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THE DYNAMICS • DRAG’N'FLY
by VINCENT HELLO.

Jamaica, 1960s. Ska artists, rock steady and reggae take back some soul songs of the United States, thus giving their versions that will in turn become future classics. The hits of the moment are also seasoned with Jamaican sauce, no matter where it comes from Original, pop, country, jazz... The rhythms of the island permanently transform the tracks of origin. In 2024, with their third album called Dragn'fly and decorated with a beautiful dragonfly (a "dragonfly" so in the language of King Tubby) the Dynamics honour Jamaican tradition and dynamite 10 versions of hits from yesterday and today. The Dragonfly spread his wings reggae, soul, funk to land in all headsets at the heart of good stereos and on spicy dancefloors. Because this dragonfly is a true superfly that speaks to the heart... and legs.

After two albums whose success led them to walk the globe of Glastonbury in Tokyo, honoured by the large elders (the first part of Lee Perry here, a regular dj support of Don Letts over there) the Dynamics are alive so their 'soul reggae vocal sound system” in front of audiences specializing in Jamaican or to those who are who were lucky enough to meet them by chance in Chemical Brothers... or Lady Gaga.

The Dynamics have forgotten the weight of ancestors to make their own recipe. They proclaim it, they are Sound System! The voices of Mounam, Steve Levi and Mr Day are in the front row, so making lovers, preachers, crooners and crooners to Turns of Duty, while Fab Master Flab all in one of the roots and futuristic echos. But if the mind is a sound system, the dynamics sounds also as a group through instruments live performances that plunge the tracks into a fervor unique. And then there are the hits, so, from all times and of all styles.
The low rider becomes toaster and leaves the road a American carried by these vocal harmonies Sky to take the exit Kingston. On the roadside, the joker delivers his lovers soft rock after a small detour to Muscle Shoal, The time to borrow a guitar from Duane Allman. In the south again, Mounam “Mrs Dynamics” meets the spirit of «Mr Dynamite» and tells him his radical, soul version. “ man’s world...” inna digital style! The spiritual anthem “you got to have freedom” by Master Pharoah Sanders becomes a universal skank, pop and dub who sends resounding high its universal message Dance! The dynamics are mutating the classic of ESG into a small, minimal pop bomb that is not without resemblance to the Neptunes of Mr Pharell Williams. On the edge of the track, Peter Gabriel sees his “Sledgehammer” groover as he does could imagine it and dissolve into sublime soul scrolls. Later, “After laughter...” soul classic celebrated and sampled Born into a rock steady air promised also to eternity. JJ Cale’s "cocaine," leaves its on the dancefloor for a reggae disco version, necessarily! And then, we must conclude. So it’s time to send an original title. It will be "Rubba Sub", to the aromas of sleng teng, which proves that far from the hits, the Dynamics deploys same layouts to deliver fresh and authentic sounds. And when the dub echoes evaporated, that the riddims have been silent, only remains an album majestic, in turn a future classic, full of unique Dynamics sound that mixes with instinct the echoes of yesterday to its own voices today.

"Le retour à la raison" is an ablum by Teho Teardo"s originally released in 2015. An album that brings together the music written for three Man Ray films. Not a traditional musical accompaniment but a kind of appointment in space with Man Ray. In space, music responds to only one law: truth. Here the relationship between the music and the films is perhaps the most intimate ever achieved by the composer and it is significant that it takes place with silent films in which the director cannot be present. The silent film directors are all dead, missing for decades, and must be intercepted in the cosmos, through the dreams, desires and emotional legacy of their works, like stars shining with their own light. The music is a constellation in a mysterious and seductive world and documents the experience of encountering Man Ray"s art. The project, recorded between March 2014 and May 2015 in Teardo"s Rome studio, mixed and mastered by Boris Wilsdorf at the Anderebaustelle studio in Berlin, was initially conceived for live performance. Presented at Villa Manin, the Maxxi in Rome and the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin, as well as the International Arts Festival in Galway, the album also features Joachim Arbeit (Einsturzende Neubauten), Joe Lally (Fugazi) and David Coulter. The three films by Man Ray that inspired Teardo are "La Retour à la Raison" (1923), "Emak Bakia" (1926) and "L"etoile de Mer" (1928) were also screened during the concerts that followed the album release.

Released on October 25th as a limited-edition double AA 7” on limited edition “Death Grey” vinyl, "Death Grip Kids" is The Lovely Eggs at their most punk rock. Kicking and screaming and stamping their way through three minutes of righteously pissed off fury. With more out of this world artwork by illustrator Casey Raymond, the Double AA features a re-release of their digital single “Memory Man” (which has not been previously available on 7” vinyl until now). ‘Memory Man’ shows the Eggs at their hypnotic, Can-like best. David’s drums lock into a flawless Krautrock inspired groove, whilst Holly’s vocals hang ethereally over the song’s swirling, mesmerising psychedelia. The strictly limited edition 7" also features one of the band’s first ever songs “True Grit” from 2005 which will not be available digitally and can only be heard by buying this vinyl. Both A-sides come from the band’s new album Eggsistentialism, released in May 2024. Recorded by the band at home in Lancaster with production work from Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann, the results are without doubt the most expansive, mind-melting ten songs the band have delivered yet. They head out on the final leg of their Eggsistentialism tour in October with support from Psych Poppers ‘British Birds’ as well as performance poet ‘Violet Malice’

Mit seiner nunmehr 10. Platte für Exile On Mainstream (die 'Suiciety' Single und das Trialogos-Album "Stroh zu Gold" einfach mal mitgezählt) braucht Conny wohl weder eine Einführung, noch eine oberflächliche Bejubelung. "Troubadour" würde das auch nicht gerecht, denn selten hat man den in Deutschland und Italien lebenden Künstler so reduziert, deep und nahbar erlebt. Die Platte ist eine Hinwendung zu seinen Wurzeln als Solokünstler, der mit spärlicher Instrumentierung und bedingungsloser Ehrlichkeit ganze Kathedralen mit Emotionen füllen kann. Nach eher experimentellen Ausflügen auf "Wahn und Sinn", seinem vielbeachteten deutschsprachigen Album aus 2023 und dem eher opulent instrumentierten "Doom Folk" von 2019 ist "Troubadour" nun wieder ein reines Singer/Songwriter-Album geworden. Eine Gitarre, eine Stimme - mehr braucht es nicht. Conny beschreibt es selbst wie folgt: "Meine Idee war, ein Album zu machen, das den minimalistischen Ansatz von Raw Love Songs und Black Happy aufgreift, aber zugleich das widerspiegelt, was ich heute erlebe. Konzerte sind für mich immer das Herz meiner Musik, deshalb wollte ich Stücke schreiben, die ich jederzeit und überall spielen kann - in Clubs, auf Festivals oder unterwegs, unter den geringsten Anforderungen. Ich hatte eine Platte im Kopf, die Raum zum Atmen und Zuhören bietet, damit man die Details der erzählten Bilder erkennen kann." Für Fans von Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Elliott Smith

RIYL: Don Cherry, Alice Coltrane, Remi Álvarez, Juma Sultan's Aboriginal Music Society, Horace Tapscott. Atrás del Cosmos were a central force in Mexico City's creative arts community, and often considered the first free jazz group in the country. Founded by a trio composed of pianist Ana Ruiz, percussionist Evry Mann, and saxophonist Henry West, the ensemble was prolific in mentoring a generation of improvisers, cultivating an expanded additive roster, and organizing workshops in downtown Mexico City including inviting Don Cherry to play and instruct on his "organic music" approach in 1977. Between 1977 and 1983, the group lived and rehearsed in a residential space behind the Cosmos theater, hence their celestial-tinged name. But despite their central importance to the local scene, Atrás was rarely recorded and had a scant international presence, leaving behind just a single cassette before their disbandment. Now issued on LP for the first time, the aforementioned tape Cold Drinks, Hot Dreams is a red-hot recording documenting the core group plus double-bassist Claudio Enriquez performing live in 1980, a delirious improvisation with high peaks and low valleys, sucking in an amalgam of influences including New York loft style, Mexican folk music, and the surrealism of Alejandro Jodorowsky into its heady gravitational pull. Ruiz's playing style is virtuosic and expressive, pulling off monumental chords and using the piano's whole register, recalling Cecil Taylor's percussive approach, Matthew Shipp's emotive voicing, and Duke Ellington's mystifying arabesques. Evry Mann dabbles in polyrhythms in tracks like the solo marimba meditation "Clapping Music II," and Henry West wails heavy in the show-stopping cut "M.D." Now finally available after forty years, the music of Atrás del Cosmos will be sure to stun spiritual jazz veterans and newcomers alike3

Was haben Motörhead, Refused, Rage against the Machine, AC/DC und Green Day gemeinsam? Es mag vielleicht verwundern, aber sie haben allesamt Songs mit Texten, die ziemlich gut im Kontext eines Widerstands gegen eine Epoche funktionieren, die immer mehr durch herzlosen Nationalismus, Rassismus, Faschismus und Egoismus gekennzeichnet ist. Das Leben im Europa des Jahres 2024 kann einem schon den Rest geben: In immer mehr Ländern wühlen Politiker*innen den Dreck auf, der schon längst hätte abgeschafft werden sollen - oder der zumindest kollektiv verachtet gehört. Doch eines muss man sich unbedingt ins Gedächtnis rufen: just because you got the power, heißt nicht, dass man recht hat. Tagtäglich wird einem heute eine neue dumme Idee um die Ohren gehauen. Meistens geht es darum, diejenigen nach unten zu treten, die eh schon am Boden liegen. Für Otto Normalverbraucher, der sich von der Gesellschaft betrogen fühlt, ist das reines TNT. Das Gefühl ist bisweilen nachvollziehbar, doch bitte wann sind die Verbreitung von Angst, das Bauen von Mauern und die Zerstörung von Bildungssystemen zur Lösung für Alles geworden? Seit wann ist ein menschliches Wesen aufgrund seiner Ethnie, seines Geschlechts, seiner sexuellen Orientierung oder seines Glaubens weniger wert? Unsere Antwort ist kurz und knapp: Wann immer irgendwer versucht, uns hier auf Linie zu bringen, entgegnen wir: fuck you, we won"t do what you tell us. Was also tun? Sind wir die einzigen, die sich in einer Welt, die sich spiralförmig in den Abgrund dreht, wie basket cases, also absolut verloren fühlen? Hoffentlich nicht. Und wenn wir eines gelernt haben, dann, dass im Produzieren, Spielen und Hören von Musik ein mächtiger Zauber liegen kann. Es gibt weniges, was so wirksam für sozialen Kit sorgt. Deshalb sind wir unglaublich stolz und freuen uns extrem, wieder ein neues Hellsongs-Album zu präsentieren. Für uns ist es ein Lichtstrahl in äußerst dunklen Zeiten. Zusätzlich zu den Cover-Versionen gibt es auch vier eigene neue Songs, die mehr oder weniger dasselbe Themenfeld abdecken. Mehr Vocals, mehr Drums, allgemein mehr Instrumente, gespielt von einer noch größeren Gang mit noch mehr Wut im Bauch als je zuvor. Hoffentlich gefällt"s euch. Wir lieben es! Lassen wir diese abgründigen Zeiten hinter uns und gehen wir gemeinsam in eine gleichberechtigte Zukunft! Eins wissen wir jedenfalls genau: We would rather be dead, als es gar nicht erst versucht zu haben. See you on the road!

Was haben Motörhead, Refused, Rage against the Machine, AC/DC und Green Day gemeinsam? Es mag vielleicht verwundern, aber sie haben allesamt Songs mit Texten, die ziemlich gut im Kontext eines Widerstands gegen eine Epoche funktionieren, die immer mehr durch herzlosen Nationalismus, Rassismus, Faschismus und Egoismus gekennzeichnet ist. Das Leben im Europa des Jahres 2024 kann einem schon den Rest geben: In immer mehr Ländern wühlen Politiker*innen den Dreck auf, der schon längst hätte abgeschafft werden sollen - oder der zumindest kollektiv verachtet gehört. Doch eines muss man sich unbedingt ins Gedächtnis rufen: just because you got the power, heißt nicht, dass man recht hat. Tagtäglich wird einem heute eine neue dumme Idee um die Ohren gehauen. Meistens geht es darum, diejenigen nach unten zu treten, die eh schon am Boden liegen. Für Otto Normalverbraucher, der sich von der Gesellschaft betrogen fühlt, ist das reines TNT. Das Gefühl ist bisweilen nachvollziehbar, doch bitte wann sind die Verbreitung von Angst, das Bauen von Mauern und die Zerstörung von Bildungssystemen zur Lösung für Alles geworden? Seit wann ist ein menschliches Wesen aufgrund seiner Ethnie, seines Geschlechts, seiner sexuellen Orientierung oder seines Glaubens weniger wert? Unsere Antwort ist kurz und knapp: Wann immer irgendwer versucht, uns hier auf Linie zu bringen, entgegnen wir: fuck you, we won"t do what you tell us. Was also tun? Sind wir die einzigen, die sich in einer Welt, die sich spiralförmig in den Abgrund dreht, wie basket cases, also absolut verloren fühlen? Hoffentlich nicht. Und wenn wir eines gelernt haben, dann, dass im Produzieren, Spielen und Hören von Musik ein mächtiger Zauber liegen kann. Es gibt weniges, was so wirksam für sozialen Kit sorgt. Deshalb sind wir unglaublich stolz und freuen uns extrem, wieder ein neues Hellsongs-Album zu präsentieren. Für uns ist es ein Lichtstrahl in äußerst dunklen Zeiten. Zusätzlich zu den Cover-Versionen gibt es auch vier eigene neue Songs, die mehr oder weniger dasselbe Themenfeld abdecken. Mehr Vocals, mehr Drums, allgemein mehr Instrumente, gespielt von einer noch größeren Gang mit noch mehr Wut im Bauch als je zuvor. Hoffentlich gefällt"s euch. Wir lieben es! Lassen wir diese abgründigen Zeiten hinter uns und gehen wir gemeinsam in eine gleichberechtigte Zukunft! Eins wissen wir jedenfalls genau: We would rather be dead, als es gar nicht erst versucht zu haben. See you on the road!

Back in print, on white & purple splatter vinyl!

Hailing from Buffalo, NY, Head North has used their indie-influenced pop-punk to break out of the local scene and demand the attention of a national audience. Packing in sentiments as big as their sound, the band hits home with walls of guitar lines, frenetic punk rock drums and an emotional complexity anchored behind their lyrics. Singer Brent Martone hits raspy notes of anger and sadness, knowing when to shriek and when to soften, adding a layer of versatile energy to back up his passion.

RIYL: The Dangerous Summer, Brand New, Have Mercy

Blending elements of post-hardcore, emo and Southern-tinged indie rock, Microwave balance frankness with a penchant for wit, allowing for seemingly standard personal confessions to make a significant and striking impact. While often tipping into the heavier side of resonant punk, the band shines brightest in soft reservation. Their self-released debut album Stovall feels like a snapshot in time, bringing to mind that same unforgettable feeling that albums like Jimmy Eat World’s Bleed American, Manchester Orchestra’s I’m Like A Virgin Losing A Child and Taking Back Sunday’s Tell All Your Friends did years ago.

RIYL: Manchester Orchestra, All Get Out, Taking Back Sunday"

The French group consolidates its soul, rock and Americana roots in a liberating and timeless second album.

In 2021, Lowland Brothers, the first self-titled album from the group led by Nico Duportal (vocals, guitars, lyrics), Hugo Deviers (percussion, guitar, lyrics) and Max Genouel (bass, keyboards) built an unprecedented transatlantic bridge between soul, rock and the woody sounds of Americana. " We have some

African-American, but our desire is to transport this baggage and take it elsewhere,” specifies the group from the West and North of France.

Strange Power!, the fifth record from Durham, NC-based songwriter and poet Anne Malin Ringwalt, emerges from the darkest waters of the self into a world remade. Releasing in conjunction with her second book of poetry, What Floods (Inside the Castle, Oct. 2024), Strange Power! overflows with Ringwalt's teeming and sensuous personal symbolry: glowing lilacs and gentle queens, dolphins wild and girls who grew up brave _ T.S. Eliot sung by Cat Power, backed by Mount Eerie. She sings: "I rose up from water." Ringwalt writes and performs with the authority of a lifetime spent harnessing the alchemy of storytelling; her belief in the power of words to heal and transform is palpable in each achingly- delivered lyric. Made amidst profound inner and outer change, Strange Power! also sees Ringwalt taking up the role of self-producer for the first time, mirroring and supporting the record's Orphic quest by gathering contributions from a coterie of friends wielding an electric range of American instruments. Violins, vibraphones, drum machines, electric guitars dappled with spring reverb, wind-blown shells, and a host of other numinous sounds form an unfurling and shadowy world which was then carefully honed during the mixing process (shepherded by Michael Cormier-O'Leary and Lucas Knapp) _ settling the final record in an eerie meridian between spareness and verdancy. The result is a beguiling and darkly blooming realm: the sound of a personal cosmos being remade, piece by piece. Ringwalt is at the height of her spirit as both songwriter-poet and singer, her willowy voice by turns conjuring and keening as she reckons with her deep past and the stories told since. Opening track "The Pines" sets the stage for a record of truly life-long scope: "I was a child, now I hold her / I was asleep for many years." Some songs, like the gorgeous "North Carolina" and "The Saint," were written as early as 2013 but, Ringwalt says, "insisted upon being remembered" as the record took shape; in its final form, they serve as inciting moments of self-discovery before the journey to come. "The Visionary" recalls one of Ringwalt's earliest musical breakthroughs _ her re-rendering of an Emily Brontë poem into a song at age 15 _ and, she says, "`cites' the melody of that song in the context of this new one _ a holding of the past and present and every layer in between/beyond, in utter solitude _ a solitude that reflects certain aspects of abandon as a child and an adult..." This unusually lengthy time-scale lends Strange Power! a deeply moving sense of narrative fullness. Stretches of the record _ particularly the "Judgment Day" ? "River" ? "Lilac Bloom" trifecta that form the black heart of Side 1 _ may recall familiar wanderings of personal underworlds such as Mount Eerie's Lost Wisdom Pt. 2 or Neil Young's Ditch Trilogy. Yet this hollowed landscape is in turn exorcized by the a capella "I Know," in which Ringwalt sings "I won't be gutted by you / For giving and trying to heal / I won't be gutted, I am not a fool / I deserve a love that is new" before the song concludes with a piano passage that recalls hymnal music _ suggesting a faith in life itself to offer new beginnings. Side 2 features some of Ringwalt's most powerfully introspective writing to date, as the songwriter casts off myth after myth in her search for personal transformation. By the final song, "Stories," the energy that has been gathering all throughout the record breaks loose as Ringwalt reflects: "I wrote so many stories, not knowing what the end was." But at this stage in the journey, we know there is no such thing as an ending; if the healing process is never complete, the storyteller's strange power is what finally offers liberation.

Geplant war es von Omega damals logischer Weise nicht, die eigene Karriere in Genre-Phasen einzuteilen. So etwas machen später Musikjournalisten und Fans - und unter ihnen besonders die Statistiker. Nach deren Lesart gilt die zweite Hälfte der Siebziger als Space-Rock-Ära der ungarischen Band. Abgebildet wird sie durch die Trilogie "Time Robber" (1976), "Skyrover" (1978) und schließlich "Gammapolis" (1979). Zwar waren sphärische Klänge bereits davor und auch danach noch im Schaffen des Budapester Quintetts zu vernehmen, derart konzeptionell fokussiert zeigten sich Omega jedoch tatsächlich nur auf diesem Triple. Nimmt man die Erfolgs-LP "Time Robber" weiterhin als Qualitätsmaßstab, hielt auch "Gammapolis" mühelos mit. Die Kompositionen der Gruppe um Sänger Jànos Kòbor waren melancholischer geworden, die bittersüßen Melodien schmeichelten. Das galt besonders für den siebenminütigen Opener "Dawn In The City" ("Hajnal a város felett"), dem Titelsong "Gammapolis" und "Silver Rain" ("Ezüst esö"). Zwischen der westeuropäischen, englischsprachigen Version und dem ungarischen "Original" gibt es neben dem Gesang und der Sprache in der Titelreihenfolge und bei der Songlänge einige kleine Unterschiede. Minimal ließen Omega die instrumentalen Passagen einiger Stücke auf der Muttersprachenvariante länger fließen. Für die westeuropäischen Omega-Platten-Käufer jedoch hatten diese feinen Unterschiede keine Relevanz, kannten sie meist die ungarischen Songs gar nicht. Ebenso wenig dürften sie registriert haben, dass GAMMAPOLIS in Omegas Heimat mit fast einer dreiviertel Million Einheiten die am besten verkaufte LP der Band-Karriere wurde. Das deutsche Cover-Artwork wich jedoch von der ungarischen Version erheblich ab: Zeigte die Bacillus/Bellaphon-Variante die Silhouetten der Musiker vor einem von Flak-Scheinwerfern durchschnittenen Nachthimmel, war auf dem Pepita-Album offenbar die zwar futuristische, allerdings auch karge Welt auf einem fremden Planeten zu sehen.

After a nine year hiatus SUN AND SAIL CLUB are back and they've come back swinging! This album is more aggressive than the previous album, as if that was even possible. Same line-up as before featuring Scott Reeder (FU MANCHU/SMILE) on drums, Scott Reeder (KYUSS/THE OBSESSED/FIREBALL MINISTRY) on bass, Bob Balch (FU MANCHU/SLOWER/BIG SCENIC NOWHERE/YAWNING BALCH) on guitar and Tony Adolescent (THE ADOLESCENTS) on vocals. The album starts with a mellow jazz guitar piece and then proceeds to rip your face off until the end of the album, which closes with another solo jazz guitar piece. "Shipwrecked" is their strongest album yet. Fully realized and to the point. Fast and dissonant. "This album is a compilation of riffs collected over a nine year period. Most of the songs were written last year but some of them have been floating around for a while. There is a general sense of unease throughout. I wanted to make an album that went one step further than "The Great White Dope." The songs are faster and more intense at times. It's basically the soundtrack of me beating the shit out of my guitar. Then you factor in Scott Reeder on drums, Scott Reeder on bass and Tony Adolescent on vocals and you've got something more than I could have imagined by myself. This album is raw and pummeling. If you're a glutton for punishment this might be your desert Island record." - Bob Balch Recorded at Jim Monroe's The Racket Room, Casa De Balch, and Scott Reeder's The Sanctuary

Red vinyl, limited to 300 copies. After a nine year hiatus SUN AND SAIL CLUB are back and they've come back swinging! This album is more aggressive than the previous album, as if that was even possible. Same line-up as before featuring Scott Reeder (FU MANCHU/SMILE) on drums, Scott Reeder (KYUSS/THE OBSESSED/FIREBALL MINISTRY) on bass, Bob Balch (FU MANCHU/SLOWER/BIG SCENIC NOWHERE/YAWNING BALCH) on guitar and Tony Adolescent (THE ADOLESCENTS) on vocals. The album starts with a mellow jazz guitar piece and then proceeds to rip your face off until the end of the album, which closes with another solo jazz guitar piece. "Shipwrecked" is their strongest album yet. Fully realized and to the point. Fast and dissonant. "This album is a compilation of riffs collected over a nine year period. Most of the songs were written last year but some of them have been floating around for a while. There is a general sense of unease throughout. I wanted to make an album that went one step further than "The Great White Dope." The songs are faster and more intense at times. It's basically the soundtrack of me beating the shit out of my guitar. Then you factor in Scott Reeder on drums, Scott Reeder on bass and Tony Adolescent on vocals and you've got something more than I could have imagined by myself. This album is raw and pummeling. If you're a glutton for punishment this might be your desert Island record." - Bob Balch Recorded at Jim Monroe's The Racket Room, Casa De Balch, and Scott Reeder's The Sanctuary

Als Baby Woodrose 2016 eine Pause einlegte, änderte Frontmann und Songwriter Lorenzo Woodrose seinen Namen in seinen richtigen Namen Uffe Lorenzen. Er wechselte auch in seine Muttersprache Dänisch und veröffentlichte von 2017 bis 2021 drei Soloalben. Danach gründete er ein neues Power-Trio mit seinen alten Freunden Palle Demant am Bass und Jens Eyde am Schlagzeug. Die neue Band nannte sich Lydsyn und veröffentlichte 2022 ihr selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum. Jetzt schreiben wir das Jahr 2024 und die Band ist bereit, ihr zweites Album mit dem Titel ,Hojspændt" (was man mit Hochspannung übersetzen könnte) zu veröffentlichen, und das ist sicherlich ein passender Titel. Das Album wurde im berühmten Sweet Silence Studio in Kopenhagen von dem legendären Produzenten Flemming Rasmussen aufgenommen, der sich vor allem durch seine Arbeit an den Alben ,Ride The Lightning" und ,Master Of Puppets" von Metallica einen Namen gemacht hat.Lydsyn hat sich dem analogen Hörerlebnis verschrieben. Keine Backing Tracks, Auto-Tune oder Pro-Tools und ,all der Scheiß", wie die Band es ausdrücken würde. Abgesehen von ein paar Overdubs wurden die 10 Songs live im Studio aufgenommen und das merkt man auch an der dynamischen Performance. Die Songs auf ,Hojspændt" sind noch härter als die auf dem Debütalbum, und der Hardrock-Aspekt wurde aufgedreht, während die psychedelische Seite zurückgedreht wurde. Unter all dem Gepolter haben die Songs aber auch eine eingängige Seite, die sich schon nach wenigen Durchläufen im Gehirn festsetzt. Für Fans von Monster Magnet, QOTSA, Wolfmother ,Hojspændt" wird am 25. Oktober auf Vinyl und digitalen Plattformen veröffentlicht. ,Musik Er Nummer 1" wird als erste digitale Single am 6. September veröffentlicht, begleitet von einem Live-Video, das bei zwei ausverkauften Shows im Loppen in Kopenhagen im April dieses Jahres aufgenommen wurde.

Kaum eine Hardrock-Band hat in den letzten Jahren so abgeräumt wie die Ladies von THUNDERMOTHER! Ihr Album "Heat Wave" (2020) erreichte Platz 6 der deutschen Albumcharts (und später einen beeindruckenden Chart-Wiedereinstieg (Platz 16) mit der Erweiterung "Heat Wave Deluxe"). Nicht mal die Corona-Pandemie konnte die Band komplett ausbremsen und so spielte man u.a. Konzerte vom Dach eines Feuerwehr-Trucks. THUNDERMOTHER sind für die Bühne geboren, ihre energiegeladenen Liveshows muss man gesehen haben. Mit Ecken, Kanten, Attitude und einem feinen Händchen für große Melodien spielt sich die Band Schritt für Schritt Richtung Rock-Olymp. Und dieser kann nun, mit dem am 19.08.2022 erscheinenden neuen Album "Black And Gold", eingenommen werden. Die Band um Frontfrau Guernica Mancini fackelt ein wahres Hit-Feuerwerk ab. Die erste Single "Watch Out" sendete bereits die richtige Message: Achtung, hier sind THUNDERMOTHER und "Black And Gold" ist ihr Meisterwerk!

Recorded in Memphis, 1960-62 by Home of the Blues Record Company – sixteen tracks of vintage rocking Memphis blues that went unissued at the label’s demise and were lost in a warehouse, ultimately rediscovered and released by Acoustic Archives.

All now remastered to perfection by Oz Fritz and a team of A&R experts working with the original masters, including ones made by Sam Phillips Recording Studios in Memphis.

Featuring the superb arrangements of trumpeter Willie Mitchell, accompanying some of the best singers of the day, with guitar by Sammy Lawhorn, bass by Lewi Steinberg and drums by AI Jackson Jr. Recorded in glorious mono by Scotty Moore at Sam Phillips Recording Service.

Each artist bio had been thoroughly researched under the guidance of Acoustic Archives producer Marc Ryan with the assistance of Dr. Dave Evans, head musicologist at Memphis State U. The story provided in the 12-page booklet includes how these cuts eventually surfaced from the early 1960s and features the photos and commentary on the recording artists, with how the original owners of the Home of The Blues Record Shop, once at 107 Beale Street, worked at the recordings.

Elias Rønnenfelt is a musician and poet best known as the lead singer and lyricist of Iceage. Heavy Glory is his debut solo album. Out October 25th via Escho. Heavy Glory was recorded in Copenhagen in chapters and moments over the course of a year. Collaborators include Iceage's Dan Kjær Nielsen, Danish punk godfather Peter Peter, and singers Joanne Robertson (Elias and Joanne have collaborated before, on a number of recent Dean Blunt releases) and Fauzia. "I've done this so many times," Rønnenfelt explains, speaking of the process of crafting a long player, "but capturing and crystallising an album remains a singular ritual, just with different circumstances. We are capturing something that is hard to hold down." Heavy Glory is a record that examines all the things that lovers do, from the most desperate to the most pure. The lover haunts the record, reappearing and provoking Rønnenfelt, pulling him in and pushing him away. Songs like "Close" describe the line between jealousy and protectiveness. "Unarmed" is a song of surrender. "River of Madeleine" harnesses toughness in the name of preservation, staying up all night to protect his lover's dreams. "Stalker" is an epic third-person story song in the tradition of the murder ballad. The record closes with two covers. The first, Spacemen 3's "Sound of Confusion," is a mission statement of the life Rønnenfelt has found and inherited in music. "Here it comes," the song famously promises, and flares out into noise. It is a joyful noise, because this life, in all its grit, is the life he chose. The second, Townes Van Zandt's "No Place to Fall," is a sweet plea, Rønnenfelt's final invitation to join him on his journey. This journey - this story, this record - will repeat and continue. It never stops. Rønnenfelt's life as an artist results in a sound that wobbles and rocks but never loses its centre, both fragile and tough, and always moving forward. It is dreamy yet bombastic, held together by the passion of certainty. Co-produced by Rønnenfelt and Nis Bysted.

Somehow, 15 years has passed since I worked on A Colour For Autumn.

This recording was, in many ways, a critical one for me. In some respects, it rounded out a period of work that was focused on a particular marriage of thematics and harmony. Like For Varying Degrees Of Winter, it dwelled on old world impressions of the seasons, something that, in the southern hemisphere, isn’t intrinsically part of our way of approaching place. I think it was this incongruity with my own lived experience that kick started the interest in making these recordings.

The intention had originally been to take Vivaldi head-on , as the holder of the Four Seasons terrain (I jest of course), but shortly after completing this album, it became resoundingly clear that even in the old world, seasonality was a thing that was known ‘then’, and unknowable ‘now’.

Climate change, as a lived experience and not merely as a ‘possibility’, suddenly came into focus with reports flooding in about the climatic dynamics since the turn of the century and events like the Black Saturday fires here in Australia. It felt like, and continues to feel like, seasonality as some predictable measure of our world is relegated to the ‘before’ times. This record is not about these climatic shifts however, more a recognition of how we have used patterns and predictability to guide us over the centuries and perhaps a realisation that the way forward is not the path we have known historically.

Listening back to the record with fresh ears, a process made completely delightful by Stephan Mathieu who has carefully remastered it, I am struck by how minimal some of the structures were. There are moments that strike me as uncharacteristically patient and even generous, allowing one element to hold without interference. I’m grateful to still feel a deep connection to this edition and to the people and places that helped shape it.

I hope you find some sense of your place here. It’s offered with that intention and invitation.

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

REPRESS

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

Der hebräische Surf-Grunger kehrt zurück! End of Teenage Charlie fängt Megiras Berliner Jahre mit den BetShe'an Valley Hillbillies ein, kurz vor seinem Tod. Eine Zeitreise, ein fünf Lieder langes Gitarren-Krimi-Album, das Dick Dale ebenso viel wie David Lynch verdankt. Diese erweiterte Ausgabe zum 10-jährigen Jubiläum enthält auch das 11-Song-Demo, auf dem Megiras vertraute Themen wie Drive-Inn Melancholie, Stranddecken-Bongos und dem Treiben in der Wüste in seinem Schlafzimmer erforscht werden. Lass ihn in dein Ohr flüstern.

Der hebräische Surf-Grunger kehrt zurück! End of Teenage Charlie fängt Megiras Berliner Jahre mit den BetShe'an Valley Hillbillies ein, kurz vor seinem Tod. Eine Zeitreise, ein fünf Lieder langes Gitarren-Krimi-Album, das Dick Dale ebenso viel wie David Lynch verdankt. Diese erweiterte Ausgabe zum 10-jährigen Jubiläum enthält auch das 11-Song-Demo, auf dem Megiras vertraute Themen wie Drive-Inn Melancholie, Stranddecken-Bongos und dem Treiben in der Wüste in seinem Schlafzimmer erforscht werden. Lass ihn in dein Ohr flüstern.

In 2007 an Italian film festival invites Mouse on Mars to score a film of their choice. The organizers claim to be able to clear the rights for any movie the band chooses. Werner Herzog’s fictional documentary Fata Morgana, which merges footage of several desert explorations by Herzog and his team into one continuous association, has long been a band’s favorite. The film comes with a soundtrack by Mozart, Leonard Cohen, Third Ear Band and field recordings. Andi Toma and Jan St. Werner are sent a DVD to Düsseldorf and start working. The idea is to score the film in real time so instrumentation has to be readily at hand: guitar, percussion, electronics, mouth harp, pedals, software, tapes, samplers. Once the arrangement for the three-part film is sorted Mouse on Mars bring their score to stage. Herzog Sessions is performed twice: first when the band still thought the rights had been cleared, and a second time at London’s Southbank Center knowing that Herzog would have never approved a new score.

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Mouse On Mars – London Queen Elizabeth Hall soundtracking Werner Herzog.
By Mike Diver, 24.04.2009

Filmed in 1971, Fata Morgana is perhaps not one of Herzog’s best-known works (think Grizzly Man, Rescue Dawn, et cetera…), but then Mouse on Mars have never been ones to embrace the mainstream, quietly letting their modern, experimental take on krautrock do the talking over the years, thus producing some quietly brilliant electronica that far outweighs their modest profile.

The film itself is not altogether dissimilar to the wonderful, Phillip Glass-scored Koyaanisqatsi, with sweeping landscape shots and no obvious plot or narrative, though Fata is concentrated purely in one place – in and around the Sahara Desert, switching from images of barren wasteland to desert tribes and dead, skeletal cattle.

The obvious thing to do when soundtracking such powerful imagery is to vie for dreamy electronic soundscapes which can be sustained for a long period, and whilst this ambient shoegaze approach was present and correct (also carefully constructed and highly effective), Mouse on Mars added a human element to the performance, incorporating a live dimension by using and looping guitars, harmonicas, processed vocals and even a live horn player (quite possibly a flugelhorn. Look it up if you don’t believe me) for the final section of the film.

Some of the most interesting points arose when the duo suddenly switched from solemn, ambient tones to glitchy, bouncing electro (reminiscent of their more upbeat work) whilst on the same film shot – causing the audience mood to flick from tripped-out bliss to attentive semi-wired, utterly subverting any idea of a narrative the film may have possessed. Clever stuff.

Ranging from sinister to surreal to humorous, all the moods portrayed in Fata Morgana were successfully matched by Mouse on Mars’ live rescore – no mean feat. The duo also went above and beyond the call of duty with their own soundtrack, adding a fascinating personal signature to an already unique film.

4 Jahre sind vergangen, seit "Endless Wound" Stigmata auf der Menschheit hinterlassen hat, aber seid sicher, Black Curse werden sich jetzt noch tiefer einschneiden. Eine Platte, die wegen ihrer ekstatischen Rücksichtslosigkeit und massiven fanatischen Bösartigkeit schockieren soll. Aber das was tief unter den Kompositionen schwebt, öffnet die Türen zu einer Welt, die so unglaublich groß ist, dass man Gefahr läuft, sich in ihr zu verlieren. Und diese Tiefen entziehen sich jeglicher Exegese.

4 Flüche wurden in 4 Hymnen absoluter Todesmagie verwoben. Und diese werden einen in den schwarzen Abgrund des großen Göttlichen führen. Das Album wurde erneut vom unbestrittenen Meister Arthur Rizk produziert, der mit seiner außergewöhnlich dichten und zerstörerischen Produktion mal wieder alle Erwartungen übertrifft. "Burning in Celestial Poison" klingt, als wäre es mit dunklen magischen Formeln aus einer sehr viel tieferen Welt erschaffen. Um die Erhabenheit dieses Albums zu erkennen, müssen andere Sichtweisen und Wertigkeiten definiert werden. In dieser Welt wird es als hässlich und bedrückend gelten. Und zwar von denjenigen, die nicht in der Lage sind, sich diesen bodenlosen Abgründen hinzugeben.
Es bricht absichtlich mit allen modernen Hörgewohnheiten, vermeidet alle Regeln der Songlänge und -struktur und erzielt genau dann das beste Ergebnis, wenn es in Dunkelheit und bei maximaler Lautstärke erlebt wird.

"Burning in Celestial Poison" beginnt, mäandert und endet mit einem prophetischen Grollen, das sicherlich aus der Welt stammt, der wir uns noch stellen müssen, nämlich der Welt in Flammen.

REISSUE of Sun And Sail Club sophomore album. The name might be the Sun and Sail club, but you'll find no yacht rock here. Instead of Michael McDonald, we have Bad Brains. Kenny Loggins? Hall and Oats? More like Matt Pike and Lemmy Fucking Kilmister. "The Great White Dope" is featuring members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and the Adolescents, containing 10 riff-filled tracks of high energy, bullshit-free punk and sleaze. The song writing on 'The Great White Dope' steers away from the experimental direction of their previous release, and it's laser focused on one thing: unapologetically rocking your face off. The vocoder is gone and they've recruited singer Tony Adolescent, who delivers balls to the wall vocals with no added effects or frills. The production, like the music itself, is loud, heavy, and beautifully simple. "This record is a direct result of my wife telling me she was pregnant with our son. As a first time father, panic set in and I wrote the album in two hours. I wasn't sure if I'd have a lot of time once he was born so I crammed as many frantic riffs into one album as possible. Looking back it's funny to listen to now, but at the time I was on a mission. Everyone killed it on this record and we recruited Tony Adolescent on vocals which is unreal to me." - Bob Balch

REISSUE of the Sun and Sail Club debut album with brand new artwork. Sun and Sail Club's debut album "Mannequin" embarks on territory that is both new and exciting. Not surprisingly, "Mannequin" spearheads the obvious future and progression of hard rock fury, bringing to the table the true professionalism and mastery, and dynamic musicianship that has been on full display from Fu Manchu, Kyuss and The Obsessed in years past, but also adds a completely new level of precision, technicality and accuracy to make an album that is almost completely flawless from start to finish. "Overall, this record is heavy and dark. It's Inspired by DEVO, VOIVOD, KRAFTWERK, TORCHE, SLAYER as much as it's inspired by ASWAD, JOE PASS and WES MONTGOMERY. I wanted a super heavy groove that would support angelic vocal harmonies. I think we achieved that." - Bob Balch New artwork made by Mirkow Gastow.

REISSUE of Sun And Sail Club sophomore album. The name might be the Sun and Sail club, but you'll find no yacht rock here. Instead of Michael McDonald, we have Bad Brains. Kenny Loggins? Hall and Oats? More like Matt Pike and Lemmy Fucking Kilmister. "The Great White Dope" is featuring members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, and the Adolescents, containing 10 riff-filled tracks of high energy, bullshit-free punk and sleaze. The song writing on 'The Great White Dope' steers away from the experimental direction of their previous release, and it's laser focused on one thing: unapologetically rocking your face off. The vocoder is gone and they've recruited singer Tony Adolescent, who delivers balls to the wall vocals with no added effects or frills. The production, like the music itself, is loud, heavy, and beautifully simple. "This record is a direct result of my wife telling me she was pregnant with our son. As a first time father, panic set in and I wrote the album in two hours. I wasn't sure if I'd have a lot of time once he was born so I crammed as many frantic riffs into one album as possible. Looking back it's funny to listen to now, but at the time I was on a mission. Everyone killed it on this record and we recruited Tony Adolescent on vocals which is unreal to me." - Bob Balch

REISSUE of the Sun and Sail Club debut album with brand new artwork. Sun and Sail Club's debut album "Mannequin" embarks on territory that is both new and exciting. Not surprisingly, "Mannequin" spearheads the obvious future and progression of hard rock fury, bringing to the table the true professionalism and mastery, and dynamic musicianship that has been on full display from Fu Manchu, Kyuss and The Obsessed in years past, but also adds a completely new level of precision, technicality and accuracy to make an album that is almost completely flawless from start to finish. "Overall, this record is heavy and dark. It's Inspired by DEVO, VOIVOD, KRAFTWERK, TORCHE, SLAYER as much as it's inspired by ASWAD, JOE PASS and WES MONTGOMERY. I wanted a super heavy groove that would support angelic vocal harmonies. I think we achieved that." - Bob Balch New artwork made by Mirkow Gastow.

Unlike most of Grant Green's many trio albums, Green Street, which was his second LP as a leader following Grant's First Stand, didn't make use of the organ or the piano, consisting instead of guitar-bass-drums format. Backed by such subtle players as Ben Tucker and Dave Bailey, Green could showcase his talents with no inhibition, making this one of the most remarkable works of his whole career. 180-GRAM COLORED BLUE VINYL - THE COMPLETE LP + 1 BONUS TRACK - Contains new specially prepared liner notes by Penguin Guide to Jazz's writer BRIAN MORTON and by Paris' prestigious JAZZ MAGAZINE. LIMITED EDITION







[f] Alone Together [Alt. Take]

Most bands after nearly 20 years of classic albums, touring , line-up changes and a definitive legacy might be forgiven for putting their feet up and kicking back for a while, but then most bands aren’t the juggernaut that is Motörhead. We Take No Prisoners takes in a collection of singles and promos from the period of 1996-2005, during which the band, now a taut powerful trio, continued on their relentless journey with even more of the same quality, ear-shredding riotous rock ‘n’ roll than ever before. This Box Set containing nine 7” records, brings together some of the classic singles from the era alongside rare and live material including a lost interview with Lemmy and Mikkey Dee. There is also a CD version that features all this alongside tracks exclusive to that format. Descriptions: - 7" Singles Box Set containing nine 7” singles (on black – eight 7” contain two tracks on each and one 7” interview with Lemmy/Mikkey Dee). - Standard digisleeve with 2CD with 20pp Booklet. Features several tracks exclusive to the CD edition only.

The new release continues to expand on Sorey’s ongoing partnership with Diehl, now their fourth album together. The trio presents the McCoy Tyner classic “Peresina” from his album Expansions; “A Chair in the Sky” from the Joni Mitchell album Mingus; “Bealtine” from Brad Mehldau; and “Your Good Lies,” a contemporary soul song from the group Vividry. Predictably, Sorey completely deconstructs these compositions, extracting and shuffling sections of the original recordings while arranging them into elaborate forms that morph constantly and unpredictably. The program is played without breaks, magnifying its focused intensity while creating a prodigious sense of scale more akin to a tone poem than a piano trio performance. It’s yet another manifestation of Sorey’s profound musical wizardry. Vinyl.

For fans of Michael Kiwunaka, Jon Batiste, Leon Bridges, Gregory Porter, and Mg.Kee. Full tour in the works for 2025 in North America and Europe. Collaborated with a wide range of artists including Jack White, Dwele, Slum Village, Black Milk, Foreign Exchange, 14KT, and Daru Jones. Former musical director for tours for Black Milk and Slum Village, throughout North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan. “From the Throne Room” is Abernathy’s fourth official LP, following the trilogy of “Monologue,” “Dialogue,” and “Epilogue,” released between 2016 and 2019. Aaron Abernathy has been firmly established in the modern soul scene for almost two decades, and he continues to elevate his craft as a songwriter and performer. His latest LP “From the Throne Room” once again demonstrates a rare ability to seamlessly shift between lyrical themes and musical styles, and it is his most inspired and uplifting album to date.
The turmoil caused by the pandemic was especially hard on touring musicians, and as a veteran musical director and bandleader who has regularly traversed the globe, Abernathy was certainly affected. Instead of wallowing in grief and darkness, he tapped into his gifts as a songwriter and lyricist to manifest light and optimism in his own life. As expressed on the opening track “New Relationship,” this “new way of seeing” kicked open some new creative doors for him as a musician and producer, with a wide variety of influences. The four-to-the-floor push of “A Reason to Smile” brings to mind 80’s post-disco boogie, “Show Off” shows off a modern rock edge, and the booming, driving energy in tunes like “Hope Song” and “Joy” is reminiscent of the electric 60’s soul of Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. With its catchy hooks, powerful lead vocals, and slick self-produced arrangements, “From the Throne Room” proves that Aaron Abernathy remains one of the most talented singer/songwriters of his generation in contemporary soul music.

Neue grün-rot-blau gestreifte Vinylausgabe des 2020er Debütalbums "Everything Seems Better Now" der Emo/Screamo-Punker Vs Self aus Los Angeles. Die Band konnte sich im kalifornischen DIY-Bereich schnell eine Fangemeinde aufbauen und sich mit dieser Debüt-LP, Tracks wie "Homesick", "Leave Everything", "Mourn" oder "Yesterday By Beatles Or: Imagine By Yoko Ono As Sung By John Lennon" sowie Millionen von digitalen Streams in den gesamten USA bekannt machen.

Polishing Peanuts DELUXE's first EP (November 2011) opened the door & created a buzz about the band's future projects. The 3 first tracks that came out in spring, started to tease the audience's interest, especially Daniel the EP's title track (out on May 13th) & the crazy video who came along with it. The long awaited LP drops on September 16th 2013, and goes by the sweet name of The DELUXE Family show.

This first album reflects the maturity acquired by the band during the years, full of tracks as diverse & breathtaking as the fellows mustaches. The jazzy touch, trademark of the band's first discographic adventures can be found on tracks Extra Mile & Bleed On, Indisposed (feat. Cyph4) & Pretty Flaws are melancholic & dreamy ballads, whereas Family Show & Baby (feat ASM) are hip hop bangers. The LP travels through different styles, it also features several mc's (Tumi on Too Me, Taiwan Mc on Blocked) and surprises the ears by easily skipping from dub step fuelled rock & roll vibes, to sweet & sour ballads, and even funky disco sounds. With eclecticism, assumed diversity and an urge to tell a story, DELUXE invites his listeners to immerse in this first album's universe, grooving, moving, bouncing, a real musical melting pot with various horizons.

Die Musikzeitschriften "Audio" und "Stereo Play" betitelten Lenny Mac Dowell als "Rockflötist Nummer eins in Deutschland".
Lenny Mac Dowell hatte unzählige Tourneen mit Musikern wie Manni von Bohr, Horst Stachelhaus (Birth Control), Peter Oehler, Mike Herting, Bodo Schopf (Michael Schenker Group) oder Zeus B. Held (Guru Guru), Clemens Winterhalter, Alex Grünwald und immer wieder Großproduktionen mit Musikern wie Pete York (Spencer Davis Group) und Wolfgang Schmid (Passport).
Eine Ära des musikalischen Experimentierens setzte sich unter eigener Produktion fort. Nach "Flying Torso" folgt "Balance Of Power", das mehr in die esoterischen Gefilde geht - feinste Meditationsmusik mit Ambient-Elementen. Auch das Album "The Farthest Shore" spiegelt die meditativen und esoterischen Klänge wider. 1987 veröffentlichte Lenny Mac Dowell in einem Gemeinschaftsprojekt mit Christoph Spendel "Autumn Breath" oder "Landscapes" (2015) und in den 90er Jahren bis heute "The Lost Paradise", "Echnatons Return", "Launch Control", "Get Ready", "Retrospective", "Lenny Goes India", "Look Of Love" und "Raja Yoga" Produktionen unter eigener Flagge.
"Vinyl Experience" eignet sich auch hervorragend als Referenz oder zum Testen Ihres Soundsystems, von der Plattenspieleranlage bis zu den Lautsprechern.

Step right up, ⁢dear music aficionados! Welcome to the melodic adventure of Penny’s Big Breakaway, the long-awaited kinetic 3D-platformer developed by Evening Star and published by Private Division (Take-Two Interactive).

The composer team behind‌ Sonic Mania, led by Tee Lopes, present a new masterpiece, crafted ‌with love and finesse. This colorful soundtrack features various vibes, from funk to rock with even house and EDM accents. So sit ⁣back, and let the‍ groovy waves wash over you.

„Cherry Blossom Baby“, Shigetos erstes Album seit 2017, entspringt einem kollektiven Tauwetter, ist ehrgeizig, kollaborativ und vollendet. Der in Detroit lebende, japanisch-amerikanische Musiker, DJ, Mitbegründer des Portage Garage Sounds-Labels und langjährige Ghostly International-Künstler übernimmt die Rolle des Produzenten und Komponisten. Der kühne und absichtsvoll kultivierte Sound ist eine Hommage an die Traditionen von Electronic Music, Jazz, R&B und Hip-Hop - eine Fusion, die zu seinem Markenzeichen geworden ist und heute lebendiger denn je. Zach Saginaw und eine Gruppe von Gästen und Musikern präsentieren eine Momentaufnahme, eine Feier der Selbstliebe und einen Ausdruck von Vitalität, der eindeutig in Detroit verwurzelt und von der kulturellen Geschichte seiner Familie geprägt ist. Für „Cherry Blossom Baby“ ließ sich Saginaw von den Kirschbäumen inspirieren lässt, die jeden Frühling in Hiroshima blühen - ein bleibendes Bild für Hoffnung, Widerstandsfähigkeit und Erneuerung. „Ich bin ein Kirschblütenbaby“, sagt er. „Wir alle sind Kirschblütenbabys, wir alle sind unverwüstlich, wir alle wachsen, und wir alle werden es auch weiterhin tun.“ Saginaw war auf der Suche, eine schwelende Selbstbeobachtung, die in den letzten Jahren zum Vorschein kam, als das Nachtleben pausierte und er begann, die Idee von Shigeto, dem Performer und der festen Größe in Michigan, zu hinterfragen. „Meine Identität ist etwas, mit dem ich schon immer zu kämpfen hatte: Ich werde weder als Japaner noch als Weißer angesehen. Ich glaube, Shigeto war für mich eine Möglichkeit, diese Identität zu haben, mir eine zu schaffen, an der ich mich festhalten konnte, und plötzlich gab es sie nicht mehr.“ Diese Erkenntnis veranlasste ihn, an sich selbst zu arbeiten, zu seinem Handwerk und seiner Gemeinschaft zurückzukehren, und legte damit den Grundstein für ein Album, das sich aus der Asche im übertragenen Sinne neu erhebt. Das bekräftigte Selbstbewusstsein, der Schwung und die Reifung zeigen sich darin, dass Saginaw sich hier als Songwriter und Produzent positioniert, der Ideen mit den besten Musikern Detroits arrangiert, eine physische Manifestation seiner WDET 101.9FM Radio-Show, die „zukunftsweisende Musik aus der Detroiter Diaspora“ hervorhebt. Jeder Track ist eine Kollaboration, sei es mit einem Sänger oder mehreren Instrumentalisten, die in seinen Portage Garage Studio Sessions geschmiedet wurde. Die Produktion und der Mix sind voll und zurückhaltend und verzichten auf moderne Kompression zugunsten einer geräumigeren Dynamik - eine Anspielung auf Psych- und Jazz-Platten aus den 70er und 80er Jahren.

„Cherry Blossom Baby“, Shigetos erstes Album seit 2017, entspringt einem kollektiven Tauwetter, ist ehrgeizig, kollaborativ und vollendet. Der in Detroit lebende, japanisch-amerikanische Musiker, DJ, Mitbegründer des Portage Garage Sounds-Labels und langjährige Ghostly International-Künstler übernimmt die Rolle des Produzenten und Komponisten. Der kühne und absichtsvoll kultivierte Sound ist eine Hommage an die Traditionen von Electronic Music, Jazz, R&B und Hip-Hop - eine Fusion, die zu seinem Markenzeichen geworden ist und heute lebendiger denn je. Zach Saginaw und eine Gruppe von Gästen und Musikern präsentieren eine Momentaufnahme, eine Feier der Selbstliebe und einen Ausdruck von Vitalität, der eindeutig in Detroit verwurzelt und von der kulturellen Geschichte seiner Familie geprägt ist. Für „Cherry Blossom Baby“ ließ sich Saginaw von den Kirschbäumen inspirieren lässt, die jeden Frühling in Hiroshima blühen - ein bleibendes Bild für Hoffnung, Widerstandsfähigkeit und Erneuerung. „Ich bin ein Kirschblütenbaby“, sagt er. „Wir alle sind Kirschblütenbabys, wir alle sind unverwüstlich, wir alle wachsen, und wir alle werden es auch weiterhin tun.“ Saginaw war auf der Suche, eine schwelende Selbstbeobachtung, die in den letzten Jahren zum Vorschein kam, als das Nachtleben pausierte und er begann, die Idee von Shigeto, dem Performer und der festen Größe in Michigan, zu hinterfragen. „Meine Identität ist etwas, mit dem ich schon immer zu kämpfen hatte: Ich werde weder als Japaner noch als Weißer angesehen. Ich glaube, Shigeto war für mich eine Möglichkeit, diese Identität zu haben, mir eine zu schaffen, an der ich mich festhalten konnte, und plötzlich gab es sie nicht mehr.“ Diese Erkenntnis veranlasste ihn, an sich selbst zu arbeiten, zu seinem Handwerk und seiner Gemeinschaft zurückzukehren, und legte damit den Grundstein für ein Album, das sich aus der Asche im übertragenen Sinne neu erhebt. Das bekräftigte Selbstbewusstsein, der Schwung und die Reifung zeigen sich darin, dass Saginaw sich hier als Songwriter und Produzent positioniert, der Ideen mit den besten Musikern Detroits arrangiert, eine physische Manifestation seiner WDET 101.9FM Radio-Show, die „zukunftsweisende Musik aus der Detroiter Diaspora“ hervorhebt. Jeder Track ist eine Kollaboration, sei es mit einem Sänger oder mehreren Instrumentalisten, die in seinen Portage Garage Studio Sessions geschmiedet wurde. Die Produktion und der Mix sind voll und zurückhaltend und verzichten auf moderne Kompression zugunsten einer geräumigeren Dynamik - eine Anspielung auf Psych- und Jazz-Platten aus den 70er und 80er Jahren.

Katie Gavin's debut What A Relief taps into the unguarded self-possession and homespun pop sensibility of singers like Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and Ani DiFranco, and uses their tenacity as a north star for Gavin's own trek towards self-discovery. "This record spans a lot of my life - it's about having a really deep desire for connection, but also encountering all the obstacles that stood in my way to be able to achieve that, patterns of isolation or even boredom with the real work of love" they say. Written over the course of seven years, What A Relief comprises a set of songs that Gavin always loved but which "had something in them" that she and her bandmates felt didn't quite fit within the universe they were trying to cultivate with MUNA. Many of them were written on acoustic guitar, and are rooted in "a style of music that's very much in my blood, and natural for me," as typified by the Women & Songs CDs that Gavin loves, which compiled music by artists like Tracy Chapman, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. That openness of spirit is the overwhelming character of What A Relief, an album that's refreshing in its willingness to accept people as they come, even as it remains in dogged pursuit of a life that's kinder, wiser and more loving. Gavin's explorations of desire and intimacy feel time-worn and necessary - songs that might teach a generation if not how to live, exactly, then at least how to look within oneself for guidance about how to move forward.