so much more to do and not enough time for that,« she muses, before quickly adding: »But I also feel less alone having that album again.«

Influenced in equal parts by the experience of strolling through previously unknown Tokyoite back alleys and thinking about the paths not (yet) taken, »From Tokyo to Naiagara« is precisely that: the perfect travel companion for a journey that leads its listeners from past to future.

Here In, Absence" ("Here, In Absence" for the book) is the result of the dialogue between the Finnish photographer Mikael Siirilä and the music artists The Humble Bee & Offthesky initiated by IIKKI, between March 2023 and January 2024.

After a first release in 2019 on IIKKI ("All Other Voices Gone, Only Yours Remains"), a second one in 2020 on LAAPS ("We Were The Hum Of Dreams"), Craig Tattersall (The Humble Bee) and Jason Corder (Offthesky) come back with a third stunning out-of-time beauty, paired with the Mikael Siirilä photography works.

Craig Tattersall is a former member of The Remote Viewer and Famous Boyfriend bandmate Andrew Johnson. Tattersall's music can be found these days more often under his alias The Humble Bee; as a founder member of The Boats; and in his collaborative works with the likes of Bill Seaman in The Seaman And The Tattered Sail. He has run the wonderful label Cotton Goods from 2008 to 2015 and since 2009 he has recorded 16 solo albums on his moniker The Humble Bee and almost the same under his name on some collaborations.

Jason Corder is experimental-ambient multimedia artist based in Denver, CO. He has been producing music, video art, audio software, and the occasional interactive sound sculpture, for over 20 years. He teaches private courses on generative music and occasionally lectures on various sound design topics at Denver University. He currently is the Audio Director at the Denver based videogame studio Dire Wolf. Over the years, he has worked with labels such as Home Normal, 12k's term, Facture, LAAPS and more. Over the years he has performed at Mutek, Decibel, Communikey and other festivals, sharing the bill with likeminded artists Pole, Matmos, William Basinski, and more.

Mikael Siirilä: "I am a darkroom artist (b. 1978) based in Helsinki, Finland. My small individual photographs examine the themes of absence, presence and outsiderhood. My characters appear immersed in their inner worlds and moments of being: simultaneously absent and intensely present. The pictures also reveal the outsider’s gaze, lost in observation and reflection. My pictures are true observations captured with minimal interaction with the subjects. Their origin is in the act of looking, and they feel causally connected to the world. The craft of printmaking is inseparable from my artistic expression. I work solely with black & white film and the darkroom. The slow, contemplative process lends the pictures a calmness. I make physical pictures I want to stare at, feel and become lost in. Again and again."

Fine Art Book, Ltd. to 500 copies:
Hardcover book printed on Munken Lynx 150g/m2 // 80 pages, 18cm x 24cm, 51 photos // Logo and slot embossed // Selective UV varnish // Visible seam and cutting cover pages // Hand-numbered, hand-stamped.

The 3rd installment of Razor-N-Tape's Family Affair series is back and hotter than ever! Now an annual end-of-year tradition, Family Affair Vol. 3 features a heavy hitting 5 track sampler of standout tracks from the full compilation.

The A side features two spanking new remixes of RNT material — Ezel’s dub of Cor.ece & JKriv’s Possibly Impossible takes the track into classic & soulful house territory, while Bruce Leroys flip fellow brasilian artist Guinu’s Amanha into a mid-tempo afro stomper.

The B side starts with boogie-funk bomb Better Than Her by JKriv ft. Saucy Lady & Tortured Soul on vocals. Kim Ahn delivers the deep & sensual vibrations of In The Stars, and Cody Currie rounds out the EP with Ghost, a funk live instrumentation heavy UK broken beat jazz-dance serving.

With gorgeous art lovingly designed by The Myno, in true RNT style the collection is a lovely listen from beginning to end, and naturally boasts some serious dance floor heat!

Irresistible Brazilian blues reggae from the heart of the Amazon rainforest. A psychedelic guarana induced trip and ode to the fading indigenous cultures and shifting hegemony in Brazil. This one-off release by Manaus native Natacha Fink was originally written in 1986 as the lead track on NOSSA MUSICA - a compilation celebrating regional music from the Amazon. Emerging out of the dictatorship, Natacha and her fellow artists rejected the aesthetic standards driven by internal colonialism and sought out new ways to express themselves away from the styles of the dominant Rio-São Paulo axis. What surfaced was a melodic blend of genres, with Natacha’s haunting vocals and playful lyrics gliding over an arrangement of guitars and double bass. Vocal backing is led by Torrinho, well known for his layered composition style, whose song ‘Porto de Lenha’ is recognised throughout Amazonas as an unofficial anthem. Hidden within the Amazon, Pirarublue lies in that wonderful space between innocence and honesty. Proudly exploring cultural and ecological spaces through a refreshing, ghostly infectious groove. For fans of Gal Costa, Elis Regina, Chico César, Jorge Ben Jor and Joni Mitchell.

Accompanying Natacha’s beguiling single is the field recording “Unseen Songlines” by artist and academic Nimalan Yoganathan. The composition immerses the listener in the soundscapes of Mamori Lake, a remote village inside the Brazilian Amazon. Nimalan explores the ambiguous perception of sounds emanating from the dense rainforest and deep beneath the Amazon River, where we hear the sounds but cannot see their sources: an acousmatic concert performed by the rainforest itself. Processed field recordings of birds and frogs, as well as underwater hydrophone recordings of dolphins and fish subtly weave throughout electroacoustic textures and beats. The listener is invited to hone in on the musical subtleties hidden throughout the environment. The compositional methods employed in this piece draw on the concepts of sonic rupture, presence, absence and memory found in the dub music tradition.

This limited edition 7” by Sticky Buttons puts these two outlying works together for a unique listening experience, combining the human and more-than-human experience of life at the heart of Brazil. Both uniquely Amazonian but with a universal appeal.

My Proud Mountain is proud to announce third volume of the series "Songs of Townes Van Zandt", that was started in 2012 and features various artists covering Townes Van Zandt songs. Songs of Townes Van Zandt Vol. III featuring Amenra, Cave In & Marissa Nadler and will be released on April 22, 2022. Steve Brodsky of Cave In about being part of the record: "In the winter of 2010, I did a solo tour with Scott Kelly of Neurosis and Bob Wayne. It was the 3 of us and Ansgar Glade traveling in Bob's "green machine" van around the UK and Ireland. At every show, Scott played the song "Caroline" and each time I heard it, I found myself enraptured. This was my introduction to Townes Van Zandt. Pretty cool that 10 years later, Ansgar has given me and Cave In this great opportunity to show our love for TVZ's music." Lennart Bossu of Amenra says: "Being Belgians, the very American folk and country of Townes Van Zandt is not exactly the music we grew up listening to, but upon discovering his songs in our early twenties, they immediately struck a chord with us. Even people who do not understand the lyrics can probably tell that they are listening to someone who has lived and suffered, and, oddly enough, at the same time find deep comfort in his soothing voice. It is the kind of comfort that often defines great music or art in general, and it made the prospect of trying our own hand at a few of his songs no less daunting. Nonetheless, when we were asked to be part of this collection of Townes Van Zandt cover songs, we felt excited and compelled to be part of it, as, in a way, it offered us a chance to do something in return for the great songs he has given us, and also be a part of a series of albums that are almost exclusively comprised of artists we deeply respect." Marissa Nadler about Townes Van Zandt: "I've been a fan of Townes Van Zandt's music for nearly as long as I've been writing songs. When I was starting out, a friend introduced me to Townes's music and I pretty much instantly fell in love with both the rawness of his songs as well as the intense sense of longing expressed within them. His lyrics are haunting and evocative and have inspired me endlessly. These melodies will linger with you, year after year, and hopefully keep you company along the way." Ltd red vinyl LP!

Sechs Jahre sind seit dem letzten Longplayer "Du bist so symmetrisch" (2018) des Schweizer Duos Klaus Johann Grobe vergangen und man hört, dass sie einen weiten Weg zurückgelegt haben. "io tu il loro", ihr viertes Album für das in Chicago ansässige Label Trouble In Mind Records, wurde innerhalb von zwei Wochen in einer Hütte ganz am Ende eines abgelegenen Schweizer Tals geschrieben, wo - ziemlich genau an der gleichen Stelle - Klaus Johann Grobe im Jahr 2014 ihr komplettes Debütalbum "Im Sinne der Zeit" erdachten. Was damit begann, einfach mal wieder Musik zu machen, wurde schnell zu einer ernsthaften Arbeit an einem neuen Album. Alles, was es brauchte, war eine echte Pause: Dani und Sevi arbeiteten nicht an irgendwelchen Grobe-bezogenen Sachen, bis sie sich 2022 in den Bergen trafen. Einmal beschlossen, wurde das Ganze recht schnell fertiggestellt und Ende 2022 noch einmal in David Langhards Dala Studio aufgenommen. "io tu il loro" ist eine Platte, die nicht durch endloses Herumspielen an hunderten von Ideen und Sounds zustande kam. Es ist ein Album mit einer verschwommenen Vision und weichen Grenzen. Irgendwie spürt man, dass die beiden nachsichtig auf ihre Arbeit zurückblicken und dann zu dem übergehen, was sich richtig anfühlt. Hier sind wir also mit neun Tracks voller umarmender Wärme, so melancholisch einladend, dass man nicht weiß, ob man lächeln oder weinen soll. Manche mögen es zeitlos nennen, manche mögen es Dad-Rock nennen... nun, es ist sicherlich keine Disco für die Massen, es ist mehr wie "Wenn ich mich nach vier Bieren nicht zum Tanzen bringen kann, kann ich genauso gut nach Hause gehen." Also, keine Disco? Keine synkopischen Synthies? Kein Deutsch? Kein Reverb? Wo ist Grobe? Nimm dir die Zeit und du wirst merken, dass Klaus Johann Grobe nicht weg sind, sie haben nur eine Biegung genommen_

Repress!

It's five years since we first released Yosi Horikawa's 'Vapor' album. To commemorate the occassion, we're releasing the album on vinyl for the very first time, also including a previously unreleased bonus track, 'Yoggo'.

The devil is in the details. And Yosi Horikawa understands this perhaps better than most musicians from his generation, crafting compositions with broad appeal that also withstand the most intricate scrutiny. Originality has always been a rare currency in the creative arts, and having honed his voice over the years Yosi has plenty of it to give to those willing to listen.

The RBMA graduate has collaborated with artists such as Jesse Boykins III, Dorian Concept & Daisuke Tanabe, performed at Glastonbury, Sónar, Mutek, Dimensions, Low End Theory, Ninja Tune's Solid Steel & Boiler Room, featured in Time Out Tokyo, XLR8R, Dummy & more, and received acclaim and support from the likes of Benji B, Tom Ravenscroft, Fulgeance, DJ Food and Gilles Peterson, with whom he has worked with on several projects since the release of 'Vapor', for Brownswood, Worldwide Festival & Worldwide FM respectively, producing a regular feature, 'Soundscape with Yosi Horikawa'.

Besides writing and producing music, Yosi is a highly skilled sound engineer, working with prestigious architects, fashion brands, and technology firms as well as designing speakers for bars and clubs. He's also composed numerous jingles and theme songs for radio stations to science exhibitions. Such is his diversity and originality, he was the subject of an RBMA film documentary in 2014, 'Layered Memories'.

Following his debut EP on Eklektik Records, two EPs were released on First Word prior to this, his debut album, 'Vapor'. 17 tracks from the Japanese sound designer and producer that weave together diverse field recordings and sample sources, with rhythms and melodies, creating something that defies stylistic boxing. Echoes of dance music, hip hop and musique concrete can all be found amid the sounds of nature and everyday life that underpin the grooves of the music. 'Vapor' is an album in the old-fashioned sense, a tightly-woven sonic journey that benefits from repeat listens.

'Vapor' was named amongst 2013 Albums of the Year lists in Fact Magazine and The Japan Times.

"A sonic masterpiece and an entirely new pathway in to the matrix of emerging electronic creativity. Every piece on the album sounds boundless and full of texture & colour imaginable"

Earmilk: "A serendipitous mishmash of electronic, hip hop beats, and a litany of genres that fall in that spectrum with a liberal dose of acoustic magic

2LP Repress!

Yosi Horikawa makes music quite unlike anything you've heard, music that reflects not only the appeal of rhythm and melodies but also the power and hidden musicality of everyday sounds. In that sense Horikawa is not just a producer or musician or sound artist: he is a world builder whose materials constantly surround us, though we rarely stop to appreciate them. Horikawa honed this approach for more than a decade, travelling far and wide to record forests, beaches, cities and people while never missing an opportunity to also find sounds closer to his home in Tokyo.

'Spaces' is Horikawa's new album, following from 2013's 'Vapor' released via London-based label First Word. This time the album is released on Borrowed Scenery, a new label setup by Horikawa and close collaborator Daisuke Tanabe to enable them to operate free of constraints.

The album features 11 songs that combine field recordings and sound design with a range of stylistic touch points: the fluid intricacies of hip-hop, the precise efficacy of IDM, the euphoric physicality of dance music, the humanity of acoustic instrumentation. Each song blends a primary sound source with a certain style, with titles often hinting at the origins of the sounds – "Moldy Vinyl," "Vietnam," "Fluid," "Swashers," "Nubia" – or the mood the music evokes. What ties it all together is Horikawa' s deeply personal understanding of what constitutes music, an understanding shorn from the commercial and stylistic structures of music as a commodity.

'Spaces' is a deeply human experience, and through Horikawa's approach music feels as natural as breathing. Horikawa has collaborated with French producer Fulgeance, American singer Jesse Boykins III and fellow Japanese experimentalist Daisuke Tanabe. His music has been supported by Gilles Peterson and Benji B. Outside of music Horikawa is an in-demand sound engineer and speaker designer who has worked with J-WAVE, Kengo Kuma, Mitsubishi and Sound & Bar Howl in Tokyo. 　　　 　　　　　　　　　　　

(by Laurent Fintoni / Original Cultures)

Until now, Art Feynman _ the eccentric alter ego of accomplished producer Luke Temple _ has strictly been a solo act, a way for the artist to explore surprising sonic landscapes without the burdens of identity. Slightly twisted takes on Kosmische Musik, worldbeat, and art pop can all be found scattered across the Art Feynman discography, but with his new album Be Good The Crazy Boys, Feynman fully immerses himself into pools of collective madness Unlike his first two albums, Crazy Boys was recorded live in the studio with a full band, a first for Feynman, capturing a spirit of restless anxiety that recalls the most frenetic work by Talking Heads, or Oingo Boingo at their darkest. Despite these callbacks, the collection remains firmly rooted in modern concerns, with songs about fearing the end of the world and struggling with FOMO _ narratives that would be relatable if they didn't sound so completely unhinged. With Be Good The Crazy Boys, Art Feynman proves to be more than just a character. He represents the part of the modern collective consciousness that's struggling to maintain balance in a toxic, chaotic world. In less skilled hands, that concept could result in a very somber listen. Fortunately, when Art Feynman gets his hands on the chaos of the modern age, it simply makes you want to dance.

Take a trip to Jamaïca with this selection of the finest tunes played by the masters of Reggae. A nice 5 LP vinyl boxsett with Bob Marley, Lee " Scratch " Perry, Max Romeo, Black Uhuru....

Following on from his Mesh debut Jinjé returns with Escape from Luna, a four-track EP expanding further on the infinite sonic worlds of his solo production work.

Lead single and opening track ‘BBLO’ launches with a voyage into detailed textural layers, gliding through microscopic ambient-leaning compositions before dropping into a weighty electronic beat with touches of electro and dub.

As a founding member of the Leeds-based experimental band Vessels - an act acclaimed for their ability to defy categorisation - Lee Malcolm is no stranger to breaking the boundaries of genre. With his solo project, Jinjé, he delves into atypical sonic wanderings that navigate between acoustic and electronic, synthetic and organic, employing a learned ear for the fusion of seemingly disparate elements. For this latest release on Mesh, he hones in on these moments of coalescence, fusing various stylistic pieces together with an infectious sense of optimism and an open mind.

Jinjé steers his work across various genres not out of a desire to be referential, but out of a necessity to explore the peculiar spaces that sit between. Implementing this approach with a great understanding of musical production and spatial composition, ‘Escape from Luna’ stands as a crucial documentation of his craft.

Bite Down, the Merge Records debut of Rosali, finds acclaimed songwriter and guitarist Rosali Middleman in the midst of transition. Written after moving to North Carolina from her longtime home of Philadelphia, Bite Down is a searching, hungry record by an artist who is resolved to bite down on life, in all its horror and joy. She is joined here by Mowed Sound_David Nance (bass, guitar), James Schroeder (guitar, synth), Kevin Donahue (drums, percussion)_and in studio by Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois (keys). Bite Down is Rosali's second album working with Mowed Sound, and there is urgency and ambition in their collaboration_a band pushing each other not just to expand on what they've already done together, but to break through into altogether new territory. Among those joining Rosali and her band there is Dan Bejar of Destroyer, who waxes poetically on where she's been, where she's going, and how thrilling Bite Down is to experience: It's hard to talk about Rosali's music. Songs that reach outward like this, but then constantly disarm with their intimacy. What do you call such inner searching that is hellbent on rollicking? Songs that long for a sense of peace and songs that want romance, all on equal footing in the same plot of earth? Performed wild, but always centered around the incredible lyrical calm that is Rosali's voice. Bite Down makes me think about singers and bands that throw themselves hard into the storm, the way the Rosali quartet does. (Jim captures the tone of this perfectly, again!) The calm of her voice over top of the band's raging_it is the emblem of songs that live to put themselves in harm's way. But it's not harm. It's just that you have to play hard to get at these goods. The calm of Rosali's voice, the straight talk of her inner search vs. the wildness of the band, the sonic storm she rides in on. That's their sound. The Mowed Sound. It's hard to talk about these last couple Rosali albums without talking about them. They play free and wild and relentlessly melodious. They rip and create space and fill it up with what seems like reckless abandon, but listen carefully or listen for a while and you'll find them paying real close attention to each other and exactly what the song demands. Maybe Fairport did this, maybe VU. It's a strange telepathic brew. Breezier songs like "On Tonight" and "Rewind" sound like they've fought their way to get to that sense of ease. Maybe that's the Mowed Sound "sound"_hard-won ease. Then add to that Ted Bois' patented Rhodes sleaze (see sinuous title track "Bite Down") steering the record into late-night corners; the incredible "Hills on Fire" (maybe the centerpiece of the album), the guitar-ripping and the singing taking turns in reaching new levels of intimacy. It feels listened-in on, exposed and invented on the spot. It is also simply a staggeringly beautiful song. There are a few of those on the album. In contrast, "My Kind" is a raucous, hand-delivered classic; the band throws tables over. For the most part, this is a moodier record than No Medium. It has the same sound of "I've traveled through fire to deliver you these songs," but it is also quieter, more nocturnal. The quiet dread of staring down an open road, and the excitement of that. By the final track, "May It Be on Offer," it is the prayer uttered as you hand yourself over to the world.

Ponyland are a psychedelic punk, force of nature, a multi-limbed monster of scuzzed-out riffs and thunderous ritualistic grooves. Combining the grinding onslaught of Lightning Bolt, the ecstatic spectacle of Sun Ra and the irreverent spirit of System of a Down, this unhinged, masked menagerie have to be seen to be believed. Intoxicating rhythms meet hook driven waves of riffage, with ecstatic energy that will make your legs rattle uncontrollably.

Following on from their debut album Mora Mora, this new full length LP HARE BRAINS sees Ponyland embrace a new edge to their visionary sound world. Keeping the trademark, pulverising double drum kit engine and fuzz-drenched psychedelic soundscapes, the band have supercharged their songwriting with focused riff-based hooks and driving punk-edged vigour. Prominent female vocals channel Bikini Kill and Warpaint, whilst gritty, melted electronics flow around a classic thrashing guitar sound. Hare Brains is a celebration of dysfunction, a call to arms against human apathy, a psychotropic odyssey of eroded power structures, post-apocalyptic landscapes and mutant pigeons.

The anarchic pagan ecology of Ponyland’s vision grabs the listener and catapults them into a visceral NOW, full of defiant life, movement, and human connection.

Meaning ‘Hi’ in Uruguayan slang, Opa are a South American jazz-funk phenomenon. Fusing Uruguay’s native Candombe rhythms with North American jazz and pop music, Opa’s space-age synthesizers, boisterous grooves and compositional magic expressed a distinctive Afro-Uruguayan voice within the global jazz vernacular: a voice which remains as vital and unique today as when it was recorded, almost half a century ago.

Having migrated to New York from Montevideo in the early seventies, Opa were heard playing in a nightclub by renowned producer and label owner Larry Rosen. At Holly Place Studios between July and August 1975, Rosen oversaw Opa’s first recordings using a four track TEAC 3340. The album would become home to some of Opa’s hardest hitting funk jams, with moments of songwriting wonderment and soulful pop and rock progressions combining with the jazz-funk fusion Opa would become known for.

Mysteriously (for reasons unknown to the band), Opa’s debut was shelved and remained so until the mid-1990s. But the Back Home recordings were used as demos, gaining Opa a record deal with Milestone Records and the subsequent release of two cult-favourite albums: Goldenwings (1976) and Magic Time (1977).

Opa would also collaborate with North American titans including bassist Ron Carter, producer Creed Taylor and Brazilian icons Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Hermeto Pascoal and Milton Nascimento. In more recent years Opa’s music has found new audiences after being sampled by Captain Murphy (aka Flying Lotus) and Madlib.

For fans of Azymuth, Weather Report, Cortex and The Headhunters, Opa’s Back Home will be released on Vinyl LP and CD on the 8th March 2024 via Far Out Recordings

Channeling a love affair with classic '90s hip-hop, an affinity for otherworldly themes and an ear for raw funk, Barclay Crenshaw uses his given birth name to bare his soul and deliver a slowed-down, emotive collection of collaborations and instrumentals. This self-titled debut album is a left-field departure from his better-known alias, Claude VonStroke, but the quality is undeniably the same. The themes of ancient alien abductions and exploration of time and space are discovered and brought to life over ten tracks that sound like a mixture of gold rope chains and new age enlightenment. Modern organic beats mixed with gorgeous melodic moments and underlying grittiness create an experience that is eclectic, expressive and expansive. Coded art furthers the sense of mystery and the unknown, harking back to the past while gazing into the future.

Edoardo Florio Di Grazia is a Cantautore (singer-songwriter) and story collector from the Amalfi coast, born in Florence and living in Paris, of a Neapolitan family..
Edoardo tries, like an antenna, to pick up signals and transform them into songs. Writing songs allows him to travel and unite distant worlds, to create imaginary landscapes on which to dream up new music: the Amalfi rocks of Tangier harbor can lead directly to a house in Belleville overlooking a Florentine piazza.

Edoardo is also a writer, with a PhD in medieval history from the University of Florence, a podcast author, radio show host, and DJ Selector, a compulsive Digger constantly on the lookout for the rare gem. He will publish next spring "Italia Express" the podcast produced by Radiooooo. It is a journey in five stages through the main Italian cities (Naples, Rome, Bologna, Milan, and Genoa) to discover music and history, from the post-war period to today.

After a first EP “Indossare Il Mare” released in June 2023, the spring of 2024 will see the release of “Ambra e Corallo”, Edoardo Florio Di Grazia’s first album, produced by the Parisian afro-beat label Comet Records (Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, etc.). 9 songs about journeys, a small collection of stories found in the deep and mythological Mediterranean Sea. Like bottles in the sea, these songs belong to no one and are timeless, messages whispering us the dream of a new path to explore. The story of his first album, "Ambra e Corallo" has the flavor of a novel, the aftertaste of a contemporary fairy tale.

The vinyl includes a QR Code booklet featuring lyrics, liners notes, photos..

2024 heißt es 20 JAHRE CHINESE MAN (RECORDS)! Das aus Südfrankreich stammende Trio Chinese Man (bestehend aus High Ku, Matteo & Sly) tritt seit seiner ersten VÖ unabhängig unter der Fahne des eigenen Label Chinese Man Records auf. Gegründet 2004, beziehen sie ihre Einflüsse vor allem aus dem Hip-Hop, Trip-Hop, aber auch aus Dub, Electro und Reggae. Mit über 600 Shows weltweit im Rücken, kehrt die Band 2024 für ihrem dritten richtigem Album zurück, eund einer explosiven Live-Show. Dieses neue Album wurde in den Studios des Labels in Marseille sowie in Paris, im Studio Zarma und im berühmten Studio Ferber in Paris aufgenommen, insbesondere mit dem Orchester "L'Ensemble Hors Champ". Die Leitung des Orchesters wurde Gilles Alonzo anvertraut, einem der Gruppe nahestehenden Musiker, der die Orchesterparts für sechs der 13 Titel des Albums mitkomponiert und arrangiert hat. Zu den Gästen des Albums gehören z.B. General Elektriks, KT Gorique, Stylo G, Isadora, Youthstar & Miscellaneous, FP & Green T (ASM) und Stogie T. Die Gruppe hat außerdem Ferdinand Lemoine für Bläserarrangements eingeladen. Lemoine hat bereits mit dem Funk-Produzenten Dabeull und der Pianistin Sofiane Pamart zusammengearbeitet. Wie schon bei ihrem ersten Album vor zehn Jahren hat die Gruppe beschlossen, Sodi (Studio Zarma) für die Koproduktion und den Mix des neuen Albums sowie Antoine Chabert (Studio Chab) für das Mastering zu engagieren. Die Gruppe kehrt mit dem Wunsch zurück, ihr Album einem erneut größeren Publikum zu präsentieren. Drei Vorab-Singles bereiten dafür bereits den Weg.Doppel-LP (schwarzes Vinyl) sowie CD!

Synthesizers, Tape Recorders and Analog Machines come together into an enchanting atmospheric album reminis-cent of Eno´s, Jarre´s or Vangelis´ space-romantic compositions.
Resonance is the artistic alias of Javier Pérez Rodríguez, a Canary Islands based producer who began his musical activity in the late nineties, blending cinematic experimental music with dancefloor sounds. After releasing several club-focused releases in recent times, he now presents this new departure - a synth based album for a soundtrack to a non-existent film featuring dreamlike compositions, filled with long, immersive passages that effortlessly blend ele-ments of electronic, ambient, and progressive rock music.
'Valediction' is an ambient ode, an emotional missive departing from a personal and intimate space and expands it to the universe - the cosmos expressed through a lens of ideas and concepts that contrast with its compositional com-plexity. Through this work, the author bids farewell to a stage of his life whilst presenting a new born optimistic and mature vision of parting, naturally transitioning to another phase without collision - a romantic and optimistic escape towards the reality of a recent sensitive time, which may not have been better, but perhaps it was.
'Valediction' is Resonance's spontaneous yet conscious escape to the most endearing realms of his own inner uni-verse, subsequently projecting it outward, in a sharing statement to whoever is willing to listen.
All songs by Javier Pérez Rodríguez
Mastered by Resonance, supervised by Eddy Méndez
Artwork by Aristides Garcia
Released by Keroxen records, 2024

Inhale deeply, and let the soul-soothing sounds of Devin The Dude take you on an unforgettable journey through the clouds.

Devin The Dude's iconic album "Acoustic Levitation" is making its debut on vinyl, and it's coming at you in style on April 20th, 2024.
This timeless classic, celebrated for its hazy, laid-back vibes and undeniable authenticity is the perfect companion for your next session. As if the occasion weren't special enough, the album is pressed on a limited edition translucent Smokey Green Galaxy vinyl, paying homage to its weed-related inspiration and the album's unique cosmic vibes. Devin's signature blend of humour, introspection, and a profound love for life is evident in each track.

"Acoustic Levitation" is a carefully woven tapestry of experiences, infused with the spirit of camaraderie and the pure
enjoyment of life's simple pleasures. Sitback, light up, and enjoy.
2xLP,housed in a gatefold jacket.

You Only Live 2wice is the third studio album from Freddie Gibbs. Following a tumultuous time in Gibbs’ personal life, the album focuses on Freddie overcoming his obstacles and rising from the ashes anew, as reflected in the album art depicting the resurrection of Jesus. At 8 tracks, the album has no features, instead using the space to let Gibbs bear his soul. The album includes the chilling violin-laced single, “Crushed Glass,” as well as standout hits, “20 Karat Jesus,” &”Amnesia.” Executive produced by Ben “Lambo” Lambert & Gibbs himself, the album sees production from BADBADNOTGOOD, Kaytranada, Speakerbomb, Dupri, Jay Nari, Teddy Walton, Blair Norf & more. Back in print for the first time since its initial release and pressed on Opaque Red vinyl.

Available on ltd edition white vinyl, only 300 pressed. Includes extended album download.

Ivan The Tolerable is the alter ego solo project of Middlesbrough based musical wizard Oli Heffernan. Aside from his solo work as ITT, Oli has played in numerous bands over the years including Year Of Birds, King Champion Sounds with members of the Ex, Detective Instinct, and Shrug, and has collaborated with icons like Mike Watts of the Minutemen, and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

On Black Water/Brown Earth, Heff called in the help of his Dutch friends Mees and Elsa in King Champion Sounds again and wrote the album in a long-distance session. The album feels like an excursion in nature, featuring bird song, flowing water, pots and pans percussion, and a genuine feel of wandering about and experiencing the outside world with eyes and ears wide open. It is a band effort too, with organic sounding drums, the characteristic saxophone, and droning synths.

‘Elsewhere, gentle intonations of morning with almost childlike embellishments and rhythmic beats, and more flute, might lull and comfort but nothing ever sits exactly in time which might make this Ivan The Tolerable’s most frustrating album at times but also one of his most interesting to really delve into aurally. ‘Sawdust’ is another sonic interlude, little more than a purge of effects and ideas but in a place where effects and ideas are plentiful. However, it’s centrepieces ‘Seaweed’ and ‘Signs’ that provide the pulsing, grooving dual that makes the second half of Black Water/Brown Earth a sheer delight. The former being simply kind of folky with a bit of sitar but utterly immersive, the latter oddly upbeat with eastern vibes and tubular rhythms, combined it is nearly twenty minutes of serene experimentalism.
The shorter tracks are perhaps designed to temper the mood or counter and reflect the passage of time on an album of mostly structured improvisation, and it may only be closer ‘Memory’ that is truly free to roam musically, its long jazzy segments skipping off into the farthest corners of the left field’.

Available on ltd edition Eco mix vinyl, with only 250 copies pressed. Includes download.

We’re delighted to bring you the latest full length from London psych heads The Confederate Dead.

‘As an artist, one of the most extraordinary gifts is the ability to convert life's experiences and emotions into music, transmuting pain into beauty, tragedy into art. With our latest album, 'Flamingo', we embarked on this creative journey. The inception of this project dates back to 2022, a year marked by a period of separation that was both challenging and transformative. 'Flamingo' is not just an album; it is a voyage through the labyrinth of heartache and healing. Each track resonates with the overarching theme of the album, yet each presents a unique interpretation of it. Every song echoes the same meaning, the same core narrative, but from a different emotional lens.’ Butchy Davy (The Confederate Dead)

‘“Flamingo by London’s psychedelic indie band The Confederate Dead flows by like a strange dream. Each song flows differently, shifting the dreamy images into another direction. Thoughts of The Black Angels, the Fuzz Club catalogue and genres from shoegaze to garage pop and back to good old psych rock fight a confusing fight for my attention. In the end it appears that this struggle will never truly be decided. The Confederate Dead is their own beast, and a great one at that.

Theirs is a sound that oozes confidence and grandeur, presented like a big name would. and there is no reason why The Confederate Dead would not dream big, they have the chops, the songs, the looks, the only thing standing in the way of moving up might be their dark brooding undertones and their refusal to do a cool thing twice.

Because the most powerful thing about Flamingo is its versatility. The album is like a box of assorted chocolates, the one you can’t get enough of because each song is delicious and sweet in its own way. So, indulge yourself, have a chocolate, or ten…before you know it the album is over, and you’ll press play again.’

@weirdoshrineblog 2023.

The latest suite by composer (and Stars Of The Lid co-founder) Adam Wiltzie took shape following a move north from Brussels into the Flemish countryside, although it was initially inspired by a recurring dream wherein “if someone listened to the music I created, then they would die.”
The album uniquely evokes and evades the allure of oblivion, keening between beauty and ruin, forever unresolved. Wiltzie cites the barbiturate of the title as both muse and sacred escape: “When you are sitting face forward on the daily emotional meat grinder of life, I always wished I could have some, so I could just fall asleep automatically and the feeling would not be there anymore.”
Recorded at Wilzie’s home studio, with strings added in Budapest at the old Hungarian National radio facility (Magyar Radio), the tracks feel simultaneously intimate and infinite, unfolding vistas glimpsed in an inner space.
Robert Hampson of English drone rock icons Loop mixed the album, further lending the music a sense of cinematic expanse and oblique hypnosis.
These are fugue states as much as fugues in a literal classical music sense—smeared epiphanies of uncertain memory and spatial dislocation, coaxed from the unconscious and set aloft.

Released in 1973, Labi’s fourth album (“the album of which I am proudest”) includes two epic songs in
“Children Of Children” and “Let’s Pretend”, songs he says he was “provoked” into writing.
• This half-speed master edition is presented in its original gatefold sleeve, pressed on 180 gram
heavyweight black vinyl, featuring an obi strip, and housed in a poly-lined inner sleeve. The 4-page
insert includes all the lyrics and photos of the original tape boxes.
• This new edition has been expertly mastered by Barry Grint at AIR Mastering from the original stereo
tapes using precision half-speed mastering. Half-speed mastering is a vinyl cutting technique that
improves groove accuracy and transient information creating an incredibly detailed stereo image with
a natural high frequency response.

Jon Langford's been in more bands than you have digits and that's true even if you were born with a few extras! From his early days in Mekons, Delta 5, Three Johns and even Sisters Of Mercy (booted for not wearing black) to a veritable explosion of one-off recordings and performances with more names than we could ever hope to list in full. A Wikipedia description for this group, The Bright Shiners (described therein as 'circa 2022 through at least 2023, in Northern California') provides some sense of the complex taxonomy needed just to keep track of Jon's massive oeuvre. Happily, that's an understated description of a serious new outlet for his endless creativity, and The Bright Shiners' recording activities have produced a full album, Where It Really Starts, the first recording in a collaboration with Tamineh Gueramy, Alice Spencer, and Jon's frequent musical partner, John Szymanski. Jon's never sung or written better, and the sense that the band realised they were onto something great is palpable in an instant. Each song is a minimalistic jewel - there's nothing here that doesn't need to be - yet the album is unsparing of aptly astonishing adornment - wonderful harmonies, horns, mellotron, bowed guitar, piano. looped percussion and more), by our reckoning this is one of Jon's finest works of art and his best outfit outside The Mekons themselves Jon Langford & the Bright Shiners will tour mercilessly throughout 2024.

Music is a form of world building. I love to develop sonic characters and set them into fictional ecosystems with unique textures, acoustics and atmospheres. Each song forms a different landscape, through which a vocal character guides us and tries to tell us its stories." — Ludwig Berger

Ludwig Berger's 'fictional' debut album "Garden Ediacara" unfolds as a musical eco-fiction, guiding listeners through a speculative ecosystem with synthesized vocals. Infused with storytelling techniques from sci-fi and fantasy, the album intertwines melodic songwriting with electroacoustic sound design. Inspired by hydrofeminism and eco-fiction novels, such as "A Door Into Ocean" by Joan Slonczewski, the album delves into the geological period of Ediacara around 600 million years ago — an era so remote it resonates as a glimpse into a possible future. The Ediacaran period was characterised by a peaceful and thriving ecosystem inhabited by soft-bodied creatures without eyes and bones, which were completely wiped out through the appearance of a new species. "Garden of Ediacara" alludes to this period, celebrating both the pleasures of biodiversity as well as mourning its inevitable loss. The narrative unfolds as an exploration of growth and interconnection in the shadow of a coming extinction. The track titles, written by Daisy Lafarge, reveal themselves as a cohesive poem and contribute to the album's narrative.

Informed by his practice of field recording that focusses on intimate encounters with plants, animals and geological phenomena, as well as his studies in electroacoustic composition, Berger expands his palette for his debut in 'fictional' music. The album prominently features a post-human, non-binary death metal voice synthesizer, physical modeling instruments, and microscopic field recordings of plants, insects, as well as aquatic and geological life. With impressionistic strokes, Ludwig Berger crafts vibrant worlds using glassy timbres and more-than-human voices, guiding listeners through emotionally ambiguous terrain, seamlessly oscillating between moments of intimacy and irritation, melancholy and playfulness.

Ludwig Berger is a landscape sound artist, educator and musician. In his compositions, installations and performances, he enables intimate and playful sonic encounters with plants, animals, buildings and geological entities. He is founder and curator of the label Vertical Music, which releases field recordings and experimental music. Berger holds degrees in electroacoustic composition, as well as musicology, art history and literature. As a sound researcher and teacher at the Institute for Landscape Architecture at ETH Zurich from 2015-2022, he studied the sonic dimension of Japanese gardens, alpine glaciers and urban landscapes, which among other things led to the release of the acclaimed album trilogy 'Melting Landscapes', 'Dammed Landscapes' and 'Buried Landscapes'.

Honk driven throb with Thin Lizzy styled melodies overlaying supreme HARD ROCK prowess...
This is HEAVY ROCK for now!!
Spidergawd is Per Borten (guitar, vocals), Kenneth Kapstad (drums), Rolf Martin Snustad (baritone sax) and Bent Sæther (bass). Depending on how well versed you are in Norwegian rock music (or how big the rock you live under is), these names will mean a lot to you, or possibly nothing at all. Whatever the case, with three very strong albums now under its belt, this band has the right to stand on its own merits.
Spidergawd III is, logically enough, Spidergawd's third album, one of a trio - so far - of LPs that seem to appear with alarming regularity at least once a year in between numerous 7's and what feels like constant touring. These guys are on fire, and you can hear it in every song and see it at every concert. A band that is self-confident enough to record their debut album during their fifth-ever rehearsal, and who have since evolved even further and found their voice, which is adventurous, energetic and very immediate.
Since the release of Spidergawd II, the band has toured Europe several times, played Roadburn, Roskilde and the Reeperbahn Festival, and Per finished building his recording studio, which Spidergawd III was then promptly recorded in. Spending more time on the recording of III than they did on its predecessors, Per and Kenneth worked on the songs together in advance, focusing in particular on what Per describes as expanding his guitar vocabulary.
And you can hear it. Still in-your-face rock, this album is a touch more complex, with more depth and even more color. No fear, the band has not sacrificed melody to the god of noodling - the melodies are strong and the songs (still) boogie their asses off. And if the sax at the beginning of The Best Kept Secrets doesn't make you do the same, then there is no help for you.
Crispin Glover Records in cooperation with Stickman Records is proud to present Spidergawd's third album to the world. In finest Spidergawd tradition, the album once again comes on black180 gr vinyl with an absolutely stunning cover and a CD included. Tour to follow, of course!

The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours was made with the black watch bandmates and producers/engineers Rob Campanella (Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Tyde, The Warlocks) and Andy Creighton (The World Record, Parson Red Heads). Ben Eshbach, formerly of The Sugarplastic, arranged the strings. Kesha Rose guests on lead vocals on the second single, Oh Do Shut Up. And the great Lindsay Murray once again lends her beautiful backing vox to a number of tracks.

the black watch songwriter/frontman John Andrew Fredrick wrote the ten songs on this, his Los Angeles-based band's latest album, entirely unselfconsciously, with no set goal in mind other than to revel in the joy of songwriting, and, eventually, the luxury of recording his music with his more-than-accomplished band. The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours, produced separately and together by Rob Campanella and Andy Creighton evinces the black watch's often stunning ability to, as Andy Gill once observed in The Independent, "find chaos in the calm, melody in the miasma."

Fredrick, who has also published four comedic novels and a book on the early films of Wes Anderson, jovially describes himself as "a recovering Anglophile--one who'll never, one hopes, fully recover." From his home studio in the Angeleno Heights district of L.A., he waxes eloquent about how being branded, as it were, as a too-ardent lover of British music, film, and literature has left him as bemused as has the tag "prolific" that is often affixed to reviews of his work.

"I just don't think it's all that interesting to note that we've made so many records. Looked at one way, it's a sort of deflection from talking about the timbre if not the quality of the individual songs. Though I know it can be intimidating for fans who've just discovered us--a sort of 'My goodness, where do I start with this band that has put out LPs since 1988?' I get it. I do. I picture someone standing at our slot at a bin at a record store becoming overwhelmed at the prospect of picking the 'wrong' title. And then walking away and not picking up anything from us!" Fredrick laughs. "What can you do indeed?"

He started his career as a songwriter as a result of an American Football injury that left him bedridden in the home he grew up in in Santa Barbara, California. The year The Beatles immortal double-album came out at Christmastime he broke his leg so badly that he had to be home-schooled for an entire year. His parents, ex-teachers themselves, refused to let him watch telly for more than an hour a day. He propped a Silvertone acoustic on top of the massive cast that screamed all the way up to his thigh from his toes, and began to write little melodies and lyrics that, doubtless, did not in the least mask his love for the Fabs, The White Album in especial.

And he read and read and read--histories of the American Revolution and Civil War, mostly, and as many Dickens novels as his mum and dad could bring him. "That year," Fredrick observes, "surely made me who I am today. Proof that intensely unfortunate-seeming events can prove most fortunate. As a sport-mad kid, it made me absolutely mental that I was exiled from the activities I loved most and the school teams I played on. What a blessing undisguised that injury was! Not that I'd like to experience anything like it ever again, mind you."

Fredrick can even recall a few of the melodies he wrote as boy ("Utterly trite, of course, completely jejune"); and in a way, The Morning Papers Have Given Us the Vapours showcases a kind of get-back-to-where-you-once-belonged sensibility. "I didn't intend, this time, to make an album per se. I write both songs and fiction in order to find out what happens, to find out what I might want to say," he notes. "Rob often asks me what a particular song is about; and I often reply that I either don't know, or would prefer that others say. Same thing goes for when people ask me where they should start with our discography. I never know what to say. Our LP from 2011, Led Zeppelin Five (remastered in 2021 for its tenth anniversary), has been our best seller, I think--but that may be because some stoned Zepheads thought their gods had perhaps put out a record they'd missed!"

Despite being deadly serious about music-making, TBW's been known to either whimsically or perversely title their albums. Examples: Jiggery-Pokery (an allusion to John Lennon assessing George Martin's productions), After the Gold Room (a pun on the Neil Young classic plus a local eastside L.A. watering hole), Sugarplum Fairy, Sugarplum Fairy (echoing Lennon's famous count-off to A Day in the Life), Fromthing Somethat (a garbled spoonerism/lyric while doing a vocal), Brilliant Failures (the 2020 release that, along with Fromthing Somethat, was named Album of the Year by venerable indie rock magazine The Big Takeover), and the aforementioned LZ5.

For the new LP, the band recruited longtime friends and allies Ben Eshbach (the Emmy-Award-winning frontman of The Sugarplastic) and Lindsay Murray (Gretchens Wheel) to compose and arrange strings and sing heaps of lovely backing vocals, respectively.

And the result? A collection of songs that Fredrick, in his quite-but-not-quite self-deprecatory way, might call another set of brilliant failures. "Every song, every LP we do, is a failure of sorts--no matter how powerful or beautiful or pleasing-to-us it turns out," John concludes. "I have often said that my aim is to write songs as good as anything on The Beatles... and I will never achieve my goal. And thus I'll have to keep at it, keep trying. And chin-chin to that!"

And now your attention's been brought to a band (or you've heard of them or heard a track or two down the years) that has been pegged by The L.A. Weekly as "a national treasure" as well as "the most criminally-neglected indie pop group imaginable."

So here's to the prospect of that ostensible neglect becoming as much of a thing of the past as John Andrew Fredrick's year-long stint in bed.

Clear Vinyl

Since her re-discovery in 2013 via cult favourite The Space Lady’s Greatest Hits, The Space Lady’s mission of galactic peace and celestial harmony has grown into a world-wide underground phenomenon. Recorded in 1990, The Space Lady’s original repertoire is a parallel universe greatest hits: songs familiar are transmogrified into shimmering bliss while new compositions amplify the message. The Space Lady’s Other Hits, released on April 20th for Record Store Day 2024, constitutes the songs recorded by Susan “The Space Lady” Dietrich Schneider as part of that repertoire that never made the original Greatest Hits, save for a limited bonus CD on the first CD pressing. Remastered by Mikey Love for vinyl, The Space Lady’s Other Hits completes the picture.

The Space Lady began her odyssey on the streets of Boston in the late 70s, then San Francisco ten years later, playing versions of contemporary pop music with an accordion and dressed flamboyantly. Following the theft and destruction of her accordion , The Space Lady invested in a then-new Casio keyboard, complete with a phase shifter, delay pedal and headset mic, birthing an otherworldly new dimension to popular song that has captured the imaginations of the underground and its leading exponents ever since.

The Space Lady’s Other Hits were recorded as they were played on the street, live, one-take, with Schneider playing, singing and simultaneously manipulating the various effects. Beginning with Elvis Presley’s iconic All Shook Up, the walking bassline underpinning the vocal, phasing in and out of this dimension, providing a fragile, extraterrestrial shadow to Presley’s original lust-driven performance. Slapback Boomerang is an original composition, written by Schneider’s then-husband Joel Dunsany a Rock ’n’ Roll pounder that could have been performed by The Cramps, its tale of relationship turmoil changed into a meditation on the nature of echo and feedback. There are moments where Schneider performs vocal caesuras, swimming in delay and phase for the pleasure of it, a pantomime drama performance that rings out. Closing Side B, Puttin’ On The Ritz is Irving Berlin’s 20s smash hit manipulated into a sombre ballad with its latent class struggle narrative brought to the fore.

A staple of The Space Lady’s performances to this day, Golden Earring’s 70s global hit Radar Love retains something of the original’s driving gallop but in The Space Lady’s telling it is shorn of the tight-trousered, taut machismo. The Space Lady coos and reaches up into the heavens away from the road, the phaser waves drenching the composition with transcendence.
Schneider’s falsetto performances in the choruses do nothing but lift the spirits ever-arching upwards. Next, The Space Lady emasculated Jim Morrison’s performance in The Doors’ 20th Century Fox. Faithfully playing Ray Manzarek’s keyboard parts on her Casio, Schneider disintegrates Morrison’s lust into waves of echo and delay, creating a Dubbed out version of the song, sounding eroded and decayed in all its ghostly glory. Pioneering Rock ’n’ Roll outfit Pete & The Pirates’ 1960 hot Shakin’ All Over, something of a response to Elvis’ All Shook Up, is blown out in warm fuzz and the celestial hug of The Space Lady’s
spirit.