Suche:not to

After 25 years of living his dream as one of hip hop’s most respected producers, Hi-Tek is digging back into his roots with a brand new trio of instrumental vinyl LPs. “Werk Road (1997 MPC 60)” is the third volume of the series, each featuring a selection of restored and remastered beats, carefully chosen from an archive of DAT tapes. These LPs manage to both provide a window into Tek’s development and to shine light on the work of an already enormously talented musician whose beats would’ve sounded right at home on classic releases from the mid-1990s.

1997 is when the name Hi-Tek began to develop a global buzz, largely due to the combustible indie-rap scene. He’d moved on from the now-shuttered Beatbox Studios in his hometown of Cincinnati and began building his first proper home studio in his new apartment on Werk Road. With a borrowed Akai MPC 60 drum machine as the foundation, he began churning out beats at a more prolific rate than ever.

In addition to placements on debut LPs by Mood and Royal Flush, Tek would make his name in 1997 as one-half of the duo Reflection Eternal with Brooklyn MC Talib Kweli. Their Rawkus Records debut 12” “Fortified Live” was an instant smash, and it quickly placed him at the top of the class of up-and-coming beatmakers. His unique balance of bassline-driven grooves behind soulful samples would eventually lead him to be in high demand for artists across the spectrum of the genre, and in short time he was producing for Common, Snoop Dogg, Raphael Saadiq, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and others from all over the country.

The work featured on “Werk Road (1997 MPC 60)” reveals an artist who would not only become one of the most respected producers in rap, but one of the cultural ambassadors of his home city of Cincinnati for over 25 years. In 2022, Hi-Tek was inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame alongside luminaries like The Isley Brothers, Bootsy Collins and Midnight Star, and remains the most successful hip hop artist that the city has ever produced.

Saeko Killy, Jamie Paton, Andrei Rusu and Anastasia Zems remix “Kraus is the Limit” by the Zurich electronic-wave duo Dâdalus & Bikarus and take the original to new dimensions.

“Kraus is the Limit (Remixes)” preserves the raw energy and emotion of Dâdalus & Bikarus’ live performances while introducing new textures. It is not merely a collection of remixes but an intimate experience that invites listeners to rediscover the original tracks through the lenses of Saeko Killy, Jamie Paton, Andrei Rusu and Anastasia Zems.

Saeko Killy translates Voran into a mesmerizingly timeless journey that is even more kraut-y and space-y. Jamie Paton brings his distinctive style to the table by adding laidback and dubby vibes to Gone and Youri Gagarine. Andrei Rusu strippes down Tous Tes Mensonges, creating a sonic whirlwind that takes the listener on an thrilling and hypnotic ride. Anastasia Zems’ take on Voran lets us wallow in the depths of an acid abyss. A tripped-out experience is guaranteed.

DOG BEACH is Merryn Jeann’s first full length album, produced by Rob Ellis, comparing her directely with his previous collaborators.

Rob Ellis is a record producer, composer, arranger and musician who has been acting for about 40 years and during which he's had the honor to work with such notable artists as PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithfull, Scott Walker, Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Brian Eno, Thom Yorke, Anna Calvi, ...

About working with Merryn : "In every instrumental phrase that she arrived at and each line of her vocal delivery Merryn's enthusiasm and very individual creativity comes across brilliantly I think... whilst still managing to retain an expression of deeply felt heart and soul... a rare combination in my experience, and a match for any of my aforementionel, much admired collaborators."

"The days in the studio were endlessly creative and playful... and subsequently very exhilarating... by the end it felt like we had really gone through something extremely special, and I believe the resulting LP strongly reflects that." Rob Ellis

Album was recorded over 5 weeks in England, including musicians such as Jim Barr (Portishead), Ben Christophers (Bat For Lashes) or Patrick J. Pearson (Daughter, LYR) but also Christelle Canot aka Confuse, half of IN CASE OF FIRE recently signed to Steve Budd’s prestigious record producer agency.

Merryn Jeann is a Naarm/Melbourne and Bundjalung Country/Byron Bay Shire based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has crafted a genre-bending, dreamy world of soundscapes that bear an enticing musical wisdom.

Sitting somewhere between Caroline Polachek, Cat Power, Weyes Blood, Feist, and Kelsey Lu, Merryn Jeann’s sound is fueled by authenticity. Her raw and honest self packaged into intricate and reflective morsels, many of which are yet to be revealed.

She played Glastonburry at the beginning of her career with the band TORA.

UK and international promo by Whiteboard PR.

A second LP will be recorded in 2025 again with Rob Ellis at the production.

Side projects : OSOO with Kyson & Chris Hill, IN CASE OF FIRE

The second album by F.K. Raeithel, just after the operetta DIE WURLITZERORGEL DES GEISTES, explores the realms of interlocked rhythm sample and hold music. On 16 tracks different setups of self generating modular synthesizer patches are gathered on this release.

The concept of Dance With Uncertainty is deeply rooted in philosophical, artistic, and cultural traditions. The notion of embracing uncertainty and change has been explored in various forms throughout history, often symbolizing the human experience and the impermanence of life. In the context of music and sound, Dance With Uncertainty could be seen as a reflection of the constant ebb and flow of life‘s uncertainties, captured and conveyed through sonic textures and evolving compositions.

Interlocked Rhythm Sample & Hold Music, this approach to sound creation weaves a mesmerizing tapestry of rhythm, texture, and sonic exploration, captivating listeners and defying traditional musical boundaries. At its core, Interlocked Rhythm Sample & Hold Music is a synthesis of technology, creativity, and a deep understanding of rhythmic intricacies. The foundation lies in the Sample & Hold circuit, a device that captures and freezes incoming voltages, creating distinct musical snapshots that evolve over time or an Linear Feedback Shift Register (eg. Rungler), a circuit used in electronic music synthesis and sound manipulation to create unique and evolving musical textures. The Rungler was created by Rob Hordijk. A more sophisticated use of a 8 bit shift register and by combining this with a typical sequencer design is the Klee Sequencer developed by Scott Stites. A cheap version of this design is the Turing Machine. Another tool is the Analog Shift Register. In the context of creating arabesque melodies, an analog shift register (invented by Fukushi Kawakami and later adapted by Serge Tcherepnin) can be a fascinating tool to generate intricate and ornamented musical patterns. Yet, it‘s the interlocking of these snapshots that sets this genre apart, infusing the compositions with an intricate dance of patterns and pulses. A fourth device is a pendulum or random addressed sequencer, that in the first case moves in a drunken unpredictable manner. Each of these devices for uncertainty becomes a rhythmic sculptor, freezing the dynamic interplay of melodies, beats, and textures. These frozen moments are then interwoven, each snapshot forming a unique thread in a sound tableau that stretches and contracts, pulses and breathes. The result is an auditory experience that challenges preconceptions of rhythm and structure. The interlocked rhythms give rise to complex grooves that ebb and flow in unpredictable ways, evoking a sense of perpetual motion and transformation. The music becomes a living organism, its heartbeats synchronized yet untamed, its evolution both deliberate and free-spirited. The juxtaposition of staccato bursts and fluid flows, of machine-like precision and organic unpredictability. As listeners delve into the world of Interlocked Rhythmic Sample & Hold Music, they embark on a sonic odyssey. The music becomes a companion, guiding them through a labyrinth of rhythmic landscapes that simultaneously challenge and invite them to the dance with uncertainty.

Dicks’ debut LP has been acknowledged as a foundational statement in Punk ever since its initial 1983 release. Following their first single, 1980’s “Dicks Hate The Police,” and a live split with fellow Austinites the Big Boys, Kill From The Heart does not disappoint. Originally released on SST, the album stands apart from the mass of generic thrash-hardcore contemporaries— fueled by the manic, but controlled power of singer Gary Floyd along with the original lineup of guitarist Glen Taylor, bassist Buxf Parrot and drummer Pat Deason. Dicks were operating at an absolute peak at this point, alternating damaged workouts that suggest Flipper or No Trend on one end and highly charged tracks in the vein of Minutemen or Tales of Terror on the other. Straight out of the gate on “Anti Klan,” the band trades blues-grounded guitar with squealing feedback and intensely political lyrics. The raw emotional sincerity of Floyd, who was openly gay in Reagan-era Texas, provides unmistakeable urgency to songs such as “No Nazi’s Friend,” “Rich Daddy” and the title track, which remains one of the stone-cold classic punk anthems. Forty years on, Kill From The Heart continues to smolder—an arresting testament to the possibilities embodied in creative rage. It is no surprise that Dicks have been covered by Mudhoney, Jesus Lizard and more. Superior Viaduct is honored to present this truly essential reissue. Comes with original tracklist, insert and download card.

grey & green splatter vinyl

A1 - Spacewaves
Opening the EP in thunderous style, Aural Imbalance chops impeccable, clean amen breaks, rolling sublimely into a chorus of fluid, delicate keys. The track whisks the listener atop the crest of wavy edits before a quietly turbulent assortment of blips and notes punctuate a bass-heavy breakdown. The latter half combines the elements in surreal harmony for a triump hant crescendo, buoyed by the truly vibrant breaks.
A2 - Tranquil Sea
A masterclass in subsurface ambience introduces Tranquil Sea, glistening melodies cascade into punchy breakbeats, setting the pace. Brimming with sunken off-key 808 bass resonating unpredictably with the spirit of the ocean, Aural Imbalance gently builds the vibe with soothing waves of mesmerising soundscapes as the beats rumble on, inviting you to dance amidst the swirling currents of his inimitable sound.
AA1 - Concordia
Old school analogue breaks take center stage as Aural Imbalance rewinds the clock for a great dancefloor-friendly slice of history with a modern Spatial twist. Quiet plinky keys bubble underneath long, whooshing ripples of the sea, echoed hi hats and a distinctive classic bassline intertwine perfectly, carrying you to uncharted sonic territories that will linger in the recesses of your mind long after the needle is lifted.
AA2 - Fading Fields
Delicate cymbal work and stirring pads combine deliciously before the listener is lifted to blissful serenity with a sumptuous tapestry of synths and micro melodies set to an immense, head nodding break pattern. The noteworthy kickdrum delivers a classic analogue stomp while the drums joyously encircle them
in their droves, showcasing further the variety and density Aural Imbalance offers.

The Cherry Boppers are back with six fiery artifacts of promiscuous funk recorded in collaboration with the vocalist, also from Bilbao, Patricia Reckless, in this mini-album in 10-inch vinyl format. Pure rhythm from head to toes. As is well known, funk fuses what has historically been labelled soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and rock, and The Cherry Boppers (TCB) have undoubtedly created their own promiscuous formula based on a fine selection of styles that predate hip-hop. Active since 2004 and convinced advocates of jazz-funk and instrumental funk, there are very few examples of vocal tracks in their discography. However, in 2014 they released the EP "TCB meet Dr. Baltz" (Brixton Records-Soul Series) in which they successfully covered three classic rhythm and blues standards with lyrics in Spanish. Now, after five years of publishing drought, they repeat the experience with the stellar collaboration of the vocalist, also from Bilbao, Patricia Reckless, musically formed in the band "Bohemian Soul". The powerful and educated voice of Patricia Reckless blends perfectly, as one more instrument, into the compact rhythmic machinery of TCB, giving the 6 tracks of this mini-album (the 6-track EP thing doesn't quite fit) a structure, perhaps, more familiar to a non-specialized audience. But let's not get carried away, the textures, the silences, the "on the one!" beat, the breaks, the stately Hammond organ, the brilliant brass, the forceful bass lines, the precise percussion, the wah wah... are all 100% Cherry Boppers. "The Cherry Boppers meet Patricia Reckless" remains faithful to that analogue funk sound that makes the band proud of a long and vocational career in the genre. And it is also an album full of details, of paths and instrumental lines to be discovered on multiple listens.

Thee Alcoholics are the brainchild of Rhys Llewellyn, a longtime Rocket Recordings alumnus whose background leans as heavily into the bassbin-shaking realms of electronic music as it does the tinnitus-inducing world of howling, cranked-up ampstacks. Not content with hammering drumskins for numerous floor-shaking records on the Rocket discography from the likes of Hey Colossus and The Notorious Hi-Fi Killers, he’s also been responsible for brain-rearranging electronic works under the Drmcnt and Acidliner monikers. Thee Alcoholics, however - which initially gestated as a result of Rhys himself wanting to pursue the somewhat hostile sound in his own head during lockdown - maps out a collision course between all of the above. Cranky and cantankerous yet lysergically aligned, Feedback is mesmeric rock with swagger, warped into sci-fi shapes by the spirit and sonics of bass and soundsystem culture. The psychedelic shapes here are redolent of the ur-klang of The Fall and the monolithic lurch of The Heads, the motorik malevolence less an uplifting trip to the heavens than a drill down to the earth’s core. Discernible in these jackhammer beats, grimly murmured vocals and delirious dirges to certain heads may be the trash futurism of Chrome, the decomposed stomp of unsung legends Earl Brutus and the electro-punk attack of Six Finger Satellite, yet all of the above co-ordinates are waylaid effortlessly by a balls-out intensity and a 6 fearsome intent on aural oblivion at all costs. Feedback may be elemental and primal, yet this is no psych comfort-blanket nor retrofetishism, rather a repetition-driven journey headlong into intimidating territory unknown. Get on board and strap yourselves in for a bumpy ride.

One half experimenting with new styles not tried before, and the other half proving that when it came to progressive rock, they had few equals. It perfectly represents the versatility, sense of humour and compositional genius of this most singular of bands. Including the same personnel that had recorded the previous years In'terview - Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and John 'Pugwash' Weathers, and yet it felt different. Marking a change in direction following their successful In'terview tour, the album received mixed reviews upon its initial release, but has since grown in stature, praised for its forward-thinking sound and experimental nature. We are now pleased to present this record in its full glory and the best it's ever sounded.

Continuing his association with Gentle Giant, award winning producer and musician Steven Wilson has remixed The Missing Piece.His tonal range and painstaking attention to sound quality gives the album a fresh and exhilarating sonic lift.

The Missing Piece by Gentle Giant, released 23 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It", "Mountain Time", "Memories Of Old Days", "For Nobody" and more.

This version of The Missing Piece comes as a 1xLP.

“I’ve been wanting to make a record like this for a long time. The band, Franny and I produced it ourselves in my living room with no adults present. It’s all acoustic, not an electric lick on the album…banjos and mandos and string basses and stripped-down drums. I put a ton of work into the tunes and I’m pretty proud of this batch. Had a little help from my old co-writing pal Jaida Dreyer on a couple, also wrote a good one with my screenwriter buddy, Brian Koppelman. Lots of gambling songs and lots of minor keys. And my band guys absolutely killed it too, they’re all badasses. I’m dedicating the record to my old compadre, Ian Tyson, who passed away a few months back. I’ve named the album for him as well. ‘El Viejo’, or ‘the old one’ is what our mutual friend Tom Russell took to calling him in later years. The title track is a pretty special one for us. We had a blast making this thing, and we hope you enjoy it too.” - Corb Lund

Prince's The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale will be made available on vinyl again for a 23rd February release date.

Prince delivered The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale to Warner Bros. Records to fulfil his contractual obligations in 1996, although it wasn't released until 1999. Featuring 10 tracks from Prince's legendary Vault, recorded between 1985-1996, TV:OF4S was Prince's first album release on WBR since Chaos and Disorder.

The LP has not been available for several years and is now being made available for the first time on 180g vinyl.

Please find attached front cover (hi-res version to follow), with further product information below.

Orange, yellow, cyan blue, aqua blue, baby blue vinyl. Limited to 400 copies
After being out of print for decades, End Hits Records has partnered with the Swedish hardcore punk legends ABHINANDA to re-release their complete discography on vinyl. Founded in 1992 in Umea, now recognized as a European punk hub, ABHINANDA played a significant role in shaping the history and development of the 90's hardcore scene. Alongside their contemporaries REFUSED (with whom they frequently shared and swapped members), they were instrumental in the international breakthrough and popularization of Scandinavian hardcore. Much credit for this goes to singer Jose Saxlund, who, along with Dennis Lyxzen (Refused, Int. Noise Conspiracy), operated the Straight Edge label "Desperate Fight" and played a vital role in consistently releasing recordings from the thriving Swedish scene. Finally, the entire ABHINANDA discography will be available once again, this time on strictly limited vinyl: The five-vinyl box set comes in an elegant cardboard slipcase, with each individual record housed in a gatefold cover and accompanied by a large-format poster. Additionally, there are numerous never-before-seen pictures, along with detailed liner notes/interviews featuring band members and contemporaries such as Dennis Lyxzen (Refused), Vique Simba (Revelation Records, Simba Zine+Records), Sara Almgren (Doughnuts, Int. Noise Conspiracy), and Kate Tucker-Reddy (108). The box set includes the three full-length albums "Senseless," "Self Titled," and "The Rumble," as well as a double LP featuring all demo recordings, EPs, and 7" tracks. The music has been completely remastered, and the artwork has been entirely updated.

This 1960 album’s inventive Richard Weiss arrangements combine with Carter’s uniquely masterful – and modern - vocals for fresh takes on standards. Highlights include a lively run through ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’, inspired scatting on ‘On The Alamo’ and a beautifully tender take on ‘There’s No You’.

This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

In his long and successful career Ennio Morricone composed many dance songs as it was in fashion in the late sixties and early seventies.

Themes that were usually not directly connected with the subjects of the soundtrack, but which were played in disco clubs, on jukeboxes,

turntables and on the radio.



This collection contains a selection of very cool pieces such as the brilliant main theme from GRAND SLAM (1967), the shake rock (opening credits) from

Dario Argento’s classic FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET (1971), the danceable from the noir film VIOLENT CITY (1970), the beat version of the opening

credits of “Pioggia sul tuo viso” by The Sorrows, from HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE WOMEN (1966), “Per Vittorio (Bossa)” elegant bossa nova with flute and

percussions from THE SUCCESS (1963), the tribal shake from I Cantori Moderni which winks at the Dies Irae from GARDEN OF DELIGHTS (1967),

“Scuola di ballo al sole” a wild surf piece from THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS (1966), the supreme bossa nova from ONE NIGHT AT DINNER (1969)

with the super iconic voice of Edda Dell’Orso, the shake music of “Ostinazione al limone” from WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972),

“Donnabossa” from FULL HEARTS AND EMPTY POCKETS (1964), a delicate bossa nova with a prominent harpsichord.

CLAUDIO FUIANO

Ein wunderbarer Song mit einer herzerwärmenden Hook. Jimi Tenor und Tomasz Guiddo in Höchstform. Und obendrauf so schöne Wohlfühl-Remixe: von der Lichtgestalt Erobique, der kürzlich in Mitteleuropa Charthits hatte, der früher mit Koze bei International Pony war, der so fantastische Musik für die "Tatortreiniger"-Fernsehserie (mit Bjarne Mädel) geschrieben hat und gerade ausverkaufte Live-Shows in ganz Deutschland und Österreich feierte. Auch Freestyle Man, vielleicht besser bekannt als Sasse, der uns so viele gute Deep-Squirky-House-Perlen beschert hat und Ale Castro, die beide hier erstklassige Remixe abliefern. Last but not least der österreichische Crooner Louie Austen, der uns mit seiner magischen Stimme auf "Smile" ein Lächeln ins Gesicht zaubert.

New York Hip Hop revolutionaries Ced-Gee, Kool Keith, Moe Luv and T.R. Love, known as Ultramagnetic Mc’s dropped their seminal debut album Critical Beatdown in 1988. Immediately grabbing the attention and pushing the boundaries of hip hop into new horizons, it was hailed as a masterpiece by the underground. Influential hip hop magazines The Source and Hip Hop Connection both listed Critical Beatdown in their Top 100 charts, naming it one of the best 100 hip hop albums ever. The 1986 single “Ego Trippin” is one of the first tracks to use the SP1200 drum machine (programmed by producer Ced-Gee), and the SP1200 would later become the golden standard for many hip hop producers. This expanded edition features not only the original album with the 15 tracks, it also includes 6 bonus tracks: the original 12” versions of “Funky”, “Bait”, “A Chorus Line” featuring Tim Dog, “Mentally Mad” plus “Traveling At The Speed Of Thought (Hip House Club Mix)” and “Ego Trippin (Bonus Beats)”. It also contains a 4 page booklet with interviews, rare photos and liner notes written by Angus Batey, the author of Rhyming and Stealing: A History Of The Beastie Boys and a writer for Hip Hop Connection and Mojo magazine.

Speak to most musicians about their motivations, inspirations and processes and you will, generally, get variations on a similar, broadly consensual, theme. Natasha Pirard is genuinely different. Her interest in sound goes way beyond the superficial and the ephemeral. She is fascinated by how and why sound makes us feel, the political implications of sound, noise pollution and the everyday sounds embedded in our immediate environment.

Contextually, this makes a lot of sense when confronted with her debut release for DEEWEE, Dream Cycles. A 120-minute exploration of sounds, loops, frequencies and waves, it’s an eight- part musical cycle split into 15-minute sections across four cassettes, she believes, reflects on this notion of cyclical, rather than linear, time. The eight song cycles are repetitive. They start off basic and functional and build over time. They begin with one sound but soon you hear other sounds. From there you get taken to another point, where you hear something else and so on and so forth. The circle is never-ending.

Natasha Pirard is a musicologist and composer from Ghent. She will be releasing her album Dream Cycles in February 2024, as a limited edition four cassette box set, marking her debut on the Ghent-based label DEEWEE.

FÜR FANS VON: Scorpions, Victory, Jane, Epitaph, Eloy, Mob Rules, Thunderhead, Nitrogods / Vinyl Farbe: schwarz, bedruckte Innentasche, 140 g
Fargo zählten Anfang der Achtziger zu Deutschlands wichtigsten Rock-Acts. Mit vier Studioalben zwischen 1979 und 1982 und ihren Tourneen unter
anderem mit AC/DC und Mothers Finest hat sich die Hannoveraner Band einen echten Kultstatus erspielt. Am 23. Februar 2024 werden ihre vier
frühen Klassiker wiederveröffentlicht, darunter auch "Wishing Well" (1979), welche neu gemastert und zudem auch neu gemischt wurde.

Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Veneration" balancieren VIRCOLAC auf Messers Schneide, selbstbewusst und mit Kampfstiefeln... und sie erschaffen damit ohne Frage ihre bisher beste Veröffentlichung. "Veneration" umfasst die gesamte Welt des Death Metal´s, kombiniert sie aber mit einer weiteren, einer sehr viel dunkleren. Sie haben es geschafft, ein Album voller Wut und Tragik entstehen zu lassen. Und so authentisch und überzeugt spucken sie es in eine Welt, die offensichtlich an generischen, seelenlosen und technisch "perfekten" Standard-"Death Metal"-Veröffentlichungen erstickt.
Auch wenn sich das Album nicht beim Erstkontakt komplett erschließt, wird es jedoch denen gegenüber großzügig & offenbarend sein, die sich voll darauf einlassen. Man kann Death Metal kaum auf eine persönlichere und emotionalere Weise schreiben und spielen. "Veneration" mäandert zwischen cholerischen Ausbrüchen und elegischen Arrangements mit einer unheimlichen und bedrückenden Atmosphäre, die anscheinend nur irische Bands im Stande sind zu schreiben.

Sdban Records continues its reissues of the legendary library series 'A Special Radio - TV Record' with Selection 23, releasing a variety of notable tracks from the 70s library label together on a physical compilation for the first time. With this release, the label continues the vinyl reissues of the Belgian imprint 'Selection Records,' featuring tracks originally released between 1976 and 1981.

Essentially, the tracks take you through a cinematic musical landscapewhere funk and soul merge with a hint of jazz, always evoking a sense of familiarity.

One name that immediately springs to mind is René Costy. From this virtuoso and insatiable artist, the compilation 'Expectancy' was previously released. With 'Strange Dream' and 'Crystal Waltz,' he shows once again that he was not only a versatile composer but also a curious jazz cat. With 'Space Shuttle Jazz', pianist and harmonica Jacques Siroul shows his fascination for synthesizers. Which, as a composer, earned him an unofficial title as an expert in music on demand. This, and much more, make Selection 23 a must-have for fans of previous compilations like Beat Action, Funky Chicken, and Funky Chimes!

Violently bleeding out into the mid-90s with their lone release "Feel My Hate-The Power Is The Weight - R.I.P. Cain" vinyl lp then completely disappearing into the ether. Southern Lord compiled all known recordings in 2003 on the "Hortators Lament" compact disc.

Then in commiseration of the label's 20th anniversary (2018), TL allowed Southern Lord to release all these recordings (and even some more cryptic, current musings) on the limited edition 2xLP set: "Cease & Decease".

2024! Toadliquor continues their decades-long onslaught of desolation, despair, and damaged vocal cords with Back in the Hole. Seven prize picks for the communal trough. Strap in and feed.

FFO: Pain, Misery, Destruction. (not bands, emotions/actions)

In the early aughts, The Children"s Hour produced a genial, naive-adjacent, front-porch take on Josephine Foster"s celebrated solo music with the album SOS JFK, then disappeared from the face of the earth. The belated issue of their second album from 2003 furthers their arc delightfully. David Pajo"s Aerial-M-esque drums and bass elevates Josephine and Andy Bar"s shared vibe of love, pure and simple, to an apex of local band barroom bliss.

Out February 23rd on translucent orange vinyl for the album's 15th anniversary: Fucked Up’s now classic album 'The Chemistry Of Common Life' synthesizes numerous diverse impulses into an expansive epic about the mysteries of birth, death, and the origins of life (and re-living).

Merging elements of hardcore songwriting with up to 70 tracks of guitars, organs, winds and vocals, (including 18 guitars on the first single, the fatalistic “No Epiphany”), the music remains iconoclastic and startling, with Pink Eyes’ vocals front and center. Guest musicians, of course, abound, notably gorgeous voices such as Brooklyn’s Vivian Girls and Toronto’s Katie Stelmanis.

Fucked Up"s now classic 2008 album The Chemistry Of Common Life synthesizes numerous diverse impulses into an expansive epic about the mysteries of birth, death, and the origins of life (and re-living). Merging elements of hardcore songwriting with up to 70 tracks of guitars, organs, winds and vocals, (including 18 guitars on the first single, the fatalistic "No Epiphany"), the music remains iconoclastic and startling, with Pink Eyes" vocals front and center. Guest musicians, of course, abound, notably gorgeous voices such as Brooklyn"s Vivian Girls and Toronto"s Katie Stelmanis.

Offering fuzzy grunge-pop with doses of shimmering synths and emo angst, Ned Russin co-fronted Title Fight before halting in 2018 & Ned began playing music as Glitterer. Now a full band, Glitterer returns with Rationale combining 90s grunge, capital-R riffs a la The Stooges, & a keyboard lead that gives self-deprecating melodrama., After relying more on synths for the entirely solo, home-recorded Glitterer LP in 2017, he involved collaborators on the crunchier Looking Through the Shades in 2019. This trend toward driving indie rock grit with "90s influences continued on 2021"s Life Is Not a Lesson and now Rationale.

The mind-flowing 'Dices' somehow did not make it onto the Grupo Pan's only album and instead found its home on the B side of a long-forgotten 1972 single. One can only wonder why this great song with a devastating guitar riff and an irresistible rhythm section was not granted a place in the grooves of the LP of the Venezuelan band_ Late 60s hard rock sounds made by salsa musicians! On the flip, a rare hard psych gem from Peru by the one and only Jean Paul "El Troglodita". First time single reissue! The few records released by Venezuela's most prolific percussionist, Nené Quintero, and his first band sound like a somewhat artisanal classic rock recording from the end of the 60s but made by "salseros" (as involved in Salsa music). Their only LP "Pan" (recently reissued for the first time on Vampisoul) succeeded in overcoming through its grooves the eternal rivalry between the followers of the hard rock sounds and those who, on the contrary, were devotees of salsa. Grupo Pan also released a bunch of 45s mostly comprising LP tracks. However, the mind-flowing 'Dices' somehow did not make it onto the album and instead found its home on the B side of a 1972 single. Enrique Tellería (aka Jean Paul) was nicknamed "El Troglodita" (The Caveman) due to his wild performances in his native Peru. Screams, extreme body shaking and, quite often, stage destruction were part of his energetic shows. His hard psych gem 'Fuera de Atracción' was originally released on a much sought-after 45 on the tiny Peruvian label Rey Record. We thought it would be a perfect pairing with the stunning A side to finish off this single. First time single reissue!

Re-issue des 2. Saffire Albums als Digipak & Ltd. Transparent Curacao LP. Die schwedischen Hard Rocker Saffire haben einen Remix des 2015 auf AOR Heaven erschienenden Albums gemacht. Nicht, dass der ursprüngliche Mix schlecht gewesen wäre, sondern eher aufgrund der Tatsache, dass sich die ursprüngliche Veröffentlichung klanglich anders anfühlte als gewünscht. Mit diesem Remix konnte die Band neue Produktionszutaten hinzuzufügen, von denen sie glauben, dass sie von Anfang an auf dem Album hätten enthalten sein sollen. Melodischer "old-school" Hard Rock & Metal, mit heutigem Sound. Sie klingen ein wenig nach 70er, nach Uriah Heep, Deep Purple etc., was vor allem die Keyboard/Orgel-Klänge und Einsätze betrifft. Die Riffs und Lead-Gitarren-Parts hingegen sind offensiv und knackig, und Sänger Tobias Jansson hat seinen eigenen Stil und Tonlage. Frischer Hard Rock mit Retro Anteilen, ein weiterer "Made In Sweden" Qualitätstitel.

Nach dem Erfolg von We'll Bring The House Down aus dem Jahr 1981 setzten Slade mit Till Deaf Do Us Part ihren neuen Aufschwung fort. Mit der Single Lock Up Your Daughters sowie anderen Tracks, die im Laufe der Jahre zu festen Bestandteilen des Slade-Live-Sets wurden, darunter "Rock and Roll Preacher" (der zum neuen Opener der Band wurde) sowie Ruby Red und Knuckle Sandwich Nancy.Die LP erscheint in limitierter Auflage auf weiß-schwarzem Splatter-Vinyl, während die CD einen Bonus-Radio-Edit von "Rock and Roll Preacher" sowie erweiterte Booklet-Notizen enthält.













[m] 13. Funk, Punk & Junk [CD Bonustrack]

Big Crown Records is proud to present Zero Grace, Liam Bailey's sophomore album on the label. Following the success of 2020's Ekundayo album, the tried and true chemistry of Bailey and producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) is on full display again as they take the sound they established and push it further. On Zero Grace they lean more into the bleeding heart singer-songwriter side of Liam. The result, much like Bailey himself, is impulsively honest without reserve. Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and 2nd generation Jamaican English father, Liam will admit his early childhood was fairly chaotic and filled with "all the cliche racism that happens when people started mixing up in the '80s in England." Liam got his early influences from his mom's record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today. Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London performing at every open mic and acoustic night he could, hustling with hopes of landing a record deal. It was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes "When Will They Learn" and "I'm Gonna Miss You" which still gets spins at Reggae spots around the globe and were co-signed by heavy hitters like David Rodigan & Don Letts. That first trip to NYC brought a lot of industry attention to Liam, including being noticed by a just-famous Amy Winehouse who heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo- recordings, and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through - all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. Eventually Liam signed to Polydor and wound up bumping against the typical major label industry obstacles. They already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push With the typical large advance enticement, Liam did his best to trust that path. "Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't." Zero Grace is full of freedom and love, in fact, working with Leon Michels and Big Crown Records has encouraged Liam to be himself. On album opener "Holding On '' Bailey speaks to his observations & fears when looking out at the world in front of him and also to the dedication it has taken to get on the other side of his personal trials & tribulations. "Dance With Me" is an instantly infectious two-stepper that nods to those incredible soul records that were coming out of Jamaica during the early Reggae days. Bailey steps into the dance with hopes of finding a new love and pulls us all out on the dance oor with him. "Disorder Starts At Home" is another close to the chest tune that addresses the difficulties he struggles with from his early chaotic childhood and his progress in getting past them. "Mercy Tree" is a powerhouse of Reggae Rebel Music. Bailey addresses the racial tensions that plague humanity and encourages everyone to step up and do their part to help foster equality. What starts out as a declaration of injustice turns into a call for action and an inspiration for hope.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Zero Grace, Liam Bailey's sophomore album on the label. Following the success of 2020's Ekundayo album, the tried and true chemistry of Bailey and producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) is on full display again as they take the sound they established and push it further. On Zero Grace they lean more into the bleeding heart singer-songwriter side of Liam. The result, much like Bailey himself, is impulsively honest without reserve. Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and 2nd generation Jamaican English father, Liam will admit his early childhood was fairly chaotic and filled with "all the cliche racism that happens when people started mixing up in the '80s in England." Liam got his early influences from his mom's record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today. Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London performing at every open mic and acoustic night he could, hustling with hopes of landing a record deal. It was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes "When Will They Learn" and "I'm Gonna Miss You" which still gets spins at Reggae spots around the globe and were co-signed by heavy hitters like David Rodigan & Don Letts. That first trip to NYC brought a lot of industry attention to Liam, including being noticed by a just-famous Amy Winehouse who heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo- recordings, and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through - all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. Eventually Liam signed to Polydor and wound up bumping against the typical major label industry obstacles. They already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push With the typical large advance enticement, Liam did his best to trust that path. "Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't." Zero Grace is full of freedom and love, in fact, working with Leon Michels and Big Crown Records has encouraged Liam to be himself. On album opener "Holding On '' Bailey speaks to his observations & fears when looking out at the world in front of him and also to the dedication it has taken to get on the other side of his personal trials & tribulations. "Dance With Me" is an instantly infectious two-stepper that nods to those incredible soul records that were coming out of Jamaica during the early Reggae days. Bailey steps into the dance with hopes of finding a new love and pulls us all out on the dance oor with him. "Disorder Starts At Home" is another close to the chest tune that addresses the difficulties he struggles with from his early chaotic childhood and his progress in getting past them. "Mercy Tree" is a powerhouse of Reggae Rebel Music. Bailey addresses the racial tensions that plague humanity and encourages everyone to step up and do their part to help foster equality. What starts out as a declaration of injustice turns into a call for action and an inspiration for hope.

Inveterate, known for championing transformative sounds, is thrilled to announce the launch of its maiden Various Artist compilation, "Incurables 001".

"Incurables" isn't just a title; it's a testament. It epitomizes the label's and its artists' relentless pursuit to push creativity's boundaries. The term captures the insatiable, 'incurable' passion for genuine music and its inherent message.

The compilation boasts an ensemble of prodigious talents, with contributions from artists such as Cressida, S Ruston, Ôtone, Znzl, Giordano, and Rommek. Together, they've crafted a compilation that is not just a collection of tracks but a synergistic blend of sonic narratives.

Curated by Tapefeed, each track on "Incurables 001" functions as a piece of a larger puzzle, resulting in a cohesive and impactful auditory journey that is sure to captivate listeners.

The Three of Us is a name you might not know even if you are something of a jazz lover. It was the name that jazz keyboardist Hilton Felton - who will be much more well known to those with an ear for rare groove - used for this one groovy soul-jazz album. It arrived in super limited quantities back in 1971 and is now hugely sought after and therefore also rather expensive on the second-hand market. Joining Felton for these sessions were bassist Joe Harris and stickman Johnathan Setell, but it is Hilton's touch that really elevates the music - his free melodies and deep grooves really make their mark. This one has never been reissued before.

The creative partnership between Tiga & HudsonMohawke expresses a mutual love of "hardcoreromance," a liminal state where the boundsbetween euphoria, melancholy and the raw powerof friendship disintegrate completely. Recorded inLos Angeles from 2019-2023, thesecommonalities ebbed and flowed through variousrecording sessions, culminating in their debutalbum - L"Ecstasy. Originally conceived as a hardcore rave projectfocusing on bleary-eyed 6am catharsis, thebreadth of the project expanded to encompasstheir shared love of the music surrounding the 90sravebiome, with chill-out quasi-IDM ambient - "ExitWarehouse at Dawn", "LMZNIN" - creating spacefor the album"s tentpole anthems - "IN ORDER 2,""VSOD," "Ascending into the Clouds" - to breathe.

LP black vinyl repress, standard single sleeve printed inner but note no download card. The Time Has Come’ is an absolute master class on words and guitar twisting into one another - the poetry goes beyond simple observation into deeply personal and profound lore. A timeless document of sweet and haunting melodies. My favourite record of all time.’ Ryley Walker. // "I've never written songs, regularly, because I never considered myself a songwriter. I've only ever really considered myself a ballad singer, which is what is most important to me. The stories... the ancient nature of the situations and the human condition. And obviously, it's changed so much over the centuries that those songs have been sung, but it always retains that essence of something that's universal... to humanity, and I've always wanted to touch that. I think I wanted to understand people; I think I wanted to understand myself. It's a way of finding the truth. I felt I belonged to that music.” Anne Briggs // Offering some of her first original compositions, ‘The Time Has Come’ was a break from tradition in more ways than one for Anne Briggs. Where previous recordings displayed the unaccompanied melodies of her voice, this album - originally released by CBS in 1971 - brings additional instrumentation in the form of guitar and bouzouki. The result is that her vocals are not submerged but heightened - the plucked strings providing the perfect foil for her crystalline inflection. ‘The Time Has Come’ is a mix of Anne’s own songs alongside some notable covers (Lal Waterson, Steve Ashley, Stan Ellison, Henry McCulloch). All are graced with the quietly self-assured elegance of Anne’s playing, with sounds ranging from the breezy ‘Clea Caught A Rabbit’ to the terrible beauty of ‘Wishing Well’ - each song typifying the bouzouki or guitar style. To say that Anne was an accomplished picker is to do her something of an disservice - the intricacy of her finger-work rivals - and more often than not eclipses - any number of her contemporaries.

Devon made her musical debut earlier this year, releasing her first ever recorded single, ‘Swim’ to swooning fans in September, and has decided to follow it up next week with a sultry and high energy tune entitled ‘Killer’. ‘Killer’ is the second song to be released by Actress/Model/ — and, now —Musician, Singer/Songwriter: Devon Ross. ‘Killer’ hits all digital platforms worldwide on the next ‘Bandcamp Friday’ (1-December -2023) in advance of her very first concert taking place at London’s legendary 100 CLUB on December 13, 2023. Inspired by Sixties and Seventies legends, such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, The Stooges and Television, Devon Ross is finally debuting her first recordings on the forthcoming EP, entitled Oxford Gardens. Oxford Gardens was recorded in Paris and mixed & mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London and set for release on Thurston & Eva Moore’s indie record label, The Daydream Library Series. TRACKLIST: 1/I Don’t Wanna 2/Swim 3/Killer 4/Mine Not Yours. Bio: Model-actress-guitarist, 23-year-old recording artist was raised in Los Angeles and moved to London in 2020. British Vogue cited Ross as “the coolest model currently climbing up the ranks”. During 2019, Gucci recruited her for a Rome runway show before casting her in the launch of the Gucci x Disney Collection (notably shot at Disneyland). It opened up the floodgates as she went on to walk for Valentino, Erdem, Gauchere, Sies Marjan, and Simone Rocha and lead campaigns for Vivienne Westwood and Mulberry. Her career would be chronicled by L’Officiel, 10 Magazine, W, and many more. In 2021, she joined the cast of HBO and A24’s Irma Vep - The Serial (2021) alongside Academy® Award Winner Alicia Vikander, Adria Arjona, Carrie Brownstein, Byron Bowers, and others. Eva & Thurston met Devon at Cannes Film Festival in France in 2021 and started going to shows and kicking around London together. After witnessing her guitar playing and hearing her music the couple invited her to release music on their independent record label. This month November 2023, The Daydream Library Series independent record label will celebrate five years in operation. Thurston & Eva founded the label in 2018 to release the debut album Sistahs by London’s black, feminist, punk band Big Joanie.

NOW is proud to present the very best of Country music with NOW That’s What I Call Country. 4 CD’s jam-packed full of the biggest Country hits of all time! With 86 tracks and its mix of classic and modern hits, this collection is essential for any Country music and Pop fan! So, grab yours today, and get ready to enjoy the very best of Country also available on a Coloured Triple LP set with 50 tracks and its mix of classic and modern hits, this collection is essential for any vinyl collection! So, grab yours today, and get ready to enjoy the very best of Country across 3-LPs!

Textures and sounds spanning from the virtues of 90’s grunge/alt-rock to renaissance-like melodies bound together with the opposites pop-music structures sliced with contemporary collage techniques. On Mija Milovic’ second solo album “Still Life” (Escho), there is easily no conformity to constraints of simple boxes, instead it focuses on emoting with intonation, stress, rhythm and pace. It's about tender and aggressive transformations, figuring out who you are and how to be in the world. The lyrics tell lived stories of locating magic in the mundane, being swept away by the energy of fellow humans and holding space for each other in a community, feeling estranged in the urban landscape, and learning to let go. Mija Milovic is a Danish/Montenegrin musician, composer and producer based in Copenhagen. She has a background in theatre, performance, alternative notation and improvisational music creation. With several release under her own name she is also member of the rock band SLIM0 and is a part of various other collaborative.

Repress!

Get ready for an electrifying revelation as we delve into the mind-blowing credits of this extraordinary record! This record has an outrageous lineup as Moplen is let loose to brilliantly remix and reprise Loose Change’s timeless masterpiece, “Straight From the Heart. A track that emerged from the creative genius of none other than Tom Moulton, the legendary maestro behind legendary Donna Summer’s iconic hits. But that’s not all! Enter the realm of Thor Baldursson, the brilliant mastermind known for his groundbreaking concepts and awe-inspiring arrangements. Together, the three of them form a disco dream team!

Having been part of the family for quite some time now, Lauren Bush aka re:ni joins the Timedance roster with an incredibly potent quartet of Techno infused bass-bin weaponry.

« BeautySick » sees re:ni plunging into a world of intoxicating serpentine grooves. Spectral vocal slabs chime like echoes of a distant hallucinatory trance, while industrial drumworks find a mesmerizing counterpoint in eerie dubwise atmospheres.

These four compositions not only showcase re:ni's sonic evolution but also explore the transient moments where darkness converges with light. They stand as a testament to the sonic prowess of one or favorite dancefloor sorceress.

Picture Hakime Sorayama’s ‘Sexy Robot’ in front of an unreasonably large stack of speakers at a dimly lit sound-system dance; this is the soundtrack.

Press + Tour highlights :
DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, XLR8R, BBC6 Music (Sweatbox Mix for Sherelle), First Floor, The Quietus, Phonographe Corp + more TBA

Upcoming tour dates for Q1-Q2:UK, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Slovenia, Ireland, Australia, Croatia, USA

Ploy kicks off the year with the third release on his Deaf Test imprint with his own strain of club rattling 4/4 house music.

The A side - Vortex (stripped mix) - rolls out an infectious three note bassline, rumbling alongside seven minutes of cranky arps and sharp risers with a minute long breakdown providing the only respite amidst the unrelenting groove. Tech house through Ploy’s weirdo lens.

Vocal chops and slapping percussion feature on Vortex (busy mix), deftly layered over the pounding U.S garage drums and explosive hits. A main room roller for the peak hours.

In Your Head races along a galvanic bassline and guttural techno synths, complemented by an earworm vocal hook (a ploy signature). Rude UK tech house business.

Eyez On U is a ‘tough as nails’ progressive drum workout. Functional club gear with bags of groove and industrial strength breaks, slapping you around the dancefloor.

Sending winds down the 5 tracker with sultry r&b vocals floating over hazy synths, glossy strings and a dusty drum groove. A nod to Detroit and the house music that has informed his work for the past decade.

Written, produced and mixed by S. Smith
Additional mixing from Thomas Bulwer on Vortex and In Your Head
Mastered by Beau Thomas

Following her contribution to this Spring’s Gudu & Friends Vol. 1 compilation, Lady Blacktronika steps out with a full EP for Peggy Gou’s Gudu label.

Whether operating as Lady Blacktronika or her Femanyst alias, Akua Grant has built a deserved reputation as one of house and techno’s most daring and unique artists - one that dates back 25 years now, when she first debuted as a vocalist.

“House and techno” can be a cliched catch-all term, but in Grant’s case, she really has explored the extremes of both sides. Her early Lady Blacktronika work, when she earned the nickname The First Lady of Beatdown, saw her produce and narrate a style of deep house that was both sensitive and transgressive, while as Femanyst, she explores some of techno’s darkest corners, all distorted kicks and serrated edges.

Her EP for Gudu kicks off with some serious intent: ‘Baby I Got It’ chops its vocals rough and raw, pairing them with marching drums and the sort of idiosyncratic synth-work that feels like a Blacktronika signature at this point. ‘Sing the Blues’ and ‘Hold My Hand’ take things smoother, but without ever deferring to type — as ever with Grant’s music, she works with such sleight of hand that it’s easy to skip back three minutes previous and wonder how the hell we got here. Her tracks are just that hypnotic and hallucinatory.

Closing the EP, Octo Octa provides a remix of ‘Hold My Hand’ that extends things to a full 12 minutes (note: slightly shorter on the vinyl due to time constraints), taking us out with crushed percs and held pads over some undeniable drum work.

This EP marks the final release of Gudu’s busiest year to date, with music on the label in 2023 coming from Special Request, Matisa, Mogwaa, Hiver, Matrefakt, DMX Krew, Dukwa, Brain de Palma, Lady Blacktronika, Salamanda and Closet Yi.

Musique Infinie is the collaborative project of Manuel Oberholzer a.k.a. Feldermelder and Noémi Büchi.Their album »Earth«, released through the Hallow Ground label, is based on a spontaneously composed live score for Alexander Dovzhenko’s groundbreaking 1930 silent movie »Zemlya« (»Earth«) created for the 24th edition of the VIDEOEX festival for experimental film.

Frequently cited as a masterpiece of early 20th century filmmaking, the movie deals with the collectivisation of Ukraine’s agriculture. The Swiss duo complemented it with atmospherically rich electronic soundscapes that are both deeply immersive and highly evocative. As a stand-alone music release, the two-piece »Earth« album captures the essence of Büchi and Oberholzer’s collaboration that is marked by mutual trust and musical versatility that puts them in a state of »togetherness trance,« as they call it.

Oberholzer has been highly productive as a composer, musician, sound designer, and installation artist in recent years, releasing a slew of solo albums as well as a variety of collaboration records with artists such as Sara Oswald and Julian Sartorius. Büchi has recently debuted as a solo composer and sound artist working with electroacoustic techniques to create a »symphonic maximalism for the end of the world,« as she dubs it.

Both are prolific and versatile artists with a penchant for working conceptually, however their collaboration as Musique Infinie is an improvisational and thus by design an intuitive one.

Their sessions start with an exchange on emotions and thoughts rather than theoretical questions or aesthetic debates. When they get to work—often for several hours—they rarely talk.

They approached »Earth« the same way, improvising freely together and using only a few select samples from the film’s original score in the process. Their open-ended approach is marked by an aesthetic ambivalence that perfectly corresponds with the movie’s own inherent contradictions.

Dovzhenko approached his socio-political subject with poetic imagery and philosophical rigour, juxtaposing notions of traditionality with the depiction of modernity.

Büchi and Oberholzer accordingly work with motives that at o ce seem anthemic and elegiac, working with sounds and musical motives that evoke a sense of familiarity in one moment before transforming into something futuristic and uncanny in the next. Their score for »Zemlya« is not to be understood as a mere interpretation of the movie, but rather a re-narration or even re-negotiation of its aesthetic and emotional qualities under their very own terms. »Earth« is an album that concisely depicts what is at the core of the duo’s musical partnership

Dieses neueste Werk, das zwölfte Studioalbum der Band, wurde hauptsächlich während derselben Aufnahmesessions von TLGA aufgenommen, vor, während und nach dem jüngsten Covid-Notfall, von den verschiedenen Bandmitgliedern und schließlich wie üblich vom Toningenieur/Produzenten außerordentlichen Talents Karl Groom von Threshold bearbeitet, abgemischt und gemastert.

Somit ist die Besetzung des Albums dieselbe wie beim letzten: nämlich Stu Nicholson (Gesang), Dean Baker (Keyboards) und Spencer Luckman (Schlagzeug), Lee Abraham (Gitarren) und Mark Spencer (Bassgitarre). Das Hauptalbum besteht aus fünf Tracks sowie zwei Bonustracks auf der CD.

Wie schon bei TLGA hat 'The Long Goodbye' einen klaren und zeitgemäßen Klang, beinhaltet aber musikalisch immer noch eine Vielzahl von Einflüssen, einschließlich einiger Anspielungen auf das progressive Erbe der Band, insbesondere im epischen abschließenden Titeltrack, in dem der Alterungsprozess und das schwierige und heikle Thema der früh einsetzenden Demenz hoffentlich mit einer gewissen Ernsthaftigkeit behandelt werden.

Dieses neueste Werk, das zwölfte Studioalbum der Band, wurde hauptsächlich während derselben Aufnahmesessions von TLGA aufgenommen, vor, während und nach dem jüngsten Covid-Notfall, von den verschiedenen Bandmitgliedern und schließlich wie üblich vom Toningenieur/Produzenten außerordentlichen Talents Karl Groom von Threshold bearbeitet, abgemischt und gemastert.

Somit ist die Besetzung des Albums dieselbe wie beim letzten: nämlich Stu Nicholson (Gesang), Dean Baker (Keyboards) und Spencer Luckman (Schlagzeug), Lee Abraham (Gitarren) und Mark Spencer (Bassgitarre). Das Hauptalbum besteht aus fünf Tracks sowie zwei Bonustracks auf der CD.

Wie schon bei TLGA hat 'The Long Goodbye' einen klaren und zeitgemäßen Klang, beinhaltet aber musikalisch immer noch eine Vielzahl von Einflüssen, einschließlich einiger Anspielungen auf das progressive Erbe der Band, insbesondere im epischen abschließenden Titeltrack, in dem der Alterungsprozess und das schwierige und heikle Thema der früh einsetzenden Demenz hoffentlich mit einer gewissen Ernsthaftigkeit behandelt werden.

J. Robbins on Basilisk:
2020 gave us the pandemic, which despite all its awfulness also gave me a lot of opportunities to write and demo music - but everyone was terrified to get into the same room together to play. Finally, around February of 2021, I called up Brooks Harlan and Darren Zentek and asked if they would be down to meet me at the studio and do a 2-day session and see how it turns out. Brooks and Darren were into the idea - we were all in full cabin fever mode at that point and dying to do anything - so I sent them the demos and we did it. The musical connection had always already been there, but the energy that came from all being in the same room doing this together - something we had just spent a year wondering if we’d ever get to do again - was wonderful. It felt like having been lost in the desert, and then finding an oasis. I’ve never been so happy with a session - both the results and the experience, and the outcome was exactly what I had wanted: something more stripped down and very immediate.

We were all fired up and we did a second session in March 2022. In the interim I enlisted some collaborators:Gordon Withers to add cello and second guitar to a few songs, Janet Morgan and her two sisters to sing some harmonies, Dave Hadley to play pedal steel on “Not The End,” and Chicago punk legend John Haggerty to add an actual blazing guitar solo to the song "Exquisite Corpse." And I went on working on vocals and overdubs at home. The lyrics were (as always) somewhat therapeutical: “Automaticity” came out of thoughts on aging and remaining present in a world increasingly going on auto-pilot; “Last War” and “Dead Eyed God” work out fears prompted by January 6th and the rise of neo-fascism. More personal matters were trying to work themselves out as well. Recurring childhood dreams ("Deception Island"), surrealist games ("Exquisite Corpse"), and trephination guru Amanda Feilding ("Open Mind") were also in the mix.

Another result of pandemic isolation was that I had also been working on more abstract, electronic based music(inspired by my love of film soundtracks, Peter Gabriel’s music, and by studio work I had done not long ago with the band Locrian), using granular synthesis, sampling, and software synths. So as Basilisk came together, I wanted to see if I could pull those sounds into the flow of the record, open up its vocabulary a little and still make something cohesive. Connection has always been the whole point of music making for me. There are so many ways to come at it, and i don't want to close any of those doors. Going forward, I only want to open more of them.

lim. to 250 Copies ww!

"The world is rich, the world is colorful. So why not show it in all its complex diversity and contrasts? Why, when you go in one direction, do you have to follow it further and can't just go in all directions at once? These are all questions that Berlin-based Turkish singer Basak Yavuz may have asked herself when she began recording her new album "Raum 610."

Basak Yavuz doesn't take much time to get down to business. Right away in the opener "Promised Lands," different stylistic elements like jazz, rock, funk and hip-hop chase each other as if it were a matter of life and death. The message is unmistakable: this is about energy. The energy of the big city. Crowds on the sidewalk, congested streets, noise from construction sites, cyclists and drivers yelling at each other, barking dogs, screaming children, shattering glass, a new surprise around every corner. Basak Yavuz does not hide, but picks up the tempo of the Moloch and makes it her own pulse with all its fractures and border crossings. She is not afraid to overload her songs, but confidently juggles the explosiveness of creative oversaturation." (Wolf Kampmann)

Strut introduces a new special edition repress of the influential first volume of "Disco Not Disco", compiled by Dave Lee and Sean P, pressed on translucent yellow vinyl 3LP as part of the label"s 25th Anniversary.

Danielle Boutet’s P »Pièces« is a mysterious artifact of Quebecois marginalia, self-released in 1985. Moving from languid ennui to high drama, »Pièces« is a dreamy gestalt, an album that borders Chanson, spoken-word, jazz noir, and minimalism, conjured from the chasm between acoustic and electronic realms. »Pièces« allows us a window into the highly intimate songcraft and compositional skill of an artist who longed to linger not in the public eye, but in relation with others and the world around her.

Born in Quebec City, Boutet studied music at the University of Montreal, where she focused on composition and percussion, before becoming involved in Montreal’s feminist and lesbian art scene. Primarily written, performed, and recorded by Boutet, with voice, guitar work, and technical assistance by Sylvie Gagnon, Pièces was created during a paradigm shift in home recording. Originally composed for the piano, Boutet and Gagnon utilized a consumer-friendly Tascam 4-track Portastudio and versatile Yamaha DX-7, alongside guitar, bass, marimba, and the human voice, to expand and contemporize the original composition’s scope.

Inspired by prog rock and British poet and musician Anne Clark, »Pièces« translates Boutet’s influence by moving between sunny, wistful fairytale and dark, wintry dirge. Filled with longing marimba, vertiginous, startling synth pads, and folk guitar, each track on Pièces offers a wholly unique proposition. Some are modal and rife with the ethereal psychological tension of a sci-fi soundtrack, while others are more like entering a smoke-laced lounge, the entertainer embodying seduction.

With the sprechgesang of artists like Serge Gainsbourg, there is an intense intimacy to Boutet’s delivery, sometimes as if she is performing for an audience of one. As one lyric goes, translated to English from French: “Like holograms/ Images from a world/ That inhales souls/ And exudes drama.” Another song contains an excerpt from The Tao of Physics: “The eastern sages specify clearly that they do not identify an ordinary void, but rather, a void having an infinite creative potential.”

To English-language audiences, the album’s title, »Pièces«, might seem to simply refer to the eleven different pieces. The title can also, of course, refer to parts of a larger whole, but Boutet is keen to point out that there is also another meaning: In French, a pièce is a room. On the cover of the original cassette, Boutet is seen sitting on a chair, alone in an empty apartment, a cable snaking at her feet. Listening to »Pièces« is like entering eleven different rooms: whether a study encased in shadow, a greenhouse left to wither in an eternal frost, or a divine nave.

Boutet sold a few dozen copies around Montreal, a scene mostly occupied by the new wave explosion de rigueur, but the inclusion of Pièces in the 1987 issue of Ladyslipper—the North Carolina-based mail order catalog that championed women musicians of all calibers and careers—led to more exposure throughout North America. “In the catalog,” Boutet says, “they included it in the New Age section, but I was, and still am, aware that this album is relatively unclassifiable.”

Boutet would release one more album, titled Musiques Urbaines, before getting pulled in the direction of interdisciplinary art and theory. “Although I never stopped making music, I lost all interest in public diffusion or performance,” Boutet says. Despite her departure from performance and publicly releasing music, she left behind a strange and enthralling document of Montreal’s 1980s feminist fringe, an aural document of the historic moment when self-recorded music and its practical potential became a prismatic reality.

Danielle Boutet’s Pièces arrives February 16, 2024 as part of uncommon¢ (“uncommon sense”), an open-ended, serialized endeavor from Freedom to Spend that provides new meaning for rarefied recordings from music’s outermost fringe.

It was winter. Six Parts Seven had returned to Ohio after touring out to Washington State, to record Casually Smashed to Pieces. There was down time between the recording and the actual release of that album in January 2007, and we were rehearsing, playing local shows, and collaborating, with most of us involved in other projects to keep the momentum going (Mike w/ Talons, Al w/ Beaten Awake), but the one we all came together over was recording an album with Joey Beltram, the songwriter behind Goodmorning Valentine, a local band we shared players with, a band we deeply admired. The music on Kissing Distance came together over two weekend days. There were a lot of people around; 6P7 and GMV players coming and going from the Saint Ledger House. There were handles of whiskey, there was weed, stacks of Marlboro Reds for the ones still dragging butts. We all went 'dancing' at Thursday's, in Akron, Ohio, on Saturday night. Not sure how we were productive the following day. Chalk that one up to relative youth. Over those two days, songs were cut without any prior rehearsal time. None of us remember how the idea came up. In hindsight, it seems inevitable. The first song on the album, "Mediation in D," had been written a couple of years before, and was the decided spark that set the fire blazing: for both bands, this song was the starting point, an invitation to take things further, to expand, combining players from both bands, our 'toolbox' had increased in size from a single hammer to a toolbox. Everything came easily at this point. "Drunk from the Bottle," is the first of the one-take/one mic songs: an SM58 used for both vocal and guitar, making it impossible to over-think anything: You got the version, or you did not, that simple. "Instrumental #2," is the last full/core band recording by Six Parts Seven. The first piece in our catalog written/arranged by Tim Gerak. This song would have been developed on our follow-up to Casually Smashed to Pieces. Alas, an album never came to be. The ache in this is real. It's there in the bass guitar, tuned high and open, played with a slide, and utilizing one of Jamie Stillman's pre- Earthquaker Devices fuzz pedals. "Lonely Daughter," is another one-take/one-mic song, notable for the lead-guitar, played by James Matthew Haas, who overdubbed his part, months later, standing alone on the deck at Joey's folks place, playing to the moonlight, making magic...

For the last seven years, sound artist, technologist, and electronic musician Moisés Horta Valenzuela (aka Hexorcismos) has been studying artificial intelligence and generative art, wondering how these new technologies might be augmented into his musical process. Born in Tijuana and currently based in Berlin, Hexorcismos has long attempted to break down the permeable borders between musical styles and expressions, using the spaces in between to reinforce his politics and worldview. And on 'MUTALISMX - becoming sonic network', he expands his vision, inviting artists from across the globe to collaborate on work that questions the biases inherent in AI models, offering a collective alternative that could serve as a blueprint for further research.

The majority of AI art at this stage works with "big data", taking ideas from the cultural canon and muddying them with our contemporary reality. But if we accept that mass culture is always politically biased, always swaying towards historical prejudices, then there must be a counter-narrative. Hexorcismos began to develop a bottom-up approach, using "small data" to interrogate his idiosyncratic approach to art; he built a tool called SEMILLA.AI based on neural audio synthesis that could not only mimic his sonic fingerprint but transform it into another. So when he offered the synth to his network of collaborators, he gave them the option of either using only their data or sharing the signatures of each other artist involved in the project, blurring their identities into a mutual voice.

The result is a compilation that unspools with the coherence and fluidity of a single-artist album or adventurous DJ mix, genreless and boundless but unified by a singular message. Hunanese-American artist Kloxii Li for example takes rugged percussion and tense, industrial ambience, smudging her soundscape into a swirling gust of ghostly dissonance. Hexorcismos himself contributes two compositions: the lengthy, hypnotic 'Acaso de veras se vive con raíz en la Tierra', an AI-powered scramble of his pointed tribal guarachero experiments; and 'Interferencias', a collaboration with Mexican club veteran Bryan Dálvez, aka El Irreal Veintiuno that drives intense dancefloor rhythms into a dense haze of frozen drones and radio static. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Lebanese artist and writer Jessika Khazrik dissolves her voice into a mesh of obscured rhythms and dissociated whirrs, blending the organic with the artificial but retaining an overpowering sense of humanity.

Some artists were drawn to the nebulous aspects of the technology, searching for truth in a soup of different sounds, while others, such as KMRU, used Hexorcismos's synthesizer the examine their output. On 'hidden options', the Kenyan sound artist fed his immense catalog into the neural net, bringing out his mannerisms and tendencies in the process. Each track is singular but myriad, prompting both mutual respect and a sonic becoming, a feedback process between the artist and the tool, the individual and the collective. Data sets are made by people, and by engaging directly with musicians, Hexorcismos suggests a new way of utilizing a technology demonized and glorified without careful examination. Each artist owns their AI model, and alongside the album Hexorcismos will release SEMILLA.AI to the public (with custom-made models to start the process), allowing anyone to access this revolutionary technology.

Even the album's artwork reflects the political message, conceptualized by Chilean duo hypereikon, who used AI processes to develop a visual reflection of the technology and its possibilities. Operating outside of academia and capitalist enterprises, MUTUALISMX proposes an alternative future - one without borders that's not beholden to the Western canon, where independent labor can be prioritized and celebrated, and where creativity can truly flourish.

WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the first-ever physical release of Louisiana-based composer and producer Jammin’ Sam Miller’s full HD re-creation/restoration of the beloved Super Metroid video game soundtrack. The limited biovinyl double LP is packed with 27 tracks and features an exclusive artwork by French illustrator Pierre Thyss, as well as an obi strip.

Composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, the soundtrack for 1994 SNES exploration / action-adventure / sci-fi / alien video game Super Metroid has always been a fan-favorite. A true masterclass in music storytelling, it beautifully evokes the epic and eerie adventure of the game’s protagonist Samus Aran with superb use of atmospheric sounds, space-operatic arrangements, rumbling bass, oppressive techno-futurist moods, tribal drums, and airy synth themes, admirably balancing the ominous feel of a dark menace and contemplative, even soothing, ambient soundscapes.

Jammin' Sam Miller assiduously recreated the soundtrack note by note, by finding the original equipment used to create it, translating the MIDI into a modern studio context, adding in keyboard samples, and re-mixing and re-mastering the whole score. He explains: "This was made possible by locating the original instrument samples from workstation keyboards and drum machines before they were put into the game and rebuilding the soundtrack from the ground up, applying some modern mixing techniques along the way to lift the veil of 16bit compression and create an updated listening experience."

Super Metroid is pressed on biovinyl, a sustainable alternative to traditional vinyl. Biovinyl replaces petroleum in S-PVC by recycling used cooking oil or industrial waste gases, resulting in 100% CO2 savings in bio-based S-PVC production. Furthermore, it is 100% recyclable and reusable, embracing the circular economy ideology.

PRAISE THE PLAGUE formulate the introduction to the dark, grim soundscape of their third album themselves by saying: "The gate is passed, upon us is a bleak, raging sea. Tidal waves crushing ashore, out of desperation evolves anger and frustration. Time, as a construct, imprisons its architects. "Suffocating In The Current Of Time" takes us from a dark and devouring realm, to staring the devourer into its cold, dead eyes. Lead by fierce and unforgiving melodies, we are marching into our own decay. Lead by the pounding of drums we indulge ourselves in the cloak of false promises." The quintet from the German capital Berlin has been around since 2017. After the debut "Antagonist" and their first album for LIFEFORCE RECORDS, "The Obsidian Gate" (2021), "Suffocating In The Current Of Time" showcases a further intensification of the band's dense and intense black metal. PRAISE THE PLAGUE are modern representatives of their guild and not purists. There are also ominous echoes of doom and sludge as well as atmospheric post-metal. It is no coincidence that the Berliners' third album remains instrumental for longer passages. This increases the impact of the furious tempo sections with their nagged vocals. "Suffocating In The Current Of Time" is full of emotion. Not all of them are purely negative and depressing. Nevertheless, PRAISE THE PLAGUE's playing will be perceived above all as oppressive and hopeless. Given their band name, who can blame them? The musicians pursue relentless catharsis.

These recordings of Gongs Orchestras were made during Funeral Ceremonies in two Kung villages and one Jaraï village in Ratanakiri province, Cambodia by Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong) in 2003 and 2004, at a times when jungle had not been replaced by rubber plantations. Focusing on funeral's ceremonies, those hypnotics pieces are intense and haunting harmonics sonic experiments.

"Adventure brought me to south-east Asia, not academic research. I was based on and off in Banlung, capital of Ratanakiri province between 2003 and 2006. Finding gongs orchestras became my obsession, I've witnessed different contexts in which gongs were being performed, but the most brainwashing ceremonies were the funerals, because they would never end, I remember leaving the 3 days funeral ceremony of a prominent Jaraï dead man in Tang ji village at the border with Vietnam and still hearing the gongs the entire next day going back home through the jungle". - Laurent Jeanneau (Kink Gong)

"Many of the ethnic minority groups, the Jarai, Kac_, Tampuan, Kavet, Kreung, Brao, Bunong, Mnong, Edé, and others, are hill-rice farmers who live in the uplands of the Annamite mountain chain. Collectively these groups have been known by many names, including a number of disparaging terms in local dialects, such as moï, kha, phnong, and others. The term Montagnard was applied to them by the French during the colonial period, and was used by the US military and in popular discourse in English during the United States-Vietnam War. In scholarly and popular literature during the mid-twentieth century these upland farmers were also called hill tribes. I have opted for the word highlanders as a relatively neutral term that avoids the semantic burdens associated with these other namings." - Jonathan Padwe, The book Disturbed forests fragmented memories.

"We Started Nothing is the debut studio album by English indie pop duo The Ting Tings. Jules & Katie's combination of dance, indie pop and new wave proved to be one of the hottest things in 2008. The result being the album peaking at #1 in the UK Albums Chart. We Started Nothing spawned no less than six hit singles, including ""That's Not My Name"", which reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. Eventually, the band, the album and several singles and videos were nominated for a variety of NME, MTV, Grammy Award and Brit Awards. The Ting Tings won the MTV Award for Best UK Act and ""Shut Up and Let Me Go"" won the award for Best UK Video. We Started Nothing is available on black vinyl and contains an insert."

Communion blood + white vinyl - 500 pressed worldwide - NB Side D is a silk screen . Non-Returnable.

Also contains the 1985 demo pressed on vinyl for the first time!

Double vinyl w/silk-screen printed on side D. Liner notes by Ron Quintana. 8 -page
comic book/liner notes.

"Miles Davis is regarded to be one of the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. At the request of Columbia Records executive George Avakian, he formed his first regular quintet in 1955. After all members of the first quintet left Davis a few years later, he hired the core of the second quintet in 1963 and the final member in late 1964. The second quintet would record and play together until the end of the 60s. Sorcerer is the third album by the Second Great Miles Davis Quintet. The quintet consisted of Miles Davis on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass and Tony Williams on drums. It was recorded in May 1967 and contains a darker sound. The last song on the album, ""Nothing Like You"", features vocals by Bob Dorough. Sorcerer is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl."

Sechs Jahre nach ihrem letzten Album 'Enter The Kingdom" meldet sich die US-Band endlich mit neuem Studioalbum 'On The Northline'zurück!

Die aus Metro Detroit, Michigan kommende Band Frontier Ruckus veröffentlicht mit 'On The Northline' ihr lange überfälliges neues Studioalbum", auf dem die Band lässig Americana, Rock und orchestralen Folk-Pop fusioniert. Matthew Milia, David Jones und Zachary Nichols begeistern mit ihrer Spielfreude und sozial-kritischen Lyrics auf ganzer Länge. Die Jahre nach dem fünften Album der Gruppe, dem opulenten 'Enter the Kingdom' von 2017, waren große Jahre für die Band. Ihr mehr als zehnjähriges ununterbrochenes Touren wurde dann allerdings durch die Pandemie beendet, die jeden zu Beginn des Jahres 2020 betraf, aber während sich diese Surrealität abspielte, durchlief Milia auch eine separate Zeitlinie, auf der er wirklich die Liebe fand, heiratete und zu gegebener Zeit Vater wurde. Fans von Elliott Smith bis hin zu Sufjan Stevens sollten die Band Frontier Ruckus nicht verpassen!

A slightly revised & edited take of Death Is Not The End's Jamaican Gospel special for NTS Radio, originally broadcast for the station back in late 2016. A dusty heap of JA gospel from the 60s and early 70s. Split across two sides - all vinyl and all 45s - played through a touch of delay pedal with crackle aplenty.

2023 Repress

Frank Maston’s Tulips is a sample-ready film score to the best 70s movie never made. Originally a super-limited self-release on his Phonoscope label in late 2017, Tulips has already become incredibly sought-after. Be With were introduced to Maston by mutual friends Aquarium Drunkard and it didn’t take long before we decided this modern classic deserved a reissue.

Inspired by the deep-grooving soundtracks of Italian cinema - think Morricone, Umiliani and Alessandroni - Maston conceived the entire Tulips project as a continuation of these revered works. Frank designed the artwork and made two 16mm films to accompany the music: “It wasn’t just the LP… it was kind of a whole vibe I was trying to create. Not really trying to emulate the things that influenced me but more trying to make something that could sit alongside those records on a shelf. I’m still very proud of the project.”

There’s a distinct library music feel too, with wiry organ, spacey keyboards and loping 60s guitar hinting at KPM and DeWolfe. Like the best library music, Tulips creates a cinematic universe through sound alone, evoking moving images in the listener’s technicolour imagination. It turns out that was accidentally on purpose: “I was discovering a lot of library music for the first time… listening to a composer’s entire catalog or finding all this obscure stuff. I wasn’t entirely conscious of the influence until I started making this music and realized I was channeling the vibe. That’s when I began focusing more on weaving melodic themes throughout the record to make it function more like a soundtrack”.

Tulips was recorded between 2015 and 2017 in a small studio in a village called Zwaag in Holland, during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. “Tulips” comes from the title of the very first demo he made in Holland, it was the first thing that came to mind. Makes sense.

Recording in Europe with some very European influences in mind, Frank wanted to eschew any American influences. But we can still feel the studio wizardry of the likes of Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson in there somewhere. A psychedelic bedroom-pop song-cycle, full of hypnotic hooks and dusty drums, Tulips manages to sound charmingly homemade yet wholly widescreen.

Dreamy opener “Swans” is an exquisite soul instrumental and recalls the soft-psych of Koushik, which Be With loves of course. Tropicalia influences abound in the cool and breezy “New Danger” and the KPM-references are loud and proud on the lush organ pop of “Old Habits”. Fast-paced “Chase Theme No. 1” manages to be both tense and laid back, decorated by acid-drenched spaghetti Western guitars. The glorious Gainsbourg-esque melancholia of “Infinite Bliss” is all gauzy flutes and happy-sad vocalizing and the title is almost perfect: it’s bliss, no question; *if only* it went on forever. Side A closes with “Evening”, a subtle bossa nova beat thing. Gorgeous.

Side B opens with the heat-shimmer guitars of “Rain Dance”, evoking an unreleased Byrds or Buffalo Springfield backing track. Yes, it’s that good. “Sure Thing” is music to accompany an elevator ride you never want to end, but in a good way! The ornate “Garçon Manqué” is as beautiful as the instrumentals on Pet Sounds (think “Let’s Go Away For A While”) and the wistful “Turning In” starts like a stroll in the park before Maston introduces a scorched-Earth guitar solo that would startle if it wasn’t so pitch-perfect. “Chase Theme No. 2” is a briefer, more keening counterpart to what we hear on side A. The head-nod bass-drums-keys funk of “Hues” rounds out this staggeringly assured set; still opening each phrase with a plaintive strum, but using vibrato and heavy reverb to accent the electric organ melody. Sublime.

All these top drawer musical references might sound like just more of the usual release notes hyperbole, but there’s a reason that this still-young LP already changes hands for big money. It really is that good. Of course that first pressing didn’t hang around for long and Frank’s regularly been asked about a re-press pretty much ever since.

Re-issuing Tulips on Be With made sense to Frank “because the record would fit in so well with the catalogue”. Having already delved into the archives of KPM and Themes, and beginning to do the same with Coloursound and Selected Sounds, the collaboration “just makes sense and seems inevitable”. We agree.

Frank wasn’t sure a record of instrumentals with obscure soundtrack references would be an easy sell when it was originally released, and was surprised when Tulips turned out to be exactly what some people wanted to hear. We reckon its timeless beauty ensures that it’ll *always* have an audience.

The record was originally cut to be played at 45rpm, a technical quirk that grants the home listener the opportunity to go deeper, for longer. Played at 33rpm, the more languid unfurling of the tracks proves just as wonderful a trip. As a psilocybin-soaked case study from Aquarium Drunkard back in January of 2019 describes, some of the songs sound as if they were intended to be heard that way. The slower speed allowing the listener to step inside and perhaps even “crack the code” of the music’s meaning.

Mastered for this vinyl reissue by Simon Francis and featuring alternative burnt orange artwork from Maston himself, this Be With pressing is limited to just 500 copies. Hypnagogic it may be, but please don’t sleep.

You just moved to the big city, you end up at a party where you don't know anyone and someone walks up to you and asks: "Hey, are you alone here?". That is exactly the feeling that Porcelain id describes on their debut album Bibi:1, short for the Arabic pet name Habibi. Porcelain id is the pseudonym under which Hubert Tuyishime (they/them/their) has been unleashing unique songs since 2020.

The album - inspired by their move from a quiet provincial town to Antwerp - is the soundtrack to walking into city traffic during rush hour and trusting to get out of the chaos in one piece. It is an ode to exciting encounters with complete strangers and to the friends you can come home to afterwards. A story about being a stranger in a city you've romanticized for so long, the rejection that comes with it, and the false nostalgia with which you look back on it all later on.

At first hearing, the completely English-language Bibi:1 may seem like a brusque farewell to the autobiographical intimacy and lo-fi singer-songwriter music on the previously released EPs Mango and Reprise, and especially on songs like Vlaanderen. But to Porcelain id it feels like an organic evolution. One towards more abstraction, experimentation and electronics, but never detached, and still building on the core of Porcelain id.

The new sound is the result of an intense collaboration with producer and partner in crime Youniss Ahamad, who, despite their different musical backgrounds, immediately felt challenged after Porcelain id's legendary elevator pitch: 'I want to make something that is situated between Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Yeezus by Kanye West'.

Together they drew the blueprint for Bibi:1 in Youniss' home studio. Track by track, without looking back. A sporadic, but rigid process that added to the intensity of the album. In the studio, the songs were taken to a higher level. The two invited a pack of talented friends and young musicians to the studio to add parts, a stark contrast to the solitary approach of previous EPs. Aram Abgaryan (recording engineer/synths/vocals), Nard Houdmeyers (guitar), Tim Caramin (drums), David Idrisov (bass), Alban Sarens (sax) and Emma Hessels (vocals) came by. Aram Santy was at the controls during the mixing sessions.

The result sounds like the ultimate symbiosis of Porcelain id and Youniss. Lofi, but ambitious. Fragile, but rough. Poppy, but disruptive. Sometimes challenging. Then welcoming again. Sometimes even danceable. Each song forms a small vignette that is part of a diverse, but coherent unity. Adam Coming Home and Low Poly are closest to the melancholy of Porcelain id's earlier work, while Lights! strikes a new path. First single Man Down, on the other hand, is inspired by the Antwerp students who drown every year and sounds like a wandering nightly stroll through the city. For Brilliant, David Idrisov was asked to 'play bass as if Chet Baker were not a trumpet player, but a bass player', a bizarre assignment that he accomplished with verve. And Cellophane flirts with emo trap and was sung with raspberries between the teeth, to simulate the effect of grills.

2023 Repress

Maston’s Darkland is a breezy collection of the material from the Tulips sessions that didn’t make it on to the original LP. Originally a digital-only release for those in the know in the autumn of 2018, after re-issuing Tulips in 2020 it made too much sense for Be With to give Darkland a vinyl release.

Like Tulips, Darkland was recorded mostly in Hoorn, in the Netherlands, between 2015-2017 during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. Bits were also done in Los Angeles on some extended trips back home.

The collection plays like an alternate view of Maston’s instant modern classic Tulips; a companion piece to the LP proper with similar mixture of shorter themes and more full length tracks. As Frank Maston explains: “I think Darkland is the shadow of Tulips in a way… what it might’ve been in a different universe. But the heart of Tulips beats in these songs as well and they evoke the same memories and feelings for me. I see my process playing out across these songs - lots of experimentation and trying out new techniques and sounds and just sort of going for it.”

Frank goes on: “It was all from the same pool of material, like 30+ ideas. I was making a lot of little demos… some would be more fleshed out and become songs and others would just be a cool riff and not go anywhere. When I started trying to form it all into an LP I went through all the sessions and ideas and collected the ones I thought were the most fleshed out and cohesive together as a whole. There were a fair amount of songs that were finished and in hindsight really should have been on Tulips (like what would’ve been the title track). And the rest of these songs are either very early versions of tunes that ended up on Tulips or some cool ideas that just ended up being dead ends. It definitely shows how wide my net was in the beginning before I narrowed the record down stylistically.”

Darkland opens with its ornate 39 second title-track before striding into “Tulips”, that full-length title-track that never was. It’s a real head-nod, percussive-rich electric piano stunner that would’ve been a comfortable standout on the album proper. But now this “downlifting” gem is given ample room to shine on this record.

The funky organ-led bass and drums workout “Immaculate Conception” will keep your neck gently snapping while MPC fiends go reaching for their sampler. And that’s gospel. “Love Theme No 3” cuts a breathtakingly stylish vibra-slapped swathe through the middle of the opening side before we’re startled by the pronounced bass and twinkling percussion of “The Owl In Daylight”. Charming digi-drums underpin the wonky synth (quiet-)banger “Innovative Patterns” which has a lovely melodic switch-up in the final third before the tempo (and hairs on your neck) rise on the faintly creepy yet imminently groovy “Osiris”. The gorgeously soft-focus “Groove Experiment No 3” closes out the first half in slow-mo wonderment.

The lushly melancholic “Raincloud” ushers in side B before the emotionally-stirring “Phonic” taps at the door, coming on like the long lost sister to Pet Sounds’ “Let’s Go Away For A While”. Next up, the swooning beauty “Love Theme No 2” keenly sways in front of you, growing ever more insistent and hypnotic. The too-short “Italian Summer” conjures the same flirtatious imagery as the title hints at whilst “Endless” is a fascinating “piano-pella” alternative version to “Rain Dance” from Tulips. “Wonder Theme” has a nostalgic, exotic 60s swing and album closer “Willow” is a hushed, campfire folk gem. The gently circular strumming is just magical.

Speaking to Aquarium Drunkard back in 2019 about the sessions that became Tulips, Frank noted: “I was really surprised by the lack of sunlight during my first winter in Holland, so I would call it Darkland which then became the name of the first demo I wrote during that time. It was also the working title of the record when I first started writing. Some are full songs that didn’t make the cut (including what would have been the title track), some are just ideas that I never finished.”

Whilst we were working on Darkland’s vinyl release Frank explained more specifically about the music that didn’t make it on to Tulips: “When I was putting together the tracklisting for Tulips I was already thinking that whatever didn’t make it onto the LP would be cool to release eventually somehow. The response to Tulips has been so passionate over the years that it’s nice to be able to offer another piece of that world. And for me personally it’s amazing to have more of my work out there in the world. Most common bit of feedback was that many of these songs should have been on Tulips. The odd friend says it’s much better than Tulips.”

Just like Tulips before it, Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering for Darkland has been cut at 45rpm so you can trip out to this as well at a woozy 33 1/3. The artwork too has been designed by Frank himself as a literal visual continuation of the Tulips cover.

We couldn’t possibly say whether Darkland is better than Tulips, and luckily we don’t have to decide.

2024 Repress

Get Up! Time to release this beast on 7".

Breakwater’s earth-shattering “Release The Beast” is unquestionably the standout song from their 1980 funk masterpiece LP Splashdown. It also came out as a now-hen’s-teeth-rare 7" in the same year and when it came to putting it out as a 7" again we just had to do it in a miniature version of the Splashdown sleeve. It’s one of the best album cover shoots of all time.

For the b-side, we’ve backed Breakwater’s biggest track with Be With’s favourite: the quietly majestic gem “Let Love In”, another winner from the same LP.

Possessing a sound and a feel that was lightyears ahead of its time, “Release The Beast” is a showcase for Breakwater’s phenomenal power-funk capabilities. The energy is astounding. It rips out of the grooves on a deep funk tip, with speaker-smashing, room-shaking drums competing with distorted funk-rock guitar, bumping bass and space-age synths. But it’s not without its compellingly haunting elements too. What else can we say? It’s a genius piece of music.

And, yes, of course this is the tune Daft Punk sampled for their 2005 track “Robot Rock”. Let’s be blunt, they lifted the Philly act’s funk-rock vamping pretty much wholesale. But to be fair to them we wouldn’t have messed with the perfection of the original either and those Parisians shone a much-needed spotlight on an innovative band from the halcyon period of post-disco funk.

On the flip, “Let Love In” is a smooth, easy glide that demonstrates Breakwater’s superb, sophisticated musicianship. The tight horn section and irresistible bass make for an undeniable groove. However, it also reveals a depth to their lyricism that’s often overlooked. In these dark days, the sentiment of the opening lines is truly one to we should all take to heart:

“It feels good to be friends with everyone, Walk around and the feeling’s in the air, No more hate can’t you see, This is really for me.”

A feel good hit for the summer if ever there was one.

Remastered for this vinyl reissue, we’re delighted to present this modern soul double-sider. Essential in every way.

Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers Unveil "Soul Clap" LP: A Fusion of Retro Soul/Funk and Modern Grooves

Los Angeles-based retro soul/funk sensation Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers are set to ignite the music scene with their highly anticipated LP, "Soul Clap." Born from the creative genius of Grammy Award-winning vocalist/songwriter Carol Hatchett, Bella Brown emerges as a diva with a fiery stage presence, drawing inspiration from the likes of Tina Turner and Sharon Jones, and channeling the empowered female leads of 70s Blaxploitation films. Led by producer/bassist/songwriter Daniel Pearson, The Jealous Lovers assemble an impressive ensemble of A-list musicians, boasting pedigrees that include names like Mick Jagger, Elton John, Whitney Houston, Prince, and Stevie Wonder. This musical collective is on a relentless quest to redefine the boundaries of music, infusing soul and funk with elements of jazz, rock, and Afro-Caribbean influences.

The essence of "Soul Clap" is derived from the cultural phenomena it is named after—a shared and improvised rhythm-making by a collective. The LP, spanning 40 minutes of pure musical bliss, invites the audience to immerse themselves in the groove and discover their individual truths in the music.

The title track, "Soul Clap," and the infectious "Living Proof" serve as funky dance bangers, echoing the spirit of Bohannan and The Tramps. These tracks, punctuated with jazzy improvisations and soulful horn arrangements, are simple yet joyful expressions of shared humanity and self-love.

"Coming For You" is Bella's audacious response to the soul/funk classic Apache, boldly announcing her and The Jealous Lovers' arrival on the modern soul landscape. "I Found You" takes a northern soul love song approach, reminiscent of Gloria Jones with a touch of modern influence, giving it a distinct Amy Winehouse feel.

Bella Brown seamlessly weaves social commentary into her art. "Bang Bang Bang," an uptempo, funky Motown groove, cleverly uses Curtis Mayfield's sense of sarcasm to reflect on American gun culture. "Lady Time" takes a driving afrobeat groove, employing brassy horns and reggae-like echoes to address the issue of homelessness.

However, the album is not without its lighthearted moments. "Fast As Lightning" celebrates a cleaner future by imagining Jimi Hendrix joining Ike and Tina Turner's band to create a classic Chuck Berry car song. "There Is Love" blends horns, strings, and vocals reminiscent of The Stylistics over a Chi-Lites style rhythm section, to create a lush message of support to those among us that may find the world a bit overwhelming at moments. Finally, "What Will You Leave Behind," is a revamped version of the group's sold-out vinyl 45 release. This track serves as a powerful call to action for a better future, delivered over a straight-up Motown groove with a funky Sly Stone finish.

Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers have crafted an album that transcends genres, embracing the roots of soul and funk while pushing musical boundaries.

"Soul Clap" is a celebration of individual truths, shared experiences, and the timeless power of music.

Rated 5/5 in UK Music Republic Magazine

Opaque white vinyl in printed innersleeve, includes Bonus 7". A Welsh rock trio with a predilection for delivering stadium-sized riffs with shoegazey vistas and dreamy post-punk riffage, The Joy Formidable return with their new album 'Into The Blue', to be released August 20th 2021. Taking a cue from bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, and Arcade Fire, the trio have continued to push their expansive sound on previous studio albums, from the breakthrough debut 'The Big Roar' (2011), through to the last studio album 'AAARTH' (2018), whilst always maintaining the hook-driven indie rock foundation laid down on their debut EP 'A Balloon Called Moaning' (2009). Currently the band split their time between their native Wales and the closest thing they could find in the U.S, "In the middle of nowhere" Utah, where they recorded the new album 'Into The Blue', which is being released worldwide this summer. March 26 brings us the first single in the campaign, title track 'Into The Blue'; we invite you to hear a band that reflected on where they've been, and where they needed to go for their next chapter. "Into the Blue is about opening your eyes to beauty & love again. Making it to the other side. Whilst not conceived as a metaphor for the times we all live in now, it certainly turned out that way" - Ritzy, Rhydian & Matt - The Joy Formidable

In the beginning was a half-truth, the truth was of war and the half-truth was post-war. Fancying the pretensions of its cultural superiority, a continent chose to hide the truth behind ridiculous jargon and the soothing distance of offshored ?????????. Europe wished itself beyond war because it thought the privilege of peace a birthright, just as it refused to understand that post-war was a euphemism for interbellum. Then the truth has set us free.

The delusion was discarded and war was revealed as an inconceivable horror. Almost immediately it turned familiar and virtually comfortable. Novelty songs of drones gutting tanks became a laughing matter and the burning tanks, their crew inside, entertainment. Consequently, a plurality of people started to collectively dream of new stages of the righteous kind of carnage. This happened within weeks.

Our imagination has swollen to the point of loss of consciousness, compounded by the narrative form long in the sways of atrophy. All of this raises the question of to what degree were the years of peace culturally squandered. The art of the previous age prided itself on self-awareness, today we fail to even notice that we no longer recognize ourselves. But we have arrived where we started and our issues were not too complex for expression.

Since no art form generates action, the most appropriate art for a culture on the edge of extinction is one that simulates pain. In these times we shouldn't produce any other music, none but this, intended to prevent our silence from being misinterpreted.

If Talk Show’s exhilarating full-length debut, Effigy, feels more like a film than an album, that’s no coincidence. The band crafted the collection to soundtrack to a fictional nightclub. “One of the biggest influences on this record was the intro to the movie Blade, where this character’s being dragged through a meatpacking plant and into the vampire rave,” says frontman Harrison Swann. “There’s so much tension and anticipation and intimidation in that scene. We wanted to create the kind of music we’d play if we were performing in that club, to put ourselves into that scene and see how far we could push it.” With Effigy, Talk Show do more than just push their sound; they completely reinvent it. Produced by Remi Kabaka Jr., of Gorillaz, the record offers up a bold and exhilarating showcase for the band’s dramatic evolution, drawing on everything from The Chemical Brothers and The Prodigy to Nine Inch Nails and The KLF as it taps into a raw, primal sound at the intersection of techno, electronic, industrial, and rock music. The songs are dark and gritty, fueled by blistering guitars and explosive drums, and Swann’s vocals are nothing short of hypnotic, leaning on repetition and restraint to reach for transcendence in the midst of swirling sonic chaos. The result is an immersive, multi-sensory experience, one that conjures up a dark, sweaty warehouse packed with moving bodies all radiating heat and desire, anxiety and release, ecstasy and desperation

Two years after recording an EP on a guitar he didn't know how to play, Ujko releases a piano album without knowing how to play the piano. To add to that, Hudba k filmu is a soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist.

If Ujko previously played with the clumsiness and exposed intimacy of outsider music, on Hudba k filmu he instead focuses on the emotional and dramaturgical possibilities of a film score. The movie may be hypothetical, but this album still imposes a narrative of melancholy and hopelessness, even more penetrating in the guise of a supposedly background music. It's also mostly instrumental, adding to ambiguity and potential projection // Hudba k filmu sneaks up on the listener and encumbers them with the weight of their own world.

Ujko thereby manages to mediate his despair without being as presumptuously overbearing as most film composers. Even the lack of instrumental skill is barely noticeable, enough so that Hudba k filmu doesn't fall for its own concept, but is instead an accomplished and complete work of film music, lacking nothing.

A musical project with roots in the work of cult underground collective Noize Konspiracy, Ujko is an alias of Mišo Ormos. Hudba k filmu is his second release on the world-weary label Weltschmerzen.

Limited pastel red LP version! 2022 RZA LP, who reprises his own Bobby Digital Production Persona for this one, produced in association with DJ Scratch. Back in 1998, RZA had already cemented his status as Wu-Tang Clan's man behind the boards, producing the entirety of the group's respective solo albums. But when it came to his own breakout moment, the producer opted to introduce the world to Bobby Digital, a cartoonishly hedonistic mad-rapping alter-ego and grew so fond of the character that he released another album under the moniker before finally delivering 2003's Birth of a Prince as the RZA. Now it seems Bobby Digital is back in the picture and potentially set square up with his host. On Friday, RZA announced a new album, RZA vs. Bobby Digital, with the release of the hard-hitting new single, "Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater." According to a press release, production on the album is handled by DJ Scratch. "Giving Scratch the reins as a producer and me taking the reins as an MC, that's what frees me up creatively and lets me play more with lyrical gags and lyrical flows because I don't have to be focused on everything," the producer noted in a statement. The new single marks the second Bobby Digital drop of the year, following "Pugilism," which was slated to be featured on the long-rumored project, The Cure, but seems to be a part of another upcoming collection of songs under the moniker titled Digital Potions. However, neither of those projects have a firm release date at the moment.

The brand new EP "Wellental" by Extrawelt on Traum is herewith reveled to the fans. Their new 3 track vinyl 12" gives a nod to the mayhem and urgency of techno all finely tuned. Straightforward in its brilliance and simplicity, yet carefully measured with a maturity that speaks the language of Extrawelt´s minimalism.

We attest: a unique techno track for the dance-floor on the a side, a trippy track on b1 and a very musical one as B2.

What happens within these 3 tracks is nothing short of alchemy, traversing all sorts of grounds without ever losing the plot. It’s due to the duo’s keen grasp of sound design—they always exchange ideas, on an expansive set of hardware, so no matter what tunnel they’re traveling down head-first, the sounds are always pristine, filled with unexpected details.

The EP opens with the title track "Wellental" which translates as "wave trough". Wave trough valley refers in particular to the points of maximum negative deflection in a traveling wave. In contrast, the points of maximum positive deflection are called wave crests. Musically this converts in a way that, although the title track "Wellental" has a lot of forceful steady forward motion and zig zag sequences cutting into it, it also has that "hanging time" feeling that adds unpredictability and tension to the track. You can defiantly sense that Detroit theme in a post Detroit interpretation here.

The flip-side starts with "Unter Wasser" which is illustrated by urgent uptempo beats that can push it on the dance floor and dreamy, surreal soundscapes on the other hand that account for that great under water feel. The track sounds a bit like the "Deep End" film soundtrack from CAN in that respect.

The B2 track is called "Samtstrand" and there is a reason for this since the track is very gentle and brushes over a surface with velvet hands but in contrast to that, the Extrawelt beats are kicking out the jams here! So this song has a twin drive going!

Remastered and first worldwide release (previously only limited availability in Iceland) Since first bursting onto the global punk scene in 2018, Icelandic trio GRÓA have thrilled audiences across the world by fully embracing an unruly freedom. Made up of sisters Hrafnhildur Einars Maríudóttir (aka Hrabba, age 22) and Karólína Einars Maríudóttir (aka Karó, age 20) and their childhood friend Fríða Björg Pétursdóttir (also 22), the Reykjavík-bred band merge elements of post-punk and noise-rock and art-pop with absolute abandon, arriving at an explosive yet magnificently arranged sound unlike any other. A local favorite, the Icelandic government has recently been sponsoring worldwide travel to share GRÓA with the rest of the world and in 2023 they have played shows around the world including in UK, Western and Eastern Europe as well as USA dates including Washington DC, Seattle, Chicago and New York City. They have recently recorded an in studio performance at KEXP which will be broadcast worldwide in January 2024 and more worldwide touring is planned for early 2024 to support the vinyl and CD releases. Listing iconoclasts like Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey, and Bikini Kill among their longtime inspirations, the Icelandic punk band GRÓA pursued their experimental impulses with more intensity and confidence on Í Glimmerheimi, matching the album’s shapeshifting sound with a surrealist but emotionally potent form of lyrical storytelling. “It’s about a girl who’s trying to escape the world she’s stuck in—this glitter world that looks so good on the surface, but it’s not where she’s meant to be,” says Karó in discussing the album’s concept. “There’s a song called ‘Jetpackstelpan,’ or ‘Jetpack Girl,’ where she leaves the world on a jetpack and flies away to the moon, and she’s never coming back again.” Opening on the kaleidoscopic rhythms and rowdy call-and-response vocals of “Fullkomið” (“Perfect”), Í Glimmerheimi brings that narrative to frenetic and dazzling life, ultimately closing out on “Skrímslið er að ná þér” (“The monster is getting you”): a serpentine and strangely mesmerizing epic whose swirling textures, otherworldly vocals, and sparse yet complex guitar tones illuminate the immense scope and depth of GRÓA’s artistry.

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the
"

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the
"

The music of Atlanta trio Omni has always swung fast and hit hard. And Souvenir, their fourth album and second for Sub Pop, packs their biggest punch yet. Inactive during the majority of the pandemic-the longest downtime in their history-they approached this recording with lots of pent-up energy. Guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker converted their creative fuel into sharp, driving songs that land immediately, sporting chopping riffs, staccato beats, and wiry melodies. Why does Souvenir sound so sharp? Because each track is a compact unit that stands on its own, reflecting the time and place in which it was created. That's why Omni called the album Souvenir: it's a collection of audio objects, a stash of musical miniatures. Think of it as a family photo album, a binder of rare playing cards, a shoebox holding precious gems. Take "Plastic Pyramid," the first song Omni wrote after coming out of lockdown. Filled with twists and turns, it's a journey unto itself, charged by clanging chords, spinning rhythm, and Frobos trading lines with Izzy Glaudini of Automatic, with whom Omni toured with last fall. (Glaudini sings on two other Souvenir tracks, the first guest vocalist the band has collaborated with). Or take opener "Exacto," a slicing web of intertwined guitar and bass. Its razor-fine notes and syncopated beats perfectly match pointillist Frobos lyrics such as "Exacto, de facto, concise, quite right"-a line that could well be an Omni mantra. The precision and clarity of Souvenir comes from some new Omni developments. For one, this is their first album with Yonker as their full-time drummer, and his forceful playing adds exclamation points to every pointed moment on Souvenir. In addition, the trio worked with Atlanta-based engineer Kristofer Sampson for the first time. Sampson pushed the band to a higher degree of power, with Frobos's vocals more upfront in his pulsing mix and the rest of the music leaping out of the speakers. You might notice that Frobos' singing is a bit more emotional and even nostalgic this time around. In crafting his vocals, he was inspired by the early college radio rock of formative favorites like REM, the Cure, and Big Audio Dynamite-the kind of bands whose melodies could have been top 40 hits in an alternative universe. The lyrics on Souvenir are also by turns funny, absurd, and even cryptic. A wry humor has always coursed through Omni's songs, and this time, it comes in shades of both dark and light. In "Granite Kiss," an "astronomical" love story concludes with the hope that "we can decay together," while in "PG," a romantic walk in the park includes a rose-colored mugging. Immediacy rushes throughout every moment of Souvenir, making it the band's most powerful album to date. Omni has truly crafted a musical keepsake-a set of songs that you'll want to keep close, an aural memento you'll cherish for the rest of time.

With his seemingly endless capacity for creating compositions which have an alluring quality, and which are often wrapped in a mesmerising arrangement that pays homage to those towering sound constructions made by Phil Spector, Shadow Morton, Brian Wilson and the likes, veteran New York polymath Marc Jonson is also deserving of household name status. Involved in making records since the mid-sixties, Jonson's latest long-play collection is a particularly special glimpse into a secret stash of recordings made between 1979 and 2012 in his tiny flat on Cornelia St., New York's Greenwich Village, during the years we spend living (and surviving) there. These tracks are only now seeing the light of day, with many featuring Jonson at his melodic, awe-inspiring best; soul-baring, honest and vulnerable. Spanning these grooves are such delightfully told stories as 'The Man Who Walks On Air', 'November Paint Brush', the atypical jazz stylings of the instrumental title cut, plus the revealing light that is 'The Moon' and the magical, wide eyed beauty as conjured by 'Ages Of Wonder'. These tracks are only now seeing the light of day, with many featuring Jonson at his melodic, awe-inspiring best; soul-baring, honest and vulnerable. "Those who have taken the leap into Jonson's hitherto unknown musical world will be able to tell you that this is not only an experience which is immensely rewarding, but it's also one which needs to be heard to be believed. The captivating layers and mesmerising quality heard throughout lies in the way Jonson's startling array of songs seem to breathe in and exhale from many different, often eclectic elements." Lenny Helsing (Shindig!, Ugly Things Magazine).

Legendary US Metal masterpiece finally available again on deluxe180 grams vinyl after more than 35 years! With their sound and style completely defined on their previous and nearly perfect album, “Soldiers of the Night”, Vicious Rumors continue on with yet another outstanding sequel that could go hand in hand with their debut. This is pretty much US Power Metal with actual riffs, and some technical and mindblowing riffs at that with Geoff Thorpe’s tremendous skill and incredible songwriting. The standout here is hands down vocalist Carl Albert (Rest in peace). Nothing but energy sparks from his every lyric spoken. His aggressive and energetic mid-range performance can easily be matched to Bruce Dickinson. Vicious Rumors were truly out of this world when Carl was with them, this being the flawless beginning of that legacy. Its nearly impossible to pinpoint Vicious Rumors exact sound and style and just throw them in one genre, because you really can not. There are a few Speed Metal songs here, a few more Power Metal orientated ones, few hints of progessive structures, and even some Thrashy parts from time to time. Standout tracks would be the self title track, “Minute to Kill”, “R.L.H (Run Like Hell)”, and “Towns of Fire”. Then again, this whole album is just great with no real low points at all. In the end, this is an essential Vicious Rumors album, and often hailed as their finest release!

Sublime Christian folk jazz from 1970s Norway. In the '60s and '70s churches throughout Europe had serious competition for the attention of its younger members. The ecclesiastical establishment was shocked to hear teenagers expressing 'Sympathy for the Devil' rather than sympathy for Christ and his teachings. In Norway at this time the same situation was prevalent as was happening across Europe; teenagers were turning their back on the church and embracing the temptations and pleasures of the flourishing new pop culture. Priest Olaf Hillestad was all to aware of what was going on, and instead of relying on the floundering traditional methods of rounding up his flock, he embraced the musical aspirations of his younger followers. In so doing he founded the Forum Experimentale in Oslo, an organisation that promised in its statutes to "boldly work for a renewal in service life, church music and church art". It was here in the late '60s where That's Why founder members Jan Simonsen and Per Arne Løvold became responsible for the jazz masses at Forum Experimentale's chapel. Together with some top-notch musicians from other Christian music centres around the Oslo district, they recorded two albums in 1970 and 1971 under the moniker That's Why. That's Why blended deep acoustic and electric jazz with elements of Norwegian folklore and Christianity. They also included interpretations of young and old transcendental Norwegian poets such as Sidsel Mørck Krogdahl, Alfred Hauge and Aslaug Vaa, as well as introducing English and Swedish songwriters such as Åke Rosenstrøm and Charles Wesley and even William Blake's "Children of the Future Age" into the mix. This highly original fusion of secular rhythmic music, jazz improvisation and a distinguished selection of transcendental lyrics is one of the standout qualities of That's Why, separating them from more programme-orientated Christian music. The unique mix leads the listener to think they are hearing among the record grooves the tightness of grey, sober Protestantism along with the ecstasy of a lay preacher. This listener, for one, has never heard anything quite like it.

who are excited to welcome these stalwarts to the family. And what an album it is! These Marylanders never disappoint and this time around is no different.

Gilded Sorrow by The Obsessed, released 16 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Realize A Dream", "Stoned Back To The Bomb Age", "Jailine", "Lucky Free Nice Machine" and more.

This version of Gilded Sorrow comes as a 1xCD.

Open Mics might not always have a great reputation but for Merlin Hydes it brought some good things. On one hand he met his producer Jon Kenzie who is hosting "Bring Your Own Song" in Hamburg and on the other hand playing that Open Mic put him in touch with DevilDuck Records because they are good friends with Jon Kenzie and he told them to check this boy out. A couple of months later the debut album "In Plain Sight" was recorded at Kenzie"s home studio in just three days and is now ready to conquer the world... or at least a little part of it. The idea was to just record the songs in a cosy and easy set up just as in the good old days without thinking too much about it and avoid any perfectionism. "In Plain Sight" describes the balancing act between the peaceful country life, the desire to have a yard and a garden and the supposedly exciting and urban city in which you always might feel a bit strange and as you have chicken poop under your shoes", as Hydes explains....