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Blue Lake is the musical moniker of American born, Copenhagen based multidisciplinary artist and musician Jason Dungan, who signs to the Tonal Union imprint for the release of his new longform album ‘Sun Arcs’. It follows 2022’s release ‘Stikling’, earning a nomination for ‘Album of the Year’ at the Danish Music Awards plus warm praise from The Hum blog and musicians and DJs alike including Jack Rollo (Time is Away/NTS) and Carla dal Forno. A self taught player, Dungan began freely experimenting with self-built multi-string instruments, preferring to build his own hybrid 48-string zither and working in the realms of left-field ambient music, off kilter folk and improvised acoustic minimalism.

The starting point of ‘Sun Arcs’ saw Jason travel for a week alone to Andersabo, a cabin set in the idyllic Swedish woods just outside of Unnaryd, known also as the music project, festival and residency space which has been run by Dungan since 2016, hosting artists like Sofie Birch, Johan Carøe and Ellen Arkbro. Whilst writing 1-2 pieces per day, a conscious decision was made to leave behind everyday distractions and shut out the outside world to instead focus on the natural passage of time as Dungan recalls: “My only sense of time came from these daily walks out in the woods with my dog, and an awareness of the sun’s path as it moved across the sky each day.”

The album’s immersive world unfolds with the opener ‘Dallas’, an ode to his home state and a musical synthesis of these two disparate spaces (Texas and Denmark), the touchstones of Dungan’s life. A folk-esque single acoustic builds to a flowing arrangement of clarinets, organ and cello drones coupled with percussion. ‘Green-Yellow Field’ chimes in as the first of two solo oriented zither recordings twinned with the dreamlike title track ‘Sun Arcs’, both densely rich as cascading and overlapping harmonic tones resound. ‘Bloom’ emerges with a krautrock psyche before an eruption of cello drones, slide guitar and free-ranging zither playing, ushering in the anticipation of spring. With half of the recordings conceived in Andersabo, Jason returned to Copenhagen to form the album's centre piece ‘Rain Cycle’ which features a tempered Roland drum machine alongside shifting zither improvisations. ‘Writing’ explores the shimmering harp-like qualities of sweeping playing figurations with Dungan mapping out adjusted tuning “zones” on the zither for unconventional but creatively liberating effects. ‘Fur’ captures the feeling of openness and the momentum of time, seeing Dungan perform waves of solo clarinet, often in one takes and embellished with textural drones, a zither solo, and layers of guitar. ‘Wavelength’ the album's closer is fondly inspired by the film works of Michael Snow and Don Cherry’s seminal live album ‘Blue Lake’ (1974), as it builds out from a drone-generated zither chord and features an alto recorder solo. Dungan found a deep connection to Cherry’s stripped back performance ethos, focusing on the core beauty of minimal instrumentation creating a genre-less meeting between folk and jazz. A dialogue is formed between the solo and the bandlike performances, interlinked in a geographical duality with all finding a sense of commonplace as musical sketches of visited landscapes. The bountiful instrumentation ebbs and flows as further layers emerge with Dungan constructing his material much like an artist would, recording and reviewing, adding and subtracting.

Musically it portrays a form of double life led by an American-identifying person living in Scandinavia, and a new found presence in Denmark, seeking out underdeveloped marshlands and barren stretches of beach adrift from other rhythms and distractions. Highlighting their individual and potent importance Dungan concludes: “Both places feel like “me”, I think on some level the music is always some kind of self-portrait.” ‘Sun Arcs’ depicts the intricate balance of nature’s cycles and the paths outlined by the seasons, from a winter dormancy to a warm sun drenched scene. The album scales new glorying heights and further defines Dungan’s musical narrative, inhabiting a unique space in left-field, improvised and experimental music, borning his most accomplished compositions to date. A singular and visionary expression, drawing on an array of instruments and sound worlds with a renewed sense of joy and discovery.

The album's rich tapestry was mixed by Jeff Zeigler (Laraaji, Mary Lattimore, Kurt Vile /Steve Gunn) and mastered by Stephan Mathieu (Kali Malone, KMRU, Félicia Atkinson).

Vladislav Delay presents the fifth and last EP in his "Hide Behind The Silence" series. Intuitive and raw music, momentary and reflective, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

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Stillness is a myth. Consider concepts such as ”still water”, or ”still air” for that matter. Go to a restaurant, ask them for a glass of still water, hold it against the light and see where we’re at. Even though the water itself has been captured and imprisoned in the glass, it never stops breathing. It’s filled with tiny particles, dancing. Everything can be explained on a molecular level, but since we’re not scientists – and even if you happen to be – it’s the natural world of perception that moves me.
Still air is very similar. A hot summer’s day with zero wind feels completely still. It’s the closest I have felt to complete stillness. Or for a more urban adaptation, imagine the same vibe inside a normal apartment. In those moments, revelations and mind- blowing experiences can be had with experiments in stillness.
Try this: Just sit down for a minute on a sunny day, making sure there’s enough natural light. Do absolutely nothing. Try not to breathe for a bit. (If you need a mental anchor, you can play Cage’s 4’33” in your head but nothing else.) Watch the tiny dots of dust dancing :..’ ̈.:; ́ ́*°.,’:,. ̈ ̈ ̈ ̈:,.’
The movement is crazy, but the feeling of stillness comes from witnessing how subtle it is. In (perceived) complete stillness, every act of microscopic mobility seems to speak volumes. Yet, it feels both reassuring and oddly threatening that the stillness is never complete. What if we would need absolute stillness? Or is it just enough that we can perceive something as such? Extremes attract, so for both water and air, extraordinary movement is equally fascinating. That is also a luxury item of sorts. For us to enjoy a very ”loud” body of water or air, we need to be safe, in enough control of the situation. So when you are, it’s worthwhile to pay attention and take it all in.
A rapid flowing free with extreme strength and just barely in control. Look at that water go! No still water on this one, only ”sparkling”. A windy day when birds seem surprised how hard it is to fly, but in the end they make it. Trees bend but don’t break. The wind shows you its movement but doesn’t hurt you. It feels friendly, like a big clumsy dog that doesn’t quite understand its size.
It’s beautiful to be a guest of the elements, but not at the mercy of them. A new kind of dialogue forms.

After almost 6 years of silence since “Akelarre”, Synths Versus Me, the personal musical project of Nico Cabañas, co- founder of Oráculo Records alongside the young Italian promise India Nardone. Recorded analogically in just 2 months, fluctuates in a futuristic way between different kinds of unusual dark sub styles such as industrial noise, proto- tribal, synthpunk or krautwork, and, of course, among other dance-oriented such as EBM, new beat, synthwave, electro/breakbeat or trance. Presented in ONE-OFF truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180 gr. high quality solid BLACK vinyl. All tracks have been specially mastered for vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios (Germany).

White vinyl, limited to 500 copies. Liam Cromby, known for his work as the lead singer and songwriter of We Are The Ocean until 2017, has today announced his forthcoming debut solo album What Can I Trust, If I Can't Trust True Love, due for release on December 1st 2023, also sharing the title track, available to stream/download worldwide now. "Drawing from my own experiences, this song is a testament to those early, fragile moments of a relationship_where every misstep feels like a fall and every kind gesture feels like flying," he explains. "Choosing to name the album after this song was instinctive, given that it was among the final tracks to be crafted. Even though it came later in the creative journey, it perfectly embodies the central theme of the album." Since revealing the first taste of new music in March, with the release of `Here I Am' - accompanied only by a contemplative, artful film featuring an elaborate dance between two performers - followed by `Breakdown', and last month, `At This Table', this new phase of his career is already off to an impressive start. With early airplay from BBC Introducing and Absolute Radio Country among others, an appearance at The Great Escape festival and sold-out headline shows across the country, Cromby was invited to play at the prestigious Black Deer Festival of Americana, and along with a full-band set, joined Brandy Clark, Drake White, Elles Bailey and Bella White for a Songwriter Session. Although recorded in a matter of days, the project was at least five years in the making.

Killer mid '80s 'live digital' tune made at Aquarius Studio, released for the first time ever. A rarity to get Dunkley on this type of rhythm, this one was great to unearth.

From the Dolls-meets-the-devil opening title track to the desperate Sister Lovers-adjacent finale "The Findings," The Interrogator is thirteen vibrant, crackling, scary and hilarious songs which taken together represent nothing less than a thorough and thrilling moral inventory of our decadent and depraved times. Following up and doubling down on the themes of last year's lionized cult favorite For Executive Meeting, Elizabeth Nelson has authored an album as politically potent and pointedly hilarious as antecedents like The Mekons' Rock 'n' Roll and Neil Young's on On the Beach and wed it to the sound of ZZ Top's Eliminator. As writers like Rob Sheffield and Robert Christgau have known for years Elizbeth Nelson has been one of our very best songwriters for going on a decade. On the charged anthem "Bad Day for the Group Chat" she reassesses the current state of affairs: "I have bested all my peers." “Elizabeth Nelson showcases the simultaneously fraught and giddy frequency of our weird, wired world. The Paranoid Style may be the bearer of bad news, but at least the band bears it smashingly.” NPR // “You’ll forgive them for being critic’s darlings because they’re also the goddamn life of the party.” SPIN // Features performances by Peter Holsapple of The dB’s, Continental Drifters & REM through out. Elizabeth Nelson writes for the Oxford American, N.Y. Times, Pitchfork, The Ringer and more. She has over 15,000 followers on Twitter. A

Meltheads have been spreading wildfire on stages in Belgium and The Netherlands for a good while now, driven by the metronomically tight rhythm section of Tim Pensaert (bass) and Simon de Geus (drums), and fuelled by the razor-sharp and skilful guitar of Yunas de Proost. And then there’s frontman Sietse Willems, a man born to be on stage, like Morrison, Plant and Iggy Pop in one brutal and gnarly package. On 9 February they will be releasing the long-awaited debut album ‘Decent Sex’. The album kicks off with the title track, linking Stooges to The Doors, and not beating about the bush: it’s going to be at breakneck speed, and it’s going to be loud. Just 30 minutes later, once the final notes of fever dream Melvin have died out, ‘Decent Sex’ leaves you knocked out on the floor after an insane trip along blaring post punk, visceral noise, sweeping psych and good old rock ‘n’ roll. Part of the world is already turning its head, as renowned radio stations like KEXP and Radio X Manchester are picking up songs like I Want It All and Theodore, and fellow Antwerp based rock legends dEUS took them on tour, even as far as London’s Electric Brixton. Influential music magazines like Visions (DE), Clash and DIY (UK) dug up superlatives – and comparisons to The Birthday Party – for Theodore, a song about looking for (self) love, but also about the mess drug use can lead to. All not very uplifting, and most themes return in several songs, like the dark side to relationships and sex (White Lies, Decent Sex), or toxic masculinity (Vegan Leather Boots, Theodore again) and even politics (No One Is Innocent, Arbeit). Pretty heavy stuff, but wrapped in the highly infectious and piercing guitar rock Meltheads are serving, it’s going like a bomb. Decent Sex is out on 9 February, followed by release shows in Belgium, The Netherlands and Paris. At the end of January, Meltheads will vigorously kick off the year with a show at the highly influential ESNS showcase festival, where the part of the world that is still in blissful ignorance will get to know the brute force of Meltheads.

Decent Sex by Meltheads, released 9 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Vegan Leather Boots ", "White Lies ", "No One Is Innocent ", "Gear " and more.

Formed in Fullerton, CA in 1978, Social Distortion were one of the original LA punk groups and their first single was released on legendary LA punk label Posh Boy. But far more rare than that first single ("Mainliner" b/w "Playpen") is the unreleased EP Posh Boy's Little Monsters. This EP only made it to the test pressing stage back in 1981, and featured those two tracks from the first single along with "All The Answers" and "Justice For All." This is the absolute holy grail for Social Distortion fans and it's finally available in commercial form on two limited edition pressings for RSD 2019, black vinyl available worldwide and a Europe only red vinyl limited edition. Includes 2 bonus tracks.
“Of the 3 teenagers who recorded for me, one has died, another was believed to be dead and one became immensely wealthy from playing music. The one who did hard time in prison was not Mike Ness. It was the drummer Carrot, better known as John Stevenson, now living a very ordinary life in rural Florida.
I now count John as a dear friend. Apparently, he was only l6 years old when he rolled into the studio that day in April l98l, armed with a taped up pair of drumsticks. He played great as did both Mike and Dennis (RIP). This time there was no fighting in the studio over production values. I had promised Ness that we would not fight so once there was a minor disagreement over the artwork for the proposed l2", I dropped the project in favor of the Playpen/Mainliner 7" which sported iconic artwork from the band.”

Tony Boninsegna: Notes From The Underground 1986-1994 (Volumes 1 and 2) Cold Blow / Musique Pour La Danse

The story of dance music is littered with hidden heroes and underground activists whose immense contributions have been overlooked, ignored and under-documented. Tony Boninsegna, a producer who made and released countless classic cuts and forgotten gems during the acid house and rave era, is one such example.

Melding elements of all that was popular in underground clubs at the time to create his own dancefloor-friendly sound worlds, Boninsegna amassed a huge catalogue between 1986 and '94, while hiding his involvement via an array of oddball aliases and opaque pseudonyms. Boninsegna's story first came to light four years ago when he appeared in Join The Future: Bleep Techno and the Birth of British Bass Music, Matt Anniss's critically acclaimed alternative history of UK dance music in the rave era. Now Cold Blow has joined forces with Musique Pour La Danse to deliver a much-needed anthology of his greatest productions and
co-productions - many rare or hard-to-find - for the first time.
Featuring 24 restored and remastered tracks stretched across two volumes on vinyl and digital, including a handful of previously unreleased tracks and mixes, and accompanied by detailed sleeve notes by Anniss, Notes From The Underground 1986-1994 is a joyful celebration of one of British dance music's most under-appreciated artists. The full breadth and depth of Boninsegna's rave-ready catalogue, as well as an indication of
the sheer volume of aliases he utilised during the period, is explored in detail across the two-part compilation.

Fittingly, volume one features two previously unreleased recordings that mark his earliest explorations of the emerging house sound (both as The Rhythm Squad, with Richard Compton), alongside touchstone releases such as Zeco's 'The Witch Trials' (a 1989 production that marked his first outing on vinyl), celebrated workouts recorded with regular collaborator Mykey Tee (Lab Technicians' bleep-inspired 'We Gave U Life', Big Showdown's epic 'They're Here' and AEK's mind-mangling, bleep & breaks number 'Lick It'), and genuinely overlooked gems (the proto-tribal house of Pierrepoint's acid-smothered 'Tonnerre' and saucer-eyed rush of Estudiantes' 'Let The Music Into Your Mind').

It all adds up to the definitive musical retrospective of a genuine underground, rave-era hero whose time in the spotlight may finally have arrived.

NOW Music is proud to present the next instalment in our ongoing ‘Yearbook’ series – and the second to celebrate the ‘90s, NOW – Yearbook 1990; 79 tracks from a fantastic year in Pop! Available on 4CD deluxe book format with 79 tracks , 4CD std digi with 79 tracks and 44 tracks from a fantastic year in Pop, pressed on gorgeous translucent triple orange vinyl. Disc One includes #1s from New Order, New Kids On The Block, Steve Miller Band, and The Beautiful South, as well as Pop smashes from The KLF, The B-52’s, Kylie Minogue, Whitney Houston Kim Appleby, and concluding with the theme from Twin Peaks, Julee Cruise’s ‘Falling’, Chris Isaak with ‘Wicked Game’ and Pet Shop Boys defining ‘Being Boring’. Dance floor-fillers kick off Disc 2 from Deee-Lite with ‘Groove Is In The Heart’, #1s from SNAP!, and from Adamski & Seal plus club classics from Bass-O-Matic and Adventures Of Stevie V with ‘Dirty Cash (Money Talks)’, plus the unexpected collaboration between DNA & Suzanne Vega. Disc 3 opens with the still-breathtaking interpretation of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ from Sinéad O'Connor. Up next are film related hits; Maria McKee’s ‘Show Me Heaven’, from the ‘Days Of Thunder’ soundtrack, and the ‘Young Guns II’ track ‘Blaze Of Glory’ from Jon Bon Jovi

One of his best albums from the mid-Sixties, Yusef Lateef's 1984 is a truly experimental work. With bassist Reggie Workman, pianist Mike Nock, and drummer James Black, it goes from the eight-minute title track that opens the album to the two-minute, angular modal ballad "Try Love." Reviewer Thom Jurek gave it four out of five stars in AllMusic, stating that "1984 certainly seems to be shaping up into one weird record.

The title is an experimental, noodling improv with Lateef moaning as if in mourning. But then with 'Soul Sister,' featuring Lateef's deep, bluesy, tenor blowing around a gorgeous lyric figure, and Mike Nock's stunningly beautiful soloing on 'Love Waltz,' the entire album moves in another direction, even if it isn't terribly focused. In all, a complex yet emotionally and musically rewarding effort by a master.”

White Vinyl

Soon after the release in 2022 of a triple album dedicated to electronic language, Principles of Geometry continues their orbiting journey that began exactly 20 years ago with "Penta," a Maxi composed of five electro-geometric vignettes that confirm what we already knew: the discreet French duo pilots one of the most underestimated projects in European IDM.

By returning just one year after a massive fifth album (26 tracks), Principles of Geometry makes a clear artistic move: shifting from electronic language unfolded on ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ to gesture, as one would associate intellect with manual, actions with words. On "Penta," to be visualized as the five fingers of a hand sketching the immediate and spontaneous pleasure of a hand pressing a chord, Guillaume Grosso and Jeremy Duval thus combine two essential concepts of their electronic music: the need to make the listener dance with their brains, and to touch with their mental images.

With nods to the godfathers of the genre (Autechre and Boards of Canada) or crossing paths with Aphex Twin in a Michael Mann film, "Penta" is therefore a beauty of gesture first conceived with the fingers, and without the need for words to evoke either the romance or the violence of a chord on a Roland Juno 60.

Mastered by the legend Noel Summerville (Boards of Canada, Kraftwerk, My Bloody Valentine) and designed by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic (responsible for the graphics of the cult WipEout and many collaborations with the Warp label), this Maxi is therefore listened to as much as a recreational return to the future of the 90s as it is a concise summary of the equilateral career of Principles of Geometry; equally distant between pure emotion and the need to ponder the notes played in this very special ship.

"The Riot City Years" reissued on STUNNING YELLOW VINYL! Bristol's own Vice Squad were one of the earliest UK punk groups with a female lead vocalist. Beki Bondage was a heartthrob to any British lad of a certain age and her dynamic stage presence and vocal prowess made Vice Squad one of the most popular acts of the second wave of British punk. This killer collection features tracks from the Riot City singles plus demos. Another essential UK punk compilation from one of the greatest singles bands of the early 80's scene.

All & Nothing has become one of the icons of Spanish underground rock of the 70s and their records are among the most sought-after pieces by collectors. With a short discography consisting of just two singles - one of them was even released in Argentina with an alternative cover- the band All & Nothing has become one of the icons of Spanish underground rock of the 70s and their records are among the most sought-after pieces by collectors. The group was really nothing more than a studio project, put together by journalist and record producer José Luis Alvarez, who never performed in public. Their goal was to record songs in the same style that the emerging Andalusian rock scene was already doing in the south of Spain under the influence of the latest international rock trends -imported through the US military bases- and the local musical idiosyncrasy. Although most of the recorded songs - some of whom remained unreleased for years- succeeded in reflecting the original goal, for this first single of All & Nothing their producer instructed the band to record something similar to Iron Butterfly's classic 'In-a-gadda-da-vida', and 'Underground Vibrations nº 2' seems to be a very accomplished effort. The record has become a very sought-after item for those collecting the lesser-known side of 70s Spanish underground rock. The stunning rhythm section on both sides of the single plus the overwhelming organ solos and firing wah-wah and fuzz guitars explain the high interest on this elusive 45, a must in the top DJs record boxes. We are happy to reissue this amazing All & Nothing debut 7" for the first time, remastered from the original tapes and featuring the 1970 sleeve artwork.

The story of Astral Bakers is an obvious one. Four experienced musicians get together in the same room, and make music as if it were the first time. Some say acoustic rock, others say soft grunge. Songs in English, halfway between Big Thief, Supertramp and an unplugged Nirvana concert. Initially, Sage (formerly of Revolver), Theodora, Nico Lockhart and Zoé Hochberg know each other from having collaborated together on other tours and records. All have worked with artists as varied as Clara Luciani, November Ultra, Woodkid, Pomme and Revolver. Together, they crave something different: epiphanies and presence, friendship and purity. No demos, no re-recording: just circular listening, between two guitars (Sage and Nicolas) that converse with each other, a bass (Theodora) that holds time, and soft drums (Zoé)thatenfoldthewhole.Selected by Spotify for their RADAR program, and already acclaimed by critics,this10-trackdebutalbum,writteninalivesetting,isalreadymakingitsmarkonthe 2024 indie landscape.

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

One of Europe's most popular alternative / dark wave bands. Lebanon Hanover have over one million monthly listeners on Spotify. Following their first US tour in over a decade, Lebanon Hanover returns with a soul-stirring double A-side single release, marking their first new material since the captivating 2020 album, 'Sci-Fi Sky.' Now, the enigmatic duo of William Maybelline and Larissa Iceglass beckons listeners into unventured sonic domains, intricately weaving folk-driven acoustic dream pop with the vulnerable essence of post-punk in a contemplative exploration of life's ephemeral yet profound nature. Embarking on a Cure-like sonic voyage reminiscent of the 'Head on the Door' and the 'Kiss Me' era, title track 'Better Than Going Under' manifests as a romantic, sombre daydream. William Maybelline's brooding baritone intertwines with sighing back vocals, narrating an ode to life's fleeting yet boundless vistas. The acoustic strums initiate a folk-driven narrative which, when coupled with a celestial choir, crafts a contemplative soundscape of cautious optimism, reminiscent of Echo and the Bunnymen or The Church.. KYIV: Bearing the name of Ukraine's capital, 'KYIV,' voiced by Larissa Iceglass, delves into a narrative reflective of the sorrow and despair entwined within war-torn regions like Ukraine and beyond. The acoustic guitar and drum machine create a Cocteau Twins' 'Treasure'-esque soundscape, evoking a melancholic yet beautiful auditory journey. Iceglass's voice, transitioning from her husky baritone to a more resigned lament, embodies a poignant reflection on the harsh realities faced by those embroiled in conflict-ridden landscap

Je prie pour que la goutte ne tombe pas" (I pray that the drop does not fall) is the first international release by Japanese trio Chi To Shizuku. While they have released five albums and a 7” in Japan, their spectral, haunted rock songs haven’t yet reached a much wider audience overseas. With this album, then, a live recording taken at Koenji HIGH, Suginami, Tokyo on 23rd November 2021, the unique, quartz-like character of Chi To Shizuku’s music is writ large, the bleak bliss of their songs carved onto twelve-inch vinyl.

Perhaps the best-known member of Chi To Shizuku, at least for audiences with an ear turned to Japanese psychedelia, is drummer Takahashi Ikuro, known for his membership of almost every group worth a damn from that scene – Fushitsusha, Nagisa Ni Te, Ché-SHIZU, Kousokuya, High Rise, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, LSD March, the list goes on. But the core of Chi To Shizuku’s music is the collaboration between vocalist, bassist and lyricist Morikawa Seiichirou, and guitarist and arranger Yamagiwa Hideki. Morikawa is a member of long- running punk/goth group Z.O.A., and has also played with YBO2, Zzzoo, and as collaborator with Takeshi and Atsuo of Boris in A/N; he’s also recently been performing with Mitsuru Tabata. Yamagiwa’s history takes in stints with Katsurei and Cock C’ Nell, and he also recently guested with la scene 裸身.

All this contextual information does relatively little, though, to prepare you for the unique vibration of Chi To Shizuku’s lustrous songs. They shimmer in the same half-light, perhaps, as Shizuka and the quieter moments of LSD March, sharing a similar poise and classicism, and there’s a tenderness and wracked poetry to Morikawa’s voice that reminds of the emotional intensities both of traditional Japanese folk, and of British folk music: on “Musuu No Nemuri No Naka De Kumo Wo Tukamu”, the combination of his singing, backed with gorgeously plangent guitar, reminds of no-one so much as it does The Pentangle or Spriguns Of Tolgus. Chi To Shizuku’s love for the ballad as form gifts their music an archaic, sometimes arcane resonance, and from what you can hear on this album, it’s clear they’re in love with graceful melancholy.

But this is not a folk album, by any means; it just shivers with the same eternal spirit. There are also hints of prog rock, and you can catch some passages of scratchy, distended free rock, on the extended spirit invocation of “Nanhito Hanhito”. je prie pour que la goutte ne tombe pas is an extraordinary album, a melancholy surprise, that reminds dedicated listeners of the seemingly bottomless well of great music to be found via the Japanese underground in its many forms. Perhaps Michel Henritzi says it best, though, in his liner notes, when he writes, “Chi To Shizuku’s music reminds us that our life is a dream that lasts only a season, and that oblivion will follow.”

It is no secret that Montreal had a bubbly disco scene, but there are still some under-the-radar gems. Sophie Stanké is one of them. The charismatic Quebec-Lithuanian actress, radio host and singer hung around with some of the hippest disco people of the 80s, and worked on the sexy boogie song "L'amour d'une diva" with no other than Geraldine Hunt. Scandalous at the time, it became a local disco hit. Famous french singer Daniel Guichard noticed her and signed the song – slightly rearranged – in France on his label Kuklos. Here is the rarest original Canadian arrangement that Stima reissued, in all its glory: long and instrumental versions.

The other side includes the more obscure and even more erotic "J'adore". It was issued in 1987 under her first name, Sophie, with synth-pop and new wave influence. An instrumental was missing, thus Baerlz delivers a new dub cover and now each song has also its “version”, in the purest 80s 12 inches tradition.

After ten years spent in France, where she worked with another star singer Nicolas Peyrac, Sophie is now still active in Québec's cultural life. Stima is proud to have her permission to reissue these 2 fresh 80s tracks to hit the modern dancefloors.