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Boulevards, also known as Jamil Rashad, returns with Carolina Funk: Barn Burner On Tobacco Road. Teaming up with funk producer Sergio Rios (Orgone, Say she she, Neal Francis). Taking notes from rare funk records and blaxploitation, Carolina Funk: Barn Burner on Tobacco Road is a raw, muddy, infectious, live testament to the funk. With infectious hooks, syncopated basslines, tight drums and classic horns that bring a punchy and soulful element to the funk.

Scoring the lives of small-time players, pimps, junkies, and prostitutes lurking around his simultaneously blessed and cursed existence, Wee mastermind Norman Whiteside lived in an entirely different Columbus than Capsoul's Bill Moss or Prix's Clem Price. Alternating between Stevie Wonder's dreamy soul and Sly Stone's druggy groove, You Can Fly On My Aeroplane bypasses Whiteside's everyday gritty street life reality, focusing instead on the airy sounds of fantasy and masquerade. Smooth, sexy, and synthy, You Can Fly On My Aeroplane is a peerless and sprawling psychedelic soul concept album and a sure'fire panty soaker to boot.

Für die meisten Bands ist das Musikmachen therapeutisch. Das
ist zwar ein Klischee, aber Klischees sind aus einem bestimmten
Grund Klischees - weil sie normalerweise wahr sind. Frontmann
Jose Prieto hat sein Herz schon immer auf der Zunge getragen,
und die Alben von MakeWar sind allesamt äußerst kathartische
Angelegenheiten, die von der Verheißung und dem Schrecken der
menschlichen Erfahrung nur so strotzen.

Record Store Day repress!

Emerging from the undeniable pit of despair that is 2020, LADYMONIX offers up a brand new 4 track EP to lift your spirits and accompany your ever-evolving isolation as we head into an uncertain Fall.

CLUB NOWHERE begins with two meditative grooves that naturally rolled out from LADYMONIX's attempts to self-sooth during the early stages of lockdown. The confident basslines and swirling pads of the A1 title track and A2 'Mood' make a lush bed for you to curl up on.

Flip over the to the B-side and the underground therapy session continues with a little more signature 'Monix swing and attitude. 'Gonna Let' is one of those joints that creeps up on you and settles into your collection - the kind of track that makes you close your eyes and melt into your own space; future-tripping from your couch about clubbing again in 2021... To conclude, 'Movin On' lays out LADYMONIX's closing statement on the sorry state of global affairs: "I'm gone." -accepting the new-normal with a knowing musical eye-roll. Coz what else are you gonna do? Change what you can, accept what you can't, and whatever you do MAKE IT FASHION, HONEY!

Jenifa Mayanja is a favourite amongst true deep house heads. Her work is smoky, jazzy, and emotive, and has come on labels like Underground Quality before now. Here she arrives on the sixth EP from fledgling but already cultured label Sole Aspect and shows off her sophisticated sound once more. 'Rise To The Top' is full of elegant harmonies and jazz melodies that dance on pulsing rhythms, 'Like A Dream' brings spiritual vocals to bold chords and dusty drums while 'Our World' has piano lines floating high over the languid drums and bass.

'Rose Colored Glasses' has fresh melodies and challenging synths that defy usual genre norms and bring all new ideas to deep house. This is music that elevates mind, body and soul.

Baxter Dury’s neues und siebtes Studioalbum heißt 'I Thought I Was Better Than You' (über Heavenly Recordings).

Mit ordentlich Selbstironie und Sprachakrobatik malt der Musiker und Schriftsteller eine wilde Collage aus schrägen Träumen und Szenen, in der Baxter mit seinem Erwachsenwerden abrechnet. Doch anstatt nur mit einem Baseballschläger blindlings auf seine Vergangenheit einzuschlagen, spricht er offen über den giftigen Cocktail, in unglückliche Umstände hineingeboren zu werden, ohne richtige Strukturen oder Verantwortungsgefühl, und schwankt dabei zwischen “Fuck you Leon…/ You stole the sunglasses and I got busted” und dem Wunsch nach “Porridge in the morning and be normal”.

Mit kaum funktionierenden Maschinen arbeitete Baxter alleine in seinem Wohnzimmer an groben Demos, die er Produzent Paul White (Danny Brown, Obonjayer, Charli XCX) übergab, der sie in wiederum in seinem Wohnzimmer mit etwas besserem Equipment zum Leben erweckte.

Auf der ersten Single 'Aylesbury Boy' erzählt Dury von “Day Ghosts” und Personen, die lieber durch die Straßen streifen und die Schule meiden, aber auch enttäuschten Erwachsenen, die genau diese Entscheidungen bereuen. In Kombination mit dem swingenden Westcoast-angehauchten Hip-Hop-Beat und Spoken-Word-Elementen ergibt sich dabei eine besondere Kombination aus Humor und Mitgefühl, die Baxters gezeichnete Bilder begleitet. “This song is about coming from one place and arriving at another without fitting in to either, and I think of these people like characters from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.”

NEW WORLD DEPRESSION by $uicideboy$ delves deep into a tumultuous psyche, portraying a world riddled with inner demons, existential crises, and a stark defiance of societal norms. Throughout the album, the duo navigates through themes of fame, self-destruction, and the relentless search for identity amidst chaos. Their raw, unfiltered lyrics serve as a gritty narrative of personal turmoil, substance abuse, and the struggle for authenticity in a world that often feels cold and indifferent. This album is an unapologetic exploration of the darker sides of human experience, resonating with anyone who has ever felt out of place or battled with their own shadows.

Two versions available - limited hand numbered (100 copies) of red vinyl and normal black vinyl version.

"Balance", the artist's third album, is a return to the roots, i.e. towards club sounds - on the album you can hear several amazing guests - Dominik Płonek, YANA, Dizkret, Runforrest, Einar Indra from Iceland and DJ Eprom. A unique mix of artpop with sophisticated electronics, which Envee brought together with its amazing mixing and mastering. For dessert, Barrakuz, which took the title "Balance" from Wojtek Koziar's photo to a new dimension with its collage. Everything is perfect on this album.

Neutrals return after five years with album number two, a co-release between Static Shock Records and Slumberland. New Town Dream is thirteen songs of innocence, intensity and observations of everyday life. It’s like a Mike Leigh film lyrically - seeing the world through the eyes of normal people but with music that leans heavily on the TV Personalities, The Times, The Wedding Present and the Jam. The rhythm section is the perfect foil for the spikey and clean guitar work but it’s always the tune that is king with Neutrals. One listen and you are transported into the world of travel agents, bus conductors, kebabs and substitute teachers. It’s the sound of a time long gone but a time we miss and love.

2025 Repress

Released in 1969, this is probably the best modern British jazz LP of all time. A beguiling mix of East meets West rhythms, ideas and joy, repressed with an authentic flip back sleeve.

An original of this will cost you about £2000. Because it’s rare but mainly because it’s absolutely amazing. A sax player hailing from the Jamaican Alpha School. A sublime guitarist from Mumbai, an tight quintet with special guests that include Norma Winstone on improvised wordless vocals. One session, 1969, at the very peak of British jazz invention and sound. I could go on and on about this but no one will actually read it. This album is brilliant and addictive in so many ways. It really does not get batter. Miss this at your peril.

First time on vinyl!
Newly remastered. LP housed in a gatefold jacket.
Featuring Herbie Hancock, Martha Reeves, Alphonse Mouzon, Chuck Rainey, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks, Carlos Morales, and members of The Pointer Sisters.

In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music – a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said “funk you” to the music industry and social norms.

In 1979, when Davis entered an L.A. studio to record her fifth and final album, she was reeling from a series of setbacks. Three years earlier, after recording her fourth album, Is It Love Or Desire, Davis was dropped from her label and the LP was subsequently shelved. In 1978, her beloved band Funk House went their separate ways. Looking for a fresh start, Davis relocated to Hollywood to focus on songwriting. Before long, British manager Simon Lait (Toni Basil), offered to fund her next project.

With renewed vigor, Davis reunited with former Funk House guitarist Carlos Morales and brought together industry veterans like fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon and session bassist Chuck Rainey. Old friends Anita and Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) and Patryce “Choc’let” Banks joined Davis on vocals, as did Motown legend Martha Reeves. The resulting album, Crashin’ From Passion, was her most musically diverse, blending elements of reggae and calypso (“I’ve Danced Before”), jazz (“Hangin’ Out in Hollywood,” “Tell Me a Few Things”), dark synth-pop (“She’s a Woman”), and even disco (“All I Do Is Think of You”). Equally exploratory are Davis’ vocals, as she trades in her signature sass and snarls for more nuanced stylings.

Among the album’s few funk tracks is “Quintessence of Hip,” in which Davis hails musicians like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane, while deftly integrating elements of their work. The song also offers a moment of stark vulnerability, as she sings, “Isn’t rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing so late in my career.” It would prove to be a prophetic line in the months to follow.

The mixing process was mired by artistic differences and then cut short, amid the death of Davis’ beloved father. Bereft and exasperated, Davis returned home for the funeral, setting into motion her retirement from the music industry. Crashin’ From Passion, meanwhile, would be shelved for 15 years and licensed for a CD-only release, without Davis’ consent, in the ‘90s. This 2023 edition of the album, made with Davis’ full approval and cooperation, marks its first official release and first time ever on vinyl. The package was designed by GRAMMY®-winning artist, Masaki Koike, while the album cover features an incredible shot of Betty captured in London in the mid-1970s by renowned photographer Kate Simon.

Crashin’ From Passion was remastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters and pressed on vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI). The accompanying booklet includes a treasure trove of rare photos from the era, plus lyrics, and new liner notes by writer, ethnomusicologist, and Betty’s close friend, Danielle Maggio, who integrates interviews that she conducted with Davis, marking her last ever interviews.

2010 release from the critically acclaimed Punk trio. Last year, Screaming Females toured relentlessly in support of their critically acclaimed third album Power Move. Their hard work landed them spots opening for Dinosaur Jr., Throwing Muses, and Jay Reatard, plus dates touring with Arctic Monkeys and the Dead Weather. The year brought them to a wider mainstream consciousness, gaining attention for their Punk Rock sensibilities and their raucous live shows driven by front woman Marissa Paternoster’s famed guitar heroics. On Castle Talk, the trio proves their abilities as more than just a pint-sized guitar shredder. Castle Talk showcases their growth together as a unit, as a band, with some of their most complex and confident songwriting to date.

Imaginary time is a representation of time that appears in some approaches to quantum mechanics; mathematically speaking, it simply is a line perpendicular to the time axis. Inspired by this concept and by the possibilty of transcending the normal restrictions of time and space through the power of imagination, Industrial / DIY music cult act Nocturnal Emissions released a first raw and irregular version of Imaginary Time in 1996, followed three years later by a new more rave inspired mix, this time reflecting a political urge of that particular moment in time when the squatting scene, free parties, and non commercial raves - all existing tied up with campaigns of anti-capitalist protests going on in the late 90s - were upsetting the powers of the ruling class and the authoritarian government in the UK. Sunny Crypt is beyond happy to bring back to life all the past forms of Imaginary Time in another particular moment on this timeline as its sixth release with a fully remastered vinyl reissue, with a brand new powerhouse 4/4 remix by all things Techno / Electro / Jacking wizard Gesloten Cirkel and a renewed graphic outfit. There’s another kind of time!

First time on vinyl!
Newly remastered. LP housed in a gatefold jacket.
Featuring Herbie Hancock, Martha Reeves, Alphonse Mouzon, Chuck Rainey, Patryce “Choc’let” Banks, Carlos Morales, and members of The Pointer Sisters.

In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music – a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said “funk you” to the music industry and social norms.

In 1979, when Davis entered an L.A. studio to record her fifth and final album, she was reeling from a series of setbacks. Three years earlier, after recording her fourth album, Is It Love Or Desire, Davis was dropped from her label and the LP was subsequently shelved. In 1978, her beloved band Funk House went their separate ways. Looking for a fresh start, Davis relocated to Hollywood to focus on songwriting. Before long, British manager Simon Lait (Toni Basil), offered to fund her next project.

With renewed vigor, Davis reunited with former Funk House guitarist Carlos Morales and brought together industry veterans like fusion drummer Alphonse Mouzon and session bassist Chuck Rainey. Old friends Anita and Bonnie Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) and Patryce “Choc’let” Banks joined Davis on vocals, as did Motown legend Martha Reeves. The resulting album, Crashin’ From Passion, was her most musically diverse, blending elements of reggae and calypso (“I’ve Danced Before”), jazz (“Hangin’ Out in Hollywood,” “Tell Me a Few Things”), dark synth-pop (“She’s a Woman”), and even disco (“All I Do Is Think of You”). Equally exploratory are Davis’ vocals, as she trades in her signature sass and snarls for more nuanced stylings.

Among the album’s few funk tracks is “Quintessence of Hip,” in which Davis hails musicians like Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, and John Coltrane, while deftly integrating elements of their work. The song also offers a moment of stark vulnerability, as she sings, “Isn’t rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing so late in my career.” It would prove to be a prophetic line in the months to follow.

The mixing process was mired by artistic differences and then cut short, amid the death of Davis’ beloved father. Bereft and exasperated, Davis returned home for the funeral, setting into motion her retirement from the music industry. Crashin’ From Passion, meanwhile, would be shelved for 15 years and licensed for a CD-only release, without Davis’ consent, in the ‘90s. This 2023 edition of the album, made with Davis’ full approval and cooperation, marks its first official release and first time ever on vinyl. The package was designed by GRAMMY®-winning artist, Masaki Koike, while the album cover features an incredible shot of Betty captured in London in the mid-1970s by renowned photographer Kate Simon.

Crashin’ From Passion was remastered by Dave Cooley at Elysian Masters and pressed on vinyl at Record Technology, Inc. (RTI). The accompanying booklet includes a treasure trove of rare photos from the era, plus lyrics, and new liner notes by writer, ethnomusicologist, and Betty’s close friend, Danielle Maggio, who integrates interviews that she conducted with Davis, marking her last ever interviews.

‘Empires into Sand’ is the first album of new material from Normil Hawaiians in 40 years. The group first refined their sound during the early 80s, hitting on a pastoral experimentalism that drew on ambient drone, motorik impulse and post-punk pep.
‘Empires into Sand’ came together in the familiar manner of their original three albums, with improvisation and nuance informing the blueprint of the tracks. It was with the official release of this last record ‘Return of the Ranters’ (originally recorded in 1984/85, but then unconsciously shelved) in 2015 by Upset The Rhythm that led to the group reconnecting with the intention of playing music together again. Normil Hawaiians played a launch show for that ‘lost album’ and followed that up with more concerts, including an appearance at Supernormal, a residency at the Edinburgh Festival, gigs at Cafe OTO. They were even chosen by Richard Dawson to perform with him in London.
Throughout this time, Normil Hawaiians revisited their original songs for live performance. However for a group always so interested in evolving their sound, it came as no surprise that they shirked at the idea of a faithful retread. The band pushed their songs into new inventive dimensions, still progressive at core, but now imbued with a cosmic uncanny. A cinematic approach that was always quietly present has come to the fore. The quaint weirdness of folk song, the humanity of communal practice and the group’s ecological mindedness have all found a place in Normil Hawaiians’ current sound world.
When Normil Hawaiians write and record music they prefer to gather in a remote location and live together for a while, such is their communal ethos. Being far-flung across the UK, the Family Hawaii (numbering seven key members) decided to encamp to Tayinloan, a small village on the west coast of the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland. They set up their own studio in an isolated, windswept house overlooking the sea and started the tape rolling. Noel Blanden from the band explains the process neatly: “we set up and began playing, slowly and patiently, allowing the music to take its own shape based on where we were staying and our ongoing friendship. We recorded for days, capturing everything. A lot of new and rich ideas began to emerge”.
Normil Hawaiians took their time to develop these threads at their own pace, allowing songs to mutate and settle over months. Simon Marchant deftly produced and recorded the album whilst also performing in the band, this marked the first time the band had total control of their own sound. The last few years has seen the band reconvene in Herne Bay, Faversham, London and Leith to record new parts, constantly responding to the changing form of these quietly spectral songs of defiance.
‘Empires into Sand’ incorporates samples from old rehearsals and live music into the new finished pieces, this is in continuum with their previous records. Snippets of sound from the static of short wave radio and satellite transmissions also embellish the work. In fact the whole album is stitched together with interludes, creating an acutely immersive 45 minutes. ‘Exiles’ opens the album amid swirling atmospheres, synth flights and recordings of Vilnis Egle (father of Zinta Egle from the band) retelling his experience of fleeing his home in Latvia during Soviet occupation in 1942. George Bikandy also features on this track talking about his flight from Syria in 2014. ‘Ghosts of Ballochroy’ is a winding river of a song featuring a lively discourse in Scots courtesy of Rodney Relax. There’s a commitment to truth telling present across this hopeful album populated with angels, incoming tides, long shadows and the rose-washed sun. “From our broken windscreen, we feel the breeze” soars Guy Smith triumphantly over the driving beat of ‘Waterfalls : Bedford 330’. ‘Big City Sky’ flutters and sparkles with rapid synth runs, tape-looped drums and Jimmy Miller’s commanding vocal. With ‘In The Stone’ Zinta’s melody is deliberately jagged and blunt, exaggerated by octave-layered vocals and interjections from Guy.
This is thought-provoking, boundary-bothering music. Honest in intent, a solidarity of vision. The album’s title is derived from a poem by band member Mark Tyler, who sadly passed away during the recording process and the transience of life is felt heavily throughout. Noel best coins the group’s wish for the album: “we wanted to create an album that acknowledges our history and also reflects who we are today. We remained true to ourselves and we wanted to make something beautiful without removing the edges.” ‘Empires into Sand’ certainly does that, it’s an echo from the past, an echo from the future.

"The debut longplayer from Washington, DC-based Ekko Astral is a complex mesh of bubblegum noise punk and no-wave art rock that holds an elastic space for the knotty, tangled horrors of living in the imperial core. Their songs thrash with intense, necessary defiance against codified gender-based violence, their distortion and sibilance a direct response to the dangers outside our front doors.

pink balloons opener “head empty blues” specifically bites back against the terrors of the normative male gaze that dominates so much of American culture. Over a post-punk passage that plays call and response with a wall of harsh noise, frontwoman Jael Holzman belts playfully morbid details of the head-exploding anxieties that haunt her daily: “is it bon eye-ver or bon iver? / i don’t care / i’ve got stalkers outside / not going out tonight / gonna sit and take pics / in my underwear.”

Holzman formed the band in 2021 with best friend Liam Hughes (guitar), and eventually rounded out the band’s lineup with Miri Tyler (drums), Guinevere Tully (bass), and Sam Elmore (guitar). Ekko Astral’s local scene quickly welcomed the band for their wildly fierce live presence, emboldened by the community-building message behind the band’s mascara mosh pit brand.

Ultimately, Ekko Astral are here to uplift, a mission exemplified by the frenetic and bewitching pre-release singles “baethoven” and “devorah,” cornerstones of pink balloons in both style and theme. The former serves as a reminder to keep your larger than life personality in a world that wants to downsize you, where the latter proclaims urgent solidarity with missing and murdered people. Such crucial messages of upliftment are the foundation of pink balloons, and, by extension Ekko Astral, whose thrashing debut leaves no stone of solidarity unturned."

Exit Plan" ist das 6. Studioalbum von Withering Surface nach dem Erfolg des 2020er-Comeback-Albums "Meet You Maker". Der Prozess des "Exit Plan"-Albums war lang und herausfordernd mit verschiedenen Aufnahmesessions, Besetzungswechseln, Produzenten und obendrein all den Hindernissen mit Covid und Post-Covid. Die Tatsache, dass die Engagements der Band bei Copenhell und verschiedenen anderen Festivals im Jahr 2020 um zwei Jahre auf 2022 verschoben wurden, hätte Withering Surface, die nach 15 Jahren im Dornröschenschlaf ein Comeback feierten, leicht das Leben kosten können. Stattdessen wurden alle Anstrengungen in die Entwicklung von "Exit Plan" gesteckt. Ein Album, auf dem sowohl das Songwriting als auch das lyrische Konzept der Band stärker denn je erscheinen. Hinzu kommt die Produktion von Soren Andersen (Medley Studio), der
in Rock- und Hardrockkreisen vor allem durch seine Arbeit mit Künstlern wie Thundermother, Tygers Of Pan Tang und Glenn Hughes bekannt ist.

Soren Andersen war nicht die offensichtliche Wahl als Produzent für eine Melodic-Death-Metal-Band, aber am Ende war er die perfekte Ergänzung für Withering Surface anno 2024 und lieferte einen gewaltigen Over-the-Top-Sound. Das lyrische Konzept: "Exit Plan" handelt davon, Grenzen und Normen, die einem gesetzt wurden, zu durchbrechen. Einen mentalen Schlussstrich ziehen und neu anfangen. Völlige Klarheit darüber zu bekommen, wo man ist und hingeht und enden will = "Exit Plan". Songtitel wie "Where
Dreamers Die", "Mindreader", "You Hurt This Child" und "I Finally Lost (All Faith In Humanity)" haben alle eine lyrische Grundlage in der oben genannten Lebenseinstellung, Sex, Scham, Religion und einem schwindenden Menschenbild.

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repressed !

The Late Night Tales compilation is a bit of a ‘stealth’ project for me personally. I’m very proud of it, but at the time, I probably didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now because there was so much going on. You do these things in-between touring and you don’t really have time to reflect on them because you’re immediately onto the next thing. It’s nice to know that it’s getting re-released. George Evelyn - Nightmares on Wax May 2024 This ain't no normal nightmare, kid. This is Nightmares On Wax, aka DJ EASE, aka George Evelyn. Born under a bad sign, with lino in hand, Mr. Evelyn went forth into the world and breakdanced (brokedance?). It's what you did in the 80s when you were young, loved hip hop and couldn't rap for toffee. When house arrived they turned their clever hands to it. Bleeps and beats is what it was. That's what everyone said. But there was always a bit more than a bunch of bleeps to what Nightmares On Wax did. The north never really took the name very seriously (Sweet Exorcist even named their album Clonk as a pisstake). Then George flipped the script and went and did Smokers Delight, the beats not so much seminal as semolina: gloopy and slow and sweet and lovely. And now we have this: a 2024 reissue of his seminal Late Night Tales compilation. Tom Scott's 'Sneakin' In The Back' — one of the most sampled beats in hip hop — makes an appearance in its full glory, while Quincy Jones, the inspiration for NOW's 'Nights Interlude', backs up the classics with ‘Listen (What It Is)’. Evelyn's hip hop sensibility is to the fore throughout and nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Intergalactic Throwdown' by former Freestylers' DJ, Mad Doctor X. And can we forget the sublime version of the Classic IV's 'Spooky' by darling Dusty? No, we can't. Finally — oh, finally! — there is the now-traditional cover version, with George serving up a soupy version of 'Brothers On The Slide' that gives a nod of respect to the original British funk soul brothers, Cymande. This ain't no nightmare at all: it's Nightmares On Wax.