quête:native sun

Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Masayoshi Fujita returns with Migratory, his masterful new solo album, where his sonic explorations into the unknown continue.

In 2019, after 13 years of living in Berlin, Fujita returned to his native Japan with his wife and their three children, fulfilling his life-long dream of living and composing music in the midst of nature. The family found their new home in the mountain hills along the coast of Kami-cho, Hyōgo, three hours west of Kyoto.


Once settled in, Fujita spent his time turning an old kindergarten into his own music studio, Kebi Bird Studio, which became the birthplace of Migratory. On his new album, the composer and producer masterfully reimagines and mesmerises with his trademark sounds of vibraphone, and resumes his experimentation with the marimba and synthesisers that he first incorporated on his 2021 album, Bird Ambience, which followed the release of his acclaimed vibraphone triptych: Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018).


On Fujita’s ever-evolving list of collaborators, Migratory introduces vocals from Moor Mother on ‘Our Mother’s Lights’ and Hatis Noit on ‘Higurashi’, as well as shō and saxophone to its soundscapes. Whilst at a music residency in Stockholm in 2021, Fujita met Swedish shō player Mattias Hållsten. Although it was a brief encounter, the two musicians stayed in touch. During a visit to Japan, Hållsten stopped by the studio and played on three of the tracks, including the alluring album closer ‘Yodaka’, exceeding Fujita’s own expectations.

Japanese vibraphonist and marimba player Masayoshi Fujita returns with Migratory, his masterful new solo album, where his sonic explorations into the unknown continue.

In 2019, after 13 years of living in Berlin, Fujita returned to his native Japan with his wife and their three children, fulfilling his life-long dream of living and composing music in the midst of nature. The family found their new home in the mountain hills along the coast of Kami-cho, Hyōgo, three hours west of Kyoto.


Once settled in, Fujita spent his time turning an old kindergarten into his own music studio, Kebi Bird Studio, which became the birthplace of Migratory. On his new album, the composer and producer masterfully reimagines and mesmerises with his trademark sounds of vibraphone, and resumes his experimentation with the marimba and synthesisers that he first incorporated on his 2021 album, Bird Ambience, which followed the release of his acclaimed vibraphone triptych: Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018).


On Fujita’s ever-evolving list of collaborators, Migratory introduces vocals from Moor Mother on ‘Our Mother’s Lights’ and Hatis Noit on ‘Higurashi’, as well as shō and saxophone to its soundscapes. Whilst at a music residency in Stockholm in 2021, Fujita met Swedish shō player Mattias Hållsten. Although it was a brief encounter, the two musicians stayed in touch. During a visit to Japan, Hållsten stopped by the studio and played on three of the tracks, including the alluring album closer ‘Yodaka’, exceeding Fujita’s own expectations.

"2" A Jungle Brother The Jungle Brothers' 1988 debut, Straight Out The Jungle, was important for many reasons. It was sloppy and goofy but had moments of real focus and social consciousness. It was a true kitchen sink' record, that caught a rap fanbase enraptured by Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy and Boogie Down Productions a bit off-guard. Also of note, beyond the excellence of the album itself, the Jungle Brothers were the fulcrum for what would become the Native Tongues movement - they came first, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest followed, under their guidance. By 1989, the group had even more confidence, plus a Warner Bros. contract and advance in their back pocket. They used it to great advantage on the self-produced and criminally underrated Done By The Forces Of Nature, expanding their sonic palette and continuing their Afrocentric approach to music and life. Singles like What 'U' Waitin' 4' and Doin' Our Own Dang' (with De La and Q-Tip, alongside Monie Love) showed the group's fun side, which has also lead the way in the hip-house' movement. But things weren't all fun and games, as deeper, more pensive album tracks like Black Woman,' Beeds On A String,' and Acknowledge Your Own History' show. It was another accomplished mix of fun, frolic and knowledge-of-self, proving that you could be serious in the rap game but still let off steam and fill the dancefloor. Done By The Forces Of Nature stands as one of the most cherished hip-hop documents of the late '80s among true-school heads, and this edition is the perfect way to revisit this classic thinking-man's (and woman's) rap platter. Issued for the first time ever on 2-LP with the original picture sleeve artwork, it also comes with a reproduction of the original insert, with credits and lyrics.

Trying to define what it is that makes Dr. John special is much like trying to define the word "soul'—you can surround it. But nailing it down is a whole ‘nother smoke. You can point to his sense of history, how he's never forgotten from whence he came, how his music always returns to his roots, even honoring the proud heritage of his native New Orleans. You can dissect his technique, marveling at the adroitness of the hands right and left; admiring the strong second line; respecting the tributes to his inspiration, Professor Longhair, apparent at every turn. And you can note how his peers consider his presence at a session as lending instant credibility to that particular project. "Upon the release of The Brightest Smile in Town, the reviews were effusive. Chicago critic Bill Knight’s comparisons to Fats Waller and James P. Johnson were high compliments indeed. Downbeat’s Jim Roberts called the playing 'graceful'; noting that the LP had a broader scope than its predecessor. Jazz Times’ Rhodes Spedale summarized: 'He’s never been in better form than here.' We kept in touch over the years. Mac was always generous and encouraging. Little did we know when The Brightest Smile in Town was released, what accolades lay ahead for Mac Rebennack and Dr. John. From the innovative guitar triumph 'Storm Warning' on the Rex label in 1959, to his 2012 Grammy-winning Locked Down album, Mac’s musical light shone brightly for seven decades. We were fortunate he chose to play for us. I’m sure he’d say that he was lucky too." - Jack Heyrman, Clean Cuts Producer

Keep on Dancing EP by Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg on 10-inch 45 rpm vinyl with four versions fresh out of the oven. Faithful to the essences, the band of the only Ramone still standing trims all the fat off the originals and makes every second count. High voltage. DESCRIPTION Marky Ramone needs little introduction. The only Ramone still standing was born in 1952 in Brooklyn and joined the band in 1978, replacing Tommy, and remained with the Ramones until they disbanded in 1996 (with a 1983-1987 hiatus due to personal problems). He is a restless person and has never stopped recording and performing live, either solo (MR & the Intruders, MR & the Speedkings) or in projects and collaborations (Joey Ramone, Teenage Head, Tequila Baby, Wardogs...). MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG is the name of the band with which he has been touring the world for 15 years celebrating the Ramones' legacy, as well as adding some own-penned songs and some covers of other iconic punk rock bands to his repertoire. Over the years the line-up has varied, but in recent times the band has consolidated its position on stage with the resounding presence of Vitoria-Gasteiz's own Iñaki Urbizu "Pela" (La Excavadora, Victima's Club) as frontman and vocalist, and the Argentinians Marcelo Gallo and Martín Sauan (Expulsados) on guitar and bass. So, the time seemed right to transfer all the energy generated live to a 10" plastic EP. Four versions fresh out of the oven. Three tracks under two and a half minutes and one just over three minutes. True to the Ramones essence, they remove all the fat that was left over from the originals and make every second count. The Gentrys' "Keep On Dancing" opens the selection. The original track reached number four in the US charts in 1965 and, after passing through the hands of MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG, classic Ramones covers like "Do You Wanna Dance" inevitably come to mind. The idea is easy, speed up the original a bit, in 4/4, and then play it faster. The hard part is that the result is so exciting and energetic. "It's Not Unusual", the Tom Jones hit, becomes maximum fun. The familiar, catchy tune is elevated to a whole new level of energy and intensity so that the chorus can be belted out loud. The Beatles' "Octopus's Garden", originally composed and sung by Ringo Star, is transformed into a playful punk-pop song to escape, if only momentarily, from the worries of the earthly world in the backdrop of a bar with a good sound system. Closing "New York, New York", the classic song from the Frank Sinatra songbook, celebrates New York City. It fits perfectly with Marky's identity as a native of the city, rooted in its culture and spirit, capturing the vibrant energy and rebellious attitude of the city that never sleeps. Some can cover hundreds of different songs and make them their own, and others can't. MARKY RAMONE'S BLITZKRIEG, like their originators, are certainly one of those who can. The band is just as comfortable with a colossal song as they are with a ditty, it's all about electric atmosphere and chemistry and, on each of these new recordings, the voltage is very high. One euro from the sale of each record will go to the victims of war. Stop the war!

The various artists alternative sound concept (UDE001) is the first reference, presenting a variety of styles and sounds which represents a sound personality from a listening point.

These artists residing in Malaga, Madrid and Barcelona have participated with the first project to give the presentation.

-Caradusanto, multidisciplinary artist includes “Semillas” made with analog modular and ramdomized sequences.

-Dark Vektor, a pioneer in the electro scene, surprises us with “En Mitg De L’Espai”, sounds that are unusual for him and keeping the same relationship with his clarity when hearing it, sung with his native linguistics and message inside.

-Intervalo, shows us a B side where the broken rhythm predominates, its harmonic essence and melody continues to be its identification, we talk about “Solitude”.

-Guillermo Garate, innovates with electro sounds achieving the same thing, another B side of this artist “Larga”.

-Tio solo by habit in its production slides on synthesizers and analog drum machines, thus achieving “Dark Fluid” an accelerated drum & Bass rhythm differentiated from it with atmospheric and acid pads.

The American psych pop quintet Paper Garden had established a solid reputation performing to university students in their native New York and in surrounding states in 1967-68 before being commissioned to cut a debut LP with British producer Geoff Turner for Musicor, the resultant sessions yielding a self-contained concept album of totally new work. With sitars and tabla on some songs trading places with baroque elements and orchestrated interludes, the breezy psych pop gets pulled in all manner of directions and often sounds closer to the British psychedelic sound than anything Stateside. A rare and rich listening experience!

THE 1968 ALBUM ON WHICH JOHNNY CASH BECAME A LEGEND: AT FOLSOM PRISON AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT AND POTENT STATEMENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY


Johnny Cash already knew his way around Folsom Prison when he and his band stepped inside the institution’s forbidding walls on the morning of January 13, 1968 to record At Folsom Prison. He’d played there two years prior. But this time was different.

Cash took the stage that day for two shows amid a darkening sociopolitical atmosphere and a raging war in Vietnam, as well as the knowledge his career and health hung on by a thread. The Arkansas native shared many of the long odds and abject failures of the inmates for which he performed. The songs he chose, and the conviction with which he delivered them, say as much. The point at which Cash transformed from a country star into a legendary artist, and a bold statement about the American prison state and its commitment to rehabilitation, the triple-platinum At Folsom Prison remains one the most important, potent, and fabled records of the 20th century.

You can hear it echo off the walls of the room; pulse through the itchiness of the Tennessee Three’s acoustic-based boom-chick rhythms; crackle in the announcements conveyed over the intercom; ring in the comedy of the off-cuff remarks and pair of novelty tunes; sense it in palpable energy that wells up within Cash and his audience. And you can experience it like never before via Cash’s knockout singing. The bedrock foundation of all his music, the singer’s baritone resonates with profound degrees of depth, pliability, and passion that underscore how much this appearance meant to him — and the extent he was living the narratives.

Indeed, every song on At Folsom Prison serves a purpose and speaks to the conditions — mental, emotional, physical, geographical, legal, social — the inmates confronted on a daily basis. Beginning with the explicit messages of the opening “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash makes it clear he understands and shares many of their plights. Not for nothing did the myth of Cash having done hard time persist for decades once this record hit the streets. That’s how real it is, and how dedicated Cash remains to conveying every note with the same truth he invests in the impromptu comments he makes between and amid songs.

Listen to the sorrow, regret, pity, and loneliness of Merle Travis’ “Dark as the Dungeon,” Cash pulling syllables til they threaten to break and inhabiting the mood of bleak phrases such as “pleasures are few” and “the sun never shines.” Witness the isolation, dejection, and sadness punctuating the walking-blues “I Still Miss Someone,” matched in gravity by a solemn reading of “The Long Black Veil” — a traditional dirge that involves murder, cheating, and deception. Cash cuts even deeper on a heartbreaking solo rendition of “Send a Picture of Mother” and plainspoken version of Harlan Howard’s “The Wall,” detailing a suicide disguised as jailbreak through cliched-jaw deliveries that softly curse the impossible situation.

In chronicling temptations, mistakes, mortality, punishment, and life “inside” — for better or worse, the stories of the disenfranchised, forgotten, written-off, and unrepentant — At Folsom Prison also has a blast playing the outlaw role. Cash captures wild-eyed craziness and out-of-control mayhem on a revved-up take of “Cocaine Blues,” taking extra satisfaction in its dastardly tales by way of voice that shifts into character for the sheriff and judge. The gallows humor and racing drama of “25 Minutes to Go”; quicksilver accents and resigned acceptance of “I Got Stripes”; train-whistle blare and twangy locomotion of “Folsom Prison Blues” — all fight the law only to see the law win.

Cash remains deeply committed at every moment, and inseparably connected with the tortured souls removed from the goings-on of the outside world. No wonder all but two songs here stem from the day’s first performance that saw Cash, Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant, and company give everything. As does the Man in Black’s soon-to-be-wife, June Carter. The couple’s fiery duet on “Jackson” scorches; their combination of surrender and fortitude “Give My Love to Rose” puts us in the dying protagonist’s shoes.

And with the closing “Greystone Chapel,” famously penned by convict Glen Sherley, who watched it all happen under the watchful eye of guards, Cash separates the corporeal from the spiritual, relaying lessons about salvation and survival. Heady themes to which he’d return for the remainder of his illustrious career.

“I wanted to try and showcase as many people as I knew on this mix. My idea of Late Night Tales was to distil a series of relaxing moments; the whole conceptual sonic of relax- ation. So, I was trying to think of all the collaborators and friends that I knew, who’d recorded stuff with this horizontal vibe. Plus, I was also trying to help my friends' stuff get into the world. I know the story of Khruangbin blowing up after appearing on the series (in fact, I think that's how I discovered them). So, the main idea was to create a certain atmosphere, but also to help some of my favourite collaborators and bud- dies to give their songs a little push out into the world. Hope you like it” Jordan Rakei



Due for release on 9th April, Late Night Tales celebrate their 20th anniversary with the release of multi-instru- mentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei’s majestic compilation. The 28-year-old modern soul icon effortlessly stamps his own jazz and hip-hop driven sound all over this gorgeous array of handpicked tracks. A beautifully layered blend that is mirrored in the music he’s made, itcomes as no surprise that such a supremely gifted songwriter should deliver a mix that is all about the song.



Rakei, born in New Zealand, but raised in Australia, moved to the UK in 2015; he released his debut album, Cloak, with Oz label Soul Has No Tempo, but his two subsequentLPs, Wallflower and Origin, came out on Ninja Tune, the former#2 in Album Of The Year for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide poll, while Origin was nominated for Best Album at the AIM Awards. Jordan had this to say on his upcoming mix:



As Jordan says,there’s so much more to the song selection on Late Night Tales’latest outing than a random collection of artists. Many have some sort of personal connection, so just as Bonobo provided a platform for the breakout of Khruangbin on a previous LNT, this may have the same ef- fect for Rakei’s friends. After a soothing opener from Fink, good friend and big influence Alfa Mist (part of the Are We Live collective) delivers ‘Mulago.’ “I want to champion their sound and show the world how good he is, and I thought it’d be fitting to start the mix with family,” says Jordan.



Next up is Charlotte Day Wilson with ‘Mountains,’ followed by ‘Count A Heart’ from Moreton, an exclusive collab- oration with Jordan, who grew up on the same street in Brisbane, Australia. “She was the first artist I ever collabo- rated with, and one of the first artists to be involved in mycareer,” he explains. Elsewhere we hear Scottish producer and multi-instrumentalist C Duncan’s haunting ‘He Came from the Sun,’ Barcelona collective Oso Leone deliver a dreamy ‘Virtual U’ and Bill Lauren’s ‘Singularity,’ which evokes a striking sense of time and place.



Snowpoet’s ethereal ‘Evitenity’ is a “long mediative nar- rative over a beautiful soundscape,” which at times seems chaotic, nicely juxtaposed with undeniable beauty, and Maro’s kooky songwriting shines on ‘Always And Forever.’ Long-time buddy Armon-Jones contributes ‘Idiom,’ and Jordan’s exclusive cover version is a two-for-one, Radio- head’s ‘Codex’ merging with ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Home’ by Jeff Buckley and another exclusive,original com- position by Jordan, ‘Imagination.’ The latter works as a piece with the spoken (Spanish) word voiced by movie director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, and The Reve- nant,) who is a big fan of Jordan’s. “He messaged me when I went to L.A and asked to come to my show. I was in such shock and we hung out after. I thought it would be nice to get him to do this in his native tongue, because I don’t think that’s been done yet on the series.” It certainly is a familyaffair. Not theblood is thicker than water kind, but certainly musical kindred spirits.

On her new album Sun Without the Heat, McCalla brings more playfulness and joy than she has on previous records when she speaks to the concerns that have shaped her career, mainly including an ethos in which you must look back at lost and erased histories before you can embrace a forward vision of Afrofuturism and the importance of music making to heal and forge relationships across differences. Across Sun Without the Heat"s ten tracks, she achieves this with music that combines jazz, Haitian Twoubadou, American blues, folk and Brazilian Tropicalismo. Born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, McCalla possesses a stunning mastery of the cello, tenor banjo and guitar. A founding member of Our Native Daughters alongside Rhiannon Giddens, Amysthyst Kiah and Allison Russell and an alumna of Grammy award-winning band The Carolina Chocolate Drops, McCalla has also received considerable praise and attention for her solo works, including 2014"s Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes, which prompted the New York Times to rave that "her voice is disarmingly natural, and her settings are elegantly succinct" and 2022"s Breaking The Thermometer (4/5 review from The Guardian). Lyrically on Sun Without the Heat, McCalla draws from the writings of Black feminist Afrofuturist thinkers Octavia Butler, Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Adrienne Maree Brown, among others, with frequent themes being grief, connection and motherhood. Like these authors, McCalla is thinking hard about collaboration as a means of creative expression, community thinking, personal salvation, and rectifying social injustice. "The stories we"ve been told about ourselves and the stories that we have to learn to undo the stories we"ve been told," she explains."Sometimes these are painful stories to tell. This is especially vivid in the title song, "Sun Without the Heat.""

Recorded by award-winning mastering engineer Kevin Gray's record label, Anthony Wilson's Hackensack West is Cohearent Records' follow-up to Kirsten Edkins' Shapes & Sound album. Produced by Joe Harley and recorded all-analogue/all-tube at Gray's studio, Cohearent Recording, the AAA vinyl release is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI and housed in a deluxe tip-on gatefold jacket.

From the liner notes:

The week before these sessions in the summer of 2023, I sat down each morning with the goal of composing one new song by day's end. I knew I'd soon be in the room with my dear friends Gerald Clayton, John Clayton, and Jeff Hamilton, three musicians whom I trust the most, and with whom I've played the most over the last couple of decades. I tried to imagine themes that would feel natural to us, the kinds of songs we could simply dive into without much thinking. When we headed to Kevin Gray's studio to record, I brought seven new songs along with me. Five are included on this album.

"Daido" is dedicated to Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, who became known in the late 1960s for his grainy, sometimes blurry, high-contrast black and white images made throughout Japan. I love his pictures taken on the streets of various Tokyo neighbourhoods such as Shinjuku. His portrait of a menacing stray dong, from his series "A Hunter," is the kind of picture that, seen just once, is unforgettable. These days Daido is still out on the street making pictures, at the ripe young age of 85.

"Verdesse" has a sinuous, chorinho-like melody and rhythmic feel. The tune seems to weave and bob playfully in a space of brightness the way a grapevine seems to curl towards the sunlight. So I named it after a wine grape native to the pre-Alpine region of Isère, near Grenoble in eastern France, that makes a particularly delicious and drinkable white wine.

I wrote "Sunday," well...on Sunday. It unfolds slowly, like a good Sunday does when there's nothing to do, you can sleep in, you've got your person beside you, and you just relax into the day.

"The Lands" is dedicated to a family very dear to my heart: that of tenor saxophonist Harold Land. My mother met Harold when they were both teenagers growing up in San Diego, California. The two of them became lifelong friends, and a little later, Harold enjoyed a fruitful musical association and close friendship with my father, Gerald Wilson. Harold, his lovely wife Lydia, and their son Harold Jr. were extended family for us; they looked after me with love and care. Some of my first gigs ever as a young guitarist were with Harold's incredible band that included Oscar Brashear, Billy Higgins, Richard Reid, and Harold Land Jr.

I've loved Todd Rundgren's "Marlene" since I first heard it on his epic double-album Something/Anything. With its tender, well-contoured melody buoyed by a few special harmonic surprises, it almost seems like something from the pen of Burt Bacharach. It tells such a complete musical story. Rundgren's recorded version has a beautiful endlessly repeating tag. So we played the melody simply, and used the tag as a small staging area for a bit of improvising.

Hackensack West is our alias for engineer Kevin Gray's studio Cohearent Recording, a place inspired by Rudy Van Gelder's first studio in Hackensack, New Jersey. Located inside Van Gelder's parents' home, the musicians played in the living room! It was there, in 1954, that Thelonious Monk recorded his classic tune "Hackensack," a "contrafact" melody over the chord changes to the Gershwins' "Oh, Lady Be Good!" In contrafact-like fashion, my own bebop-spirited melody "Hackensack West" seems to nod toward the changes of a few recognizable standards, without corresponding to any particular one.

Out of print as a stand-alone release for decades since its original 1974 issue. Produced by George Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends is an almost-forgotten masterwork – an emotional and sonic pact between two like-minded souls to both advance their spiritually minded bond and unite musical styles, cultures, and sounds in wondrous fashion Contributions from Ringo Starr, David Bromberg, Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, and a host of virtuosic Indian musicians add to a diverse album that melds Eastern and Western traditions; encompasses jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop; and represents the spirit and breadth of Harrison's Dark Horse Records imprint.

Memorable contributions from an A-list of American and English musicians — Ringo Starr (drums), David Bromberg (electric guitar), Billy Preston (organ), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Robert Margouleff (Moog), Malcolm Cecil (Moog), Tom Scott (saxophone) included — add to the richness of a set that melds Eastern and Western traditions. These “names” mesh with a host of Indian virtuosos — Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Kamala Chakravarty, Hariprasad Chaurasia included — who turn Shankar Family & Friends into a journey laced with percussive, string, and vocal components that aren’t soon forgotten.

Throughout, Shankar Family & Friends remains true to its title — a mesmerizing record named to reflect the group participation approach of its creators. The idea started when Shankar told Harrison about a ballet he wrote. The Beatle, who first met Shankar in June 1966 — roughly a year after Harrison became interested in Indian music after overhearing it in a restaurant while filming Help! — immediately was convinced they needed to record it. Harrison’s staunch admiration of Shankar and serious approach to Eastern styles are reflected throughout the album.

Indeed, for Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends marks the culmination of a years-long effort to master the sitar, study Hinduism, and incorporate elements such as drones, unusual chords, and expressive picking into his own songs. The seeds of this unique collaboration can be heard in Beatles works such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Love to You,” and “Within You Without You.” Both musicians were also fresh from performing at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows. Yet Shankar Family & Friends remains entirely unique in each visionary artist’s history — and ultimately, led to a collaborative tour Harrison and Shankar staged across North America.

Encompassing jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop, Shankar Family & Friends is thematically split into halves. Side One reveals Shankar’s uncanny ear for melody — even when applied to Western forms. The lead-off “I Am Missing You,” the first single ever released by Dark Horse Records and reportedly the first pop composition Shankar completed, underscores his skills as a composer and global ambassador. Beautifully sung across three octaves by his sister-in-law, Lakshmi Shankar, the devotional song features multiple drummers and production that mirrors Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound approach. Harrison plays autoharp and guitar; Starr sits in on drums; Scott handles flute and soprano saxophone. It’s the inviting start of a musical adventure teeming with color, majesty, and mysticism.

A second version of the track — designated with a “(Reprise)” tag — appears minutes later. Unfolding in different ways, it follows a folk ballad structure stitched together with Indian instrumentation. Here, according to Shankar, the musicians “attempted to convey the sounds and atmosphere of Vrindavan, the ancient holy place where Krishna grew up.” Both renditions speak to the cross-continental fusion that came so naturally to Harrison and Shankar, whose oversight on the side’s other vocal tracks ensures listeners familiar with Western methods gain easy access to the hypnotic allure of his native country’s music.

Nowhere is this more evident than on Dream, Nightmare & Dawn (Music for a Ballet), the side-long piece that served as the genesis for Shankar Family & Friends. Launched with an airy overture and unfolding across three movements, the mostly wordless suite features everything from call-and-response interplay and classical lyricism to uptempo dance figures, stacked rhythms, and intoxicating grooves. Blurring the lines between contemporary and traditional, and Western and Eastern, the inspirational work is the exclamation point on a record that defined “world music” well before the term became co-opted as a catch-all genre.

Les Disques Bongo Joe are happy to announce the release of Zonder Pardon, new album of our Amsterdam based superstar Don Melody Club. Crazy covers, amazing composition driven by his iconic drum machine groove, this album is sweet candy for music lovers. Sung in his native Dutch (as are all his songs), Tederheid is a celebration of the beauty and power of mutual affection. With its uptempo drum machine rhythms, pulsating basslines, and funky melodies, the synths and vocals echo the work of Talking Heads and Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music), but the result is unmistakably Don Melody Club. The wonky Koud Kwartier evokes memories of the Nederwave sound of Doe Maar, a Dutch pop band that combined punk, ska, and reggae influences, first formed in 1978.

With "Onaida", Natascha Rogers shares a liberating folk spell that draws inspirations from Yoruba spirits, Afro-Latin rhythms and her Native American ancestry. Born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and a father with Amerindian origins, Natascha Rogers dares to be intimate and unveils a highly spiritual chiaroscuro record, raising purity, care and reconciliation to the level of the art, through folk enchantments. Sensitive to the ancestral call of the drums, she travelled the Black Atlantic for several years and received the teachings of the greatest Mandingo and Afro-Cuban master percussionists. As a distinguished percussionist and vocalist, she has graced the stage and has accompanied artists around the world, but for Onaida she set out on her own, retreating to a studio to escape the noise, rush and fast information cycles of our modern world. This album marks a rebirth for Natascha Rogers, as it symbolizes her return to the piano, her first instrument. Channelling these inspirations for Onaida, Natascha Rogers, has created a space of her own, where themes of humanity, spirituality, nature and womanhood are centre stage while also paying tribute to her ancestors. Sung in English, Spanish, or Yoruba, the album is a tapestry of intimate ballads and universal prayers, drawing inspiration from dreams, Amerindian poetry (Joy Harjo), and Cuban santería with ritualistic batá drum pulsations. On the powerful folk-tinged song "The West", she invited gifted singer-songwriter Piers Faccini. Onaida is a true initiatory experience, a second birth for Natascha Rogers who finds balance and accuracy with this singular opus. Natascha Rogers headed to the quiet commune of Pommerit-le-Vicomte, to write this new release, accompanied by sound engineer Joachim Olaya and published on acclaimed French imprint No Format!

"A true heiress of the rich musical history of her native New Orleans, Britti is an arresting new voice in her triumphant debut, titled straightforwardly, Hello, I’m Britti. Inspired by musical luminaries from Diana Ross to Dolly Parton, and influenced by contemporary legends from Beyoncé to Sade, the album is one of immense gravity and a personal love letter to the place she calls home. Co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach, who flexes his signature ability to uplift genuine raw artistry, the album is a heartfelt confession that frames a window into Britti's soul, revealing her true spirit: fresh and wondrous, with a levee-like hold on her own heritage.
Similar Artists & Influences: Sade, Jill Scott, Solange, Corrine Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Valerie June, Norah Jones, Lauren Hill, Biig Piig, Orion Sun
“Britti's lush debut is an invitation to a stoned soul picnic somewhere between New Orleans and Nashville, a porch hang on a hazy summer afternoon, and a late-night slow dance party, all at once. Recommended if you dig: Diana in ’71, Dolly in ’78, Sade in ’86, Erykah in ’97” - Dan Auerbach, Producer "

Aroop Roy’s star is deservedly in the ascendancy! As one of London’s most exciting selectors, he’s managed to position himself in the sweet spot of being the DJ’s DJ and causing wild scenes wherever he plays, with headline grabbing sets at Defected Croatia, We Out Here, Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide and many more.

As a producer, musician and label owner, he continues to excel, armed with a vast knowledge of outernational sounds, from rare African disco, jazz, funk, to house, UKG and seemingly everything in-between. His open-minded approach has led to brilliant releases and remixes for labels as diverse as Soundway, Heavenly Sweetness, Permanent Vacation, Club Bad, Delusions of Grandeur, Atjazz Recordings and his own Vive La Musique imprint.

Having played a few gigs together, it was only a matter of time before Jimpster convinced Aroop to get an EP together for Freerange and the resulting Re Bulele EP couldn’t be any more satisfying!

Leading the charge, 'Mama Mwana' captivates with entrancing thumb piano loops and a traditional African vocal all propped up by a subtle yet chunky house beat to lock the dancers in.

'Re Bulele' features the hypnotic vocals of Botswana native Fox Meropa. Aroop masterfully combines a deep, techy Afro House groove with glassy synth pads to form a stripped back instrumental with the vocals front and centre. Seemingly disparate elements shine on this wonderful alternative to the deluge of maximal Afro House tracks being released these days.

Moroccan producer FNX Omar delivers the goods with a sublime remix of Re Bulele. Creating tension with layers of looping vocals along with a rolling, percussive groove. Like the original, this remix transcends genres and will create special moments on the dancefloor, whether it be in a dark, sweaty basement or daytime festival in the sunshine.

NOW Music is proud to announce NOW Presents…Disco, a stunning 5LP boxset featuring 80 of the greatest Disco classics ever!

Kicking off with the genre defining #1 from Donna Summer ‘I Feel Love’ followed by Earth, Wind & Fire with The Emotions and their timeless hit ‘Boogie Wonderland’, this boxset features the most enduring tracks from dance-floor legends, including Chic, Sister Sledge, Gloria Gaynor, Village People, and Grace Jones - together with Saturday Night Fever gems - ‘Disco Inferno’, ‘More Than A Woman’, and ‘If I Can't Have You’.

LP 2 opens with Amii Stewart’s stunning version of ‘Knock On Wood’, followed by Candi Staton’s ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ and Chaka Khan’s hugely successful debut solo single ‘I'm Every Woman’. Other massive debuts include ‘Boogie Oogie Oogie’ from A Taste Of Honey, Alicia Bridges’ ‘I Love The Nightlife (Disco 'Round)’, and Cheryl Lynn’s ‘Got To Be Real’. Up next is the often-covered ‘Lady Marmalade’ together with Diana Ross’ ‘Love Hangover’ which lead into #1s from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, (‘December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)’), Tina Charles (‘I Love To Love’), Odyssey (‘Use It Up And Wear It Out’) and Irene Cara (‘Fame’).

LP 3 Side A is packed with groovy and romantic chart-toppers from Elton John (‘Are You Ready For Love’), George McCrae (‘Rock Your Baby’), Barry White (‘You're The First, The Last, My Everything’), and The Spinners with their ‘Working My Way Back To You / Forgive Me, Girl’ medley. Flipping over to the other side, we have the timeless smash from Baccara ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’, Boney M. with ‘Daddy Cool’, and Village People’s ‘In The Navy’. Viola Wills’ Hi-NRG cover of ‘Gonna Get Along Without You Now’ and Gloria Gaynor’s ‘Never Can Say Goodbye’ bring LP 3 to a close.

Lipps Inc., Kool & The Gang, Frantique, and KC & The Sunshine Band keep the dance-floor energy levels high on LP 4 with ‘Funkytown’, ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Strut Your Funky Stuff’, and ‘That's The Way (I Like It)’. The disco-mania of the late-70s also saluted the late-70s craze for Space themed movies & tv with early Electro-pop-dance, and included here from Space and Dee D. Jackson, before Sarah Brightman’s debut with Hot Gossip, ‘I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper’, and Meco’s remake of the ‘Star Wars Theme / Cantina Band’ as a dance-floor classic… Giorgio Moroder productions for Sparks with ‘Beat The Clock’ and The Three Degrees with ‘Givin’ Up Givin’ In’ lead the side to a close with ‘Souvenirs’ from Voyage.

LP 5 is filled with truly monster sized dancefloor-fillers, beginning with a run of Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards productions: ‘Le Freak’, ‘We Are Family’, ‘Spacer’ and ‘Upside Down’ from Diana Ross. It wouldn’t be a Disco album without Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’, the Bee Gees-written ‘Nights On Broadway’ covered by Candi Staton, and the Grammy award-winning ‘Best Of My Love’ from The Emotions, before another hit cover from Amii Stewart, ‘Light My Fire’. Side B features some fabulous European Disco, including Belle Epoque and Amanda Lear, and signature hits from Patsy Gallant and Vicki Sue Robinson before drawing to a close with Rose Royce’s celebrated ‘Car Wash’, and Cher’s biggest disco hit ‘Take Me Home’ – and the last dance is left to Thelma Houston with her defining anthem ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’.

NOW Presents…Disco – the perfect collection and collector’s item for every 70s Disco lover.

Indie pop quartet Melenas hail from Pamplona, Spain, a picturesque region nestled just south of the Pyrenees. Such beauty can't help but inform the band's songwriting, but Melenas aren't content to just sit placidly & take in the scenery. Since they burst onto the scene in 2016, the band has hit the ground running, playing incessantly both locally & on the stages at national festivals like Primavera Sound & Eurosonic as well as releasing a debut full length (2018's "s/t" album) and a 7-inch single both triple-released on local labels Elsa, Nebula & Snap! Clap! Club. Trouble In Mind is honored to be releasing their new album Dias Raros and is the first label outside of Spain to release Melenas music to the world.Dias Raros hums right from the get-go, peppering their garage-pop punch with elements of lysergic dream pop, melancholic indie rock and strident guitar jangle. The album title translates to "Strange Days" an acknowledgement - according to the band - of "...those days where you spend more time inside than outside. Inside your own self, inside your bedroom and your own universe thinking about your wishes, dreams, memories, obsessions or fears." The lyrics - sung entirely in their native Spanish - reference "those interior dialogues where sometimes you fight to escape from a situation, you wonder what another person will be thinking about or feeling, you gotta say goodbye, or you just enjoy the time by yourself. Days that, for different reasons, you're feeling different, they are strange". Opener "Primer tiempo" buzzes with an urgent organ drone, unfolding into a yearning ballad of modern guitar-pop bolstered by the group's lush harmonies & sets the tone for the rest of Dias Raros. Songs like "No puedo pensar" "3 Segundos" and "Despertar" follow suit, with the rhythm section galloping headlong into an insistent guitar strum, while ballads like the tender "El Tiempo ha Padsado" rely on the band's melodious voices bolstered by a lilting guitar riff and gentle organ swells. Elsewhere mid tempo rockers like the stomping "Los alemanes", the simmering "Ciencia Ficción" and "Ya no es Verano"s insistent jangle recall underground greats like The Pastels, R.E.M. and Shop Assistants. "Vals" ("Waltz") closes the album in 3/4 time, named for the ballroom dance as well as the last name of a close friend - a dedication to her. Its dreamy sway alluding to classic Brill Building songwriting; dusted with melancholy, but lifted by cascading voices, and organ and guitar waves and guitars that twinkle and shimmer over a cracking backbeat. Dias Raros is the perfect introduction to a band bursting with promise, confidently inhabiting their own space built upon the foundation of their influences both geographically and culturally, as well as musically.

The karaoke connoisseur, Luigi impersonator and all round good guy, Manuel Darquart has stepped up before and he’s stepping up again, this time with The Del Sol EP. Three down to business tracks with the perfect blend of Italo, Boogie and Deep House that will have you dreaming of a sunny coastline, Guayabera flapping in the breeze and an ice cold beer in your hand.

Rounding off the package is Oakland CA native, Space Ghost who stamps his distinct style on the EP with a beautiful slice of Dream House.

A welcome return to the label as WOLF hit their 71st release and enter fifteen years in the game.

Billed as "Canada's All Indian Band," the Tsimshian Nation garage band The Chieftones stormed the U.S. in the mid-'60s with their own brand of native rock n' roll. More Buddy Holly than Link Wray, The New Smooth and Different Sound compiles their debut single for Wisconsin's lauded Cuca label and adds a dozen previously unissued demos from their brief time in the Driftless region.

Singing with an enigmatic allure, CHILLEMI’s style paints with broad strokes of cinematic themes. The solo project of Brian Chillemi (Rose Cologne, Junk Boys), his debut album With Woman was released in April 2021 on Swiss indie label Taxi Gauche Records. After moving to Los Angeles from his native home of New York City just months before the pandemic, CHILLEMI returned to Manhattan to put the finishing touches on this LP.

Skemer is a brand new cooperation between singer Kim Peers, who’s also a model for Vogue, Steven Meisel, Prada and guitarist Mathieu Vandekerckhove of post-metal band Amenra and his personal project Syndrome. Two very different worlds collide and lead to minimalist dark wave deconstructions that are equal parts brutal and erotic. This duality is reflected in the name Skemer, which next to its obvious English meaning of ‘intriguer’ also stands for ‘dusk’ in Mathieu’s native tongue West-Flemish, as well as in their debut album. Recorded just a few months after meeting, a sense of urgency shines through in the tracks that build Benevolence. The winding sensuality of Sunseeker juxtaposed with the pounding harshness of Best, the faint twirl of Call Me versus the solemn gait of Heartbreak. Just like with their effervescent live performances where Peers seductive vocals coalesce with Vandekerckhove’s austere beats to meld into a transcendent fury. Everything has a double nature in the hands of Skemer. Vinyl LP limited to 500. Comes in UV Glossy Varnish picture sleeve.

“A piece of music never truly comes to An end. Revisiting a theme illustrates this idea that life goes on.” These are the words of Wayne Shorter, uttered in 2018 upon the release of Emanon, his final opus. On this record, the octogenarian uses dusky hues to shade in the passions of his youth - drawing and science-fiction, as well as the causes he has defended all his life - the fight against ecological upheaval and structural racism. This sentiment did not fail to resonate with Julien Lourau, who has reached a stage in life where he has begun to look back over certain pages written by the man he has always considered one of the masters of his trade. Five years later, this Parisian native has also chosen to revisit his glory days, offering reworked versions of specific tracks composed by his titular elder throughout the 80s. “When I play this music, I find myself back in my teenage bedroom. These are my standards, and they remind me of autumn in Rambouillet.” At that time, after practising his scales, Julien would also play Dungeons & dragons, and immerse himself in SF as well as heroic fantasy - epic influences which are not without a certain connection to the dreamworlds Shorter conjured up, as another fan of landscapes beyond the grasp of reality.

This album features four themes taken from Atlantis, which came out in 1985, and two from Joy Ryder, released three years later. To these, he has added a composition penned at around the same time for Sportin’ Life, the penultimate LP by Weather Report. This is rounded off by a tune taken

from Native Dancer, the record which, ten years earlier, in 1975, brought together this saxophonist who learnt his trade alongside Art Blakey, before joining Miles’ second quintet, and Brazilian Milton Nascimento.

“Between Native Dancer and Atlantis, Shorter did not release anything under his own name, but he took the time and care to really perfect his writing. Upon his return, he injected a very Brazilian form of subtlety into his compositions, especially rhythmically. And from a harmonic point of view, these themes are extremely sophisticated, and reveal truly singular colours. In fact, he decided to display the score as if it constituted the liner notes of Atlantis.”

Julien Lourau is a fan of every Wayne Shorter era, from his Blue Note days, where Mr Gone defined the bases of a truly unique repertoire, all the way to his final quartet - a reference like no other. He decided to focus on this “highly electric” period, which is not necessarily Shorter’s best known, nor his most widely appreciated - despite being a unanimous reference, Shorter has nonetheless never had a direct descendent. In Lourau’s line of sight there lies a desire to focus on typically South American tonic accents which characterise this repertoire, twinned with the ambition to switch up their actual sound “by attempting to open up onto a production highly influenced by eighties fusion". However, he admits that modifying the structures of these most unique of worlds constituted a fresh challenge. “There’s this labyrinthine harmonic system where you’ve no idea how it holds together, but where it’s actually impossible to touch the slightest element without the whole edifice wavering. It is in fact a very difficult thing to achieve!”

In order to successfully transcribe all this creativity free of obstacles, Julien Lourau once again called upon the help of Mathieu Debordes. From January 2023 onwards, Mathieu endeavoured to break down all the musical elements, on paper, before creating any actual music. The record was therefore constructed on the faith of these scores, without necessarily transiting through a creative residency - just two live gigs, to make sure the setup worked. Besides Mathieu Debordes and his synthesisers, Julien Lourau has assembled an ad hoc team by his side. On the bass, according to the track, we can hear erstwhile companion Sylvain Daniel or a new acolyte on the fretless bass, Joan Eche Puig.

Stéphane Edouard, on percussion, even dives headfirst into an unlikely proto-rap of sorts, on Pearl On The Half Shell (where, on the original version, Bobby McFerrin adjusted his interventions in a rather madcap style). Aesthete and drummer Jim Hart as well as pianist Leo Jassef also figure on this release - both were present on previous project devoted to label

CTI. “At sixteen, I wanted to sound like Michael Brecker rather than Ben Webster - that was equated with modernity in those days”, adds Julien with a smile, as for him, all this rings out a little like a logical next step, a joyful immersion into the fountain of youth. And if, for this record, he plays the soprano more than ever, the saxophone Shorter set in his sights on, he never tries to replicate an unattainable ideal note by note. What would be the point?

“Wayne Shorter is not just a saxophonist’s saxophonist. In fact, I don’t know a single person who has risen to challenge of his solos. I have not done it myself either, but on the other hand, I have retained a lot of his phraseology. His way of approaching the instrument reveals a more evanescent language, a work on colour and shape. Keeping this in mind has allowed me to gravitate towards certain elements, that in hindsight, I find echoes of in my work, even in Groove Gang.” Shorter etches out these phrases, creating a groove within which Lourau had traced subtle punctuation, managing, from a highly written base, to create fresh apertures, promises of a great escape. Emblematic of this standpoint, his regal version of Ponte de Areia, originally a wonderful dialogue between Milton Nascimento and Wayne Shorter. Here, the Frenchman takes liberties with the original melodies, without ever growing distant from the original spirit, extending one section with delicacy, offering a rubato development and then a groove “like a little suite”. Julien Lourau also renews with an accomplice from last century, Magic Malik, who lends his high-pitched vocals to the track. Though they had not recorded together for more than twenty years, the two of them got on as if they had only ceased collaborating yesterday, everything flowed naturally. The track was wrapped up in just one take, much like other themes, such as opener Who Goes There where the flautist deploys smooth, enchanted and smoky wisps.

Fundamentally, reflecting of the sleeve which features a child playing with a ball, image that could symbolise the sun just as much as the moon, Julien Lourau manages to translate the ambiguous candour which characterizes Shorter’s work - solar and crepuscular at the same time, that of a visionary and poet definitively situated outside of all chronology, but with whom Julien shares surprising and ‘timely’ coincidences. Shorter was born August 25, 1933, the same day as Julien’s father, “if we take time zones into account”, and who died on Lourau’s birthday, March 2, 2023. Should we take this as a random fact? Or could we not see here the sign of a destiny connecting the agnostic Frenchman to the man who, as a fervent Buddhist, believed in the transmission of his spiritual flow ?

Malian and French pair Siraba unveil their much-anticipated self-titled debut LP on Damian Lazarus’ Secret Teachings label, a 10-track odyssey fusing Mali’s rich musical traditions with cutting-edge electronic music.

Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of the French electronic band dOP, have won plenty of plaudits for the early singles taken from their debut album as duo Siraba. Those singles, spanning across the summer months, have found the pair bring the traditional sound of the Wassoulou - a river valley of West Africa - to the electronic world after 20 years of friendship. The music comes with an important underlying message of love and respect and results in spellbinding tracks that move heart, body and soul, finding a perfect home on Secret Teachings - a left-of-centre alternative label to Lazarus’ celebrated and often more club- focused Crosstown Rebels. With the arrival of the full album, the pair exhibit and showcase the emotional breadth and depth of their music, with detailed explorations of organic textures and native sounds merged with future-focused ideas and concepts.

The title track opens with an atmospheric mix of spoken words and spine-tingling chords that bring rich Afro flavours, while ‘Dounoiia’ is a languid groove made from hand drums and pixelated synth leads that cast a fine spell. The slow-blooming ‘Bani’ brings rich Malian blues and melancholic horns, while ‘Komafly’ is a rich mix of acoustic strings and broken beats that transports you to a hot and dusty landscape. A vital component of the sounds of the Wassoulou, the indigenous stringed instrument the Ngoni features again on the rousing ‘Nanse’ as spiritual vocals sung in Bambara rouse the soul.

‘Djandjo’ is another rich infusion of Malian culture with simmering electronics to make for something both ancient sounding yet futuristic, and the hypnotic ‘Ngana Fôlly’ with its rich bass is a song ‘dedicated to those who fight for the well-being of their families, for unity... a song for the people who also fight a great disease, between life and death’. The sublime ‘Toro’ is a wavy groove perfect for sundown - a deep and inviting sound rich in soulful vocals and dreamy melodies, while ‘Tolonawoulile’ is driven by the intense strumming of the Ngoni with busy hand claps and hurried drums and last of all ‘Fo Te Mokobana’ sinks into a heart-warming slow groove with sweeping strings and Malian percussion all overlaid with impassioned vocals.

A rich listening experience, Siraba’s debut album is an immersive journey and absorbing dive into the minds of two artists breaking new grounds while spotlighting native traditions and musical techniques spanning hundreds of years.

The debut recording by Setting, a trio comprising Nathan Bowles (solo/trio, Pelt, Black Twig Pickers); Jaime Fennelly (Mind Over Mirrors, Peeesseye); and Joe Westerlund (solo, Califone, Sylvan Esso, Jake Xerxes Fussell). Deluxe LP edition features 140g black virgin vinyl and a reverse board jacket with art by Timothy Breen. Deluxe CD edition features a gatefold jacket with art by Timothy Breen. RIYL: Popol Vuh, Brian Eno’s Ambient 4, Harmonia, The Necks. Setting, befitting its name which can be read as noun or verb, and simultaneously suggests the sun, or any star in the firmament from our earthbound perspective; a story and its surroundings, its scenic context or mise en scène; or a psychedelic experience, as in the prescription to mind one’s “set and setting” arose outdoors, uncontained and unconstrained by architecture. The group’s debut recording Shone a Rainbow Light On traverses textural, phosphorescent topography with a certified organic folk-engine. Kosmische correspondences are inevitable and valid, but also somewhat deceptive, given this meditative music’s terrestrial rootedness in the familiar natural world, more in native humus and humidity than in outer space. Fuelled by a vibratory hybrid of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, these four stately longform pieces sound like a UFO slowly sinking into a peat bog (or, as we call it in North Carolina, a pocosin). An instrumental trio comprising Nathan Bowles (solo/trio, Pelt, Black Twig Pickers) on strings, keys, and percussion; Jaime Fennelly (Mind Over Mirrors, Peeesseye) on harmoniums, synthesizers, and piano zither; and Joe Westerlund (solo, Califone, Sylvan Esso, Jake Xerxes Fussell) on drums, percussion, and metallophones, Setting established its own setting and found its footing in regularly scheduled improvisational sessions outside Westerlund’s home in Durham, North Carolina, beginning in 2021. The three players began as two, in the context of occasional Bowles and Westerlund percussion duo performances dating back to 2018. Fennelly provided the initial impetus to gather and play together with intentionality and discipline, as well as an harmonic adhesive and thickening agent in the grain and gravity of his harmonium and synthesizer. As always, Bowles’s background as a pianist and drummer informs his approach to banjo, imparting a woodiness, a piney verticality and resinous tang. Westerlund’s training with Milford Graves is apparent in his polyrhythmic flow and its correspondences to human circulatory and corporeal rhythms. They recorded their collective discoveries with engineer Nick Broste in the spring of 2022.The record begins, like the group’s name, and like the language of its unique instrumental interplay, with ambiguous grammar: “We Center,” the first and longest track at thirteen and a half minutes, builds patiently to a percolating climax of tidal heaving, with ceremonial connotations. “Zoetropics,” the shortest piece, follows, offering a more diaphanous counterpoint to the density of its predecessor. The zithery, shivering “A Sun Harp,” its title redolent of Sun Ra, showcases Westerlund’s unfettered drumming, which skitters restlessly until anchored, at its conclusion, by a minor bass progression. Finally, “Fog Glossaries” exhales through the maritime and meteorological evocations of its title, distant buoys clanging. Although certainly elements and strategies of so-called ambient and drone musical traditions are invoked and deployed, those diffuse terms feel inadequate to describe everything else happening here: the devotional valences, the minimalist rigor, and even submarine jazz inclinations perceptible beneath the surface. Throughout this four-movement program, which invites deep listening, it is often difficult to differentiate individual instruments from the massed choir of the group’s unified sonic presence. At times what sound like field recordings cicadas, birds, wind, water splash out of this slow but powerful current, only to be revealed as overtones produced by harmonium, banjo, or cymbals. Setting’s sound is fundamentally synthetic in the sense of synthesis, not artifice—in a manner remarkable for its almost entirely acoustic arsenal of instrumentation, often registering as the product of a single alien technology, perhaps the rainbow lights of that bog-marooned UFO. (“Setting,” of course, can also refer to a machine’s variable operational amplitude its temperature, volume, speed, elevation, etc.) Sometimes the most seemingly extraterrestrial lifeforms are in fact our unfamiliar earthbound neighbors. Despite the destruction of many such habitats, the coastal plains of eastern, tidewater North Carolina is home to more pocosins freshwater, evergreen wetlands with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils than anywhere else in the world. These threatened peat-bog ecosystems are the only native environment to sustain the carnivorous Venus flytrap, among other oddities. The sonic ecosystem of Setting similarly deep, acidic, and boggy contains equivalent wonders, savage and delicate, for listeners willing to take the time to sink.

First time on vinyl, expanded version of Japan-only CD album from 2006! Now a double LP with unreleased tracks on audiophile grade colored vinyl (Disc 1: Opaque Baby Blue, Disc 2: Opaque Brown) The Jungle Bros embraced of a range of styles -- including house music, Afrocentric philosophy, a James Brown fixation, and of course, the use of jazz sample , on this reissue double LP Release on Colored Audiophile grade Vinyl , the I got U album is remastered and re-released with additional tracks .Michael Small (Mike Gee), Nathaniel Hall (Afrika Baby Bam), and Sammy Burwell (DJ Sammy B). Known as the pioneers of the fusion of jazz, hip-hop, and house music, they were the first hip-hop group to collaborate with a house-music producer. The trio released their debut album, Straight out the Jungle in July 1988. Their hip-house club hit single, "I'll House You" was added to the album in late-1988 reissues. Fostered by Kool DJ Red Alert, the Jungle Brothers success would pave the way for De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, and eventually the Native Tongues collective that they founded. Hip-Hop-House with a jazzy feel including "I Got U", a re-recorded "Sunshine" and four bonus tracks/versions. -- The Jungle Bros embrace of a range of styles -- including house music, Afrocentric philosophy, a James Brown fixation, and of course, the use of jazz samples -- _John Bush, All Music

Billed as "Canada's All Indian Band," the Tsimshian Nation garage band The Chieftones stormed the U.S. in the mid-'60s with their own brand of native rock n' roll. More Buddy Holly than Link Wray, The New Smooth and Different Sound compiles their debut single for Wisconsin's lauded Cuca label and adds a dozen previously unissued demos from their brief time in the Driftless region.

Billed as "Canada's All Indian Band," the Tsimshian Nation garage band The Chieftones stormed the U.S. in the mid-'60s with their own brand of native rock n' roll. More Buddy Holly than Link Wray, The New Smooth and Different Sound compiles their debut single for Wisconsin's lauded Cuca label and adds a dozen previously unissued demos from their brief time in the Driftless region.

Billed as "Canada's All Indian Band," the Tsimshian Nation garage band The Chieftones stormed the U.S. in the mid-'60s with their own brand of native rock n' roll. More Buddy Holly than Link Wray, The New Smooth and Different Sound compiles their debut single for Wisconsin's lauded Cuca label and adds a dozen previously unissued demos from their brief time in the Driftless region.

Billed as "Canada's All Indian Band," the Tsimshian Nation garage band The Chieftones stormed the U.S. in the mid-'60s with their own brand of native rock n' roll. More Buddy Holly than Link Wray, The New Smooth and Different Sound compiles their debut single for Wisconsin's lauded Cuca label and adds a dozen previously unissued demos from their brief time in the Driftless region.

Waiting For The Rain was produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and recorded at Rockfield studios in Monmouth and The Libertines Albion Rooms studios in Margate. Having just completed an Arena Tour of America with Louis Tomlinson, Andrew Cushin is on the road again with Louis across Europe in August/September. Wor Flags, released last month is the fifth track (following It’s Coming Round Again, 4.5%, You’ll Be Free and Dream For A Moment) to be taken from Waiting For The Rain. A new single Just Like You’d Want Me To is released August 30th. 23-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin is Newcastle’s fastest rising star. He has already recorded with Noel Gallagher and counts Paul Weller and Sam Fender among his biggest cheerleaders. Andrew grew up on a council estate in Heaton, Newcastle. His songs, delivered in a gorgeous baritone that sounds way beyond his years, are full of his experiences growing up, his lust for life, his grief at the loss of loved ones, his hopes and fears, his love and his stoicism. Andrew Cushin released his debut single It’s Gonna Get Better (2020) followed by Waiting For The Rain (2020); ’Where’s My Family Gone’ (2021) featuring production and guitar from Noel Gallagher and in 2022, through Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, You Don’t Belong EP and double A Side single You’ll Be Free / Dream For A Moment. Press quotes: “Cushin recalls acoustic Noel Gallagher circa Morning Glory.” – Sunday Times Culture // “The kitchen-sink realism of his songs, raised on the concrete turfs of council estates and smoke filled social clubs of Newcastle, is something the chart-topping Toms, Jacks and Georges of guitar pop are not only desperately lacking, but entirely unaware of.” - The Line of Best Fit // “Andrew Cushin is a newcomer being feted by actual icons.” – Clash // “Has built enough hometown momentum to suggest he could ‘do a Sam Fender’ very soon.” - Music Week // “It's clear to see the future is bright for Andrew whose backing from big names as well as a loyal following sets him up nicely to take the scene by storm.” Daily Mirror // “Transforming his native infused-sound, Andrew Cushin releases a banger.” Wonderland // “A set of personal yet relatable songs that connect immediately and directly.” Louder Than War

Waiting For The Rain was produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and recorded at Rockfield studios in Monmouth and The Libertines Albion Rooms studios in Margate. Having just completed an Arena Tour of America with Louis Tomlinson, Andrew Cushin is on the road again with Louis across Europe in August/September. Wor Flags, released last month is the fifth track (following It’s Coming Round Again, 4.5%, You’ll Be Free and Dream For A Moment) to be taken from Waiting For The Rain. A new single Just Like You’d Want Me To is released August 30th. 23-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin is Newcastle’s fastest rising star. He has already recorded with Noel Gallagher and counts Paul Weller and Sam Fender among his biggest cheerleaders. Andrew grew up on a council estate in Heaton, Newcastle. His songs, delivered in a gorgeous baritone that sounds way beyond his years, are full of his experiences growing up, his lust for life, his grief at the loss of loved ones, his hopes and fears, his love and his stoicism. Andrew Cushin released his debut single It’s Gonna Get Better (2020) followed by Waiting For The Rain (2020); ’Where’s My Family Gone’ (2021) featuring production and guitar from Noel Gallagher and in 2022, through Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, You Don’t Belong EP and double A Side single You’ll Be Free / Dream For A Moment. Press quotes: “Cushin recalls acoustic Noel Gallagher circa Morning Glory.” – Sunday Times Culture // “The kitchen-sink realism of his songs, raised on the concrete turfs of council estates and smoke filled social clubs of Newcastle, is something the chart-topping Toms, Jacks and Georges of guitar pop are not only desperately lacking, but entirely unaware of.” - The Line of Best Fit // “Andrew Cushin is a newcomer being feted by actual icons.” – Clash // “Has built enough hometown momentum to suggest he could ‘do a Sam Fender’ very soon.” - Music Week // “It's clear to see the future is bright for Andrew whose backing from big names as well as a loyal following sets him up nicely to take the scene by storm.” Daily Mirror // “Transforming his native infused-sound, Andrew Cushin releases a banger.” Wonderland // “A set of personal yet relatable songs that connect immediately and directly.” Louder Than War

Waiting For The Rain was produced by Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers) and recorded at Rockfield studios in Monmouth and The Libertines Albion Rooms studios in Margate. Having just completed an Arena Tour of America with Louis Tomlinson, Andrew Cushin is on the road again with Louis across Europe in August/September. Wor Flags, released last month is the fifth track (following It’s Coming Round Again, 4.5%, You’ll Be Free and Dream For A Moment) to be taken from Waiting For The Rain. A new single Just Like You’d Want Me To is released August 30th. 23-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew Cushin is Newcastle’s fastest rising star. He has already recorded with Noel Gallagher and counts Paul Weller and Sam Fender among his biggest cheerleaders. Andrew grew up on a council estate in Heaton, Newcastle. His songs, delivered in a gorgeous baritone that sounds way beyond his years, are full of his experiences growing up, his lust for life, his grief at the loss of loved ones, his hopes and fears, his love and his stoicism. Andrew Cushin released his debut single It’s Gonna Get Better (2020) followed by Waiting For The Rain (2020); ’Where’s My Family Gone’ (2021) featuring production and guitar from Noel Gallagher and in 2022, through Peter Doherty’s Strap Originals label, You Don’t Belong EP and double A Side single You’ll Be Free / Dream For A Moment. Press quotes: “Cushin recalls acoustic Noel Gallagher circa Morning Glory.” – Sunday Times Culture // “The kitchen-sink realism of his songs, raised on the concrete turfs of council estates and smoke filled social clubs of Newcastle, is something the chart-topping Toms, Jacks and Georges of guitar pop are not only desperately lacking, but entirely unaware of.” - The Line of Best Fit // “Andrew Cushin is a newcomer being feted by actual icons.” – Clash // “Has built enough hometown momentum to suggest he could ‘do a Sam Fender’ very soon.” - Music Week // “It's clear to see the future is bright for Andrew whose backing from big names as well as a loyal following sets him up nicely to take the scene by storm.” Daily Mirror // “Transforming his native infused-sound, Andrew Cushin releases a banger.” Wonderland // “A set of personal yet relatable songs that connect immediately and directly.” Louder Than War

Returning fresh off of his last project 'Goes On EP', Darone is back with another 12". This time, his project pays homage to two places which he calls home. A juxtaposition of his birthplace, Los Angeles, and where he feels a strong connection, Armenia. The A-Side features 'Dance of the Sun Worshipers', which was written with the petroglyphs of Ughtasar and the Armenian Stonehenges of Syunik in mind. The henges in question were set as an astronomical observation tool to view the Milky Way Galaxy by the ancient natives of the land.

Parts of the petroglyphs have carvings of beings dancing around a wheel of fire. A representation of the Sun or early signs of the Armenian Eternity Wheel. The B-Side features 'Far Away' by Sassounian and a remix of the same track by Byron The Aquarius. Far Away was written at the height of lockdown, with a local collective of the same name in mind.

Operating as a cassette label, mixtape series, and party, Far Away was based in Los Angeles, run by Cooper Saver and Jen Ferrer. Darone would frequently attend their events in Los Angeles and find comfort in a community that he can call home. On remix duties, Byron The Aquarius delivers a raw and chuggy tip to Darone's track, 'Far Away'. A dub of the original, Byron programs this one into a full and thick driving force for the dance floor and the heads. This is Rocky Hill.

The iconic voice of Luzmila Carpio rings out from the Andes, spreading messages of indigenous struggle, female empowerment and unceasing love for both the people and planet around us. An undeniable icon of Bolivian Andean culture whose career spans multiple decades, Luzmila has released more than 25 albums (there’s a reason that Rolling Stone described her as”one of the most prolific indigenous singers of South America”), inspiring millions while singing in both her native Aymara-Quechua language and Spanish. Yet Luzmila Carpio isn’t someone who’s content to simply rest on her laurels; she continues to take risks and push her music into vibrant new soundworlds. On new album Inti Watana: El Retorno del Sol (her first LP in a decade), she’s teamed up with Argentinian producer Leonardo Martinelli (a.k.a. Tremor), a ZZK veteran who’s spent the bulk of his career finding the common ground between Latin American folk rhythms and modern electronics. Building off the momentum created by 2015’s Luzmila Carpio Meets ZZK collection in which her music was reworked by not only Tremor, but standout electronic artists like Nicola Cruz, Chancha Vía Circuito and El Búho this new album is meant to stretch across genres, generations and continents, with Luzmila’s sonorous, occasionally birdsong-inspired vocalizations gracefully gliding amongst ambient textures, programmed beats and (of course) a bevy of traditional instrumentation from around the globe. Over the course of the LP, Bolivian charangos and quenas sit comfortably alongside the sounds of harmonium, violin, acoustic and electric guitar, Argentinian bombo leguero and sacha guitar, Armenian duduk and a litany of Asian percussion. Inti Watana: El Retorno del Sol which will be accompanied by a full length documentary might not sound like previous Luzmila Carpio releases, but on a spiritual, political and lyrical level, her core values remain unchanged. A native of Bolivia’s Potosí region, she’s long been a beacon for indigenous communities in not just her home country, but throughout Latin America, her voice inspiring joy and pride amongst ancient peoples whose culture and inherent beauty are often overlooked. Her pursuit of music a field traditionally dominated by men in Andean communities long ago made her a pillar of women’s empowerment, but Carpio has also been a vocal proponent for social change, using her influence to advocate not just for the rights of women, but for the protection and increased visibility of all indigenous people. Yet it’s the planet itself that Carpio is most passionate about, and she’s devoted much of her new album to conversations with Mother Earth and Father Sun

Pitchfork - 8.1 - “explosive and action-packed”

NME - 4/5 - “Sigur Rós are at their blackest and most sinister, sounding not so much reborn as in the ferocious throes of an almighty exorcism.”

Line of Best Fit - 9/10 - “Neither the drums, guitars or synths are ever understated, lo-fi or polite – throughout, they’re devastating, taking control of the band’s poppier sensibilities and lighting vicious fires beneath them.”

Kveikur is the seventh album by Sigur Rós, originally released on XL Recordings in June 2013. Completely out of print worldwide, the album will now be re-released on the band’s own label, Krunk.

Described by the band as “more aggressive” than any of their previous work, Kveikur – which means ‘fuse’ or ‘candle wick’ in the band’s native Icelandic – is heavier, both thematically and sonically. All of the lyrics are sung in Icelandic rather than the wordless “Vonlenska” (Hopelandic) as on ( ), providing a more grounded experience.

Lyon, France’s Meurtrières has not strayed far from their original goal of writing old-school, epic heavy metal with medieval overtones on their newest effort, Ronde De Nuit. If anything, the band (consisting of new vocalist Fiona, the guitar tandem of Flo Spector and Olivier, bassist Xavier and drummer Thomas) has taken what they started on their well-received 2020 self-titled EP and added new layers of complexity and depth. It is the natural transition for a band gaining more confidence in its songwriting abilities. Yet the noticeable change starts in the vocal spot. Out is the original frontwoman Fleur and in her place is Fiona. Meurtrières wasted little time introducing Fiona — the band started playing live shows and writing new material with her right after the release of the EP, thus, giving Meurtrières ample time to hone its new material. And Fiona fits the band’s hard-charging, gallant music like a glove, coming away with a stronghold of fiery, epic choruses — all sung in the Meurtrières’ native tongue. The lyrical subject matter on Ronde De Nuit still spans the medieval domain but with increased emphasis on paintings by Rembrandt (The Night Watch) and Johann Heinrich (Füssli). The band aimed to make the songs “pictorial,” reflecting imaginary portraits to draw in the listener. Except for “Aucun Homme, Aucun Dogme, Aucune Croix” (which is a known French medieval legend about a real woman), the songs on Ronde De Nuit are based on fantasy with a desired fate: All the depicted characters are doomed to tragedy, for in the world of Meurtrières, there is no such thing as crowned kings and queens and even glorious warriors. Artwork by Ivan Brun rounds out a package that perfectly ties in thematically with the desperate and dark themes of the lyrics. It is a fitting component to an album laced with stunning visuals and epic, old-school metal of the highest order!

After the release of "3.3 magnitude" and the remixes of the single "1.3 HDG" unveiled last February, H3 Records continues its musical exploration between rap and electronic music with a new release, "Music 4 Tesla".

This time, rapper Kaba joins forces with producer Hyas and unveils a slender and festive 6-track track, true to the label's identity.

Hyas started producing music in 2017 and released his first projects completely independently. Today, he has more than twenty releases on labels such as 99CTS and Casa Voyager. The Lyon native, resident of Le Sucre and Rinse FM, has a string of dates and festivals in France and abroad and founded his own label Bardouin Music in 2020.

For his part, Kaba has released three singles this year, including two featuring Karmen (formerly Tortoz) and Samy Ceezy, and a 10-track "Long Story Short", a joint project with the young beatmaker Keno.

The connection between the two artists was very natural: the rapper's ambitions and Hyas' influences complemented each other and led to a first draft of tracks, convincing enough to form the basis of a joint project. With influences from UK Garage, Acid House, Ghetto House and 2step, "Music 4 Tesla" is a high-flying, catchy, danceable, warm and sunny project. Throughout the tracks, Kaba borrows incisive old school flows (like on "4daMob") but also "DMV" (overlap flows where the phrases overlap like on "Original G") and enriches the musical universe of the project, which carries in it this fever of H3 Records' sounds.

Between pervasive house influences and bouncy bass, borrowed from funk sounds, "Music 4 Tesla" depicts throughout its 20 minutes a captivating gradation of festive ambiences, and proves again that the marriage of rap and house is definitely made to last.

Long time Leng recording artists 40 Thieves are back with one of their most notable singles to date – a surprise collaboration with two NYC disco originals, storied vocalist Cinnamon Jones and multiinstrumentalist/producer Gary Davis.

San Francisco outfit 40 Thieves has been serving up cosmic, dubbed-out and otherworldly contemporary disco treats since the mid 2000s, and have been part of the Leng family since 2011. The crew, headed up by Layne Fox, Jay Williams and Corey Black, have released countless killer cuts on the label, as well as an expansive
debut album, 2014’s The Sky Is Yours.

They’ve worked with other artists before, but nobody at the same legendary level as Cinnamon Jones and Gary
Davis. The latter cut his teeth as a musician working with iconic disco producers Patrick Adams and Peter Brown at their P&P Records stable, before becoming a producer and artist in his own right writing and arranging the disco classic ‘Got To Get Your Love’ performed by Clyde Alexander & Sanction.

Jones, meanwhile, has enjoyed a hugely successful career both in her native New York (as Joyce Jones, an original member of First Choice) and on the West Coast, where she not only became an in-demand performer, but also snagged a role in the Supremes biopic Dream Girls.

‘The Gift’ is one of Jones’ most cherished solo songs – a joyful celebration of a new day dawning that has long been popular in her live sets. With input and instrumentation from Davis and a fantastic delivery of her own lyrics by Jones, 40 Thieves has successfully re-framed the track as a sunrise-ready future Bay Area free party
favourite; a dubbed-out, suitably cosmic creation that’s presented in three potent versions.

Leading the charge, and stretched across side A of the vinyl version is the band’s ’Disco Mix’ which boasts a fully realised instrumental arrangement and extensive use of passages from Jones’ vocals. Not all the lyrics are present as the Bay Area band has chosen to focus on selected lines that most neatly fit their musical vision and
celebrate the joys of dancing at sunrise. There are more spaced-out keyboard solos, sharper guitars (smothered in effects in true 40 Thieves fashion) and sound design that’s as immersive as it is heady and intoxicated.

On the flip is the ‘Disco Dub’. A bona-fide dub disco chugger rich in relentless synth-bass, addictive guitar licks, echo-laden vocal snippets, sparkling nu-disco electronics, tactile, deep house style electric piano stabs and cosmic effects aplenty, it’s a track tailor-made for slowly shuffling while the sun peeps over the horizon.

To complete an inspired package, 40 Thieves have also included a killer DJ tool: a ‘Beats’ take that wraps energy packed percussion hits, trippy electronic noises, trailing dub delays and sparse melodies around a metronomic drum machine beat. It’s a wavy, groovy and pleasingly mind-altering way to conclude one of 40 Thieves’ most magical EPs to date.

Richie Culver had been waiting his whole life to record I was born by the sea. His debut album immediately and messily inscribed the artist into the canon of outsider music and experimental electronics, serving both as an arresting statement of intent and a painful reckoning with the difficult path that lead up to it, stealing one last glance back at a place he always knew he had to escape. Between grim lamentations, faded memories and anxiety attacks, all told with searing honesty and disarming openness, I was born by the sea excavates a space for hope, finding Culver digging through Humberside silt to find a world weary optimism, the raw material from which his visual and sound art is shaped. For this collection of expansions and inversions, Culver invites a collection of kindred spirits, contemporary inspirations and old heroes to wade into the salt water of his formative years spent living for impromptu raves and afterparties, connecting vivid memories of his birth place of Withernsea to artists hailing from as nearby as Preston and Bridlington, further afield, from Manchester and London, Berlin and Paris, before returning back to Hull, to where it all began.

For some, responding to I was born by the sea means diving even deeper into the record’s furthest reaches. Space Afrika clear away the pummelling loops of noise from ‘It’s hard to get to know you,’ revealing a cool and cavernous expanse in its wake. Distant chatter, previously heard as though through thin, plasterboard walls, now echoes from outside the maddening claustrophobia of the original’s Sisyphean sonics, illuminated as a dense storm cloud suspended amidst a more open scene, washed clean by a lighter rain, allowing the tender heart of the track to beat clear. London producer MOBBS stretches out ‘Pigeon Flesh’ into an epic, 10-minute, cold-sweat spiral, strung-out tension wrung from disconnected phone tones twisted in unexpected directions, snatches of Culver’s voice turned inside-out and deep fried bass threatening to tip the track over into oblivion, the build-and-release of a nervous breakdown experienced in real time. In an act of subversive self-reflection, Morgane Polanski switches one kind of ennui for another in her adaption of ‘I was born by the sea,’ swapping the sea for the city, English seaside towns in January for summer evenings in Paris and flashing lighthouses and sparkling oil rigs for the Eiffel Tower and the traffic around L’Arc de Triomphe. Even Culver finds time to revisit ‘Dream About Yourself,’ a track taken from his EP Post Traumatic Fantasy, breathing new words into its glacial drift, the half-remembered testimony of a shut-in: Woke up in the evening / Pray for me / Don’t trust anyone / Pray for algorithm. Reframed in a more melancholy light, the track’s reverberant keys even more clearly evoke a mournful nostalgia, fresh pain felt in old wounds.

Others find a parallel universe in Culver’s visceral world building. Rainy Miller flips the script with a scorched, avant-drill rework of ‘Daytime TV’, threading puncturing hi-hats and queasy low-end surge through the track’s steady ambient cascade, invoking the irresistible Preston beat magic of Miller’s own essential debut album, Desquamation. Aho Ssan melts away the crystalline textures of ‘Love Like an Abscess’ with the ominous crackle of a nascent fire, building through swathes of organic Max/MSP squelch and brittle, nails-down-chalkboard scrape, swelling and metastasising the original to spill over Culver’s desperate hymn to corporeal desire, at once flesh and not. Teresa Winter transports us an hour up the coast from Withernsea to her native Bridlington, replacing the sea wall of synthesis on ‘Nervous Energy’ with muffled ASMR murk and fever dream whispers, transforming Culver’s unflinching observations into a haunting call-and-response, filling in the blanks with her own eerie utterances, a fleeting conversation with a ghost. In a touching victory lap, Fila Brazillia, eccentric stalwarts of beloved ‘90s trip hop imprint Pork Recordings, whose performances at Hull institution The Lamp convinced a young Culver of the necessity to make his mark on club culture, resurface for their first remix in 20 years. Steve Cobby and David McSherry lead a low-slung, heartfelt stroll back through a suite of tracks from I was born by the sea, tracing a full circle saunter from Culver’s origins to his current musical practice, the sounds of his present repurposed by the sound of his youth. In a gesture that reflects the emotional complexity of the project, Fila Brazillia find joy at the end of Culver’s troubled reflection, picking out an undeniable groove in the stasis of feeling trapped in your hometown. Underlining Hull’s vital musical legacy, from Baby Mammoth to Throbbing Gristle, Cobby and McSherry demonstrate that, though there are certainly storms, by the sea there is also sun and through the fog, if you listen, you can hear a singular sound, a sound now carried by Richie Culver.

Participant is a record label and creative studio run by William Markarian-Martin and Richie Culver