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Pelican and Thrill Jockey are proud to present a deluxe edition of the band"s acclaimed 2005 album The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, newly remixed, remastered and featuring special bonus rarities including an early version of "Red Ran Amber," (previously only available on a split with MONO) and demos of "Autumn Into Summer," "Last Day of Winter" and "Sirius". The Fire In Our Throats established Pelican as indisputable masters of their craft. Pelican"s ability to alchemize their influences into a sound so wholly original and then expand on that sound into a work of captivating beauty remains a marvel. The album indelibly shifted the paradigm of heavy music and the ripples of that shift can be heard in the countless bands who have risen to prominence since its release. The genre-busting nature of the album"s melodicism and refined dynamics was a harbinger of things to come in a genre whose strict boundaries were rapidly being shattered; a fact recognized and cemented by the album"s critical reception, which engendered everything from an Album of the Year nod from Decibel, to pontifications about Pelican representing a rising wave of intellectualism in metal from the New York Times. Nearly two decades since the album"s release on Hydra Head Records, The Fire In Our Throats has stood as not just one of the band"s most celebrated releases, but as a watershed work of avant-metal. The album arrives with a fresh mix by its original engineer Greg Norman and mastering by Josh Bonati, imbibing the songs with a new ferocity while also granting increased clarity, highlighting the developing interplay between each member. The refreshed mix brings an additional punch to the rhythm section of bassist Bryan Herweg and drummer Larry Herweg, bolstering the brightened melodicism and interlocking riffing between guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. The more articulate presentation of the album showcases the power of each individual player while buttressing Pelican"s distinct sound as a unified force.

Pelican and Thrill Jockey are proud to present a deluxe edition of the band"s acclaimed 2005 album The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw, newly remixed, remastered and featuring special bonus rarities including an early version of "Red Ran Amber," (previously only available on a split with MONO) and demos of "Autumn Into Summer," "Last Day of Winter" and "Sirius". The Fire In Our Throats established Pelican as indisputable masters of their craft. Pelican"s ability to alchemize their influences into a sound so wholly original and then expand on that sound into a work of captivating beauty remains a marvel. The album indelibly shifted the paradigm of heavy music and the ripples of that shift can be heard in the countless bands who have risen to prominence since its release. The genre-busting nature of the album"s melodicism and refined dynamics was a harbinger of things to come in a genre whose strict boundaries were rapidly being shattered; a fact recognized and cemented by the album"s critical reception, which engendered everything from an Album of the Year nod from Decibel, to pontifications about Pelican representing a rising wave of intellectualism in metal from the New York Times. Nearly two decades since the album"s release on Hydra Head Records, The Fire In Our Throats has stood as not just one of the band"s most celebrated releases, but as a watershed work of avant-metal. The album arrives with a fresh mix by its original engineer Greg Norman and mastering by Josh Bonati, imbibing the songs with a new ferocity while also granting increased clarity, highlighting the developing interplay between each member. The refreshed mix brings an additional punch to the rhythm section of bassist Bryan Herweg and drummer Larry Herweg, bolstering the brightened melodicism and interlocking riffing between guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec. The more articulate presentation of the album showcases the power of each individual player while buttressing Pelican"s distinct sound as a unified force.

As the void stares back at me, I am consumed by the waves of this new sonic transmission. ESP's Goblin Synth reigns supreme, guiding me into the darkest corners of my mind, as the Galaxian remix shatters my being into a thousand pieces. This release is a frenzied piece of IDM, braindance, and DnB, fueled by a chemical fury that leaves my mind in a state of pure ecstasy. The relentless pace and shifting soundscapes of the A-side are the perfect conduit for the raw power of the Galaxian remix, taking me beyond the limits of what I thought was possible.

On the B-side, I am treated to a liquid dnb homage that is no less relentless in its pursuit of sonic intensity. Here, the rhythms are more organic, more fluid, but no less potent in their ability. This is music that demands a total surrender of the self.

The insidious rhythms of ESP's Goblin Synth seize my consciousness like a viral agent, rendering my being porous and open to the twitching, glitching transmissions emanating from the depths of the machine. With each stuttering break and howling, modulated synth line, I am hurled headlong into a world of ravenous, cybernetic abandon - a blackened, dystopian horizon of shattered glass and flickering neon.

As my mind is hijacked by the rushing currents of amphetamine psychosis, I realize that this is no mere exercise in genre or form, but an all-out assault on the very fabric of reality itself. The sonic textures here are hyper-real, beyond the grasp of normal human perception - this is the sound of the post-human, the sound of the inhuman, the sound of a future that is rapidly bearing down upon me, whether I am ready or not.

And yet, amidst the chaos and decay, there is a kind of perverse beauty at work - a beauty that can only be glimpsed through the shattered glass of my own shattered subjectivity. With each burst of static and each crunching bassline, I am hurled deeper into a vortex of metallic, crystalline wonder, a realm of pure, unadulterated sound that is as terrifying as it is sublime.

Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively clean minimalist-punk. Singer Dan Shaw began Landowner in 2016, writing and recording Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Those available tools would inform the band’s unapologetic sound—clean, confrontational, and absurdly stark. With a stated goal to sound like “Antelope playing Discharge”, Landowner’s diamond hard structures, repetitious instrumentals and caricatured hardcore make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems our lives are tangled in and the dark absurdities we take for granted.

Landowner’s fourth Born Yesterday full length Escape the Compound focuses on the powerful grips manipulators and reality-deniers have on their victims, examining the social, political and interpersonal damage of cult-like influence and control. “A lot of the lyrics focus on cult manipulators and narcissists: falling victim to their toxic dynamics, and the difficulty of escaping their grip” says Shaw. From climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists to deceptive narcissists and actual cult leaders, Landowner explores the ubiquity of modern unreality through evocative imagery and a keen sense of awareness. The band’s plain instrumentation sheds and subverts hardcore punk’s noisy veil in favor of a direct, unswerving examination of these themes.

Written and recorded following the release of 2020’s Consultant, Escape the Compound finds Landowner leaning into the studio through deeper experimentation with a wider palette of sounds. The group’s lineup of Josh Owsley (bass), Elliot Hughes (guitar), Jeff Gilmartin (guitar), Josh Daniel (drums) and Dan Shaw played often since coming together in 2017. But with pandemic restrictions in place, the making of Escape the Compound became a much more insular pursuit, one where the mixing and mastering process helped turn the band’s most varied batch of material into a cohesive, thematic collection of songs.

Album opener “Witch Museum” is a collage of dark Massachusetts historical imagery. The song evokes a kind of cult dynamic traveling like a shadow through time, where dark absurdities are taken for granted, toxic behaviors are excused, and normalcy begins to shift. The line “Gail's behavior has changed” casts fictional “Gail” as the dark manipulator, whose whim we’re at the mercy of. She sheds her toxic behavior and the crisis finally ends - “and peace returns to the Commonwealth”- an absurdity, given that cult leaders and narcissists rarely seem to change.

By considering the past, Landowner sheds light on the present. The band challenges egomaniacs reluctant to accept an uncomfortable reality with both cynicism and concern. The literal landowner described in “Heat Stroke” collapses in exhaustion, cooked by a suffocating bass line and sizzling hi-hats. “You'd rather die of heat stroke than to let anybody see you change your mind,” Shaw gasps, later pleading with the character in “Floodwatch” to “please reconsider” their brazen stubbornness as they plunge through the rising waters of a flooded road.

The character in “Swimmer of Note” refuses to admit their miscalculations, instead doubling down on an ever-growing and increasingly-unsteady tower of lies. The sneering “Damning Evidence” sets a scene all too familiar: a smoking gun scenario with zero consequences. Shaw’s exaggerated vocal refrains and sarcastic inflections mock false hope: “how will they be expected to keep their minds intact, at the shock of simply hearing such damning evidence?”

“Beyond the Darkened Library” creaks open a secret passageway into a dimly lit, endless labyrinth of conspiracy theories, in which the character becomes hopelessly lost. “Aftermath” sounds the alarms: “stare so long that you start getting used to it; one glance says you should never get used to it.” The pair of “Tactics” tracks express what Shaw calls “an interpersonal microcosm of the album’s themes.”

Perhaps the most ambitious arc on Escape the Compound loosely begins with the title track. The subject in “Escape the Compound” gradually recognizes their own victimhood and plans a calculated flight from the “captivating shepherd” – hop the fence, flee, and regain autonomy. As the narrator escapes their stifling and abusive cult microcosm, a much grander existential timeline begins to appear. “Thousands of Years in Fast Forward” narrates a psychedelic surrender to the shared human experience through space and time, an ego-death adjacent to our ancestry, our own existence, and the before and after. “At the site of the crater, molecular hands unclasp molecular hands as you lose conditioning,” Shaw sings on the title track, “Your grandmother's garden. Your grandmother's kitchen. Your grandmother's primordial ocean.” It’s a profound actualizing glimpse into a true, forgotten reality and a startling reconnection with the self.

With their name taken from an episode of the radio program The Goon Show, Ned's Atomic Dustbin formed in Stourbridge, UK, in 1987. They're known for using two bass-players in their line-up and creating a tense and highly driven sub-hardcore sound featuring distorted effects-laden guitar and energetic drums.

In 1992 they released their second studio album Are You Normal?. The album features their American hit song “Not Sleeping Around”, which hit the top of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album was produced by Andy Wallace, best known for his work with Slayer, Prince, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Paul McCartney and so on.

Are You Normal? is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

Keni Burke's seminal Changes yielded the eternal club classic "Risin' To The Top". You need this record for this iconic steppers anthem alone. However, it's crucial to acknowledge that the whole of Changes, first released in 1982 on RCA but now a tricky one to find, is something truly special. It's a masterpiece of sophisticated 80s groove, containing first class funky soul that sounds as fresh as ever. This is multi-tempo soul music conceived in heaven.

Ace bass player, songwriter, arranger and producer, Keni Burke was discovered by Curtis Mayfield and a childhood member of the Five Stairsteps. Emanating from that magical 81-83 era and pristinely recorded at Philadelphia's legendary Sigma Sound Studios, his third solo album Changes really perfected Keni's groove. It incorporated tight, snappy rhythm arrangements which, despite the era, featured *real drums* courtesy of Steve Ferrone (from Average White Band) to compliment Keni's meaty bass lines. With Dean "Sir" Gant on synths and keyboards and Ed Walsh handling the Vocoder-OBX and Prophet 5, wonderful lines from Earth, Wind & Fire's legendary horn section and hooky rhythm and lead guitar riffs courtesy of Ed "Tree" Walsh, Keni was truly spoiled for excellence. With Doc Gibbs on percussion and Vince Montana on vibes elevating the sensational writing and arrangements, Keni couldn't really go wrong.

“Risin’ To The Top” is undoubtedly the defining crown and lasting legacy of this album. Wth its instantly captivating bassline, slowly creepin' groove and uplifting lyrics, it was a favourite among both the 80s soul steppers and hip-hop crowd and remains canonical to this day. Written by Burke, Allan Felder, and former Chic member Norma Jean Wright, it incredibly failed to garner much American radio play or really trouble the soul charts. Whilst it was an instant classic in the U.K., in the States it took the hip-hop generation and later R&B and hip-hop samples of the tune to finally make it popular, many years later. Of note, Big Daddy Kane sampled it for "Smooth Operator", LL Cool J for "Around The Way Girl", Pete Rock & CL Smooth for "Take You There" and O.C. with "Born 2 Live".

But the highlights are not restricted to this one behemoth. For example, the track which precedes "Risin'" on Side B is another steppers favourite. "One Minute More" is a perfect mid-tempo ballad and the epitome of deep modern soul. A truly timeless work of genius. We, for one, struggle to think of a better song segue than the moment you're still reeling from the intense beauty of "One Minute More" and "Risin'" elegantly stirs into action. Frisson in excelsis. The propulsive, bass-heavy opener "Shakin" is an indisputable cracker and its followed by the timeless mid-tempo class of "Hang Tight". Just gorgeous. Next up, "Can't Get Enough" is another emotional, horn heavy chugger. The side closes with the sparse, tender, floating sl-o-o-w jam "Who Do You Love"; a truly divine ballad. The B-side beings with the title-track, "Changes", a squelchy, melodic boogie banger with fantastic keys, incredible vocals, ace shuffling percussion and spacey synths. It's followed by the ultimate one-two in "One Minute More" and "Risin'" before this sensational set closes with the glorious easy glide "All Night".

An absolutely essential record for fans of deeply soulful modern-funk, Changes was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Balston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The artwork was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months so, hopefully, this fresh new edition ensures this long-lusted after album is no longer so awkward to find.

Featuring 38 tracks (as opposed to the digital release, which is only 15 tracks), This is the definitive Doom Patrol Season 1 soundtrack featuring music by Clint Mansell and Kevin Kiner. The score is fantastic, mixing electronics and more traditional string-based score elements. The central theme is one of the best in recent years, and the score is moody and magnificent yet also fun and playful. It is the perfect accompaniment to the action on screen.

"Soap Opera" ist das vierzehnte Studioalbum der Kinks aus dem Jahr 1975 und eine Fortsetzung des theatralischen Musikstils der Band aus "Preservation Acts 1 & 2". "Soap Opera" ist das großartigste Konzeptalbum, das die Kinks je gemacht haben. Ray Davies thematisiert darin, wie "gewöhnliche Menschen" mit ihren Träumen vom Starruhm dem Trübsinn entkommen. Darin tauscht ein Musiker namens "Starmaker" das Leben mit einem gewöhnlichen Mann namens Norman, um das Leben besser zu verstehen. Herausragende Stücke sind "A Face In The Crowd?, "Underneath The Neon Sign? und das hervorragende "You Can't Stop The Music".

Diese originalgetreu reproduzierte schwarze 1LP mit Klappcover ist die erste Neuauflage des Albums seit der ursprünglichen LP-Veröffentlichung, abgesehen von einer limitierten US-Pressung im Jahr 2008. Eine weitere erfolgreiche Veröffentlichung, vor allem in den Vereinigten Staaten, wo es auf Platz 45 der Charts einstieg.

El Nido: a welcoming embrace in uncertain times. The world changed forever in the second quarter of 2020. The life we were used to ceased to be, as we were overcome by constant fear, distrust in all that surrounded us and a fatalist attitude towards the world we lived in. With the pandemic came lockdown, mandatory isolation for months, empty streets, face masks, hand sanitizer, the fear of going out, an absurd roll call of Covid fatalities, the daily tension of not knowing when it would all end and the urge to "get back to normal," something that certainly never happened. Out of that pandemic saturation and that urge for "normality" came El Nido ("The Nest"), the third album by Italy-based Colombian producer Montoya, who describes this record as "becoming virgins of destiny again, facing up to that fatalist world and creating that longing for tranquility. Savoring that moment prior to the pandemic, that instant when the most important thing wasn't the immediate reality or the global situation." Montoya sees El Nido as that quiet place that you think of when you close your eyes; it is a beach or a mountain, a sunrise or a sunset, a wave in the sea refreshing your body, or an almost-whispering wind that immediately silences everything around you. On his previous records, Iwa in 2015 and Otún in 2019, his work as a producer prevailed, feeding the growing wave of Latin American electronica, fusing IDM and techno with indigenous root music, Andean folklore and rhythms from the tropical Caribbean coast and ancestral Pacific in terms of instrumentation. But on El Nido Montoya splits the balance, offering us five merely instrumental tracks and six collaborations with Latin American artists, including Colombians Nidia Góngora on "Soñé," Montañera on "Sierra" and Pedrina on "Nubecita." It also features Mexican artist Pahua on "Flor del Mar," the Peruvian Lara Nuh on "El Faro" and the Franco-Venezuelan La Chica on "Palosanto." Starting from the name itself ("The Nest"), an evocation of home, El Nido is also a Filipino municipality on the island of Palawan, a place that turned out to be Montoya's last live experience before the pandemic. That place with crystal clear seas and white sand became the scene and starting point for this work, reflecting on the abstraction of a chaotic world and proposing blurred destinations with each song, like places that exist within memories when we close our eyes, letting us inhabit them, for a couple of minutes at least. On the other hand, it's a record that approaches love; as a yearning and a refuge, as a guide and an anchor, but also as a rhetorical figure that makes us vibrate and elevates us, while at the same time keeping us grounded and letting us settle in the place that we can use as our shelter.

The Normandy duo MAMAN KÜSTERS delivers one of the best electro-ebm sound we could find in planet earth, their fully analog sequences create an immediate kind of state of trance that only very few artists reach to delivery.

This EP, that comes out at the same time as their new albumb ” Le Petit Chaos De” released via our partners of UNKNOWN PLEASURES RECORDS, arrives with 2 mind-blowing remixes by GARETH JONES (renowned as Depeche Mode producer, among many other gigantic acts) and the techno producer INSIDER. If you like to make dance, buy this plastic immediately.

Comes presented in a one-off truly limited edition of 300 copies lacquered pressed on 180gr. high quality solid black vinyl.

All tracks have been specially remastered for long cut vinyl by Daniel Hallhuber at Young and Cold Studios.

Foundation music are proud to present our second project with the formidable talent that is Crooked Man aka Parrot, known to his mother as Richard Barratt.

The DJ turned producer from Sheffield, founder and resident at the seminal Jive Turkey night, member of Warp’s Sweet Exorcist, musical partner with the late great Richard H Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire), producer to such maverick talents as Roisin Murphy and Add N to X, longtime Jarvis Cocker collaborator and remixer to a myriad of artists over several decades.

More recently, Parrot's project with internationally renowned Jazz singer Lady Blackbird, Athletes Of God, released two singles on Foundation Music ‘Don’t Want To Be Normal’ and the clubland hit ‘Fontella’ that were both playlisted by 6Music.

Lady Blackbird now flies the nest, with the divine Earth Angel swooping into her place. A seminal, reclusive, heavenly voiced singer, also from Yorkshire and with deep roots in the soul and dub scenes… And no, it's not Lisa Stansfield!

A project that has its roots way back in the Sheffield’s Blues parties and Jive Turkey itself. The club being a home to all forms of exciting new Black music, from ’85 through to the early days of the UK’s dance explosion. It sees Parrot take all that he has achieved, written and learnt over the years at the cutting edge of electronic, dance-inflected, production and DJing returning to those heady days of down tempo, body moving, speaker shaking music that would move the British underground soul/funk scene in the mid to late 80’s.

Call it 'street soul', '80’s soul', 'electro soul'… Earth Angel is all of those things but it is also very firmly rooted in the NOW! Not some retro pastiche, it incorporates so much more. With elements of techno, bleep, dub and any other studio trickery that Parrot cares to employ in order to suck you into Earth Angels’ druggy, hypnotic, sexy, “Mogadon Soul”. A four songed, eight tracked vinyl EP, featuring some classic songwriting from the glory days of soul and Crooked Man’s bass heavy electronic rhythms.

Welcome to the heavenly world of Earth Angel, the journey starts here.


DJ Support:

Luke Una, Ross Allen, Sean Johnson (ALFOS) & Kebal.

Alex "Omar" Smith has never been one for modesty, so we shouldn't be too surprised that he's called his latest full-length - his fifth in total - The Best. To be fair, he is rather good at producing high-grade deep house, and here unveils another eleven gems. Interestingly, he's recruited an impressive cast-list of collaborators and guests, including Norman Talley, Kyle Hall, OB Ignitt and, most surprisingly of all, Bristol-based Tom Bug. Highlights are plentiful, from the dusty afro and blues influences of the tribal "Chama Piru's", and hazy, Rhodes-heavy vocal cut "AhRevolution", to the hip-wigglin' disco-house influences of "Seen Was Set", and retro-futurist, Inner City style Divinity hook-up "On Your Way".

Created In the heart of Athens, GA with their trusty- producer, Henry Barbe (Deerhunter, Drive By Truckers) You Know Who is an 11-song record that pushes the boundaries of modern country and rock n' roll music. The Pink Stones sound takes influence from recordings of George and Tammy, as well as J.J. Cale's self produced Tulsa sound. The record is also just as inspired by the windy city cuts of Curtis Mayfield, all styles that covers the band's sound in cigarette smoke and whiskey spills. The six piece band has utilized their performing chops to make a tight but soulful album with featured guests such as Nikki Lane, Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings (Teddy & the Rough Riders), John James Tourville (Deslondes), and Annie Leeth (Faye Webster). No strangers to friends and guests, this ramshackle unit formed together flawlessly to take the next leap into The Pink Stones deep sphere.

Berlin-based artist Werner Soyeaux under his stage name Black Davil is a core part of the Berlin collective Ick Mach Welle. Schnall Schnall is his debut solo artist EP on Killekill, with own productions accompanied by collaborations with Bettina and DJ Normal 4, alongside remixes by Rhyw and Gesloten Cirkel.

The EP opens with the dark intro Alptraum, which Gesloten Cirkel transforms into an ill-tempered acid-electro monster. The title track Schnall Schnall provides a stark contrast to these, with bright overtones existing alongside deeply rooted sonic bedrock.

Rhyw adds a level of abstraction and futurism with his remix of this track, whilst retaining the dub-influenced vibe of the original.

Following on from this Geldschere is collaboration with Dusseldorf artist DJ Normal 4, with Black Davil contributing his own lyrics and voice, to create a track that could be fittingly described as "Acid Punk Rock"!

The final track on the release is a cheeky ode to the Ick Mach Welle family. Here the Davil's passion for Hardtekk, Gabber and similar rough styles of music become clear.

Repress coming!

High Focus Records is proud to present 'Put That Soul On Me' a brand new 3 track offering from arguably one of the best voices to emerge from these shores in recent years : Rag N Bone Man.
Since having been introduced to the world via High Focus Records in early 2013, Rag N Bone Man's career has flourished in an incredible way and it has become a widely known fact that, as cliche as it may sound, he is the next big thing. From gathering attention from the likes of tastemakers Zane Lowe, Rob Da Bank, Mistajam & getting daytime radio play on BBC Radio 1 among others to working with Hip Hop legend DJ Premier and touring all over the country with chart toppers Bastille, it is a proven fact that Rag N Bone Man's voice has the power to touch the hearts of millions no matter what genre of music you are into. With such a universally recognised talent, its going to be hard for nay sayers to deny the infectious flute grooves of 'Put That Soul On Me' or the slow pounding bass of 'Across The Sky'.
Dirty Dike, normally known for his outlandish lyrics and larger than life provocative character takes the back seat on this release, allowing his signature crunchy production to do the talking. Dirty Dike's instrumentals provide the perfect back drop for the smooth rumblings of Rag N Bone Man, the pair complement each other perfectly as the beat and the voice are just as heavy as one another, both putting on a fantastic display of skill and raw talent which has been synonymous with all High Focus Releases.
The title track, 'Put That Soul On Me' is a catchy celebration song, a festive underground tune praising 'that neat sweet soul' whilst denigrating those 'wack ass drums and played out synths' over swirling flutes. Following the festivities we have 'Across The Sky', a bass heavy downtempo number which explores the side effects of different drugs, upon which our protagonist asks for a helping hand before the heart wrenching saxophone kicks in. High Focus Records fans will be pleased to see that the infamous Rag N Bone Man 'exclusive Bars' from the HFTV channel is finally seeing an official release. 'My Business', which set the internet on fire upon its release on the channel, getting retweeted by the likes of super producers DJ Premier and 9th Wonder, is the third track on this project and features a guest verse from Contact Play legend Ronnie Bosh. With these three unmissable tracks on one piece of wax, The 'Put That Soul On Me' 12'' is going to be the soundtrack to your summer.

A kind of hush pervades throughout Standards Vol VI, the latest release by The National Jazz Trio of Scotland, the ironically named project helmed by Falkirk’s musical polymath, Bill Wells, that is neither a trio, nor a jazz band. If this collection of ten covers probably comes closest to the latter in its late night renditions of actual standards, the presence of long-term NJToS member and collaborator Aby Vulliamy as the record’s lone vocalist adds to its solitary air. This follows Standards Vol IV (2018), which featured fellow NJToS co-founder Kate Sugden as primary vocalist, while Gerard Black, a member of the group since 2016, took centre stage in similar fashion on Standards Vol V (2019). Wells has long been a fan of Vulliamy, both of her work as a viola player with numerous collaborators, and as a singer.

Vulliamy played viola on Everything’s Getting Older, Wells’ 2011 collaboration with Arab Strap vocalist Aidan Moffat. Wells went on to play melodica on Vulliamy’s solo record, Spin Cycle, released on Karaoke Kalk in 2018. With the intent of producing the saddest heartbreak record ever made, Wells sourced a back catalogue of miniature epics, reinterpreting each tale of everyday yearning to make a canon of melancholy loungecore designed for nights in alone, if not always lonely. Beyond the concept of isolation behind Standards Vol VI, practical concerns added to the affair, with Wells recording backing tracks at home in Glasgow, while Vulliamy added her voice from her home in Yorkshire. The result on Standards Vol VI is a thing of quiet beauty that sees Wells and Vulliamy reimagine a panoply of pop classics in their own aloof sounding image.

Shades of Margo Guryan and Claudine Longet abound in Vulliamy’s delivery over Wells’ woozy, low-slung guitar and piano, with samples culled from a session with Teenage Fanclub’s Norman Blake. Little electronic percussive clicks and hisses lend things an even more otherworldly air on a record bookended by opener, Donovan’s proto hippy classic, Catch the Wind, and Dixieland miniature, Careless Love. The eight points in between take in a first half led by The Beatles’ normally jaunty We Can Work it Out, flipping the loveable mop-tops’ perky optimism for something more soul searching. This is followed by I Wish You Love, Albert Beach’s English language version of French songwriter Charles Trenet’s evergreen, Que reste-t-il de nos amours. The Bee Gees lost classic, To Love Somebody, is up next, with more impossible to answer questions coming in Why Can’t I?

The latter is a Rodgers and Hart composition that first appeared in the duo’s 1930 Broadway musical, Spring is Here, in which the show’s two heroines commiserate each other over their shared loneliness. Wells stumbled on the song in a tatty Rodgers and Hart songbook, which, like its subjects, had been left on the shelf before he and Vulliamy brought it in from the cold. The second half of Standards Vol VI leads with Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s much covered evocation of a pre dating app era from their 1964 hit musical, Fiddler on the Roof. This is followed by Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer’s showbiz staple (with Al Jolson also taking a credit), Me and My Shadow. While made famous by showbiz double acts ranging from Frank and Sammy to Robbie and Jonathan, here it flies decidedly solo. Johnny Mercer and Hoagy Carmichael’s Skylark comes next, a song inspired by Mercer’s yearning for Judy Garland. We hear ya, bub. The most downbeat take on Bacharach and David’s The Look of Love you’re ever likely to hear comes next, ushering in the short farewell of Careless Love, before the lights are turned out forever. Yeah, well. Whatever gets you through the night…

From Alehouse to Playhouse Bjarte Eike and his barnstorming Barokksolistene capture the vital spark of Restoration London’s entertainment scene with a captivating new recording for Rubicon Classics! The Playhouse Sessions will be released on 23 September 2022 to coincide with Barokksolistene’s concert double-bill at London’s Southbank Centre.

‘A smattering of Purcell, dances from Playford’s Dancing Master, shanties, reels and ballads succumb to a nine-piece ensemble drawing on Baroque, jazz and folk styles for a no holds barred hooley of riotous improvisatory give and take,’ (BBC Music Magazine review of The Alehouse Sessions, August 2019)

London’s musicians, pushed in the 1650s, to the margins of society by order of Oliver Cromwell, found room for new forms of entertainment in city-centre taverns and alehouses. They remained there long after the restoration of the monarchy, performing sets of dances, theatre songs and bawdy ballads to audiences glad to be free from Puritan constraints on pleasure.

Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike and his Barokksolistene have restored the spirit and substance of those long-forgotten performances with their Alehouse Sessions, hailed by The Times as ‘irresistible’ and ‘fabulously unrestrained’ by The Guardian. Five years ago the Norwegian violinist and his band scored a best-selling album with The Alehouse Sessions on Rubicon Classics. They return to the label with another compelling collection of music and words of the kind on offer more than three centuries ago at Henry Purcell’s favourite Westminster watering holes. The Playhouse Sessions, set for release on Rubicon Classics on 23 September 2022, reflects the uplifting energy and engaging emotional contrasts of Barokksolistene’s Alehouse performances.

“The album contains a sort of inner narrative that runs through the recording,” says Bjarte Eike. “It has become like a play in its own right, with each track being a small tale within a larger story.” The recording’s tracklist includes Eike’s beguiling arrangements of music from Purcell’s semi-opera The Fairy Queen and his own original compositions on words from the play on which it is based, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; popular songs and ballads such as ‘The Irish Washerwoman’, ‘I often for my Jenny strove’ and ‘The Three Ravens’; tunes from Purcell’s welcome odes and stage shows, Come ye sons of art and Dido and Aeneas among them; the ‘Willow Song’ from Shakespeare’s Othello; Eike’s own voice in Puck’s monologue from Act 5 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and John Dowland’s sublime air ‘Can she excuse my wrongs’.

London’s theatres were closed at the start of the English Civil War in 1642 and remained shut until the Restoration. Alehouses offered redundant musicians, actors and dancers a place to scrape a precarious living and soon became their creative refuge. “Although a few surviving theatres reopened in 1660 with the return of Charles II, there was little money around to rebuild those that had been demolished,” observes Bjarte Eike. “And a generation of musicians had already found an audience in places like the Black Horse in Aldersgate Street. So popular were their alehouse sessions that Cromwell tried to abolish them! But they outlived him and became part of Restoration musical life.” The form of a Barokksolistene Alehouse, he adds, is like a creative room. “Within its framework I can frequently refurbish the show with new contents. The Playhouse project is likewise an extension of the ever-evolving Alehouse Sessions. Together they tell the story of music and theatre in London during Cromwell’s time and after the Restoration. Of course there’s an historical context to what we do. But there’s also the practical context – which is even more important to me – of connecting with a contemporary twenty-first century audience. An Alehouse / Playhouse performance is not something for the museum; it's about music made in the present moment, just as it was in the London alehouses of Purcell’s day -- with their playhouses annexed to the rear of the beer-drinking saloons. The encounter of musicians onstage and the audience in the hall is the real magic of it. We have to fuse the audience into the action of our performance!”

The Playhouse Sessions will be launched on Friday 23 September with a late-night concert at the Purcell Room and a post-concert Alehouse Session in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Soprano Mary Bevan is set to join Eike and his Alehouse Boys for the first half of their Southbank Centre double-bill, offering unique interpretations of songs from Purcell shows and other hits from the late seventeenth-century London stage. “The Southbank Centre is a direct descendant of concerts given in the 1650s in the alehouses of London,” notes Eike. “These alehouses after all staged some of the world’s first public concerts. Later, after the Restoration, it became common for promoters to advertise alehouse concerts in the press and offer subscription tickets. Purcell and his fellow musicians were thus just as at home performing there as they were in the chambers of the royal court or in London’s new theatres.”

Bjarte Eike launched his Alehouse Sessions in company with like-minded musicians 15 years ago. The ensemble comprises a core of regular performers, all of whom have committed to memory a huge setlist of up to four hours of music. Typically they meet a day or so before a concert tour to share a meal and make music together; then next day, re-grouping thirty minutes before the show, they discover Eike’s select-menu for the evening. “That ensures that every show is fresh,” he notes. “I make sure we never repeat the same programme twice. It’s therefore essential to work with people who share my outlook and dare to adventure. We’re into a high-risk sport, with lots of traps and places where the unexpected appears - for good or for ill. And so the audience knows we’re vulnerable. But our skill is seen in how we re-act on the hoof to the unpredictable. That’s authenticity and honesty - and above all it’s a performance that’s genuine.”

Armed with a classical training and a background in folk music and improvisation, Bjarte Eike was drawn naturally to Early Music in all its stylistic variety. “I never really felt at home with only one genre,” he recalls. “Early Music allowed me to study profound, complicated compositions, but performing it has also opened up the chance of rebellion and uproar! Early music offers wide, multi-faceted areas of musical exploration for me. You find, for instance, links to different types of music wherever you look in seventeenth-century English repertoire. And I am fascinated by all these connections. They offer a foundation for the Alehouse Sessions and for all Barokksolistene performance more generally. Every member of the group plays, sings, dances and improvises without limitation. We’re all interested in the many different fields of being a stage performer and pushing hard at the ‘normal’ boundaries of what it means to be a classical musician.”

Japanese folk-rock legend Morio Agata stunned fans with this way-outta-left-field dispatch - a synthesizer-laden, new-wave/post-punk classic. Originally released by Osaka’s Vanity Records in 1980 and back on vinyl for the first time in nearly 40 years, this fully authorized reissue has been remastered from the original analog tapes. In tip-on sleeve, with double-sided insert.

50 years ago, Hokkaido-born singer-songwriter Morio Agata released his debut single, Sekishoku Ereji (Red Elegy), an emotive, shuffling piano ballad that (shockingly) sold half a million copies in Japan. While he would never have another Top-40 hit, Agata would spend the next half century issuing a series of idiosyncratic, experimental pop albums. Today, he’s a beloved cult figure, still actively touring and recording in his seventies.

In his first decade as a recording artist, Agata released a stream of classics right out of the gate — Otome No Roman (1972) melded American-styled folk rock with traditional Japanese melodies, Zipangu Boy (1976) was a sprawling, Haruomi Hosono-produced psychedelic opus, and Kimi No Koto Suki Nan Da (1977) saw Agata tackle slick, lightly funky AOR. While this sort of stylistic schizophrenia might sink your average artist, Agata’s singular voice and magnetic charisma elevates everything he touches, and subsumes it all into Morio Agata World — a joyous, playful and frequently unhinged world.

Arguably the biggest left-turn of Agata’s early career, however, came in 1979, when legendary experimental label Vanity Records’ Yuzuru Agi paired Agata with major players from his label’s roster and the Osaka punk scene for an impromptu recording session. An impressive list of musicians took part (SAB, Yukio Fujimoto (Normal Brain), Masahiro Kitada (INU), Taiqui (Ultra Bide), Jun Shinoda (SS), Chie Mukai (Che-Shizu), and others) and even though they all came from different wings of the underground music scene, together they built an arresting, minimalistic bedrock of synthesized and acoustic sounds for Agata to work his magic over. The recording sesssions were tense and it took a while for the collective to find their footing. But the hard work paid off — Norimono Zukan is a masterpiece of ramshackle new wave and droning dirges, topped off with Agata’s unmistakeable croon, at times delicate, other times twisted. It’s a relatively short album, but a deep one, and Mesh-Key is honored to introduce it to a new generation of music fans.

"Nobody wants to live a life that is disposable," says Taylor. "Everybody wants their life and their time to mean something, and I think in our daily lives, there's a choice that can be made to do small things every day so that you really do feel like, 'hey, my life has value." The title and the record's lyrics are partly a reframing of the average human experience. Modern culture has convinced us that a 'normal' life is unremarkable, but this paves over the beauty inherent in routine relations. "Everyone looks at their experience as like, 'I want something more," explains Taylor. "But any conversation that you have with anybody, there are things that you can pull out, or walking somewhere and just looking around and being alive- There's a lot of meaning to me in that, even if you go for a two block walk." The songs on Disposable Life came from ideas Taylor workshopped with lead guitarist Kevin Maida.

When the band gathered again post-pandemic restrictions, the goal was simple: write songs and hinish them without any external end goal. Between December 2020 and February 2021, the band wrote and demoed four songs before recording in Crown Point,

Indiana at longtime collaborator and producer Seth Henderson's Always Be Genius Recording Studio. Vince Ratti (Circa Survive, The Wonder Years) mixed the EP and Kris Crummett (Dance Gavin Dance, Mayday Parade) mastered.

It fell on me in the spring, like a Normandy storm. Piece after piece, day after day, guided by the experience, I found the pleasure of making music again. Once satisfied, I sent a selection to my manager. I had gotten into the habit of regularly sending him projects with no connection, and he
had gotten into the habit of not answering them. His text message at 1:10 a.m.: «Damn, that’s good!» was a commitment.

The definitive reissue of one of rock’s rarest and most sought-after albums – “acid-folk” – equal parts pastoral folk and contemplative psychedelic. The rst time since 1971 that this album has been pressed from the original master tapes, recently discovered in Italy. Lacquered directly from tape in an all-analog transfer by Bernie Grundman. This is the single LP version that we issued after the Now-Again Reserve Edition sold out. Mark Fry was 19 – recently graduated from high school and in Italy studying painting – when he walked barefooted into RCA’s Italian subsidiary, played some songs he’d written on his guitar and was signed to record the album that would become legend. The first recordings he made proved stuff, so he was paired with members of the Scottish band Middle of the Road, who were in Rome while under contract to RCA Italiana. Convening in a basement home studio with two 4-track reel-to-reel record- ers, Mark’s visions coalesced in a dreamy, airy manner – “Nick Drake meets Dr. Strangely Strange with a touch of Lewis Carroll” The Word Magazine would later write. Pressed in small amounts for Vincenzo Micocci’s RCA sub-label It, Alice remained an out of reach masterpiece for many but its creator, who returned to England in 1971 and subsequently traveled the world, playing music, sometimes recording and painting. By the time of its rediscovery, its master tapes were assumed lost. Their rediscovery allows this pristine transfer to reveal nuances not heard on anything but original It pressings.

**Debut album from former 'Eighties Matchbox B Line Disaster' front man Guy McKnight's new band.** **ORANGE MARBLE COLOURED VINYL - VERY LIMITED!!** The DSM IV’s debut album, “NEW AGE PARANOIA,” is an impressive collection of stories, beats, guitars, and noise. The album seamlessly weaves together sobering but dream-filled songs that explore the ways in which our collective minds are influenced by mass media, entertainment industries, and social media. Formed by Guy McKnight of critically acclaimed and cult favourite The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. The DSM IV has a dark sound that blends noise-rock, synth-pop and industrial, that delivers a unique musical experience. Their music is cacophonous and epic, featuring rich textures and melodic hooks that keep listeners captivated. The band’s powerful soundscapes, combined with their thought-provoking lyrics, create a mesmerizing atmosphere that both entertains and encourages introspection. The album prompts important questions about our society, such as what’s driving the normalization of a narcissistic culture that prioritizes personal desires over altruism. It delves into the ways in which technology, social media, and mass media shape our collective psyche and affect our relationships with ourselves and each other. The DSM IV’s music offers a timely and compelling commentary on these issues. The DSM IV is a band that creates music with a powerful message that resonates with people who feel that a kinder world is possible. Their songs are both nasty and nice, reflective and entertaining. With “NEW AGE PARANOIA,” The DSM IV has crafted an album that will captivate and inspire listeners, while also prompting deeper reflection on our society’s values and priorities.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Warehouse find!

Teenage Fanclub have announced news of their tenth studio album, Endless Arcade, released 5th March. Even if we weren’t living through extraordinarily troubling times, there is nothing quite like a Teenage Fanclub album to assuage the mind, body and soul, and to reaffirm that all is not lost in this world.

Endless Arcade follows the band’s ninth album “Here”, released in 2016 to universal acclaim and notably their first Top 10 album since 1997; a mark of how much they’re treasured. The new record is quintessential TFC: melodies are equal parts heart-warming and heart-aching; guitars chime and distort; keyboard lines mesh and spiral; harmony-coated choruses burst out like sun on a stormy day.

In the 1990s, the band crafted a magnetically heavy yet harmony-rich sound on classic albums such as “Bandwagonesque” and “Grand Prix”. This century, albums such as “Shadows” and “Here” have documented a more relaxed, less ‘teenage’ Fanclub, reflecting the band’s stage in life and state of mind, which Endless Arcade slots perfectly alongside. The album walks a beautifully poised line between melancholic and uplifting, infused with simple truths. The importance of home, community and hope is entwined with more bittersweet, sometimes darker thoughts - insecurity, anxiety, loss.

Such is life. But the title track suggests, “Don’t be afraid of this endless arcade that is life.”

A preview from the album came in February 2019 with Raymond’s ‘Everything Is Falling Apart’, an online single released at the outset of a six-month tour and a highlight of Endless Arcade.

Everything is falling apart? Well, yes, but the song was written long before COVID-19 arrived. Neither was Raymond’s inspiration political or social, but more, “the entropy in the universe, the knowledge that everything eventually decays,” he explains. But Raymond says relax. Or rather, “Relax, find love, hold on to the hand of a friend”.

Fortunately, Endless Arcade was virtually finished by the time lockdown was announced, bar the odd tinker under the engine hood. It seems timely, given how everyone had to initially stay home under lockdown, that the album starts with Norman’s ‘Home’, though it was chosen in part because of its opening line: “Every morning, I open my eyes...” The album’s longest track (at seven minutes) typifies TFC’s relaxed groove, culminating in Raymond’s peach of a guitar solo.

Norman’s search for ‘home’ could be literal: after all, he’s been living in Canada for the last 10 years. But it’s also figurative. Like Norman’s other Endless Arcade songs – The Sun Won’t Shine On Me’, ‘Warm Embrace’, ‘I’m More Inclined’, ‘Back In The Day’ and ‘Living With You’ – his words on ‘Home’ are etched by loss and yearning. “Without going into too much detail, the last eighteen months have been challenging for me on an emotional level,” he admits. “But it’s been cathartic channelling some of these feelings and emotions into song.”

In contrast, Raymond’s songs – he’s also responsible for ‘Come With Me’, ‘In Our Dreams’, ‘The Future’ and ‘Silent Song’ – are philosophical and questing. As he sings in ‘The Future’: “It’s hard to walk into the future when your shoes are made of lead”, but he’s still going to try, “and see sights we’ve never seen.”

In the band’s own near future, they’re already planning another new album given they can’t yet tour the one they’re releasing now. Welcome back, Teenage Fanclub, unafraid of this endless arcade that is life.

Like the winged half-man/half-bull that dominates its outrageous cover, Cleveland Eaton's Half And Half is a mutant bass-heavy monster that absolutely slays. Incredible jazz-funk from 1973, it's been largely overlooked for decades, and unfairly so. This is just sensational music - a crate digger's delight. It's super funky throughout, with lots of layers, jazz breaks for days, dripping with style and gritty class. This is the first reissue of what has been a hard to find record for many years; it's long overdue. Joyous music for mind, soul and body.

Cleveland Eaton was a revered bassist who played an active role in the backing of Count Basie, the Donald Byrd Quintet, The Ramsey Lewis Trio, Terry Callier and Minnie Riperton; amongst many, many others. Half And Half was the first album released under his own name, initially released as a private press record on his - awkwardly named - Cle An Thair Records. It was then picked up by Gamble & Huff for Gamble Records. Varied, string-adorned and with stupid funky grooves, it's just exceptionally good.

Whilst Half And Half is treasured for its famously brilliant interpretations of gold funk-soul standards, Eaton proves an imaginative composer in his own right. Indeed, the album opens with a striking original; the earthy, laconic jazz-guitar-funk fusion of "Keep It Funky". Cleveland and co. do exactly that. Up next is a properly moving cover of Aretha Franklin's eternal "Day Dreaming". The flute and guitar combo truly achieve celestial greatness here. "Here Comes Funky Lou" rides a bassline from the Gods and a driving soul-jazz groove allows the track to go off in all sorts of directions. Serene guitar soul of the breezy variety one moment, crazy hectic violin-driven wig outs the next, courtesy of Ed Green who played with Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.

His blistering two track salvo of Stylistics covers to close out this A-Side of A-Sides will leave your jaw dropped, and they're likely the reason you're here for this. And why not? "Betcha By Golly Wow", which uses a bed of acidy synths and harmonica to create a unique atmosphere, is on some next level business. Melancholic, wistful, beautiful. "People Make the World Go Round" is so good, dripping in wonderful horns and ace percussive breaks, it could even be regarded as the definitive version. Seriously!

Opening Side B, War's gigantic "Slipping Into Darkness" is tightly tailored to Eaton's funky flute fusion arrangement whilst the insistent "Missing You" is a swaggering horn-heavy version of Luther Ingram's track from the Dilla/Ghostface-linked LP, I've Been Here All The Time. The creeping, screeching guitar-drenched original "John's Groove" features more fantastic horn lines and neck-snapping percussion whilst "The Love Gangster", written by Bill Wyman and Stephen Stills for his seminal Manassas LP, contains a heavy break with slick drums high in the mix and fuzzy guitars.

The album closes with two more Eaton originals. Written with Johnny Guitar Watson, "Lie" is one hell of a funky string and guitar-driven gem whilst the wild, celebratory "Ah Movin' On" cleverly quotes "Wade In The Water" (which he'd recorded with Ramsey Lewis in 1966) folding it into his new free-jazz composition. A message to his old boss, perhaps, as a sign-off?

We've worked on this reissue for 3.5 years, spending the whole time making it sound super sharp and looking as perfect as it possibly can. An absolute must-have for fans of soulful jazz-funk, Half And Half was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Pete Norman at Final Tweak. The bizarre artwork, mutant beast and all, was restored at Be With HQ over many painstaking months! Hopefully, this new edition, a real labour of love, should bring Cleveland Eaton into the homes and record boxes of many more people.

Eric Johnson, der mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnete Multi-Genre-Gitarrist, liefert mit Yesterday Meets Today & The Book of Making zwei Geschwister-Alben, die während des Pandemie Lockdowns fertiggestellt wurden. Johnson hat Inventur gemacht - sowohl emotional als auch musikalisch - und die vielen unvollendeten Tracks, Outtakes, Demos und klanglichen Ideen in seinem Archiv durchforstet, um die 18 Songs zusammenzustellen, die schließlich auf den Alben landeten: "Jedes Mal, wenn ich eine Platte mache, mache ich normalerweise zwei Platten; ich lagere einige der Stücke, die ich nicht verwendet habe, im Tresor", erklärt Johnson. Mit dem Luxus der Zeit war Johnson in der Lage, zwei vollwertige Alben abzuliefern, wobei weitere Tracks Ende des Jahres als EP veröffentlicht werden sollen.

Verpackung: Schwarzes Vinyl mit Standardgewicht. Standard-Hülle. Inklusive 11x11 Einleger mit Lyrics und Album Credits

Endlich ist sie erhältlich: Die limitierte Vinyl-Edition von The Book Of Making.
Eric Johnson, der mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnete Multi-Genre-Gitarrist, liefert mit Yesterday Meets Today & The Book of Making zwei Geschwister-Alben, die während des Pandemie Lockdowns fertiggestellt wurden. Johnson hat Inventur gemacht - sowohl emotional als auch musikalisch - und die vielen unvollendeten Tracks, Outtakes, Demos und klanglichen Ideen in seinem Archiv durchforstet, um die 18 Songs zusammenzustellen, die schließlich auf den Alben landeten: "Jedes Mal, wenn ich eine Platte mache, mache ich normalerweise zwei Platten; ich lagere einige der Stücke, die ich nicht verwendet habe, im Tresor", erklärt Johnson. Mit dem Luxus der Zeit war Johnson in der Lage, zwei vollwertige Alben abzuliefern, wobei weitere Tracks Ende des Jahres als EP veröffentlicht werden sollen.

Verpackung: Schwarzes Vinyl mit Standardgewicht. Standard-Hülle. Inklusive 11x11 Einleger mit Lyrics und Album Credits

Vinyl is available in two versions - classic black or various color limited "Indie Shop Edition".

Both versions have 180g record and printed inner sleeve.

The idea for "PORTRETY" was simple - to invite esteemed drummers to record a song that will be signed with their name. There was no musical framework - they could invite guests or record everything themselves - no need to necessarily use drums. This is how the first PORTRAITS in 2019 were created, and now we present their next installment.


" 'Part two' seems to suggest a series, so just as with the bad joke from four years ago, I'll lead with the short, age old adage: "10 musicians and a drummer". Admittedly, it is rudimentary and unfunny, however, it is significant: It's easy to forget an instrumentalist's other specialities, but here, the drummers don't let themselves to be forgotten.

This series - the brainchild of Marcin "Groh" Grośkiewicz - is composed of up-close portraits. A task which not only shifts accents, but also changes the lives of those normally considered the unsung heroes of the background. One of the tracks from "Portraits" was picked for an advertising campaign for a well known smartphone producer, others topped industry charts and inspired new bands where drums were in the spotlight.

Part two brings us eight drummers who are among the most multifaceted musicians on the Polish music scene. What are they doing here? Teo Olter tells a complex story, asking in the very title, where he is going? Wiktoria Jakubowska, known for backing big stars, shines through with her own composition. Miłosz Pękala - an interpreter of avant-garde composers and an academic lecturer - thoroughly entertains. Famous from Immortal Onion, Wojtek Warmijak energetically explores high tempos, while Wojtek Sobura - those slower, patiently sculpting a club beat with sonoristic* abstraction. Macio Moretti surprises, as expected, stylistically moving towards his hero: Zappa. Tymoteusz Papior impresses, effortlessly juggling accents and chopping time signatures. And Inferno, despite being associated with the group Behemoth, shows he can do it… drum-less. Some invite other musicians, but they always remain - as their studies or professional experience taught them to be - the musician with the widest set (be it drums or skills) on the team.

So, how does the second part of the series compliment the first? It further completes the gallery of collector's cards with Polish Percussion's superheroes and heroines. Each a different personality and an individual set of features. But does it satisfy? Strikingly.

Enough, I won't drum it into you."

Vinyl is available in two versions - classic black or various color limited "Indie Shop Edition".

Both versions have 180g record and printed inner sleeve.

The idea for "PORTRETY" was simple - to invite esteemed drummers to record a song that will be signed with their name. There was no musical framework - they could invite guests or record everything themselves - no need to necessarily use drums. This is how the first PORTRAITS in 2019 were created, and now we present their next installment.


" 'Part two' seems to suggest a series, so just as with the bad joke from four years ago, I'll lead with the short, age old adage: "10 musicians and a drummer". Admittedly, it is rudimentary and unfunny, however, it is significant: It's easy to forget an instrumentalist's other specialities, but here, the drummers don't let themselves to be forgotten.

This series - the brainchild of Marcin "Groh" Grośkiewicz - is composed of up-close portraits. A task which not only shifts accents, but also changes the lives of those normally considered the unsung heroes of the background. One of the tracks from "Portraits" was picked for an advertising campaign for a well known smartphone producer, others topped industry charts and inspired new bands where drums were in the spotlight.

Part two brings us eight drummers who are among the most multifaceted musicians on the Polish music scene. What are they doing here? Teo Olter tells a complex story, asking in the very title, where he is going? Wiktoria Jakubowska, known for backing big stars, shines through with her own composition. Miłosz Pękala - an interpreter of avant-garde composers and an academic lecturer - thoroughly entertains. Famous from Immortal Onion, Wojtek Warmijak energetically explores high tempos, while Wojtek Sobura - those slower, patiently sculpting a club beat with sonoristic* abstraction. Macio Moretti surprises, as expected, stylistically moving towards his hero: Zappa. Tymoteusz Papior impresses, effortlessly juggling accents and chopping time signatures. And Inferno, despite being associated with the group Behemoth, shows he can do it… drum-less. Some invite other musicians, but they always remain - as their studies or professional experience taught them to be - the musician with the widest set (be it drums or skills) on the team.

So, how does the second part of the series compliment the first? It further completes the gallery of collector's cards with Polish Percussion's superheroes and heroines. Each a different personality and an individual set of features. But does it satisfy? Strikingly.

Enough, I won't drum it into you."

The fact that ATLASES from Finland sound different has its reasons. Besides the "normal instrumentation" of a metal band, the musicians from Pori also work with electronic drum pads and keyboards. Both are not just additional accessories, but an integral part of the musical self-image of this Nordic group. In addition, there is the creative demand to go further aesthetically and sonically than is usual in modern post-metal. In the cinematic soundscapes ATLASES are creating you can lose yourself completely. The third album "Between The Day & I" pushes this approach to the extreme. The dualism of beautiful, atmospheric euphony and abrupt brute force works fantastically and provides lasting impressions. The sextet from Pori sets tension arcs time and again, which lead deeper and deeper into a maelstrom of rapture, melancholy and emotional discharge. On the follow-up to their 2020 LIFEFORCE RECORDS debut, "Woe Portrait", ATLASES present themselves as resourceful songwriters who cultivate powerful contrasts beyond the usual conventions of post-metal and thus stand out. With "Between The Day & I", the Finns prove that modern post-metal can still be developed further, if the right attitude and the necessary daring meet forward-thinking creativity and an elevated level of ambition. The fact that the cover motif of the new ATLASES album evokes associations in the direction of the Mastodon classic "Remission" or "White Pony" of the mighty Deftones is a coincidence, but on closer reflection it fits pretty well.

Eponymous collaboration between Jim Ghedi & Toby Hay - their first
since 2018's 'The Hawksworth Grove Sessions' and their debut for Topic
Records
Postponed for two years due to the small matter of a global pandemic, finally, as
some semblance of normality took shape, in February 2022, the duo headed into
Giant Wafer Studios, mid-Wales, with very little rehearsal time and recorded the
entire album live, with no edits or overdubs over three days.
Jim Ghedi and Toby Hay are both prolific, praised and established artists in their
own right. Hailing from South Yorkshire, Ghedi's previous work has often been
instrumental, exploring the natural world and his relationship to it, as seen on
2018's A Hymn For Ancient Land but also developing into using his voice,
songwriting and traditional material on his more recent album, In The Furrows Of
Common Place. Toby Hay, hailing from the Cambrian mountains, professes
likewise, that the landscape serves as eternal muse and the spiritual groundwork
of his entrancing guitar playing which has dazzled critics and listeners alike
throughout his career. All of this makes their collaboration with the world's oldest
independent label and custodians of UK folk music, Topic Records, a natural
home for this exceptional record.
The album arrtwork includes beautiful liner notes by Andrew Male, senior
associate editor of Mojo magazine; film, radio and TV writer for Sight and Sound
and Sunday Times Culture.

Vladislav Delay presents the third EP in his "Hide Behind The Silence" series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. 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.

Romano, bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark and pianist Joachim Kühn.
They hadn’t rehearsed anything, as if entering the studio to record an
album without any plan was something normal. The musicians were
obviously very used to playing with each other, as the five tracks on
Our Meanings And Our Feelings seem to flow perfectly without any
hint of improvisation. The zokra, an oriental clarinet that Michel Portal
plays on “Walking through the land” and “Dear old Morocco” brings a
singular touch to this album. This singularity is transcended by
Joachim Kühn’s ability to easily go from the piano to the saxophone
alto, from supporting to soloing, before playing the bells, then the
tambourine, opening the soundscape. Our Meanings And Our
Feelings may not be the first French free jazz record – as it was
preceded by the fantastic Free Jazz by François Tusques, released in
1965 and on which Michel Portal plays as well - but it remains one of
the most important. Its incredible outburst of sounds and melodies is
completely free yet never turns into cacophony. 44 years after its
release, it is still urgent to listen to Our Meanings And Our Feelings
and what these five talented musicians had to tell us.

On June 27th, 1969, Michel Portal pushed the door of the Pathé
Marconi studios. With him were drummers Jacques Thollot and Aldo

Brussels-based producer Sagat’s highly anticipated debut album ‘Silver Lining’ lands on Vlek Records. Sagat takes us on a deep dive into a dense sonic universe: It’s bass music viewed from multiple vantage points, an explorative zoom onto contemporary dance music’s broad ranging cadences, paradoxically viewed from a distance. Silver lining bathes in cluttering rhythms that hover over corroded thumping grooves. Poly chrome synths emerge dramatically, interlocking with oddly timed techno syncopations. Yet all tracks are held together by firm, dubbed out beat repetitions and slabs of sub bass, not without a melodic sense of drama. Sagat’s disintegrated sound-design stands in between musical dichotomies, at once spaced-out, disorienting and emotive, but also explorative, colourful and full of tension. Moving, yet statuesquely standing idle. Silver Lining is an album longing for the dancefloor, but also about disconnection from it: A highly personal presentation of this producers’ singular take on bass oriented club music. From our standing point we love to see how Sagat’s music keeps evolving, toying with contemporary club music’s specific tropes, unbound by its normativeness. Silver lining is an album rich in contrast that works for personal listening experience as well as for the adventurous DJ with one foot firmly on the dancefloor, the other somewhere way out there.

The Undertones um Sänger Feargal Sharkey wurden 1975 in Derry, Nordirland, gegründet und veröffentlichten 1980 ihr zweites Album "Hypnotised", das auf Platz 6 der britischen Charts landete. Die Themen entsprechen denen ihres Debüts und konzentrieren sich auf Teenagerängste, Übermut und Herzschmerz. Allerdings ist "Hypnotised" sowohl textlich als auch musikalisch deutlich anspruchsvoller als sein Vorgänger. Das Album enthält 14 punkige Pop-Klassiker mit einer etwas härteren Gangart als das wegweisende Debüt. Repress erstmalig auf rotem Vinyl.

Mo H. Zareei (mHz) returns to Imprec/Cassauna with Proof Of Identity, an album of pulsating, pattern-based electronic pieces that evolve in ways reminiscent of Steve Reich's early work or Philip Glass' Music In 12 Parts. With Proof Of Identity, Zareei confronts issues surrounding identity and authorship in composition specifically when created by non-Western musicians. He simultaneously tackles orientalism and the normative take on identity politics.

Artist's Statement:

More than a decade ago, I made a piece of beat-based electronic music and titled it "Middle Eastern IDM" for a course assignment. After listening to it in class, my professor asked what was Middle Eastern about it. It was only a year after I had left Iran to study in the US, and I didn't know that I could say "I am. I made the piece". So I went back and superimposed a sample of Egyptian protest chants on top of the piece, to make it "sufficiently Middle Eastern".

What prejudiced conservatism and performative liberalism share is gatekeeping practices that box one in a preconceived state of otherness. While the former overtly regards that otherness as inferior, the latter exoticises it through patronising paternalism. To me, it is especially troubling when exclusionary practices are driven by some form of overzealous "diversity and inclusion" agenda. If you don't fit the diversity box they've made for you, too bad. It's your fault for being "insufficiently diverse". "Poor thing, you've been colonised!", they tell you, as they claim ownership over a collection of frequencies and rhythms. When you look at who gets to decide if something's indigenous enough, you see how decolonisation itself has been colonised.

When you listen to this piece, I'm very happy for you to keep in mind that it was made by someone from Iran. But I might need to clarify that this piece has nothing to do with sufism and the whirling dervishes, the interweaving patterns of the Persian carpet, the poetry of Rumi, or Islamic architecture. And if you hear those moments of "non-western" sonorities, that is because I have constructed this piece from samples of a piece of Iranian traditional music – an overplayed piece that was all over TV and radio while I was growing up Iran, one that I never found particularly inspiring or interesting. Here, I have tried to make it more interesting by completely taking it apart and reconstructing it through my personal compositional techniques, aesthetic preferences, and a wide range of musical influences. So in short, while this piece might not sound like your archetypical Iranian music, I assure you that it is Iranian enough.

Ain’t no stopping him now. Krystal Klear’s streak continues with Automat Kingsland. The recipe remains, perfectly seasoned to taste. The extended menu of four tracks is musical testament to the artist’s life of the last six months. Emphasizing movement at a pace that is hard to hold on to, but embraced nonetheless. Trying to transport that „lost in translation“ (and transit) sense of normal life due to constant motion to a dance floor near you. Euphoric melancholia meets rave romance, shutters open to let happiness crawl in and anxiety turns into excitement through the usual cocktail of tearjerkers and white noise risers. Recorded between Paris, New York, Dublin and London and brought to your city via Running Back. Automatic non stop existential output.

IZIPHO SOUL continues our collaboration with Bishop Norman Hutchins by releasing two tracks from his label IR MUSIC GROUP and showcasing two recording artists - these anointed preachers can sing!

BE ALRIGHT by ANTIONE HUTCHINS (Bishop Norman’s nephew) is a superb gospel stepper, heaped with expressive vocals and interspersed with lilting choir. If this doesn’t make you feel optimistic, then nothing will!

On the flip HE REIGNS by NERO FOSTER - a full on praise production!

Edition of 300 copies