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Espen Eriksen – piano Lars Tormod Jenset – bass Andreas Bye – drums Andy Sheppard – saxophone. The combination of Espen Eriksen Trio and UK saxophone giant Andy Sheppard is truly a match made in jazz heaven, and in the words of Andy: “I knew from the first time I heard the trio play that I would fit right in. I loved the melodic sense and vibe and was thrilled when I was invited to guest with the trio in London in 2016”. The common conclusion drawn in reviews of their first album Perfectly Unhappy five years ago was simply “more, please”, and now we are delighted to introduce As Good As It Gets, the quite brilliant follow-up. The two album titles aptly indicate a subtle change in mood, and it´s fair to say that the new album finds the trio slightly more lively and sunny in parts, still highly melodic and lyrical, often with a typically Nordic melancholic signature (check the Grieg nod in album closer Drifting Clouds). Eriksen is a master of catchy tunes and when Sheppard adds his inimitable playing to the trio´s minimalistic approach, magic is created. Espen Eriksen Trio was formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2010. As Good As It Gets is their seventh album, all on Rune Grammofon. They have toured on four continents, becoming an increasingly popular concert attraction in several countries. Eriksen´s background is ranging from jazz to pop music and the church organ, while Jenset lived and worked as a musician in Copenhagen for seven years before relocating to Norway. Andreas Bye is one of Norway´s most requested drummers in jazz and pop and has played with Bugge Wesseltoft, John Scofield, Joshua Redman, Dhafer Yousef, Nils Petter Molvær and many others. With a career spanning over four decades, working together with the likes of George Russell, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and numerous others, Andy Sheppard is truly one of Europe’s leading saxophonists. As a leader he has recorded for labels like Antilles, Verve, Blue Note and lately four albums for ECM.

Tube Alloys have made a type of record that is in short supply these days. A record that is untethered to prevailing musical trends, punk or otherwise, in either their native Los Angeles or further afield. It's in keeping with a tradition, sure, one pioneered by bands like Wire, Swell Maps and This Heat, who sought to combine the vitality of punk music with an omnivorous ear for the avant-garde. But Tube Alloys honour this tradition with their disinterest in nostalgia and their ability to cast an irreverent eye towards our present and - crucially - our future, rather than endlessly rehashing our past. In short, Tube Alloys are adventurous where many of their contemporaries are content to play it safe. In doing so they tick a lot of boxes for those with open minds and open ears, while simultaneously making sense of the innate contradictions found in any great work of art. Their songs are muscular without being boneheaded, clever without being nerdy. A dry Australian humour is barked with an American sense of self-assuredness. Songs end before you've had a chance to digest their brilliance, or they explode right when you think they've already peaked. And just when you think you're comfortably along for the ride, the songs disappear altogether, and the record's centrepiece abruptly takes shape as an oblique spoken riff on Time. And Time it is, for something a little different. Finally! If you are in need of refreshment, then look no further, you have found your Oasis!

Three appearances on Andy C’s Nightlife 5 in 2010 signaled the start of Wilkinson’s journey with RAM Records. Three years later he would go on to drop his debut album ‘Lazers Not Included’, propelled by the success of ‘Afterglow’, featuring Becky Hill, making a dent in the UK Top 10 and going on to gold certified status with over 150+ million streams to date. Capturing his dancefloor ready sound, which helped make him one of the biggest names in electronic music in the UK and beyond, Lazers features the anthems ‘Take You Higher’, ‘Heartbeat’, ‘Too Close’ and ‘Half Light’.

To mark the 10th anniversary of its release, the album has been pressed in full for the very first time on yellow vinyl. With a refreshed design, this special edition will make a great collector’s item for old and new Wilkinson fans alike.

„The 90’s are back!“ – 30 Jahre später ist das beliebte Jahrzehnt musikalisch wieder voll im Trend! Auf der „FETENHITS - The Real 90’s“ sind die Originale der größten Party-Hymnen der Dekade vereint.

Ob die groovigen Sounds von „No Diggity“, der absolute Ohrwurm „Wannabe“ oder die Kult-Nummer „Mambo No. 5“ - Der bunte Mix der besten Party-Songs und Klassiker der 90‘s ist voller „Good Vibrations“!

Mit dabei sind u.a. U2, Britney Spears, Salt-N-Pepa, 20 Fingers & Gillette, Freddie Mercury, La Bouche, DJ Bobo, TLC, Backstreet Boys und viele mehr.

„We Bring It All Back“ mit den größten Party-Hits der 90er! Erhältlich als 4LP, 4CD und eAlbum ab dem 29. September 2023!

Limited 100 copies.
Printed sleeve.
Purple Vinyl color.

Attention record is a bit warped (it should be more expensive but price have been downed for this reason)

Les Neiges Noires De Laponie brings again a crazy music performance... If the Speedcore influence remains the unformated scale of this sound predomines... Rhythm morphing, sounds from space, and amplified micro sounds from nature...
A splendid concept out of nowhere...

MUST HAVE !

Freestyle Records proudly present a reissue of Gloria Weems' ace 1983 long-player "Lovelight" - previously only available on a rare South African pressing, and featuring the single "Wanna Dance With You" (licensed for a 12" on storied NYC label Prelude in the same year).

The record was written and produced by Jim Duncombe and Chris Palmer - owner of London's legendary Groove Records and also the man behind UK funk/disco label Groove Production (Surface Noise, Linda Taylor, Caché etc). Chris & Jim had met earlier in the year at the Midem music conference in Cannes, and started writing together shortly after. The initial recording sessions were completed at Duncombe's Powerplay Recording Studios in Switzerland, with American vocalist Gloria Weems (then on a club tour of Switzerland) brought in on vocal duties.

Palmer then added additional recordings and mixed the record down at Groove Production's London base. Criminally it was only ever picked up for release in super limited numbers through the South African label CCP Records - though Chris, through an ongoing licensing relationship via his Groove Production label, managed to license "Wanna Dance With You" and it's dubbed-out b-side "Wanna Version" to the legendary NYC label Prelude. Nevertheless the Lovelight LP represents a lost classic and a rare example of a transatlantic disco-boogie project in the era's golden period, in it's linking up of UK, European and American elements.

Michal Wolski is known for his esoteric, tripped-out and planetary style of techno and the Unfolding EP on Naarm-based label Southern Lights does not disappoint, with ‘Unfolding’ and ‘Elastic’ delivering a heady blend of modular synth reverberations and striking drum patterns.

Remix collaborators Polygonia and Rrose both deliver first-class interpretations of the original tracks, revealing two diverse talents that are at the height of their sonic powers.

Mastered & Cut by Tim Xavier at Manmade Mastering, Berlin

Artwork by Craig McWhinney

Sublime ethereal minimalism from Hiroyuki Onogawa on this retrospective compilation album for
Mana, the first dedicated release and remaster of his soundtrack compositions.

The album August in the Water: Music for Film 1995-2005 plots a decade of Onogawa’s compositions for films by the renowned filmmaker Gakuryū Ishii (formally known as Sogo Ishii). Ishii’s leftfield and trailblazing cinema has proven highly influential - Crazy Thunder Road (1980) is frequently cited as the starting pistol for the Japanese cyberpunk genre - and unfathomably difficult to source outside of Japan. This, coupled with the mysterious and artistic nature of the films, has seen him build a cult-like following. Most of his oeuvre remains undistributed outside Japan, though Third Window Films has recently taken great strides toward making some titles available internationally.

This retrospective publication, sequenced into an album by Onogawa himself, spans a fertile period of collaboration with Ishii, through soundtracks for three remarkable films: August in the Water (1995), Labyrinth of Dreams (1997), and Mirrored Mind (2005). Each feels texturally and sensually linked with the spiritual, ambient, dreamlike quality that lingers in Onogawa’s music.

The sound Onogawa conjures for these films is elegant and patient, often minimal or essential in form, but saturated in a poetic emotion and atmosphere that feels strange and otherworldly, touched by the metaphysical in subtle ways. Boundaries are crossed between New Age and science fiction, locating a blissfulness, melancholy and paranoia within the same spectrum, and moving toward an enchanting sense of mood and colour.

It’s notable that the compositions on this album straddle the millennium, and the mix of divine and uncertain themes in the music carry that currency. New listeners might hear links to Mark Snow’s compositional work for the X-Files and Millennium, or other celebrated future-facing and future-fearing Japanese anime or cyberpunk.

Onogawa’s music adds great depth and tenor to the sensory experience of the films themselves, but it stands just as strongly as a listening experience on its own terms, a virtuosic example of ambient that changes in hue when turned in the light. Remarkably, and in similar circumstances to Ishii, Onogawa’s work has never been widely available outside of (always highly enthusiastic) underground fan posts, usually sourced from extremely limited and private CDs limited to Japan. This retrospective seeks to remedy that, and hopes to achieve recognition for Onogawa as one of the great composers of the last three decades.

Onogawa continues to work in film, both in the creation of soundtracks, and now as a producer and director. He composed the music for Koji Fukada’s Harmonium (2016), which won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as for Fukada’s A Girl Missing (2019). As a director, he received the Grand Prize for Best Short Film in the Noves Visions category at the Sitges Festival in 2022 for Flashback Before Death (Guu), co-directed with Rii Ishihara.'

2023 Repress

First time on vinyl. 'Environments' is generally regarded as 'the great lost album' by The Future Sound Of London. It has taken on almost mythical status with the group's fan base. 'Environments' was due for release much sooner after the 1993 release of the UK Top 10 album hit 'Lifeforms', and only now is it being released - back on the group's original home, Jumpin' and Pumpin' Records.
This release also comes after the recent success of the Archive series which has so far sold over 20,000 units across the different volumes and still climbing.

To re-cap, Brian Dougans and Garry Cobain began their musical partnership and friendship in Manchester, England in the mid 1980s whilst the two were studying at Manchester University. Dougans had already been making electronic music for some time when they first began working in various local clubs. In 1988, Brian embarked on a project for the Stakker graphics company. The result was Stakker Humanoid.
In the following three years the pair produced music under a variety of aliases, followed by the breakthrough classic ambient dub track Papua New Guinea in 1992, which was also the first release under the Future Sound of London moniker.

Keita Sano is a prolific Japanese producer who has released on revered labels such as Mister Saturday Night, Lets Play House, Morris Audio and 1080P. His fusion of dark, distorted, acidic textures and crunchy disco beats gives his produc tions a unique sound which works perfectly for Delusions Of Grandeur and the label is proud to welcome him for his debut DOG EP entitled Love Is Emotion.

The title track comes on like a proverbial runaway train with heavy, pounding beats and bassline forging things ahead while the most twisted, tripped out FX rise and fall creating an absolute juggernaut of a track which takes no prisoners. A decept ively simple DJ tool which is loaded with drama for maximum impact on the more left of centre dance floors.

Up next we have Violet which takes a low-slung deep house approach but with the grit and dirt that Keita always brings to the party. The first half of the track teases with tension-building chords and syncopated bassline which bounces around a massive four on the floor kick drum. Things fall away in the middle of the track to reveal a beautiful, heartwarming piano part, setting the scene before things get truly epic with orchestral strings bringing a touch of the film noir to proceedings.

I’m A Man picks up the pace again for an intense acid work out which pushes the sonic boundaries to the limits with seriously warped FX creating mayhem around a simple, percussive disco groove. As secret weapon DJ tools go, this is right up there.

Closing out this mind-bending release Keita remains in experimental mode on Love Is Emotion offsetting melodic arpeggios and sweet chords with off-kilter sonic madness ensuring things remain dark, dirty and deep.

Kikagaku Moyo 1st self-titled album reissue. Originally released by Cosmic Eye Records in Sep 2013. Kikagaku Moyo's debut album exerts an elemental power. Enlivening their sound with sitars, percussive drums, theremins, wind instruments and ethereal vocals, the band manages to sound powerfully spacious and lazily serene all at once. Their songs can be light as air, or heavy as earth. comes with digital download

Many evolve out of intense experiences of engagement with the natural world. The album’s first track, “Can You Imagine Nothing?” was written over a night spent jamming on a suspended footbridge in remote mountains. As the song progressed the bridge began to sway, making band members feel as though they were floating weightless in midair.

'In 1972, trumpeter Baikida Carroll and some of his colleagues from the Black Artists Group (more precisely saxophonist/flutist Oliver Lake, trombonist Joseph Bowie, drummer Charles "Bobo" Shaw and trumpeter Floyd LeFlore) took the advice of their friends in the Art Ensemble Of Chicago and left their native Missouri to come and discover the bright lights of Paris for themselves. The following year they would even get the chance to record their only album which would rapidly attain mythical status and a collector’s item: “In Paris, Aries 1973”.

Therefore, it was not surprising that they crossed paths with Jef Gilson in the capital. He was always on the lookout for new artists for his recently formed Palm label and had been active on many fronts in jazz since the end of the 50s. The French bandleader / pianist / composer / sound engineer had already recorded, in the preceding months other American musicians who would go on to have great careers: Byard Lancaster, Keno Speller, Clint Jackson III, Khan Jamal... Gilson therefore offered Baikida Carroll the chance to record his first album under his own name, which would be the 13th release on the label. Carroll logically asked Oliver Lake to join him. He also recruited Manuel Villaroel, a young Franco-Chilien pianist from the group Matchi-Oul, who had already released an album on Futura in 1971 and would release another on Palm in 1976. The group was completed with the addition of Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos, who had just released a well-received album on the Saravah label. They were ready to enter the studio for the 3rd, 4th and 5th June 1974.

The first side of the album is divided into two long tracks which send free jazz back to its long-lost African roots. The opener “Orange Fish Tears” indeed rolls out a jungle of percussion of all sorts and sizes -the whole group is involved- which weave and mix together reaching a point where all bearings are lost, lending a sense of wonder to the majestic entry of the brass and woodwinds, flying suddenly out from the undergrowth. “Forest Scorpion” (sic) is a real voodoo ceremony where a venomous percussive groove backs the fiery solos from keyboards and saxophone in a furious trance. A warning; after these two tracks listeners are physically and emotionally wiped out!

The other side is more introspective. Deliberately using dissonance and repetition, “Rue Roger” -the only composition by Oliver Lake- in a long dialogue between trumpet and saxophone, could almost remind us of Terry Riley in his favourite ballpark. “Porte D'Orléans”, the fourth and final track on the album, has the group back to their old tricks in a long hallucinatory jam which owes as much to the contemporary music of György Ligeti as to the most angst-ridden Jerry Goldsmith soundtrack music (remember the heavy chords which beat through “Planet of the Apes»).

With these two sides, and in under 45m, Baikida Carroll and his musicians show just what they can do, from cerebral to charnel without ever simplifying things. This is an essential album if you are a fan of free-wheeling avant-garde music from the Art Ensemble of Chicago to Sonic Youth and including Shabaka Hutchings and Rob Mazurek. For those with good taste, in other words.'

High-octane tour-de-force by legendary post-punk group, INU. Widely considered in Japan to be one of the all-time greatest punk records, 1981's Don’t Eat Food! remains shockingly unknown to the rest of the world. Led by literate but unhinged Machida Machizo, a magnetic stage presence who sang in a thick Osaka dialect that sounded like nothing else at the time, INU took Japan by storm in the late '70s with their powerful and often belligerent live show. Their membership changed frequently but INU's final lineup -- the group that recorded Don't Eat Food! -- was sharp as a knife, and the band's airtight debut still wows forty years later.

It's hard to describe INU's unique sound in comparison to other bands, but maybe imagine a more fidgety Richard Hell & The Voidoids jamming with PiL? Better yet, just listen for yourself.

This first-ever fully-licensed edition has been remastered from the original tapes and cut by Kevin Gray and includes an 8-page booklet with never-before-seen photos, lyrics in English and Japanese, and liner notes by Syojiro Ishibashi in English and Japanese.

Rainbow Generator are Australia’s first true experimental electronic music group. Consisting of David Labuschagne AKA Mojo, and Rob Greaves AKA Ras. Starting in the mid-70’s, the pair took it upon themselves to begin exploring the possibilities of the sonic dimension and with an ‘open mind’ began investigating the interface between psyche and sound.

In 1976 David established the ‘Lectric Loo’ studio in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. Known to the ‘heads’ as simply the “Loo”, the 3-story building was owned by the Department of Main Roads, and slated for demolition. So, it was that the entire block became a haven for squatters, and while Mojo had the main 3-story building to himself, the rest of the buildings were taken by a hotch-potch of people that included Anarchists, a Clown School and a collection of other random squatters.

Recording in the ‘Lectric Loo’ provided them the ability to record freely. In 1975 they began to experiment, putting Mojo’s Fender Strat through effects pedals, playing with sounds while manipulating shortwave radio stations and also challenging convention by playing the insides of instruments. By 1976 they had built a kit synthesizer and shortly after purchased a full Roland 100 Synthesiser set-up and were on their way.

In 1978, with little resources, or any form of distribution they released their sole LP ‘Dance of the Spheres’. As Mojo puts it, “we were intent on making music with whatever we could beg, borrow, buy, and liberate. Albeit with scant regard for the rules or conventions or niceties of the game. Ultimately, it was all an act of love, of joy. Not just an adventure; it was a musical odyssey”.

This odyssey continued their exploration of the interface between psyche and sound.
Fusing genres and boundaries, Dance of the Spheres incorporates elements of 70’s psych and folk with spoken-word and of course the emerging sounds of the synthesizer and drum machines. Furthermore, the addition of traditional instruments such as the didgeridoo and the classical Indian instrumentation technique of a Raga add a timeless layer, all seamlessly complementing the other elements and launching the album to another dimension.

To celebrate Spider-Man’s sensational 60th anniversary, Marvel Entertainment partnered with Semmel Exhibitions to launch Spider- Man: Beyond Amazing - The Exhibition, which chronicles the epic history of the ‘wall crawler’. The exhibition runs from May 26, 2023 through October 1, 2023 in Kansas City, and premiered at the Comic- Con Museum in San Diego where it ran from July 1, 2022 through January 1, 2023.

For this historical display, a soundscape was needed to reflect Spidey’s emotional ups and downs: his moments of isolation and loneliness, but also his courage, determination, and the sheer joy of web-slinging. This is where Sebastian M. Purfürst of LEM-Studios came in. To create a soundtrack that would engage visitors in every single moment of the exhibition, Sebastian employs parallel techniques in his musical compositions and productions - not only writing the notes and melodies but creating a fully realized world of sound.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing - The Exhibition is available as a strictly limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl with a full-colour Spider-Man print on its side B. The package also includes a 4-page booklet and large exhibition poster.

Formed in the spring of 2020, Los Angeles-based Sacred Skin is the creative duo of Brian DaMert and Brian Tarney. In short order, the pair has shown a nearly unmatched ability to create anthemic pop music steeped in romanticism and melancholy and drenched in layers upon layers of new wave nostalgia. Backed by an impressive string of singles throughout 2021 and into the following year, the band released their highly anticipated full-length debut, The Decline of Pleasure, in May of 2022 to much fanfare. Armed with vintage gear such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet-VS & E-mu Emulator II and buoyed by strong songwriting, expert production work, and DaMert’s emotionally-charged vocals, Sacred Skin has delivered a modern masterpiece of an album that belongs as much to the ‘80s as it does the present day. An album worthy of standing next to the strongest efforts of idols like Duran Duran, INXS, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, and New Order. An album that has captured the hearts of so many already and will no doubt continue to do so for years to come.

Midnight Mannequin Records is proud to present this deluxe reissue of The Decline of Pleasure, pressed for the first time on 2xLP colored vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket complete with OBI strip. Newly remastered and cut at 45 rpm for exceptional sound quality, this is Decline like you’ve never heard it before. Featuring the bonus tracks Killer’s Mind and a remix of fan favorite Earthbound by fellow synth pop disciples Nuovo Testamento.

Repress of classic first LP by MF DOOM's first group KMD! KMD (Kausing Much Damage, or a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society) was a Hip Hop group in the early 90s perhaps best known for launching the career of acclaimed MC/Producer MF DOOM (known during his KMD tenure as Zev Love X). After guesting on 3rd Bass’ “The Gas Face,” the trio (Zev, brother Subroc, and Onyx) released the acclaimed and overlooked “Mr. Hood” full-length. Their political outlook was similar to the group Brand Nubian, who guested on Hood; however, the style was more comical and included a great deal of clips from old children’s recordings, mostly notably a sample of the Seaseme Street character Bert on the single “Who Me?” This is the official Elektra Records/Traffic Entertainment Group re-release with original artwork and track listing in it’s entirety. Cutting edge, ahead of it’s time production and skits from KMD and Stimulated Dummies (John Gamble and Mr. Dante Ross). Features the singles “Peachfuzz”, “Who Me?” and “Nitty Gritty” (feat. Brand Nubian). This is one Rap album that is not to be missed.

A lavish four chapter chronicle that imagines an alternative evolution of mankind through sound, VIS (Latin for energy or force) is the result of a lengthy process of self-discovery, collaboration and research for Italian-German composer David August. The son of a classical pianist, August slipped from the academic music world into an early career as a dance music producer and DJ before he felt his artistic outlook shifting considerably. He established the adventurous 99CHANTS label in 2018, and has since used it as an output for his most progressive notions, collaborating most recently with jazz-noise vocalist Cansu Tanrikulu and Carnatic singer Sushma Soma on last year"s acclaimed "Imaginary Landscapes" compilation. VIS then is a chance for August to reconcile his personal narrative, leveling it with concepts that touch on history, transformation and metaphysics. He wrote the album"s 13 pieces to play like a linear storyline, tracking the development of culture from its illusory beginnings in Plato"s cave into the wider world and observing its progression and adaptation.

August represents these themes with levitational orchestral drones, choirs and bells that slowly bend to long-forgotten ancestral rhythms, inevitably colliding with the digitized chaos of the information age. Motion guides everything, whether it"s shadows on a wall projected by dancing flames, or dramatic, overlayed rhythms that vibrate the air and excite the feet. VIS is a dynamic attempt to show the movement of time on a macro scale, looking backwards in order to move forwards. It charts mankind"s journey from its cosmic beginnings through the awe-inspiring world of flora and fauna, grounding the experience in rhythmic expression and dance before we"re returned to the stars in transcended form. Crucially, it"s a hopeful articulation of ideas and concepts that continue to echo throughout history, inviting us to imagine greater and cherish the teeming landscape that surrounds us.

2012, 12 Jahre nach Gründung wagte sich das Freisinger Quintett RPWL an ihr erstes Konzeptalbum. 'Beyond Man And Time' war eine musikalische Reise durch die Welt außerhalb von Platons Höhle - und der erste Chart-Entry von Deutschlands bester Artrock-Band. Die Band schaffte Themen für die einzelnen Charaktere des Konzept-Albums. Orientalische Percussions, ausgedehnte Moog-Soli oder indische Sitar sorgen wohlplatziert für eine atmosphärische und farbenfrohe Umsetzung. So ist es nur natürlich, dass diese musikalische Reise in einem 16-Minuten-Werk wie 'The Fisherman' gipfelt, um schließlich mit einem äußerst nachdenklichen, ruhigen 'The Noon' zu enden'. Der Song 'Somewhere In Between', auf der CD noch mit 2.04 Min kurz gehalten, ist nun erstmalig in seiner Originallänge von 9.22 Min enthalten. Die Doppel-LP kommt somit auf eine Gesamtspielzeit von über 81 Min.
Erstmalig erscheint das Album nun auf Vinyl, in wertiger Ausstattung als 180Gr. Doppel-LP im Gatefold Sleeve mit wattierten, schwarzen Innenhüllen sowie 4-seitiger Textbeilage!

PRESSED ON ORANGE COLORED VINYL WITH HAND NUMBERED OBILIMITED TO 1000 COPIES

2023 is the year of Too $hort at Get On Down with our 4th reissue and album number 7 in the catalog of the Bay Area legend. Shorty The Pimp was released 31 years ago on July, 14, 1992 and has not been in print since we originally reissued it on wax in 2018. Taking the title from the incredibly rare 1973 Blaxploitation film, Too $hort does what he does best on Shorty The Pimp: funk beats, boastful braggadocio, a few conscious rhymes and layers of straight up pimp talk. The lyrical content can certainly be considered comical and entertaining. Shorty The Pimp is also a stand out project for producer Ant Banks who did many of the beats for the project, his first working with Too $hort with many more to follow over the next decade.

Da ist er... der Beat der grossen Stadt - und ich dachte schon, dass die Gäng alle schon im Ruhestand wären und dann flattert die Mail ins Haus: Peeps von Surf Nazis Must Die, Herpes, Heat... wilde Nummer, hau drauf und ungestüm... Jetzt, ein paar Monate später, sind Leute weg und neue da und die Sache läuft. Am Sound hat sich nichts geändert, liefert das energetische Quartett weiterhin extrem treibenden Upbeat-Postpunk oder No Future-Sound. Man hört etwas Parquet Courts, etwas Uranium Club, etwas Dischord-Sound und 70s Punk - schneidende Gitarren, wummernder Bass und ein von 16tel getriebenes Schlagzeug - hektisch, rhythmisch, schiebend, manchmal hypnotisch repetitiv. Und über alldem schnarzt der aufgekratze Gesang von Florian Pühs, der über all jene Großstadt/Kleinstadt/Jugend/Durchdreh-Sachen singt, die einem manchmal sehr bekannt und manchmal sehr unbekannt vorkommen. Es werden auf jeden Fall Antworten auf einige der wichtigen Fragen des Lebens gegeben - oder wisst Ihr was Hüsker Dü tun würde? Oder was mit Dennis Rodman los ist, warum der Fahrstuhl dich nicht runterziehen soll oder was die Höhe-und Tiefpunkte im Leben eines Liftboys sind?

Experimental Rock / Abstract Hip-Hop / Post Industrial music Pascal Bouaziz used to be the singer and leader of French rock band Mendelson, and "Bruit Noir" (Black Noise) is his side project. This is a completely new venture, a departure from everything he's done over the last 20 years, bringing together hard-hitting lyrics and biting sounds. Boaziz has improvised lyrics over music by drummer Jean-Michel Pirès, who has played with Bed and Married Monk, a blend of the stripped-down clarity of Pérec's A Man Asleep and the stormy punk of Suicide. Crossing the boundaries of the politically incorrect, Bruit Noir offers a raw, hard-hitting album, where the sincerity of the words blends with the intensity of the compositions.

Jacob Bellens’ new solo Off My Meds took shape over two turbulent years in Jacob’s life. Several major life events happened back to back in a very short time, and it ended up breaking him down to a point of total exhaustion. The energy needed to uphold the outer self we all need to function was no longer there, and his inner actual beliefs and values began to show themselves one by one, which was not pretty to look at. Change was inevitable, simply because the price of not changing would be much higher in the long term.

The album is a pop-poem about accepting the premise of the life given to you. It is an ode to the perils of modern existence and our birthgiven right to love, laugh and cry, whatever hand we may have been dealt to begin with. Lyrically it is centered around self care and the courage to love someone and be loved in return. About taking responsibility for everything in your life instead of using your life history as an excuse for not living, no matter how tragic or unique your situation might be or seem to yourself.
Musically it draws upon an eclectic mix of influences and genres, while still maintaining a distinct underlying red thread throughout the album. It is a melancholic funk hybrid with a positive DNA, and though it sounds like pop music in the best sense of the word, it doesn’t quite look and feel like pop music. It is rather a collection of sounds and feelings put into words that are deeply personal - but personal for all.

• Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra-modern music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house.

• Freestyle grew out of the electro sound of the early 80s, combined clean staccato rhythms with morse code synth hooks, and topped them off with emotive, usually female, frequently Latina vocals. There was plenty more going on besides: proto-house piano lines, Cuban percussion, high emotion and synth hooks to die for.

• Put together and annotated by Bob Stanley (who also compiled the acclaimed “The Daisy Age” and “Fell From The Sun”), “Latin Freestyle” is the first compilation to cover the whole gamut of Freestyle from its early 80s breakthrough to its early 90s revival. So many classics… Lisa Lisa made the UK top ten with the 808 joy of ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’. Stacey Q’s cosmically great ‘Two Of Hearts’ came out in 1986, while 1987 saw the likes of Company B’s ‘Fascinated’ and Exposé’s ‘Point Of No Return’ become huge UK club hits.

• Today, Freestyle is a scene with a solid collector’s market, and rarities like Janelle’s ‘Don’t Be Shy’ sell for hundreds of dollars. It’s a classic summer soundtrack, finally condensed in one Ace Records compilation – “Latin Freestyle”.

Budabeats Records turned 15 this year, to celebrate the occasion label bosses Dj Gandharva and Von Yodi hand picked 14 songs from artists belonging to the extended Budabeats family. If you are familiar with the the label you may alraedy know that they really do not care about genre limits, and as you would expect, Waves of Budabeats is a prime example of this attitude. The double LP includes mellow but tight dowmtempo tunes by WaTa and Kobza Vajk (remixed by BéTé), midtempo weirdness by Mytron, mature hip-hop by Son of Sam, vintage Japanese pop sounds by Erik Sumo and the Fox Fairies, dreamy and straighter dancefloor material by Oneeyedman, M.W.D and the Chillum Trio, weird electronics by Kovacs The Hun, and, of course, the obligatory jazz and funk delivered by Dokkerman and The Turkeying Fellaz and The Premecz Organ Trio. The vinyl compilation is limited to 300 copies, most of the songs have not been released before on any format, but all of them are pressed on vinyl for the first time.

The 1990 debut album from Pale Saints, The Comforts of Madness, is an outstanding record that owed as much to post-punk and L.A."s Paisley Underground scene than it did to shoegaze. The Sunday Times called it "an unintended indie manifesto: music that is at once wayward and concise, dissonant and beautiful." Shortly after its release and in need of a second live guitarist, Lush founding member Meriel Barham joined the Leeds trio of Ian Masters, Graeme Naysmith and Chris Cooper, bringing a new dynamic to the band. Having previously worked well with producer Hugh Jones (Echo & The Bunnyman, Modern English, The Sound), he did a brilliant job recording their second album, In Ribbons (1992), despite some studio tensions. Brooklyn Vegan said in a recent celebration of the album that it was the "push and pull between Masters" outsider tendencies and (the rest"s) commercial interests that makes In Ribbons so good. If some of the wild, ragged edges of Comforts of Madness have been smoothed off, the album makes up for it with scope and beauty. And there"s still no shortage of weird." Missing its original release date last year due to Covid delays and a production plant in meltdown, In Ribbons is finally getting the 30th Anniversary celebration it deserves with a special double LP / CD release - the first disc being the UK version of the album, the second a bonus disc of never before heard demos (including their first attempt at Slapp Happy"s "Blue Flower" and Ian"s 4 track recording of "Kinky Love") and two brass band versions by The Tintwistle Band.

The 1990 debut album from Pale Saints, The Comforts of Madness, is an outstanding record that owed as much to post-punk and L.A."s Paisley Underground scene than it did to shoegaze. The Sunday Times called it "an unintended indie manifesto: music that is at once wayward and concise, dissonant and beautiful." Shortly after its release and in need of a second live guitarist, Lush founding member Meriel Barham joined the Leeds trio of Ian Masters, Graeme Naysmith and Chris Cooper, bringing a new dynamic to the band. Having previously worked well with producer Hugh Jones (Echo & The Bunnyman, Modern English, The Sound), he did a brilliant job recording their second album, In Ribbons (1992), despite some studio tensions. Brooklyn Vegan said in a recent celebration of the album that it was the "push and pull between Masters" outsider tendencies and (the rest"s) commercial interests that makes In Ribbons so good. If some of the wild, ragged edges of Comforts of Madness have been smoothed off, the album makes up for it with scope and beauty. And there"s still no shortage of weird." Missing its original release date last year due to Covid delays and a production plant in meltdown, In Ribbons is finally getting the 30th Anniversary celebration it deserves with a special double LP / CD release - the first disc being the UK version of the album, the second a bonus disc of never before heard demos (including their first attempt at Slapp Happy"s "Blue Flower" and Ian"s 4 track recording of "Kinky Love") and two brass band versions by The Tintwistle Band.

In 1964 Dave Davies of the Kinks singlehandedly made rock history when he sliced his little green Elpico amp speaker with a razor blade. Little did he know he was creating the 1st heavy metal guitar tone and riff in rock n roll, which he played on his band The Kinks' worldwide hit 'You Really Got Me.' Nearly fifty years after influencing generations of guitarists Dave continues to rock and tour. His 2013 return to the U.S. to support the album I Will Be Me was a triumph both creatively and spiritually as he found new inspiration for his soon to be follow up album, the highly acclaimed, Rippin Up Time. Released in 2014, Dave embarked on yet another U.S. tour to support it. He was joined by Jonathan Lea on guitar, Tom Currier on bass and keyboards and legendary drummer Dennis Diken of the Smithereens. The tour swept through venues in Milwaukee, Chicago, New Jersey, NYC and many more. Jim Sclavunos played drums for one gig in Bethlehem, PA. On every date Dave Davies and band played a highly charged set of solo album favorites, Kinks classics and new tracks. At the City Winery NYC on November 24 and 25, 2014 Dave and band put on an amazing concert to an audience of new and longtime Kinks fans, music industry stars and legends. They delivered two exhilarating nights of performances that rocked and ripped up the city's nightlife.

La Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is the new all-star project from producer Emmanuel Mario (Astrobal). 11 evocative and exhilarating instrumental tracks, ranging from synthetic to acoustic, from detailed pop writing to sonic experimentation. He is accompanied here by his companions Julien Gasc, Nina Savary and Vincent Guyot (as Ulysses' companions were known). Each contributes to the composition, arrangement and instrumentation of this colourful and enchanting odyssey. Mario and Savary have been living for years in an isolated former sheepfold in the South of France and have gradually gathered around them a band of artists and musicians who have come to escape their daily lives. The compositions in La Bibliotheque De La Bergerie were born of this timeless space of freedom. Each musician's musical obsessions can be found on the album, as they travel from one track to the next: soundtracks like the ones of De Roubaix or Alessandroni (Le Fleuve De La Nuit), experimental and classy pop like Stereolab/High Llamas (Loterie Solaire) or primary and repetitive electronic music (Tous A Zanzibar tome 3). The choirs and mixed voices of Nina Savary and Julien Gasc add a sunny, melancholy touch to the whole (En Attendant L'Année Dernière). The name Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is a double nod to Library Music, a trend in musical illustration for TV and radio that had its heyday in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And to the aforementioned bergerie, a living space and creative studio. The more observant may also have noticed the titles of the tracks, taken from the novels of the golden age of science fiction. Emmanuel Mario and his friends invite you to escape to another time. The album will be released on vinyl on the Freaksville label on October 6, 2023.Tracklisting: 1. L'homme qui n'existait pas 2. En attendant l'année dernière 3. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 1) 4. Loterie Solaire 5. Une porte sur l'été 6. Le fleuve de la nuit 7. Le manuscrit Hopkins 8. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 2) 9. Le Voyageur de l'inconnu 10. Terminus Tel-Aviv 11. Tous à Zanzibar (Tome 3) freedom. Each musician's musical obsessions can be found on the album, as they travel from one track to the next: soundtracks like the ones of De Roubaix or Alessandroni (Le Fleuve De La Nuit), experimental and classy pop like Stereolab/High Llamas (Loterie Solaire) or primary and repetitive electronic music (Tous A Zanzibar tome 3). The choirs and mixed voices of Nina Savary and Julien Gasc add a sunny, melancholy touch to the whole (En Attendant L'Année Dernière). The name Bibliothèque De La Bergerie is a double nod to Library Music, a trend in musical illustration for TV and radio that had its heyday in the 60s, 70s and 80s. And to the aforementioned bergerie, a living space and creative studio. The more observant may also have noticed the titles of the tracks, taken from the novels of the golden age of science fiction. Emmanuel Mario and his friends invite you to escape to another time. The album will be released on vinyl on the Freaksville label on October 6, 2023

It is with great fanfare that we proudly announce the return of the esteemed improvisational chainsaw blues trio Young James Long. Young James Long formed in Dallas in 2003 with a weekly residency at a local (and appropriately named) dive bar called Muddy Waters. PW Long (guitar, vocals) and Kirkland James (guitar) had known each other socially since the 90s when Long was fronting Quarterstick Records’ Mule, and James was playing with Tenderloin. Long would go onto make a series of incredible solo records under his own name and that of PW Long’s Reelfoot and James would play with Alejandro Escovedo (among many others) before their paths finally crossed again. They recruited Taylor Young (Hi-Fi Drowning, Young Heart Attack, The Polyphonic Spree) on drums and a raw, blues-punk-rock-and-roll band emerged fully formed, songs flying out of them with enthusiasm and ease. They recorded the You Ain’t Know The Man EP with their friend (and eventual Grammy winner) Stuart Sikes not long after. The EP came out via Southern Records in 2007, and thanks to the tasteful ears of the people this side of the pond, a European tour followed. If you saw that tour, you’ll agree that it felt like the band were really hitting their stride. However, here we are in 2023, so what happened? Answer: geography - the age-old enemy of creativity. One member left Texas and the others (being the extremely able and skilled musicians that they are) were perpetually wooed away to play in other bands. Everyone’s got bills to pay, right? And with that, things just kind of fizzled out. Long even insists he quit playing music around 2010. One of the most recognisable voices in underground music: out of the game. Incredible. Inconceivable.
Then, last year we at Wrong Speed got an email asking if we’d be interested in some new music Young James Long had been working on. We thought it might be a joke. They sent some mixes through, and it became very quickly apparent that it was anything but. Turns out the trio had started chatting about music again in 2020 (before the world had other plans) and had finally made their first full-length album Orogeny in the summer of 2021. Orogeny sounds live and thrillingly immediate, as though all obstacles between their delivery and your ears have been removed and discarded as irrelevant. There is no filler, no treading of water at any point. Amps buzz, songs teeter on the edge of collapse, you feel like you’re sitting in the middle of the band as they play and it’s a pretty sweet place to be. The album contains a whopping 17 songs, most under 2 minutes long. They don’t want to waste your time, or most importantly (after sixteen years away), theirs. If you’re familiar with Long’s previous bands, you’ll know he has a rare gift for pairing extreme volume with extreme tenderness and it’s thrilling to find that gift present and correct after over a decade away. And that voice – holy shit, that voice. He can go from a Beefheart howl to the sweetest country baritone in the space of a single line. In James and Young he’s found the perfect foils, a power trio of instinctive and soulful musicians able to conjure shining gems of magic out of the grit and the dirt. Young James Long is risen from the ashes – it’s a miracle!

If you were to ask for a defining Habibi Funk track, there are a few that come to mind: from Fadoul’s “Sid Redad,” Dalton’s “Soul Brother” to Ahmed Malek’s “Omar Gatlato.” However, none are as widely connected with us at this point as Hamid Al Shaeri’s “Ayonha.” We heard the track for the first time when we were working on selecting tracks for your first compilation and we instantly loved it. We obviously had heard of Hamid El Shaeri’s music before, but only material from his Al Jeel phase when he was already the full-blown
superstar he is now.

Listening to his releases from the early 1980’s opened a whole new door for us. At the time, Hamid had just left Libya to pursue his career in Egypt via a detour in London, where he recorded his
first album. Hamid’s distinct sound of the sound is quintessentially reliant on heavy synths and so it was particularly important to purchase these synths in a timely manner. “Whenever a new one synthesizer would come out, we would have to buy it immediately, otherwise someone else would get their hands on that sound.” London also played an important role for Hamid as a musical epicenter.

He fondly reminisces about the many live shows he attended there, including some of the biggest international musicians like Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson. After returning to Cairo where he also recorded his following albums, he connected with SLAM! for the
release of his debut, laying the foundation of a collaboration that lasted for 5 albums. Luckily, we were able to connect with Hamid through our friend Youssra El Hawary, whose extensive network has opened many doors for us within the Egyptian music scene. We met Hamid for the first time probably in 2016 at his office / rehearsal studio in the outskirts Cairo. We were expecting a larger-than-life
character in-line with his status as a certified superstar, yet the actual person turned out to be very approachable and super easy to connect with. He liked the idea of an effort to amplify his early works again,
which, when originally released, were far from an economic success.

While he was down to assist with an interview and his blessing for the project he also told us that for any license we needed to speak with the original label SLAM! who released these songs, still held the rights and also remained in business over the decades though they didn’t actively release any new music. Hany Sabet had started SLAM! records in the early 1980s and focused on cassette tape releases, the
format that expedited the success of a new generation of record labels in Egypt. By the mid 1980’s, SLAM! had become one of the most successful and economically dominant record labels in Egypt, with Hamid El Shaeri being just one of their key artists, alongside Mohamed Mounir, Hanan, Hakim, Mustafa Amar and many more. Luckily, Hany Sabet turned out to be a friend of our colleague Malak Makar’s father, which probably helped to warm him to the idea of licen- sing “Ayonha” to this - in the scale of his world - tiny label
from Germany. Eventually “Ayonha” ended up becoming a widely successful release and either Hany or we brought up the idea of a full album dedicated to Hamid El Shaeri’s work on SLAM!.


"Maktoub Aleina” is the first single and will be released January 14th. Following the massive success of "Ayonha,” “Maktoub Aleina” is another mid-tempo groover with a beautiful, synth-forward melody, that brings together a lovely combination of soul, disco and Arabic pop music of the highest order, giving a taste of full album. The second single, “Yekfini Nesma Sotak” will be released January 28th and combines Hamid’s unique formula of soul and pop, held together by a catchy synth melody. “Yekfini Nesma Sotak” picks up the
pace a bit, making the uplifting mood of the track even more powerful. Third single, arriving February 11th, is “Dari Demou’ek,” one of the stand out tracks of Hamid’s early recordings done for SLAM! in the early 1980s. Dominated by a disco infused bassline, the track offers a lot of space of the funky production to shine while Hamid inserts his vocals at all the right moments. A masterpiece of disco touched by Arabic pop music.

Full album arrives February 25th. This release is dedicated to Hany Sabet, the founder of SLAM! and his wife Rosemary Jane Sabet (who
took the photos we used for the cover and the booklet), who sadly passed away during the time it took us to prepare the release.
Vinyl comes with an extensive booklet with an interview with Hamid as well as unseen photos

Kevin Morby writes (and records, and imagines) at an almost incomparable clip, and his most recent album, This Is A Photograph, studies life, time and mortality through myriad lenses. It's a dynamic, buoyant record on big, heavy themes, so it only makes sense that Morby found he wasn't quite done with it on its completion. More Photographs (A Continuum) finds new nooks, corners and vantage points. "If This Is A Photograph is a house that you have been living inside of," says Morby, "then More Photographs is, perhaps, the same home just experienced differently. As if you, its inhabitant, have taken a tab of something psychedelic and now, suddenly, you've replaced your eyeglasses with kaleidoscopes." Here, Morby returns to his landmark album's bottomless themes with new wisdom, new imagination, and the winking, looping call backs that tie his full body of work together in uniquely special ways." Everything you once thought was familiar," he continues, "suddenly appears differently, shifting shapes, color and sonic landscapes." "Five Easy Pieces Revisited" captures the same moment from Bobby's point of view; "This Is A Photograph II" takes a similar tact, revisiting its predecessor from a different angle. "Triumph" explores more of the myths and deaths that surround Memphis, TN, this time inspired by Big Star's Chris Bell. And "Kingdom Of Hearts" arrives as an origin story to both This Is A Photograph and its new companion." With every collection of songs," says Morby, "I feel I must cast them out of me before moving onto the next project, and here I knew that what I had begun with This Is A Photograph was not finished. Releasing this collection is my tying a bow on that time and place in my creative life." With a luxurious nine tracks - three re-imaginings and six brand new songs - More Photographs (A Continuum) is prequel, sequel and primer to an already rich and generous record from one of our most luminous modern songwriters.

Kevin Morby writes (and records, and imagines) at an almost incomparable clip, and his most recent album, This Is A Photograph, studies life, time and mortality through myriad lenses. It's a dynamic, buoyant record on big, heavy themes, so it only makes sense that Morby found he wasn't quite done with it on its completion. More Photographs (A Continuum) finds new nooks, corners and vantage points. "If This Is A Photograph is a house that you have been living inside of," says Morby, "then More Photographs is, perhaps, the same home just experienced differently. As if you, its inhabitant, have taken a tab of something psychedelic and now, suddenly, you've replaced your eyeglasses with kaleidoscopes." Here, Morby returns to his landmark album's bottomless themes with new wisdom, new imagination, and the winking, looping call backs that tie his full body of work together in uniquely special ways." Everything you once thought was familiar," he continues, "suddenly appears differently, shifting shapes, color and sonic landscapes." "Five Easy Pieces Revisited" captures the same moment from Bobby's point of view; "This Is A Photograph II" takes a similar tact, revisiting its predecessor from a different angle. "Triumph" explores more of the myths and deaths that surround Memphis, TN, this time inspired by Big Star's Chris Bell. And "Kingdom Of Hearts" arrives as an origin story to both This Is A Photograph and its new companion." With every collection of songs," says Morby, "I feel I must cast them out of me before moving onto the next project, and here I knew that what I had begun with This Is A Photograph was not finished. Releasing this collection is my tying a bow on that time and place in my creative life." With a luxurious nine tracks - three re-imaginings and six brand new songs - More Photographs (A Continuum) is prequel, sequel and primer to an already rich and generous record from one of our most luminous modern songwriters.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary year of ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, Roger Waters announces the release of his homage to the original, ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux’ Waters says ‘when we recorded the stripped down songs for the Lockdown Sessions, the 50th anniversary of the release of The Dark Side Of The Moon was looming on the horizon. It occurred to to me that The Dark Side Of The Moon could well be a suitable candidate for a similar re-working, partly as a tribute to the original work, but also to re-address the political and emotional message of the whole album. I discussed it with Gus and Sean, and when we’d stopped giggling and shouting ‘You must be ****ing mad’ at one another we decided to take it on. It’s turned out really great and I’m excited for everyone to hear it. It’s not a replacement for the original which, obviously, is irreplaceable. But it is a way for the seventy nine year old man to look back across the intervening fifty years into the eyes of the twenty nine year old and say, to quote a poem of mine about my Father, “We did our best, we kept his trust, our Dad would have been proud of us”. And also it is a way for me to honor a recording that Nick and Rick and Dave and I have every right to be very proud of.’ As founding member, lyricist, and principal composer of Pink Floyd during the band’s most influential and creative period, Roger Waters has achieved global success and global renown. Waters co-founded Pink Floyd in the mid-1960s. Under Waters’ guidance, Pink Floyd made a series of best-selling albums during the 1970s, of which the most successful and iconic were The Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall. Roger Waters left Pink Floyd in 1985 and is now one of the most successful solo artists in the world.

Im Herbst 2023 erscheint bei Erased Tapes das Album Give It to
the Sky: Arthur Russell"s Tower of Meaning Expanded. Bei der
vom Komponisten und Producer Peter Broderick und dem 12-
köpfigen Ensemble 0 aus Frankreich aufgenommenen Version,
handelt es sich um eine erweiterte Neuinterpretation von Arthur
Russells minimalistischer Orchesterkomposition "Tower of
Meaning", die erstmals im Jahr 1983 veröffentlicht wurde. "Give
It to the Sky.." vereint zudem auch unveröffentlichte Stücke von
Russell, die überarbeitet und neu aufgenommen wurden. Mit
ihrer umwerfenden, insgesamt 80 Minuten langen Hommage
hauchen Broderick und Ensemble 0 dem "Tower of Meaning"
neues Leben ein und verknüpfen diesen minimalistischen
Meilenstein mit etlichen verlorenen Songideen aus Russells
Nachlass. Das komplette Album, das so gut wie ohne Overdubs
auskommt, wurde live in einem kleinen Theater im Südwesten
Frankreichs eingespielt. Gewiss war Russell nie ein Freund
endgültiger Versionen. Er dachte kontinuierlich über die
Möglichkeiten eines Stücks nach und fragte sich, was es sonst
noch alles sein oder werden könnte. "Give it to the Sky" knüpft
ganz klar an diese Herangehensweise an, indem es "Tower of
Meaning" als grobes Framework nutzt, um darauf aufzubauen,
diesen atmenden Kern nach oben und nach außen zu erweitern
- und insgesamt etwas entstehen zu lassen, das man ganz klar
in Russells wundersam-paradoxer Welt verorten kann. Auch
"Give it to the Sky" kann somit keineswegs als letztes Wort oder
ultimative Interpretation gedacht sein. Broderick und Ensemble
0 sind längst darüber im Austausch, welche Formen es auf der
Bühne annehmen oder wohin es sonst führen könnte.

Im Herbst 2023 erscheint bei Erased Tapes das Album Give It to
the Sky: Arthur Russell"s Tower of Meaning Expanded. Bei der
vom Komponisten und Producer Peter Broderick und dem 12-
köpfigen Ensemble 0 aus Frankreich aufgenommenen Version,
handelt es sich um eine erweiterte Neuinterpretation von Arthur
Russells minimalistischer Orchesterkomposition "Tower of
Meaning", die erstmals im Jahr 1983 veröffentlicht wurde. "Give
It to the Sky.." vereint zudem auch unveröffentlichte Stücke von
Russell, die überarbeitet und neu aufgenommen wurden. Mit
ihrer umwerfenden, insgesamt 80 Minuten langen Hommage
hauchen Broderick und Ensemble 0 dem "Tower of Meaning"
neues Leben ein und verknüpfen diesen minimalistischen
Meilenstein mit etlichen verlorenen Songideen aus Russells
Nachlass. Das komplette Album, das so gut wie ohne Overdubs
auskommt, wurde live in einem kleinen Theater im Südwesten
Frankreichs eingespielt. Gewiss war Russell nie ein Freund
endgültiger Versionen. Er dachte kontinuierlich über die
Möglichkeiten eines Stücks nach und fragte sich, was es sonst
noch alles sein oder werden könnte. "Give it to the Sky" knüpft
ganz klar an diese Herangehensweise an, indem es "Tower of
Meaning" als grobes Framework nutzt, um darauf aufzubauen,
diesen atmenden Kern nach oben und nach außen zu erweitern
- und insgesamt etwas entstehen zu lassen, das man ganz klar
in Russells wundersam-paradoxer Welt verorten kann. Auch
"Give it to the Sky" kann somit keineswegs als letztes Wort oder
ultimative Interpretation gedacht sein. Broderick und Ensemble
0 sind längst darüber im Austausch, welche Formen es auf der
Bühne annehmen oder wohin es sonst führen könnte.

Was als Lockdown Homerecording Projekt von Lars Schmidt Subterfuge begann, ist mittlerweile zu einer passablen Band aus alten Bekannten herangewachsen durch Christoph Schneider Klee, Clayton Farlow, Soccer, Philipp Breuer [Pale] und Mark Specht [ehem. Subterfuge]). Mit Don'ts and Dos liegt nun das Debut-Album vor, welches am 25. August digital sowie als CD und Anfang Oktober auf Vinyl über Subjangle und Less Records erscheint und über Cargo vertrieben wird. Nach der hochgelobten Simple EP im letzten Jahr (drei dieser Tracks sind als neue Versionen auf diesem Album zu finden) ist The Radio Field zurück, um uns mit ihrem Debüt "Don'ts and Dos" eine Art musikalische Archäologie des Jangle-& Twee-Pop der 80er und 90er Jahre zu liefern, mit herrlich knackigen, klaren, hochmelidiösen Riffs plus des den einehmenden Vibes des College-Rocks, welcher nie weit entfernt anklingt. "Die Songs von The Radio Field bohren sich wie ein kleiner fieser Alien-Wurm durch meinen Gehörgang direkt in das Wohlfühlzentrum meines Gehirns - und bleiben dort für immer! Schon das Debüt 'Simple EP', die Lars (man kennt ihn von der institutionellen Düsseldorfer Band Subterfuge) noch ganz alleine eingespielt hat, war grandios, jetzt kommt endlich das erste Album. Die zehn im Domblick Studio von Bassist Christoph in Köln eingespielten und mit einigen prominenten Gästen (Robert Stadtlober, Stefanie Schrank, Phantom Handshakes, Bukahara) veredelten Stücke sind durch die Bank weg Hits! Und Ohrwürmer! Und Meilensteine! Oder wie nennt Ihr denn Songs, die ihr sofort mitsingen und niemals vergessen könnt?" MARK KOWARSCH (ANTIKÖRPER AUF BYTE FM, SHARON STONED)

ZentaSkai unveils stunning, high-concept house album on Mask Records.


ZentaSkai undertook a period of research into the underlying structure and organisation of the human brain before writing ‘The Architecture Of The Mind’. The Berlin-based artist then took what had been learned and kept it in mind when writing the music that marks Mask's first album release. It comes with extensive background notes on each track, and an operational manual of sorts - notes from the artists as to the effects each piece will have on those who hear them.
"The message conveyed by this album is that life itself is filled with music, but our egos often prevent us from being in harmony with this symphony. Inner chaos and silence can be challenging to bear, leading us to seek solace in external noise. We have constructed a barrier between our inner and outer worlds, causing us to lose touch with the rhythm of harmony. However, by embracing the illusion of separation and dancing to good music, we can rediscover harmony with ourselves and our environment. To fully experience the essence of the album, it should be played loudly on a proper sound system or high-quality headphones. By immersing themselves in the music, individuals can engage with its transformative power and potentially find a deeper connection with their own minds and surroundings." - ZentaSkai.

The gorgeous 'Mind Mapping' opens up with deep and dubby drums and lush harmonies that soothe you to your core, '030' then has more raw, heavy drums with many layers of glowing synths, glassy melodies and organic found sounds. 'Fügung' keeps the deep and introspective moods coming before the crisp tech of 'Flow Dreaming' ups the ante with more drive and layers of vocal whispers, hi-hats and smeared dub chords.


Elsewhere the likes of 'Quiet Reflection' lean into the groove with swirling pads and one-word vocal sounds drifting through the air over propulsive drum loops, and 'Boiling Range' suspends you in deft synth loops amongst the stars over a prickly house beat.
The superb synth craft and well-designed grooves continue through the dusty deep house of 'Karl-Marx-Allee' and minimal dub of 'Dynamic System' before the elegant melodic techno of 'Apeiron' and dreamy synthscapes of 'Parallel 30' close the album in a reflective fashion.


This is a deeply evocative album with a fully realised concept that is as thought-provoking as it is immersive.

Enigmatic Society is the next offering from the multi-faceted, Grammy-nominated supergroup Dinner Party. Full of opulently intricate instrumentation and a range of sleek R&B to smooth neo-soul vocals, Enigmatic Society is mesmerizing in its entirety. The album features brilliant performances from the debut Dinner Party crew: Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, Kamasi Washington and 9th Wonder, with additional help vocalists Phoelix, Arin Ray, Ant Clemons, Tank and producers Sounwave, Hi-Tek and Trevor Lawrence Jr. Enigmatic Society serves as a follow up to the group’s 2020 debut self-titled album and continues as a celebration of Black joy, life, art, and culture, as it pays tribute to the duality that manifests in both the beauty and adversity in Black America. This deep sense of community and family flows throughout the project with the album’s artwork designed by Kamasi Washington’s sister, artist Amani Washington.