quête:night light

Staran Wake is a collaborative project by Andrew Bunsell and Tom Relleen. After several years creating music in various groups together, followed by countless hazy late night recording sessions at each other’s studios and crisper afternoons producing the results, the British duo’s musical vision materialised with this self-titled instrumental album, taking nearly 4 years to complete.

This collection of pieces is composed with a wide range of instruments and combines multiple dark, experimental genres to form a rather lavish and unique proposition. It is imprinted with intense turgid textures, interweaving the hyper-tactile characteristics of analogue sound with field recording elements and sound effects.

Although the project’s name suggests a rather celestial concept (‘an’ means moon in one of the early protolanguages), the music actually explores the intimate feelings of transient space and otherness. It uses subtle build-ups of tension and repetitive progressions to shape an impression of distended time and space. More than a mere treat for the ears, it’s a multi-layered album that invites reflection.

All tracks composed, performed and recorded by Andrew Bunsell and Tom Relleen at Dalston Studios, Space Studios and The Bunker, London, UK

Arranged, produced and mixed by Andrew Bunsell and Tom Relleen at The Bunker, London, UK

Mixed and mastered by Marta Salogni at Studio Zona, London, UK

Artwork and design by Jonas Meier

In the early 1990s, a handful of black metal artists were enticed by the possibility of conjuring new fantastical worlds from the deep isolation of their home setups. Rather than the dense metal sound of their existing projects, this new direction would be centred around intimate synth soundscapes: forlorn organs and otherworldly MIDI theatrics.

The music on ASCEND is predominantly from self-produced, self-distributed releases, typically manufactured in small numbers. Though some artists producing this style of music, most notably Mortiis and Burzum, gained wider recognition outside underground circles, it is only in recent years that the sound and its influence has really been appreciated. This is particularly the case with the late Matthew Davis and his recently reappraised Secret Stairways project, whose song ‘Lammas Tide’ (from the 1997 Enchantment of the Ring album) appears on ASCEND. A simple home recording on a Yamaha KX-W392 manages to be both elegant and tortured, ambiguously devotional and recalling latter years Popol Vuh.

This battle between dark and light is a constant thread through ASCEND, with simple minimal synth lines that can be both delicate and menacing. Compilation opener ‘The Dark Dreamquest’ from Italian black metal group Evol is loaded with occult warning, and Finnish act Kadotus 609’s ‘The Summoning Through Crimson’ is languid, twisted and dark. In spite of the darkness, several pieces of the music on ASCEND have formal similarities with the sometimes saccharine new age music that rose to prominence in that era: but to a rougher, darker ends. The closing song from Darkthrone icon (and past NTS radio host) Fenriz, under his Neptune Towers pseudonym, pulls us further out, with ‘To Cold Void Desolation’ — an astral synth project, akin to ’70s kosmische muzik masters Harmonia.

The gentler side can often amplify an uncannily sinister edge, heard in German act Dolch’s ‘Tumulus’, where orc marching horns contrast against delicate rompler harps and softly whispered chanting. It hammers home a deep loneliness and detachment constant throughout ASCEND, made possible by these unusual contrasts, both unsettling and otherworldly.

Orange Vinyl

»Love As Projection« is the new album by Frankie Rose, her fifth studio LP and second for Night School following the reissue of her interpretation of The Cure’s »Seventeen Seconds«. Frankie Rose has forged an enviable musical legacy, from playing with bands like Crystal Stilts and The Vivian Girls but on »Love As Projection« she takes a bold step into electronic pop production. A sumptuous recorded statement, it dances in ecstasy and broods on the tumult of the western world’s decay in equal proportion. At the heart of the album is glowing, confident songwriting, resplendent in hooks and choruses but still touched with an optimism undimmed.

After spending nearly two decades establishing herself across New York and Los Angeles independent music circles, Rose re-emerges after six years with a fresh form, aesthetic, and ethos. Celebrated over the years for her expansive approach to songwriting, lush atmospherics, and transcendent vocal melodies and harmonies, »Love As Projection« is a reintroduction of her established style through the lens of contemporary electronic pop. Recorded with producer Brandt Gassman and mixed with long-term collaborator Jorge Elbrecht this is the album Frankie Rose has been building up to her entire career.

More than a rebirth, a refinement, a resurgence, »Love As Projection« boasts a widescreen scope: a long- form project heavily considered for half of a decade, culminating in the most personal and accessible collection of art-pop that Frankie has ever written. When Rose aims for the pop jugular as in first lead track »Anything«, the result is unstoppable. A majestic pop song built for radio, it erupts into an irresistible chorus that marries classic epic 80s American pop with the cult effervescence of Strawberry Switchblade »It’s like a prom scene in a John Hughes movie. It’s a hopeful song about abandoning fear even if the world is quite literally on fire.. In the end, at least we have each other,« says Rose. »Sixteen Ways« further boasts a propulsive, massive chorus, though tempered by a cynicism built in global post-truth, global malaise. »It’s about getting your hopes up, but simultaneously making lists in your head about how it will never work out in your favour.«

The big anthems don’t let up there. On »DOA« some massive, rolling drums lathered in big mid-80s gated reverb dovetail with a syncopated baseline for the ages as Rose’s vocal sails effortlessly above. The effect isn’t unlike ethereal vocalists Clannad circa Howard’s Way or Enya jamming with Simple Minds in their stadium-conquering heyday. Rose tempers the adrenalin with heart-tugging bittersweet tones and there are plenty of them. »Sleeping Night And Day« takes its time with an off-the-cuff chorus, swirling around in harmony and chorus-bass. »Saltwater Girl« picks up the balladeering baton with another nod to album track-mode Switchblade, deep space opening up in the mid-tempo drum track and soupy, digital atmospherics. Album closer »Song For A Horse«, reimagines modern Pop production a-la-PC Music but shorn of the meta-atmosphere. Pianos, swelling synths, minor keys cut through with major. These moments, also seen in Feel Light offer ballast to the soaring pop choruses. Moments like these are big oceans of emotion to fall into before being led out by Rose into a bright new day.

»Love As Projection« is released in the USA by Slumberland.

You Can Can is an echoed affirmation, an album which traces song forms around silence, field recordings, and degraded analog memories. This is folk music transmogrified and mutated, as if recorded and reconstructed in Pierre Schaffer’s GRM studio.

Not your typical Mariposa folk duo, the group is comprised of Toronto avant-music scene stalwarts, vocalist Felicity Williams (Bernice, Bahamas) and bricolage artist and synthesist Andrew Zukerman (Fleshtone Aura, Badge Epoch). The album feels like a somnambulant conversation, fragmented and half-remembered with Williams’ vocals traveling through a landscape of field recordings and Zukerman’s saturated concrète topographies. It is an electro-acoustic assemblage, both analog and digital, comprised of air, electricity, minerals, wood, and water. Although the album nods towards traditional forms of folk and musique concrète (if at this point it can be called a traditional form), it is outwardly and inwardly contemporary; non-linear, citational, opaque, and sui generis. In a way it feels like a sonic index of the narrative experiments found on the infamous Language school-related publisher The Figures, in the work of Lyn Hejinian, Clark Coolidge, and Lydia Davis. In the musical continuum, the album picks up where Linda Perhacs left off in the early 70’s—explored by Gastr Del Sol in the ‘90s—a convergence of rural acoustic idioms and urban avant-electronics. This is country music for the discerning cosmopolitan citizen of the 21st Century.

RIYL: Luc Ferrari, Brannten Schnüre, William Basinski, Oval, Eric Chenaux, Emmanuelle Parrenin About Everything In Time and Failure Figures, Felicity Williams says:

Everything In Time is indebted to the language of Brazilian author Clarice Lispector (as translated by Alison Entrekin). Drawing on insights from psychoanalysis, we trace the roots of melancholy to render them available to consciousness; words from the ghostly realm of the transpersonal filter through dreams and shine a beam of light onto a lone trillium in a forest at night. Other influences include the experience of not knowing, of being subject to a gestation outside of one’s control. This is an ode to the power of naming to obliterate, to set free.

Failure Figures is a meditation on the radical contingency of reality and the vicissitudes of the will. With Slavoj Zizek as my guide (think: “Hegel for dummies” - I’m the dummy in this scenario), I wander through the valley of the shadow of death, and take heart. The last verse refers to an experience I had recording at a studio in Brussels. I was singing in French, with which I have some fluency, and the producer was complaining to the artist whose song it was that my delivery was not convincing. Thinking I was out of ear shot, he said in French, “c’est comme elle n'est pas là”; I was pronouncing the words correctly, but I failed to express anything. So what or whom is responsible for conveying meaning, if not the form of the word itself? And if the connection between meaning and form is broken, how do we fix it?

Gratitude to Thom Gill (guitar) and Daniel Fortin (bass) who joined us on the recording of Failure Figures. Thanks as well to my old roommate Christopher Willes, who unwittingly left behind his hand bells deep in the hall closet. We unearthed them by accident, and the bells became an important sound element. Thanks to other past roomies Robin Dann and Claire Harvie, whose childhood piano and guitar respectively still reside with us, and were used in the recording. Field recordings were made in Toronto, Canada and Celestún, Mexico in 2020.

Cremation Lily’s »Dreams Drenched in Static« exists at the horizon of consciousness and heavy experimental music. Through the use of frenetic vocal melodies, tape degradation, and guitar noise, the album documents the liminal moments at the edge of sleep, and the distressing thoughts that often accompany late-night R.E.M. disturbances. The lyrics were largely written at three in the morning and serve to evoke the depression and meditations on death that seem to haunt these early hours.

Based in London, England, Cremation Lily is the project of Zen Zsigo. Like many Flenser artists, the work of Cremation Lily is difficult to classify. The project began in 2009 as sample-based ambient music, but has evolved to incorporate more rock-oriented guitar instrumentation and influence from a wide range of genres such industrial, shoegaze, tape loops, noise, and power electronics.

Although rooted in electronic music, Cremation Lily shares similarities with Flenser artists like Planning For Burial and Have a Nice Life, as well as black metal. »Dreams Drenched in Static« is the first Cremation Lily album to rely primarily on guitar and vocal-based contributions, and is the project’s most intentional and developed work to date.

A vibrant and powerful performer, Danny Toeman seamlessly blends the classic vibes of Funk and Soul's golden age with his own inimitable London edge that modernises his work, giving it a fresh 'neo-vintage' flavour. 
 His gravel tones combined with an altitude-defying falsetto set him apart, creating a sound oozing with character and emotion. With his backing band 'The Love Explosion', Danny Toeman stages an electrifying show filled to the brim with feel-good funky soul, designed to make everyone get on up! Born in London, Danny was well acquainted with the Soul, Funk, and Rhythm and Blues of artists such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles from an early age, before graduating onto the hard hitting Souther Soul of artists like Wilson Pickett and Bobby Womack, and the refined uptown Philly Soul of artists like the O'Jays and the Spinners. A guitarist since the age of seven, and a singer before that, he grabbed any opportunity to perform his songs on stage for an audience. Danny Toeman truly set out to on his musical career after graduating University (where he won the regions official Battle of the Bands contest). Soon after, he was in demand as a supporting act for a number of great Soul artists, including Charles Bradley of Daptone, Michael Kiwanuka, Queen of Rare Groove Betty Wright, and 4-time Grammy winner Robert Cray. Around the same time, Danny's music reached a worldwide audience when a song of his was discovered on Soundcloud by scouts, and placed on the in-store playlists of Abercrombie & Fitch. Since then, his music has appeared in film and television shows around the world, most notably Saturday Night Live (NBC). Danny continued to perform nonstop around the UK, occasionally travelling to continental Europe for appearances. From 2019-2021, he hosted and promoted a series of headline shows at the famous Pizza Express Jazz Club, which garnered sold out crowds every night. The pinnacle of the support slots came in 2019, when Danny was chosen as the primary support act for Kool and the Gang at their o2 Arena show in London, in front of 10,000 spectators.

In Mid-2020, as the world was shutting down, Danny was approached by LRK Records to release his track 'She's Got Something About Her' on vinyl.

Within 3 months of release, the disc completely sold out due to demand, taking the European Soul Scene by storm. It garnered multiple radio plays, including from BBC 6 Music's Craig Charles, and veteran BBC DJ Robert Elms pronounced it 'his new favourite song'.

In 2022, Danny received his first spin on BBC Radio 2 for the single, 'Shake the Blues Outta Your Shoes', and was chosen out of thousands of competitors by industry professionals to act as the opening act for the legendary Diana Ross at one of her rare UK performances!

As the world starts to open up, Danny looks forward to releasing more new music, and taking his show across Europe and around the World.

Limited edition 45. Only 300 copies pressed.

First Word Records is very pleased to bring you the sophomore album from Werkha, a 14-track double LP entitled 'All Werk Is Play'.

Werkha hails from Manchester and has been releasing music for a decade, collaborating and remixing artists such as Quantic, Bryony Jarman-Pinto, Marcos Valles and Andrew Ashong. Werkha and his live band have been lighting up dancefloors in recent months at venues such as Low Four Studio in Manchester and The Jazz Cafe in London, with festival appearances locked for the Summer at the likes of We Out Here and Moovin. In past years, he has toured extensively with artists like Bonobo, Chet Faker and Mr Scruff.

In 2020, Werkha released 'The Rigour' on First Word, and dropped 'Beat Tapestry' in late 2021 on a limited cassette. 'All Werk Is Play' marks Werkha's first full-length solo project since his debut album 'Colours Of A Red Brick Raft' on Tru Thoughts in 2015, and sees this multi-talented musician produce a delightfully vibrant body of werk.

This album is predominantly a set of uptempo compositions from Werkha (real name Tom Leah), fusing analogue jazz-funk vibes with modern dance music sensibilities. Nestling somewhere between broken beat and breakbeat, Werkha has been nurturing his own unique sonics for some time; incorporating live horns & wind instruments with bass, double-bass, harp and guitar, along with a selection of sweet squelchy synths and deliciously delectable drum programming.

We've had several single releases from this project so far, namely 'Eterno Retorno' (with Portuguese singer Moreiya),'In Saint-Gilles' (with Brussels DJ & producer, Le Motel), 'Move Different' (with Mancunian singer & musician Ellen Beth Abdi), 'Beauty & The Bloc' and 'Battered Mars Bar'. As well as the afore-mentioned collaborations, this album also features bars from legendary MCR MC Chunky (Swamp81 / Levelz) on 'May Day', soulful vocals from Kemani Anderson (Secret Night Gang) on 'Count Yer Pace' and some heavyweight accompaniment from the likes of bassists Nick Blacka (GoGo Penguin) and Tom Driessler (Adele, Tom Misch, Jordan Rakei) amongst others.

'All Werk Is Play' was an opportunity for Werkha to produce a full body of work in the conceptual formation of an album, as opposed to a set of singles strung together. From 'The Rigour' EP to the subsequent releases, this album completes a circle in his current creative curve, from a design perspective and sonically. Werkha has been steadily pushing his own self-production and musicality, embracing mistakes, and challenging himself both creatively and mentally. As a self-edutaining piece, the depth, nuances and examples of work as play are numerous, and whilst each track was thematically inspired by different topics, the fun element of "play" was always forefront in his mind, to ultimately create something powerful, yet positive.

In Werkha's words "this record is dedicated to mixing things up, to walking down that street for once because your feet took you that way, to deciding not to take the bus today, to moments of improv, to breaking with convenience, to challenging structure, to play."

Tracks have received recent spins & support from BBC Radio heavyweights on 1Xtra & 6 Music like Jamz Supernova, Tom Ravenscroft, Huey Morgan and Afrodeutsche, as well as love from selectors such as DJ Paulette, Scratcha DVA, Harvey Sutherland, Zakia Sewell (NTS) & Jyoty (Rinse).

"Dreams are painful experiences; they are not real, but they are true," says Metoronori, whose very own ‘Evenings’ will finally see the day of light on vinyl thanks to Spanish reissue label Glossy Mistakes.

The label’s first release of 2022, by Japanese musician Metoronori, whose electronic sounds have previously appeared on Orange Milk Records and Virgin Babylon Records, will mark the start of a busy year for Glossy Mistakes. After appearing for the second year in a row on the prestigious ‘Best reissues of the year’ list for The Vinyl Factory, the label continues its own discovery path with what is meant to be one of its most cherished releases to date.

‘Evenings’ is a unique and nocturnal collection of songs. The 13-track record came from an unstable few years for the artist, during which she found solace in the night-time atmosphere of the various Tokyo wards that became her home. A voiced ode to dreams.

With her musical alias as a fun play on words meaning 'metro rider', ‘Evenings’ is a seamless and insular night-time journey from Metoronori, real name Hikari Okuyama. The journey though isn't charting train tunnels and rail tracks, but various dreamscapes, as underpinned by electronics and hints of free jazz.

While musical influences are too broad to pin down for such a singular sound, ‘Evenings’ comes with visual inspiration from esteemed directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Fritz Lang. Surrealism and noir bleed through the sounds, making for the visual texture of an out-of-context movie scene, much like part of a dream.

Dream pop sounds merge with ambient pads, soft vocals and oniric instrumentals throughout the whole piece, on a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings. An album to enjoy from start to finish, paying attention to detail as every sound on the records sums up to the overall meaning of the concept.

For their second release of 2021 Haven are proud to welcome four brand new talents to the label for the fourth edition of their "Sardonic Tonality" VA compilation series.

French production powerhouse and central Wrongnotes member Makornik launches the record at full-steam-ahead with his heavy roller "Funky Transfusion" on the A1. Perfectly tuned drum rhythms, tense risers and an addictive vocal loop propel this opener forward with precise production techniques guaranteed to give dancers itchy feet. This is followed by a quirky stomper from NYC-based party starter Buzzi, a founding member of Brooklyn's seminal Black Hole event series, with "Blablazo" on the A2. Driving Schranz kicks, an uplifting synth melody and squelchy alien percussion elements combine in another dance-floor number ripe for the return of nightlife over the coming year.

London-based Greek rising talent and Repitch signee MarcelDune picks up the tempo on the B1 with rave destruction in "Distorted Perception". Rolling basslines, relentless drum patterns, wailing synth design and crunchy vocals fuse together in another colourful smasher that demands moving feet. Finally upcoming Irish artist Ceili closes the record with his distinctive broken-beat bruiser "Intinn Do Cheann" following from his outing on Lobster Theremin last year. Peculiar, droning atmospheres, speedy drum programming, and a cheeky synth melody interplay to closer out another VA ready to light up international dance-floors.