Benefits kehren mit ihrem mit Spannung erwarteten zweiten Album "Constant Noise" zurück. "Constant Noise" erscheint am 21. März über Invada Records und folgt auf das Debütalbum "NAILS". Nach einer Reihe verschiedener Besetzungen haben sich Benefits nun als Zwei-Mann-Band etabliert, bestehend aus Frontmann Kingsley Hall und dem Elektronik-Virtuosen Robbie Major. "Wir sind immer noch wütend", sagt Hall, "nur auf eine andere Art als früher. Wenn die vorherige Platte schwarz-weiß war, wollten wir, dass diese Platte in Technicolor erstrahl". Der erste Vorgeschmack auf diese neue musikalische Richtung kam in Form von "Land Of The Tyrants", bei dem die Band in basslastige, tanzbare Rhythmen und subtile Industrial-Unterströmungen eintauchte. Bei der Nachfolgesingle "Relentless" wirkte Peter Doherty von den Libertines mit, und die Band bewegte sich weiter in Richtung elektronischer Ambient-Atmosphären. Doherty ist nur einer der Mitstreiter auf dem neuen Album. Zera Tonin, der Sänger des Queerpop-Elektro-Duos Arch Femmesis, Neil Cooper von Therapy? und der Rapper Shakk aus Middlesborough haben alle einen Gastauftritt. Zusätzlich zu den Gastmusikern wurde das Album von James Welsh (Phantasy Sound) und James Adrian Brown (ex-Pulled Apart By Horses) produziert, die die neue Richtung mitbestimmten. Das Ergebnis ist ein Album, das von Underworld und Leftfield ebenso viel hat wie von The Streets oder den Beastie Boys in ihrer Blütezeit oder sogar von der Indie-Sleaze-Ära der 90er und frühen 00er Jahre.
Ungod is the debut album by industrial rock band Stabbing Westward, released in 1994. The album blends aggressive guitar riffs with dark, brooding electronic elements, capturing the angst and intensity of the early 90s alternative scene. Produced by John Fryer, known for his work with Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode, Ungod features standout tracks like "Violent Mood Swings" and "Nothing," showcasing Christopher Hall's raw, emotive vocals and the band's gritty, atmospheric sound. Although it didn't achieve mainstream success, Ungod gained a cult following, establishing Stabbing Westward as a significant force in the industrial rock genre. The album's dark, introspective themes and innovative production remain influential in the industrial rock landscape. Ungod is available on black vinyl and includes an insert.
FOR FANS OF: Nine Inch Nails, Stabbing Westward, bbb (Crosses), The Black Queen, Lady Gaga, Depeche Mode, Ministry
Love, das neue Album des Londoner Industrial-Noise-Pop-Dreigestirns Tayne, ist eine Erkundung von Liebe, Begehren, Konflikten und Angst. Während
einer Phase der Dissoziation geschrieben, dokumentiert Tayne-Mastermind Matt Sutton seine Vorstellungen von Liebe als Konflikt, Opfer und
Kompromiss, wie emotionale Bindung zu Konflikten führt und wie sich die Auswirkungen über Generationen hinweg ausbreiten können. Was kostet
die Liebe? Wie weit sind wir bereit zu gehen, um ihr nachzujagen? „In den meisten Liedern ist definitiv eine besiegte Haltung zu spüren“, sagt Matt.
„Ich war von Intimität eingeschüchtert, hatte Angst davor, verletzlich zu sein und mich zu outen.“ Mit einem wütenden Hybrid aus Metal, Industrial,
Shoegaze und Pop ringt Love mit der klassischen Definition des Wortes und erforscht, wie wir mit den Konflikten umgehen, die bei der Suche danach
entstehen. Matts Gesangsmelodien bilden einen starken Kontrapunkt zu den rasselnden Beats und den Wellen pulsierenden elektronischen Lärms,
die diese zehn Tracks prägen, und schaffen einen kraftvollen Hybrid, der ebenso viele Anleihen beim Art-Pop von Lady Gaga wie bei den akustischen
Angriffen von Nine Inch Nails nimmt. Gewalttätige Synthies kollidieren mit verführerischen Melodien, die den inneren Konflikt im Herzen der Platte
widerspiegeln. „Der Kontrast ist für mich viel interessanter“, erklärt Matt. „Ich liebe immer noch extremen Metal und Heavy-Bands, aber ich denke, es
ist ein bisschen aufregender, wenn man versucht, etwas zu schaffen, das nicht das ist, was alle anderen machen.“
Mit seinem Mix aus Indie-Rock, Pop-Punk und elektronischen Einflüssen nimmt das Duo ALT BLK ERA auf ihrem Album "Rave Immortal" nicht nur
musikalisch von der ersten Sekunde Fahrt auf; auch in den dazugehörigen und detailverliebten Videos beginnt die wilde Party zwischen NirvanaPoster, Nine-Inch-Nails-Shirt und Pizza, bevor sich die sympathischen Schwestern aus Nottingham auf die Piste begeben. Alle 90er-Jahre-Musikfans dürften bei diesem Sound im Dreieck springen! Auch in puncto Gesang überzeugen ALT BLK ERA mit einer absoluten Einigkeit und
wechseln sich mit ihren Stimmen, die von der Klangfarbe herrlich unterschiedlich klingen, ab.
Celebrating 55 years in the music business! Swami John Reis is back with his second LP in eight months. Time To Let You Down is a savage blast of junk shoppe punk that kicks you in the ding ding. This eleven track LP is chock full of fist pumpers, head bumpers, stinky dumpers, meaty thumpers and toe stumpers. The tempos are often breakneck and the dense arrangements tumble like bricks into hot cheese. The undeniable sonic girth barges at will into lathered ear tubes allowing these barbaric anthems to echo in hollow domes. Feel the whip crack break skin on the acne scarred backs of our cultural oppressors. The sound is tough. The songs are a bitch. Incite your expectations with the single “Fed To The Dogs” or the title track. Salty leather and wobbly chain link fences can’t contain its rebel intent. These recordings took place Oct. 2024 and features Swami John Reis on guitar and vocals with contributions from Jason Sinclair (Hot Snakes), Joey Guevara (Swami and the Bed Of Nails), Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) and Glen Galloway (Truman’s Water). The record was produced by John Reis, engineered and mixed by Ben Moore and mastered by Dave Gardner. Time To Let You Down is pressed on virgin, Egyptian pellets and available in limited, colorful vinyl that have been hand-swirled. You’ll not only clearly hear the difference, you will see it as well.
Das neue Solo-Meisterwerk von Gitarren-Ikone Mark Tremonti (Creed, Alter Bridge)!
Drei Jahrzehnte als Künstler, 18 Studioalben, tausende von Shows weltweit und noch immer geht Gitarrist, Sänger und Songwriter Mark Tremonti
dem unermüdlichen Drang nach, sich permanent weiterzuentwickeln. Mit seinem insgesamt 19. Studioalbum, und dem sechsten seiner Soloband
TREMONTI, The End Will Show Us How, das am 10. Januar 2025 über Napalm Records erscheint, setzt der US-Künstler neue Maßstäbe! Die Karriere
von Mark Tremonti ist von seinem fortwährenden inneren Antrieb geprägt, der ihm einen GRAMMY® Award, Milliarden weltweiter Streams und
Gesamtverkäufe von 60 Millionen Tonträgern einbrachte – sei es mit Creed, Alter Bridge oder seiner Soloband TREMONTI.
The End Will Show Us How präsentiert 12 neue Songs, die allesamt für die künstlerische Entwicklung Mark Tremontis stehen. Dabei beweist er auch
nach fast drei Jahrzehnten einmal mehr sein herausragendes Gespür in Sachen Songwriting. Gemeinsam mit seinen Bandkollegen Eric Friedman
(Gitarre), Tanner Keegan (Bass) und Ryan Bennett (Schlagzeug) begleitet Tremonti die Hörer*innen auf eine Reise durch verschiedenste
Kompositionen, bei der keine der anderen gleicht.
Produziert wurde The End Will Show Us How von Marks langjährigen Freund und Kollegen Michael „Elvis“ Baskette, mit dem er bereits seit 2007
zusammenarbeitet.
Fueled By Ramen will be reissuing one seminal album from our 25- year history each month throughout the calendar year of 2021. For July 2021, we will be releasing Panic! At The Disco’s debut studio album ‘A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out’
Detroit Swindle continue their incredible run of form with a cracking new EP for for their Freerange follow up, suitably entitled Unfinished Business. It's pretty fair to say that the Dutch duos 2012 Freerange debut helped cement their reputation as one of the most exciting young house music acts to emerge in recent years. Their relentless tour schedule and stream of quality EP's for the likes of Tsuba, Dirt Crew and their own fledgling label Heist are testament to their success. Remixes for the likes of Waze & Odyssee, Sowar and Medlar all did the damage as did their immense Boiler Room takeover session which sealed the deal for any skeptics. Turning to the fresh stuff, we see DS delivering three brand new originals plus we have a hard as nails (by our standards anyway!) remix from the enigmatic Crue.
Title track Unfinished Business sets the tone with a driving, shuffling, tech tinged beauty loaded with their trademark cut-up, MAW style vox samples.
Under The Spell drops next with a more low slung groove, rhodes stabs and breakdowns that are tried and tested for maximum dancefloor pleasure.
The B1 sees Crue step up for his hard hitting remix which brings a darker, raw edge to the EP with a bad boy basement feel and garage swing bringing some peaktime intensity.
Finally we close the EP with Woman, a track that's probably about as close as the DS boys get to a smooching torch song. Lush pads and strings bring a deeper vibe to proceedings but the female spoken word samples keep the energy high and ensure things never stray too far from the floor.
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“Live at Sound City” is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam Gendel. Recorded in one day at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, the EP presents new versions of compositions from Palladino & Mills’ Grammy-nominated 2021 album “Notes with Attachments” in an intimate chamber trio setting. Across four tracks, the accomplished trio explores common musical vocabularies, then goes about the work of defamiliarizing them in search of something new, blending the sounds of West African and Cuban music, jazz, R&B, English folk, pop, and beyond.
Pino Palladino is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and bassist who helped create the rhythm-section sound of D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Black Messiah, and over a four-decade career has worked with artists including Keith Richards, Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Nine Inch Nails, Questlove, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Adele.
Blake Mills is a two-time Grammy Awards Producer of the Year nominee. He has released four solo albums and produced and recorded with artists such as Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, John Legend, Perfume Genius, Jim James, Moses Sumney, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, Cass McCombs, The Killers, Sara Bareilles, Weyes Blood and Randy Newman. His most recent album Mutable Set, released last year, was praised by Pitchfork as “a hushed collection that floats through the subconscious like a tender dream,” and earned their Best New Music title.
Sam Gendel is a musician living in Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Laurie Anderson, Mach-Hommy, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and inc. no world.
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Stabbing Westward’s 1996 album Wither Blister Burn + Peel is a defining release in the industrial rock genre. The album features a dark, aggressive sound with intense lyrics exploring themes of pain, heartbreak, and inner turmoil.
The standout singles “What Do I Have to Do?” and “Shame” propelled the band into mainstream success, thanks to their haunting melodies and heavy guitar riffs. Produced by John Fryer, known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Wither Blister Burn + Peel blends harsh electronic elements with raw emotion, creating a brooding atmosphere that resonated with fans of alternative and industrial rock. The album solidified Stabbing Westward’s place in the 90s rock scene, offering a perfect balanceof angst and melodic hooks. For fans of industrial rock, Wither Blister Burn + Peel is a must-listen, capturing the dark energy of the era.
Wither Blister Burn + Peel is a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on red and black vinyl.
First time on LP worldwide / New liner notes by Graham Parker / Includes the fan favourites "Blue Horizon," "I'll Never Play Jacksonville Again," and "Socks 'N' Sandals" / Packaged as an LP with bonus 7" single / Remastered for vinyl by the album's original co-producer and engineer, Dave Cook / Graham Parker has been pre-promoting this upcoming LP release from the stage/ Graham Parker's fifteenth studio album, Deepcut to Nowhere, was first released by the independent label Razor & Tie in 2001. Parker recalls, "Within weeks after the release date of Deepcut to Nowhere, I was up early driving from New York State to Boston on what seemed like the most beautiful day in the history of autumn, to rehearse with the Figgs for a festival in Oregon, slated for a few weeks later, followed by a tour to support the album. That day was September 11th, 2001." In the aftermath of the attacks, Parker comments, "The press members I spoke to could barely get past the first track on Deepcut to Nowhere, 'Dark Days,' asking me if I was some kind of 'seer,' or had a mysterious crystal ball. Followed by 'I'll Never Play Jacksonville Again,' the opening salvos of the album seemed to capture imminent trauma, but of course, I was just writing songs." As the 12-song set progresses, Parker's focus expands to include the nostalgic "Blue Horizon" ("as emotionally rich a song as I'll ever write"), a dark-humoured take on the evils of colonialism ("Syphilis and Religion"), and the indignity of wearing socks with sandals. Taken together, Deepcut to Nowhere is among Parker's finest and most varied collections of songs, several of which have gone on to become setlist staples. Deepcut to Nowhere, originally released on CD only, finally makes its worldwide LP debut.
If Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira were a utopia instead of its opposite, this EP could be a possible sound track. Using the ingredients of classic house as a platform (pianos anyone?), Nick Nikolov‘s imagination as a producer for his new new NKLV project is far too vivid to stay on the beaten track.
The sound design and nerdy attention of IDM and ambient (Clusters) connects with the brazen boogie approach of the French touch, micro-sampling manifestos have to stand up to the weirder moments of signature sounds like Basement Jaxx or KiNK‘s musical side (Heartbeat). Not too far off from his peer‘s early approach, the Bulgarian‘s take is emotionally charged, play- and powerful.
For instance, Speak to Me and No More hit their respective topical nails on the head and the EPs title track Inbetween is sultry serotonin soul. If you are looking for plain and pure euphoria in between all the hardships, happiness is just around the bend.
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The making of a maiden album can be a capricious process. One moment of outright musical flow paired with another period of sustained creative struggle are feats experienced by seasoned producers the world over. So when Miraclis was forced to hole away in his makeshift studio - in the midst of a global pandemic - the stage was set for something magical. Now it will see the light of day for the very first time.
Having released two singles on Secret Teachings to critical acclaim already this year, Chilean talent Miraclis will accomplish a milestone achievement in July with the release of his debut album: Origin Of Truth.
Difficult experiences were fundamental to the creation of such work, as were Miraclis’ inherent musical interests. He explains: “Origin Of Truth had its birth during the pandemic. I created it as a way of communicating to myself the sensations and feelings that were spinning around my head at the time. I've always been inspired by Bristol trip hop, as well as classical rock, and these genres definitely contributed to the making of these melancholic tracks. In a way I wanted to fuse all the musical influences that were part of my childhood, up until this point now, so this album really means a lot to me. It was my way of communicating, when there was a lack of social contact and communication itself was hard to come by.”
It's this meditative quality that initially drew Damian Lazarus to the project. “It’s a record that has its roots in electronic music, but it’s a very alternative, very deep, melancholic album. I find it both soothing and stirring at the same time, and that’s a quite interesting juxtaposition in that it feels edgy but delicious at the same time,” says Lazarus. “The fact that this was written in this place surrounded by the most incredible desert landscapes makes this a very important piece of work to me. It doesn’t sit in any particular genre, which is why it feels right for a Secret Teachings release. It hints at so many genres that I as a DJ am quite into, and it feels like a first as it’s unique and unclassifiable. That mystical, esoteric, edgy feel makes this a perfect release for the label.”
Sonnet opens proceedings, with ghostly vocals residing next to raw instrumental elements throughout. Miraclis’ signature guitar riffs soon converge on saddened keys, paving the way for Scienter. It takes the form of an instrument-based, electronic-inspired cut, building slowly before reaching a crescendo midway through via an enrapturing acoustic solo.
Floating Child comes next, brimming with a darker intensity courtesy of broody synth pulses and rhythmic hi-hats, as Shiver arrives next. There’s a rock-leaning sensibility to the piece that gives way to earnest lyrical offerings, opening swiftly into the breakbeat-esque world of Perceptions. Hard-hitting drums act as the focal point, with electric chords adding depth and intrigue, whilst Bright continues in a similarly heartfelt vein.
Introspective pads leave us feeling pensive, ahead of Interstellar taking us on a celestial journey through warped bass tones. Acting as the LP’s penultimate number, it’s a four-and-a-half minute showcase of guitar-based musical goodness and one that perfectly sets the stage for Trapped, a closing saga of suitably emotive proportions.
Miraclis earned his stripes as a DJ under the name Max Clementi in his native Chile, as well as Spain after a stint at the Barcelona SAE Institute. Playing and writing music since his parents gave him his first guitar at age twelve, he found himself inspired by synth wave, electronic pop, trip hop, and psychedelic rock of the ‘80s and ‘90s, drenching himself in music by the likes of Massive Attack, Tricky, Depeche Mode, and Nine Inch Nails. However, it wasn’t until he had to move back to Pucón to take care of his father during the pandemic that he began working on what would become Origin Of Truth.
Serendipity seems to play a large part in Crosstown Rebels’ new label Secret Teachings. Just look at the story of how Damian met Miraclis in the first place. It involved a chance midnight encounter in Pucón, Chile at a woodland campfire after the DJ was locked out of his hotel room. This meeting of minds was the start of a remarkable friendship, where Miraclis invited Lazarus to stay at his house and break bread with his family. The two kept in touch, exchanging music and ideas as a result.
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There is NO LIGHT at the end of this tunnel! BROWN ACID: The Nineteenth Trip fires ten more savage nails deep into the coffin of ‘60s psychedelic idealism. This series is THE premier top dog journey into the rarest and most wasted early local eruptions of heavy rock, unleashed at a time when harsh reality, human nature and disillusionment drove prevailing underground rock glimpses of a ‘better’ world into ever darker selfabsorbed comedowns. Mind expanding ’60s love energies transform into toxic aggression right before your ears! The great thing is that these moves are totally justified, ‘we are all one’ is cosmically good in theory but ‘get it while you can’ ends up perhaps better advice in the light of human history. Both of those angles of awareness can coexist, some of these bands deliver unrelenting sideways positive energy but they aren’t over-thinking it, they are youthfully driven by hunger for life and satisfying the undeniable urges their DNA thrusts upon them. Sonically, the results in the BROWN ACID series never fail to breathe hot and heavy, the guitars kill it every time, the variety of approaches these tracks take keep the scenery shifting into new places. The key element that makes this stuff so potent is that THEY (the bands) are in control. Captured genuinely with no compromise, right out of the gate. No doubt they had ambition with high hopes for the future when they laid down these primal efforts, the fact that they captured their energy so vividly at a moment in time when the only direction imaginable was UP creates a hard hitting life affirming subtext to the proceedings. That is the core energy of blues and rock and roll, dealing with the struggles of existence by flipping a gigantic ‘what the fuck’ high energy bird right in the face of the moronic defective reality these bands were born into. If you take this stuff too ‘seriously’ you are utterly missing the point, it is beyond analysis, it is life itself! No amount of thinking will get you there quicker! BROWN ACID: The Nineteenth Trip is scary... the bottomless pit of deranged vintage heavy rock the series presents continually expands over time... one deadly dose too many and you might be trapped in the bad trip loop forever... enjoy it or lose your mind!
Transparent Blue Vinyl. After years of preparation, Marcus Drake emerges from the basement networks of the resistance underground to claim the first save point along his quest ahead. Welcome to Save Point 1, a universe where popular forms of the past collide at warp speed with Marcus's mutant inspirations to produce sounds and genres hitherto unknown. Save Point 1 is a visionary and singular Debut work of Avant Rock & Pop Alchemy, blown apart and reassembled under the laws of Quantum Musical Mechanics. Written, Produced & Performed by Marcus Drake, the album eludes classification, but sounds like a sci-fi fusion of musical DNA from Nine Inch Nails, Prefab Sprout, Nobuo Uematsu (the Final Fantasy video game composer), Animal Collective, Prince, Mr. Bungle, Liars, The Mars Volta, and Lil Ugly Mane. The album marks the first release under Drake's own name, and the latest since his 2017 release as Anthony Fremont's Garden Solutions_his idiosyncratic side-project with Water From Your Eyes' Nate Amos, Options' Seth Engel, and NNAMDI. He has also since scored for film and video, including the Adult Swim short Thoron the Conqueror. Save Point 1 isn't just a new beginning, but a reintroduction to Marcus Drake the artist and composer. Drake experimented with new techniques and approaches for many years while recording Save Point 1, a process that transformed his sound, voice, and artistic identity. The resulting oeuvre is giddy and dreamy, an Olympic-height diving board from which to descend through indie rock and videogame soundtracks, thrilling math-rock riffs that turn experimental, and synths that glow in rainbow hues. Just turn to the glitchpop of "Heaven's in the Rot" or the slow-motion acoustic glitter that is "Dragon It Out" to hear it in motion. And note the two-part "Haunted" suite that funnels his unpredictable experimentation into darker, weirder directions.
Alternative Jazz. This is a 5 track EP of brand new, previously unreleased material from The Near Jazz Experience (Terry Edwards, Mark Bedford and Simon Charterton). Whilst recording the new album Terry asked pianist Mike Garson (best known for his work with David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins) - whom Terry has toured with if he'd like to play on a track. Mike said yes, recorded a stupendous solo for Character Actor at his home studio and sent it over. All in the space of 24 hours! On hearing the piano part NJE bassist Mark Bedford came up with the idea of having the piano mixed with the original track (as intended) but also using it as the basis for a completely new recording with the piano leading rather than complementing the band. Side 1 of the EP has these two very different versions from the same seed. Unidentical twins indeed. Side 2 of the EP contains 4 outliers from the album sessions. These aren't out-takes or unfinished pieces. They simply couldn't find a place for themselves within the album - along the lines of the tunes Tom Waits put together for his Orphans compilation of 2006. They are standalone tunes which have found a home together on this EP because in some way they all have filmic qualities. Side 1 contains 2 takes on Character Actor (the title being a nod to Cracked Actor, a tune on Aladdin Sane, the album that introduced Bowie fans to Mike Garson), and Side 2 has The Loping Four; Projector; MacGuffin and Lockstep, all titles which contain strong cinematic elements, MacGuffin in particular. It was Alfred Hitchcock's favourite word for a red herring in the plot. The musical cast on this release has a remarkable pedigree. The NJE consists of Terry Edwards (solo artist and session player with PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, Siouxsie, Jimi Tenor, Piroshka, Tindersticks etc); Mark Bedford (Madness, Robert Wyatt, Robyn Hitchcock, Nightingales etc); Simon Charterton (The Higsons, Alex Harvey, Zook, Serious Drinking etc). Alongside featured guest Mike Garson there is an appearance by Oliver Cherer (Aircooled, Miki Berenyi Band) on keys and synth. This is an RSD exclusive, 500 copies on black vinyl in full colour sleeve which reflects the filmic quality of the recorded material. No download. The title track will appear on the next Near Jazz Experience studio album. The 4 additional tracks, however, will remain exclusive to Record Store Day.
Love Is A Flame In The Dark is the debut album by experimental songwriter Karl D’Silva. A raw labour of love, a towering spire of twisted steel, tenderness and becoming, it’s a body of songs that belies the virtuoso talents of an artist whose reputation has been built on collaborating with various avant garde underground luminaries. Self-recorded at home in Rotherham and pulsing with the conviction of a true believer, these songs burst out of their self-consciousness to meet life head on, bristling with energy, 10 glimpses of the human spirit in the darkness.
Recorded throughout 2021 - 2023 and mixed in Leeds with engineer Ross Halden, D’Silva has constructed a Pop language for himself. Mutated songs that owe a small debt to the post-Industrial music of Cabaret Voltaire, Nine Inch Nails and Coil, they’re nonetheless powered by a vigorous tenderness, earnestness and D’Silva’s knack for melody. Each song is meticulously sound-designed, using synthesised sounds created from scratch married with D’Silva’s virtuoso playing on saxophone and guitar. The songs on Love Is A Flame In The Dark are unabashed, earnest love letters to living, requiems for a world fading away and small gestures of solidarity in the face of entropy.
Until now, D’Silva’s fingerprints could be found on live dates with Thurston Moore, Oren Ambarchi, Hardcore pioneers Siege and Rian Treanor as well as recordings by previous groups Trumpets Of Death and Drunk In Hell. Primarily associated with the alto saxophone in his improvisation work, Love Is A Flame In The Dark features a dizzying array of instrumentation, all played by D’Silva. D’Silva’s current membership of the group Vanishing may be a good touchstone for the dense, sonically thrilling world-building on the album but the most
striking instrument, perhaps, is D’Silva’s voice. With a soulful, rasping timbre resulting from prolonged intubation as a new-born, his vocal is both fearless and tender. On the soaring, electronic body mover Wild Kiss, thundering percussion is in service to Karl’s voice full of desire, arching up into a flayed falsetto. It’s a trick repeated on Flowers Start To Cry, where it’s deployed against the backdrop of layers of ripping alto and thudding drum programming that recall Nine Inch Nails’ visceral production, if they were covering a Prince hit. These songs capture the essence of 2024’s Karl D’Silva music; pure physicality
breaking down to reveal a shining, compassionate vulnerability.
The full breadth of Karl D’Silva’s instrumental prowess is in evidence from the off. On The Outside imagines blooming out of personal apocalypse with a soundscape of synth, saxophone worthy of any late 60s Free Jazz blower and crushing sound design. Entropy is planet-sized synth pop, Nowhere Left To Run uses midi-string orchestration to tell a story of light emerging from the dark. It’s a theme picked up
throughout the album: The Butcher is a political parable, the narrator holding power to account with grotesque, brutal imagery. It’s on a track
like Real Life that the true message emerges, however. D’Silva is peering through the layers of artifice, struggle and the fog of daily
living to find a life full of energy, connection and light. Each song here is a route into this light, out of the darkness.
Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water, the self-titled debut from the duo of trumpeter Will Evans and guitarist, synthesist, producer and multi-instrumentalist Theo Trump, arrives like a vault revelation. It feels like a decades-old yet newly unearthed masterwork of gorgeous ambient improvisation, the sort of thing scholars live to research and shepherd into deluxe reissue.
The patient, crystalline chords that swell and resonate like a series of confessions; the textured brass murmurs that suggest a ’60s or ’70s Fire Music master at their most poignant. Provocative found-sound experiments threading arcane religious recordings through dystopian soundscapes. Ear-shattering free-noise tumult. Where and when did this music come from? Who are these voices?
As it turns out, Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water springs from an engrossing human story, though it isn’t necessarily the one you’d expect. This work of stunning maturity is in fact an entrance by two little-known explorers in their early 20s, who grew up together in Virginia, in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It documents one of those perfect, sparkling moments in post-adolescence when big decisions and responsibilities are right around the corner, but for a spell, two young artists are able to create among the comforts and nostalgia of their shared past.
It also represents a reunion of sorts, as Evans and Trump connected as toddlers, became inseparable as boys, then pursued independent lives and creative paths as young adults. “Theo is my oldest friend,” Evans says, “and I feel like that’s what this band is — us meeting right in the middle of our interests.”
Now, having conjured this magic, they’ve detached once again: Evans, whose other works include the indie/avant-jazz unit Angelica X, is currently based in New York City. Trump recently moved to England, where he’d participated in his family’s theatre company, to go to school and further his solo ambient project. “This album didn’t start out as something super ambitious,” Evans explains. “It was more just an excuse to spend time together again and make music.”
***
In conversation, Evans and Trump are a delight, especially for cynics who might think that Gen-Z is only capable of doomscrolling. They come across as kindly young intellectuals who grew up using the internet as it was intended, for exposure to ideas and art across genres and generations. Trump points to indie-folk and the oracular post-rock of late Talk Talk, Bark Psychosis and Gastr del Sol. Pressed for his guitar heroes, he cites Bill Orcutt, Mary Halvorson and Marc Ribot, and mentions his devotion to alt-country. Heyday electro-industrial stuff like Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails also meant a lot to him.
Evans is equally intrepid, though his background has a greater jazz focus. Ambrose Akinmusire, among today’s most thoughtfully commanding trumpeters, is a favorite. As for the soulful murmur he offers throughout Forgetting You, Pharoah Sanders’ wistful and lyrical contributions to Floating Points’ work is a touchstone.
The two grew up down the street from each other in the northern Piedmont town of Batesville, Virginia. Their families were friends, holidays were celebrated together and they became the most loyal of pals. As children they had a pretend band.
Then life unfolded, they attended different schools and their paths diverged. Evans discovered John Coltrane and became a jazz obsessive, as Trump found punk and hardcore and later began making ambient music. As a dedicated jazz trumpeter, Evans studied formally and widely; Trump was an autodidact, teaching himself guitar and absorbing synthesis and production techniques. The late teens and very early 20s brought moves away from home and back to home, as well as plenty of listening and learning. The Covid pandemic meant an opportunity to reconnect on long walks. Through it all, together and apart, they remained reverent of each other.
By early 2023, they found themselves living again among the Blue Ridge Mountains. In the evening, after giving trumpet lessons in Charlottesville, Evans would make the eerily beautiful trek “over the mountain” to Trump’s home in Staunton, Virginia. They’d talk and eat and begin to improvise, deep into the night. Evans played trumpet and sometimes drums. (Given the wee-hours recording schedule, the neighbors didn’t appreciate the latter.) Trump plugged a rickety, junk-store Telecaster-style guitar into a cheap solid-state amp and explored open tunings; he also layered on lap steel, electric bass, synths and electronics.
They locked in and relished each other’s gifts. In Trump, those include patience and intentionality and sonic decision-making; for Evans, a distinctive trumpet sound that both musicians think of as a singer’s voice. “Will’s playing is so thoughtful and well placed,” Trump says. “My goal from a producer’s mindset is that the trumpet will occupy the space that vocals would take.”
Often, they got lost in the best way. “The thing I look for most when I’m playing is that feeling of disappearing into what you’re doing,” Evans says. “Usually when that happens, the music is good.”
By the same token, they didn’t pursue free improvisation as an ethic, or as a pure process. Their goal was something closer to spontaneous composition. “We were trying to make good songs,” Evans says simply. Later, Trump did brilliant post-production work, expanding a modest setup into an enthralling soundworld. Under his judicious editorship, music that was wholly improvised sounds at times like a carefully composed new-music commission.
The results speak for themselves. “A Happy Death” summons up a swath of American desolation through the viewfinder of Wim Wenders. “Flesh of Lost Summers” and “Partings” are highlights from an essential ECM LP that never was. “A Collapse of Horses” infuses those seminal post-rock influences with the plod of doom metal or slowcore. The album’s final track, “The Mountains Are a Dream That Calls to Me,” was in fact the first thing the duo recorded, as an evocation of those twilit drives across the Blue Ridge Mountains. “Looking back at what we chose to name the songs,” Evans says, “and some of the sounds and how they make me feel, there is an air of impermanence and loss to this album.”
“I’m excited for everything that’s to come,” he adds, “but I recently thought, ‘Damn — that’s not going to happen again.’ It was a privilege for us to have that time together.”
Doom (2005) is a science-fiction film based on the iconic video game series, starring Karl Urban and Dwayne Johnson. The film is centered around a group of marines sent on a rescue mission to a facility on Mars, which quickly turns into a game of survival when the team encounters demonic creatures. This release marks the first vinyl release of Clint Mansell's score, which comes as a 2-LP gatefold set pressed on Black Ice vinyl, with original artwork and a poster by illustrator Micha Huigen.
