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First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

Following two stunning singles, prodigiously talented producer and composer Frederic Robinson is set to drop his debut album,
'Mixed Signals', on Blu Mar Ten Music on 14th October. The album is the culmination of over a year's work and a lifetime of musical
obsession for Robinson, comprising of a series of intricately crafted and delicately emotive tracks exploring a forward-thinking
electronic vision, which he describes as "music for the listener with a broad horizon and a short attention span'.
Over its eleven tracks, 'Mixed Signals' gives Robinson the canvas to showcase the full breadth of his talents like never before.
Amalgamating the many influences that inform his productions, from drum & bass and electronica to contemporary classical
composers, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliantly crafted and coherent artistic statement that draws upon his talents as a classically trained
multi-instrumentalist as well as an electronic producer. Filled with light and shade, impact and intricacy, 'Mixed Signals' is much more
than a drum & bass record or a collection of club tracks; this is an album in the truest sense of the word.
"So far, this album is my biggest musical project and my greatest achievement. I worked on it for about a year and went through many
different creative phases in that time, all of which are represented somewhere on the LP. It is a summary of my current talents, skills
and interests. It marks the end for some ideas and concepts and the beginning for many others." - Frederic Robinson.
Built from a collage of acoustic and electronic elements, Robinson's music is a dense patchwork of skittering rhythms, found sound
and lush instrumentation, which harnesses a compelling emotional draw as much as it does an undeniable dance floor energy. Both
immediate and nuanced, 'Mixed Signals' is a brilliant balance of contrasts.
The sweeping drama of previous single 'Theme Park' opens the album, remaining as fresh and brilliantly unique as ever, while 'Off
Topic' and 'Bloom' featuring Stray both also provide familiar touchstones, exploring esoteric manifestations of 170 bpm's outer
possibilities. Three vocal tracks are scattered throughout the tracklist, with the soft, otherworldly tones of Melanie Robinson providing
an entry point to Robinson's world of broken percussion and wandering melodies.
Elsewhere, 'Vamp Till Ready' balances rich string orchestration against a wave of skittering percussion and 'Shut' offers an expansive
beauty in its naïve, dreamlike melodies. 'Particles' showcases an innate understanding of drum & bass constructs, warping tight
breaks and deep bass against bold blasts of colour while the eponymous track explores a playfully off-kilter and delicately nuanced
downtempo vision, before the album is played out on wave of hazy melodies and light-footed rhythms with closer 'Static Float'.
'Mixed Signals' provides the broad canvas that Robinson thrives in painting with his sprawling musical influences and complex
arrangements, and the results are phenomenal. The album is a masterpiece in dance floor escapism from a talent whose career is
undoubtedly in the ascendant.

"Stand In The Fire" - Warren Zevon (voc, g, p); Zeke Zirngiebel (g, voc); David Landau (g); Bob Harris (synth, p, voc); Roberto Piñón (b, voc); Marty Stinger (dr)

Warren Zevon had toured for quite some time as a songwriter in the rock scene, released a few singles and landed a flop with his debut LP in 1969 before the tide finally turned. Roughly ten years later, his live album – put together from a five-day residency at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood – entered the annals of vinyl history as one of the best live albums of all time and was awarded four stars by the magazine Rolling Stone. Ambiguously entitled by the comprehensively educated Zevon, who had been confronted with the tough side of show business, "Stand In The Fire" delivers genial simple pure and straightforward rock right from the start, which hit the public with a vengeance. Full of vim and elation, the band pours out the significant, biting verses with fire ("Jeannie Needs A Shooter") and fuels the emotional inferno with high-speed bursts of rock ("Excitable Boy"). Zevon proves his skills as a singer and songwriter in the ballad-like yet powerful "Mohammed’s Radio". In a direct comparison to this number we have the forthright, no-nonsense hit "Werewolves Of London" with its close harmonies. Just how Zevon manages to succeed in getting his delicate voice and lyrics over to the public is shown in the powerful mix of heavy and honky-tonk ("I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead") and finally in the thunderous final number – "Bo Didley’s A Gunslinger" – with its percussive and metrically complicated antiphony.

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under pure-analogue

All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: August 1980 live at The Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood, CA., by Billy Youdelman and Greg Ladanyi

Production: Greg Ladanyi & Warren Zevon

"The follow up to Self Esteem’s acclaimed 2019 debut album Compliments Please, Prioritise Pleasure is a record that reminds us all of the importance of being our unapologetic selves, putting your insecurities out there in the hope that it can be the first step towards healing them. Honest disclosure has always been Self Esteem’s forte, and so each track on Prioritise Pleasure handles difficult themes with nuanced perspective, comforted and counter-balanced with an array of rhythmic flourishes that speak to the eclecticism of her experience and influence. Self Esteem has moved on considerably since that her acclaimed debut. With NME DIY and Source magazine front covers, 6 Music A list's andTune of the week on Radio 1 with both Annie Mac and Greg James, things are really moving now. TV appearances include Channel 4 - Sunday Brunch - live performance, interview & show guest
19.10.21: TX Sky - Never Mind The Buzzcocks – guest panellist 21.10.21: TX – BBC 1 - Match of the Day – guest and performance. The album is released on a CD Mintpack, Black LP."

Andy Bey was one of the most sought-after vocalists in the era of jazz fusion. Between 1968 and 1973 he was first choice as a studio singer for Max Roach, Duke Pearson, Horace Silver, Gary Bartz and Stanley Clarke, to mention but a few. His warm and engaging baritone voice easily crossed the bridge from conventional blues and gospel to a pugnacious, politicising style of soul – Andy Bey was 'spiritual' in every sense of the word. "Experience And Judgment", his debut album under his own name, was recorded in New York in 1973 and quickly became a cult album. Bey delivers twelve songs in single length, which are full of relaxed, funky grooves, soulful and electrifying, and quite lacking in gimmickry – in many of them a blues number is lurking in the background as a basic idea. His most important colleagues are Wilbur Bascomb, who lets his electric slap bass really thump out, and Bill Fischer who joins in on an electric piano, synthesizer and various other keyboards and really sets off a little fusion firework display. The most powerful numbers come from Andy Bey himself, such as "Experience", "Judgment", "Celestial Blues", "Tune Up" and "Being Uptight" – often powering forwards with a vengeance. Bill Fischer – at that time Artistic Director at Atlantic Records – added a few soul ballads to balance out the LP. This album inspired numerous jazz singers, including Gregory Porter. Jamie Cullum says: »What I love about Andy Bey is that he creates an atmosphere. As soon as he opens his mouth, you’re transported to another place.«

Danger Danger is an American Hard Rock and hair metal band from Queens, New York, formed in 1987. Danger Danger is the self titled debut album of the band, released in 1989. Included is the group’s best-known track, the album-opening anthem “Naughty Naughty”, as well as the similarly styled “Bang Bang”. The album also includes the Bon Jovi-esque “Under the Gun”, and the power ballad, “One Step from Paradise.”

Danger Danger 30th anniversary edition is available as 666 individually numbered copies on transparent blue vinyl.

Emerging from Lower Franconia's hidden reverse, Johannes schebler, known as ambient-poltergeist "Baldruin" and surreal folklorists Christian Schoppik & Katie Rich of "Brannten Schnüre"-fame have puzzled and amazed outernational audiences from the stranger end of the avant/lo-fi spectrum in recent years. The trio is now collectively dreaming as "Freundliche Kreisel",reaching for terra incognita rather than common ground on their most bewildering and accessible outing to date. Arch-pontifices of the electro-acoustic and outsider-art realm, they fill in gaps and invent missing links on the go with somnambulistic ease, confusing the hypersensitive and hyaline timbres of contempo-electronic aesthetics with the naïve charm of Germany's obscure Kassettentäter and mutant-NDW.

Think Daniele Mana and Lorenzo Senni digitally rewiring the 4-track recordings of Gareth Williams' Flaming Tunes or sometimes, much scarier, it feels as if it's the other way round. There certainly is an air of whimsical yet post-ironic romanticism to the songs contained here, a madcap, tongue-in-cheek ghost story as filtered through the transcendental senses of a childhood perspective. This attitude is best personified in the disarming innocence of Katie's vocals whose intonation touches on nursery rhymes as much as on dirges and bizarre 'schlager' kitsch.

Heirs to the tradition of magic realism, examining fragments of an arcane sacred mundanity like a crack in the concrete of everyday life, Freundliche Kreisel dwell on this often neglected microcosmic topography, yielding an adventurous and visionary piece of a decidedly Franconian next-level post-modern folklore.

When we first heard from recent Kompakt signing Emma Kollmorgen, with 2021’s “You Are The”, she was hymning the complexity of romance: “Love is scary as fuck!”, she said. On her debut EP, “1243”, she’s built on that intensity and offered up a five-track suite of night-vision electronic pop, bristling with a stealthy sensuality. It’s a cinematic collection, building from the brooding “Escape”, through the drifting, tactile pulses of “Taciturn”, the gritty, bustling noises that run underneath the smoke-signal torch-song of “All The Wild Animals”, and the closing, tear-stained melancholy of “Home”. “You Are The” reappears here as well, settling in perfectly amongst new friends.

It’s a completely assured first EP from an artist who’s been slowly and steadily building her own sonic world. From her early days, when she busied herself by learning guitar and joining bands, Kollmorgen always had a vision of doing something “more independent”, to allow her to find her own sound and write her own songs. A brief creative alliance with the Berlin DJ duo Dole & Kom led to some recordings and live performances. All the while, Kollmorgen was carefully shaping her production and sound designing skills with Ableton Live, and exploring distinctive musical terrain in collaboration with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer). She joined the Kompakt family after a recommendation by Patrice Baumel, who also remixed her debut single with typical flair.

On “1243”, though, Kollmorgen fully inhabits her songs, gifting each of them with a sweet, subtle sway, her vocal and lyrical openheartedness balancing the bluer hues of her production. Each song is confident and poised, Kollmorgen relying on cross-thatched patterns of texture as a web to support her melodies: “I like patterns,” she says, “they give me something to hold onto, something stable in an unstable world.” The songs feel as though they’re grappling with moments of revelation and experience in Kollmorgen’s world, which makes sense, given her approach to music: “I never had a diary,” she reflects, “so writing songs is my way of expressing and dealing with life.” On 1243, you’ll catch some glimpses of life lived, made sonorous through songs beautifully sung.

Als wir das erste Mal von Emma Kollmorgen hörten, nachdem sie sich KOMPAKT angeschlossen hatte, besang sie mit "You Are The" (2021) die Komplexität von Romantik: "Liebe ist verdammt beängstigend!". Auf ihrer Debüt-EP "1243" baut sie auf dieser Intensität auf und präsentiert uns eine fünf Tracks umfassende Suite von elektronischem Pop mit ausgeprägtem Nachtsicht-Faktor, die vor verborgener Sinnlichkeit nur so strotzt. Ein geradezu cineastischer Spannungsbogen, der sich vom grüblerischen "Escape" über die treibenden, taktilen Impulse von "Taciturn", die düsteren, umtriebigen Geräusche, die den Rauchzeichen sendenden torch song "All The Wild Animals" untermalen, und die abschließende, tränenreiche Melancholie von "Home" aufbaut. Auch "You Are The" taucht hier wieder auf und fügt sich perfekt in die neue Gesellschaft ein.

Eine überzeugende erste EP von einer Künstlerin, die sich langsam und stetig ihre eigene Klangwelt aufgebaut hat. Seit ihren Anfängen, als sie Gitarre lernte und in Bands spielte, hatte Kollmorgen immer die Vision, etwas "Unabhängiges" zu machen, um ihren eigenen Sound zu finden und ihre eigenen Songs zu schreiben. Eine kurze kreative Allianz mit dem Berliner DJ-Duo Dole & Kom führte zu einigen Aufnahmen und Live-Auftritten. Währenddessen feilte Kollmorgen an ihren Produktions- und Sounddesign-Skills und erkundete gemeinsam mit dem Co-Produzenten und Multi-Instrumentalisten Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer) ihr eigenes musikalisches Terrain. Zur KOMPAKT Label-Familie kam sie auf Empfehlung von Patrice Baumel, der auch ihre Debütsingle remixte.

Auf "1243" lebt Kollmorgen ihre Songs voll und ganz aus und verleiht jedem von ihnen einen süßen, subtilen Twist, der ihre stimmliche und textliche Offenheit mit den melancholischen Tönen der Musik in Balance hält. Voller Selbstbewusstsein und Ausgeglichenheit verlässt sie sich auf durcheinander laufende Texturen und Pattern, die ihre Melodik unterstützen: "Ich mag Pattern", sagt sie, "sie geben mir etwas, woran ich mich festhalten kann, etwas Stabiles in einer instabilen Welt."

Die Songs fühlen sich an, als würden sie sich mit realen Momenten der Offenbarung und mit Erfahrungen aus Kollmorgens Lebenswelt auseinandersetzen, was angesichts ihrer Herangehensweise an Musik durchaus Sinn ergibt: "Ich hatte nie ein Tagebuch", erzählt sie, "also ist das Schreiben von Songs meine Art, mich auszudrücken und mit dem Leben umzugehen." Auf "1243" gibt sie uns einige Einblicke in dieses gelebte Leben, das durch wunderschön gesungene Lieder zum Klingen gebracht wird.

Another new colour pressing we have 200 only white vinyl coming in Mrch. Single LPs w/ printed inner sleeve + lyric insert and Download card. The Armed return with their first new album in over three years and Sargent House debut, ULTRAPOP. The album reaches the same extremities of sonic expression as the furthest depths of metal, noise, and otherwise "heavy" counterculture music subgenres but finds its foundation firmly in pop music and pop culture. As is always The Armed's mission, it seeks only to create the most intense experience possible, a magnification of all culture, beauty, and things. The band goes on to explain, "crafting vital art means presenting the audience with new and intriguing tensions sonically, visually, conceptually. Over time and through use, those tensions become less novel and effective and they become expectations. The concept of "subgenre" becomes almost the antithesis of vitality in art itself a fetishization of expectation. ULTRAPOP seeks, in earnest, to create a truly new listener experience. It is an open rebellion against the culture of expectation in "heavy" music. It is a joyous, genderless, post-nihilist, anti-punk, razor-focused take on creating the most intense listener experience possible. It's the harshest, most beautiful, most hideous thing we could make." ULTRAPOP follows their recent contribution to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack “Night City Aliens” and 2018’s critically acclaimed album Only Love, which landed on ‘Album of the Year’ lists from The Atlantic, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vice, Stereogum, and many more. The album was co-produced by the band's own Dan Greene in collaboration with Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe) and features contributions from Mark Lanegan, Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle), Ben Koller (Converge, Killer Be Killed, Mutoid Man) and many more. Kurt Ballou (Converge, High on Fire, Russian Circles) remains at the helm as executive producer. An interactive ARG campaign with numerous stages of engagement is underway and will continue through release. A website, media mailings and various social media interactions are leading fans to find easter eggs including songs, album info, videos and much more. A livestream performance confirmed for same day. Videos for all three focus tracks (“All Futures”, “Average Death” + “An Iteration” are completed and will be released along with each song.

“Coffee & Clouds” EP is the latest release from Sam Hutton and Al
Wreaves AKA South-London soul duo fika, collaborating with songwriter, vocalist and artist Bambie.

Co- produced by Berlin- based producer Fabich, the EP features previous singles “How Can I Love? (When I Can’t Get Away From You)” and “Love Like Mine” which have seen the duo garner support from the likes of Jack Saunders (BBC Radio 1), Jamz Supernova (BBC Radio 1Xtra), Jess Iszatt (BBC London Introducing), Nabihah Iqbal, El Train, Rob Da Bank (Worldwide FM), Stereofox, Mystic Sons and
IGGY Magazine. Stemming from a two-day session between fika and Bambie, the “Coffee & Clouds” EP was co-produced by Berlin-based producer Fabich. The EP expertly balances nuanced musicality with generously open song writing. fika’s ever-growing community of collaborators and irresistible releases has seen them perform at the legendary Ronnie Scott’sand garner support from BBC presenters
Phil Taggart (BBC Radio 1), Jess Iszatt and Abbie Mac (BBC Radio Kent) and from the wider radio community including Jyoty (Rinse FM) and El Train (Soho Radio).

At the end of 2021, they will be appearing at The Jazz Café alongside BBC Radio 1’s Victoria Jane, Raquel Martins, Ruby Francisand Kara Marni. The duo have also seen press and online support from the likes of TRENCH, Indie Shuffle, Notion, Acid Stag, Beautiful Buzz, Somewhere Soul and Discobelle. A project born out of collaborative joy and mutual admiration; the “Coffee & Clouds” EP is set to further
cement fika’s place as a one- to- watch in the realms of Neo- Soul, Hip Hop and Contemporary RnB.

Nach ihrem gefeierten Debüt Album Puritan Masochism, das mit Veröffentlichung im Jahr 2020 die gesamte Doom- und Heavy- Metal Szene im Sturm eroberte, steht die dänische Blackened Death- und Doom Metal Macht KONVENT nun mit ihrem 2. Longplayer in den Startlöchern, auf welchem sich die Band mit ihren Songwriting Qualitäten und brutalem Sound selber übertrifft!

Die musikalische Entwicklung von KONVENT ist im Laufe von nur zwei Jahren auf Call Down The Sun unüberhörbar und überrascht an jeder Ecke mit neuen Elementen. Zweifellos inspiriert von den jüngsten und dunklen Zeiten der anhaltenden Pandemie und Absagen diverser Live Auftritte, kommt das neue Album der Kopenhagener Band deutlich böser, schwerer, angepisster und pechschwarz daher.

Aufgenommen und gemischt wurde das neue KONVENT Album von Lasse Ballade in den Ballade Studios in Schweden, für das Mastering zeichnet sich Brad Boatright der Audiosiege Studios verantwortlich. Call Down The Sun ist eine Apokalypse von Sound, dem man sich nicht entziehen kann. KONVENT haben hier ein unfassbar erfrischendes und lebendiges Album geschaffen, welches sich mit Leichtigkeit nicht nur auf die Top-Album-Listen des Jahres 2022 einreihen, sondern sich möglicherweise als eine der besten Deathund Blackened Doom Metal Scheiben der Neuzeit etablieren wird!

Heiko Voss has earned near mythical status as a torchbearer for the emotional, deeply felt and quietly radical style of electronic music. The blissed-out radiance of his Kompakt Pop single, “I Think About You” remains one of the label catalog highlights and a stellar run of collaborative singles as Schaeben & Voss; others might know him for his stewardship of the excellent, much-underrated Firm imprint. But with his new album, 3:30 Minutes To Live, released by Michael Mayer’s label Imara, Voss returns after a long silence with a beautiful collection of songs that hymn heartbreak with a lusciously melodic touch.

There is something definitive and newly confident in 3:30 Minutes To Live that has it feeling like a real statement of intent if compared to his earlier releases. “Although it’s not, 3:30 Minutes To Live feels like my debut album,” Voss reflects. “All releases before were more song sketches or electronic dance tracks.” Bunkering down in Teary Eyes Studio, Voss worked up somewhere between thirty and forty sketches of songs, which he whittled down to the twelve collected here, all of them situated in a unique space, but very much in accord with Voss’s defining aesthetic, which he describes as “indie pop music with a lot of guitar, electronic elements and a great love for melancholic ‘80s synth-lines.”

Voss is sensitive to both variety and consistency – 3:30 Minutes To Live sits together as an assured, vibrant collection of pop songs, but it’s marked by all kinds of surprising incident, like the guitar solo that erupts out of “This Is My Life”, or the acoustic guitar-led melancholy of the closing “This Summer”. It’s all borne of the alchemy of the studio process and the intimate romance of music-making. “If you constantly feel a little bit like you’re in love while writing and producing your music – simply because of the sound of the synth flowing warmly and gently through the room, or because the sequence of notes awakens something in you, or even a randomly arising groove in the loop of a guitar lick makes you shout, ‘Ha!!’ – then it usually becomes a beautiful song,” Voss nods. “Those moments make me happy.”

There’s also a delicious tension between the push of the music, its melodic lushness and gliding, ballerina-like movement, and the darker currents that pull through Voss’s lyrics, inspired by a “short, dramatic and toxic love affair.” This may read like familiar terrain for a pop album, but the way Voss weaves language through both the extra-linguistic joys of music and the inarticulate speech of the heart somehow allows for direct communication that is simultaneously plain-spoken and deeply profound. “Say It” is a simple, devastatingly effective plaint of alienation; “She Wasn’t Lonely” a simple portrait of everyday living set to chiming, clacking guitars, the music in the bridge taking astral flight as the titular character ‘lets herself go.’

A smart and sharp collection of songs that captures you with its gorgeous melodicism just as it blindsides you with its aching heart, 3:30 Minutes To Live is Heiko Voss at his most assured and open-hearted best.

Heiko Voss hat sich als Fackelträger einer emotionalen, von ganzem Herzen kommenden und nicht auf den ersten Blick radikalen Spielart von elektronischer Musik einen nahezu mythischen Status erarbeitet. Das schiere Glück, welches seine Kompakt Pop-Single "I Think About You" aus dem Jahr 2003 immer noch ausstrahlt, macht sie nach wie vor zu einem der Highlights des Label-Katalogs, wo sie neben einer ganzen Reihe hervorragender Singles als Schaeben & Voss steht; andere kennen Heiko vielleicht durch das tolle und vielfach unterschätzte Label Firm, für das er zusammen mit Thomas Schaeben verantwortlich war. Mit seinem neuen Album “3:30 Minutes To Live”, das am 4. März 2022 auf Michael Mayers Label Imara erscheint, kehrt Voss nun nach einer langen Pause mit einer wunderschönen Sammlung von Songs zurück, die den Herzschmerz – getragen auf den Schwingen unwiderstehlicher Melodien – ausgiebig besingen.

“3:30 Minutes To Live” kommt mit einer gehörigen Portion Überzeugung und Selbstbewusstsein daher, was im Vergleich zu seinen früheren Veröffentlichungen wie ein bewusstes Statement wirkt. "Obwohl es das nicht ist, fühlt sich ‘3:30 Minutes To Live’ wie mein Debütalbum an", meint Voss. "Alle meine vorherigen Veröffentlichungen waren eher Song-Skizzen oder elektronische Dance-Tracks."

Im Teary Eyes Studio arbeitete Voss zwischen dreißig und vierzig Songskizzen aus, die er auf die zwölf hier versammelten Songs reduzierte, die alle ihren eigenen Raum einnehmen, dabei aber sehr gut mit Voss' übergeordneter Ästhetik harmonieren, die er als "Indie-Pop-Musik mit viel Gitarre, elektronischen Elementen und einer großen Liebe für melancholische 80er-Jahre-Synthies" beschreibt.

Voss ist sowohl für Abwechslung als auch für Konsistenz empfänglich - “3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine selbstsichere, lebendige Sammlung von Popsongs, die aber auch von allerlei Überraschungen geprägt ist, wie dem Gitarrensolo, das aus “This Is My Life” herausbricht, oder die von einer Akustikgitarre getragene Melancholie des abschließenden “This Summer”.

Das alles ist entstanden aus der besonderen Alchemie des Studioprozesses und der intimen Romantik des Musikmachens. "Wenn du beim Schreiben und Produzieren deiner Musik ständig das Gefühl hast, ein bisschen verliebt zu sein – einfach weil der Klang des Synthesizers warm und sanft durch den Raum fließt, oder weil die Notenfolge etwas in dir weckt, oder sogar ein zufällig auftauchender Groove im Loop eines Gitarren-Licks dich ein 'Ha!' ausrufen lässt – dann wird daraus meist ein schöner Song", nickt Voss. "Diese Momente machen mich glücklich."

Es entsteht eine besondere Spannung zwischen dem positiven Elan der Musik, ihrer melodischen Verschwendungssucht, den gleitenden, Ballerina-artigen Bewegungen und den dunkleren Strömungen, die durch Voss' Texte ziehen, die von einer "kurzen, dramatischen und giftigen Liebesaffäre" inspiriert sind. Das mag sich wie ein vertrautes Terrain für ein Pop-Album anhören, aber die Art und Weise, wie Voss die Sprache sowohl durch die nonverbalen Elemente der Musik als auch durch den nicht artikulierten Ausdruck des Herzens verwebt, ermöglicht eine Art direkte Kommunikation, die gleichzeitig ausgesprochen klar und trotzdem tiefgründig ist. “Say It" ist eine erschütternd einprägsame Anklage von Entfremdung; "She Wasn't Lonely" ist ein einfaches Porträt des alltäglichen Lebens, untermalt von klappernden Gitarren, in dem die Musik einen astralen Flug unternimmt, während die Titelfigur sich "gehen lässt".

“3:30 Minutes To Live“ ist eine kluge und scharfsinnige Sammlung von Songs, die den Zuhörenden mit ihren wunderschönen Melodien fesseln, aber auch mit einer Menge schmerzenden Gefühlen konfrontiert. Ein Album, auf dem Heiko Voss ganz bei sich ist und Euch dabei mehr als nur sein Herz öffnet.

It works in clubs. it works at after hours. Also, small bars vibrate meaningful on it: the music of Kuniyuki Takahashi enthralls everywhere and is made for heedful listeners, that love the thrill of little musical nuances, shifting in a deeply composed ocean of sound.

In terms of composition, melodic sensitivity, and subtle progression the music of japanese producer, Sound designer and dj stands out. Ambient, Future-Jazz, Deep House, Leftfield Elec-tronics: since more then 25 years the man from Sapporo expresses his emotions with a wide stylistic range.

As Kuniyuki or under pseudonyms like Koss or Newwave project, he released a body of work consisting of numerous albums and EP’s, that display his deep musical consciousness pro-foundly. Now his home label Mule Musiq drops “Remix Works “, an eighth tune strong compila-tion featuring for the second time since 2013 Kuniyuki Takahashi’s very own virtuosity of re-mixing.

A double vinyl that carries the full pallet of his skills – from yacht rock leaning synth-pop and balearic dreams to sweet wave signals and soulful Pop House.

It all starts with Kuniyuki’s Remix of “Plateau”, a tune by japanese Nu-Jazz / Post‐Rock band mouse on the keys, released in 2013 on the short living japanese retalk label. An epic, almost ten-minute-long house voyage, full of discreet acid shades and enlightening Jazz chords, that play spirited tricks on each other’s manic musical preaching.

A blend of Nu-Disco/Disco-funk, trip hop and cosmic with a touch of jazz from the one they call Super Paolo across 2 x 12 Inch records that has been lighting up dancefloors the world over.


DJ Support:
Ashley Beedle, Daniele Baldelli, LTJ Trevisi, Severino, Francesco Mami.

Our Lowriders album is an amalgam of the two “This Is Lowrider Soul” CDs. We have chosen 14 tracks that represent the sounds loved by Los Angelenos, often of Mexican descent, that emanate from their fabulously designed motors while cruising Whittier Boulevard in East LA or, say, Van Nuys Boulevard in the northwest of the city.

The classic Los Angeles vocal group the Superbs are featured here on their glorious ‘It Hurts So Much’, but it is mainly the records discovered by sweet soul collectors that dominate. The Carnival label has a great reputation on this scene; Lee Williams & the Cymbals’ ‘Please Say It Isn’t So’ and ‘Follow Your Heart’ by the Manhattans are a pair of killer ballads perfect in tempo and harmony for the cruisers. Other East Coast offerings include the Persians’ captivating ‘Here It Comes’ and two gems which were only on master tape prior to their Kent releases – Melvin Hicks & The Versatiles’ ‘I’m Just Passing Time’ and the similarly unknown outfit the Exceptions, with the wailing ‘So Much In Love’.

Chicago has always been a breeding ground for black harmony groups. The Esquires saw much success at Bunky; ‘No Doubt About It’ was their equally great first release at Wand. Little Ben & The Cheers hailed from the same city; their ‘I’m Not Ready To Settle Down’ fetches big bucks due to Lowrider demand, as does ‘What Am I Gonna Do’ by the mysterious Houston Outlaws – their origins are uncertain, but must be Midwestern. The Vanguards hailed from Indianapolis and deservedly charted with ‘Somebody Please’, licensed to LA’s Whiz label. All of their seven singles on Lamp are also fine, harmonic soul tracks. The Lovers were a Bay Area group who recorded in Los Angeles with the maestro Arthur Wright; their ‘Someone’ was tipped for the charts when licensed to Philips, but flopped, leaving it ripe for revival by the soul connoisseurs. Like the Lovers, the reputation of Reuben Bell’s ‘It’s Not That Easy’ has grown over the decades and a record once considered common can now fetch hundreds of dollars – class will out.

Omowale is the powerful new album from Wildchild, one third of the legendary Lootpack crew and a formidable solo artist who released many projects on the iconic Stones Throw Records. Across the 15 tracks, the Cali rapper deftly explores what it means to be a Black man in the U.S. today with timely, poignant lyrics. It’s a hard-hitting look at this country and its decades of wrongdoing, all with an air of optimism for the future. This album is Wildchild’s first solo release since 2016’s T.G.I.F., though he’s clearly kept busy in the interim by working on Omowale and making a number of standout guest appearances. Many of his past collaborators are returning the favor, as we’re treated to dope features from Posdnuos (of De La Soul), Big Daddy Kane, Guilty Simpson, Ras Kass, Murs, and more. Plus, there’s head-nodding production from Madlib, Nottz, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and Mr. Brady, among others. They’re all bringing their A-game on Omowale, an impeccably produced album beyond its instrumentation and rhymes. Wildchild builds on the project’s narrative by incorporating audio from newscasts, protests, and other live events. He also brings that real-world feel to his lyrics, from joyful raps with his son (Black-ish actor/emcee Miles Brown) on the funky “G.O.A.T.” to raw rhymes about police brutality on “Breathe.”
When the album culminates with “Say Their Name”—a moving tribute to the rap legends we’ve lost over the years—Wildchild proves on Omowale that you can balance hope with the harsh, unjust realities of the world.

Brand new album by the legendary Swamp Dogg.In 1954, 12 year old
Jerry Williams, then performing under the name Little Jerry Williams,
made his first recording for Mechanic Records, a blues stomp with a
shockingly mature vocal performance - Through the 60"s Williams' career
developed with a number of successful singles, including 'I'm the Lover
Man' and 'Baby You're My Everything', as well as writing and producing
hits for Dee Dee Warwick, Doris Duke, and Patti LaBelle and the Blue
Belles. It was in 1970, however, that the full extent of Williams' eccentric
creative genius was unleashed on the world for the first time, with the
birth of his musical alter-ego, Swamp Dogg
Created to 'occupy the body while the search party was out looking for Jerry
Williams, who was mentally missing in action due to certain pressures, maltreatments and failure to get paid royalties on over fifty single records,' the
Swamp Dogg alias, still in use today, allowed Williams to create music that was
bolder, raunchier, and more honest to his creative instincts. The Dogg's cult
classic debut 'Total Destruction to Your Mind' struck a powerful blend of Williams
classic soulful sensibilities and the blooming psychedelia of the time. Infused in
the swirling brew is Swamp's blink- and- you'll- miss- it humor, a number of acid
odes, and a heavy dose of sharp political insight. Though the psychedelic
strangeness alienated R&B fans of the time, and the authentic R&B infrastructure
prevented it from clicking with hippie audiences, it has retroactively received
legendary status in cult music circles.Now, 50 years after Total Destruction
introduced Swamp Dogg to an unprepared world, and nearly 70 since Little Jerry
Williams went into the studio for Mechanic, Williams brings us I Need A Job' So I
Can Buy More Autotune. A spiritual successor to 2018"s hit Love, Loss and
Autotune, this album continues to push Swamp's sonic exploration of the effect
as one of his many creative weapons. In the extended tradition of Total
Destruction, Swamp Dogg's 2021 LP neatly balances sleek modern production
techniques with that classic Dogg sound that has anchored William's music since
the 70s. Subtle yet soulful drumming, skin- tight horn grooves and meandering
funk guitar leads create a sonic landscape fitting Swamp Dogg's iconic croon,
occasionally drenched in the titular autotune. At 78, Swamp Dogg is as sharp of a
singer and songwriter as ever. His raunchy yet charismatic sense of humor takes
a more forward role on I Need a Job' So I Can Buy More Autotune, with earnestly
delivered lyrics about all day sex and an entire song dedicated to the perils of
'Cheating in the Daylight.' Many of the record's most charming moments emerge
from the juxtaposition of Swamp's left field humor with genuine messages of
love, such as 'She Got That Fire', which weaves descriptions of imagined sex acts,
including but not limited to an encounter involving edible underwear, in between
relatively wholesome proclamations like 'she must be an angel on earth,' and
'when she looks at you, it's like sunshine from her eyes'. I Need a Job does more
than prove that Swamp's still got it, it proves he's still getting better.

Curtis Stigers veredelt seine großen Hits und Lieblingssongs mit neuen, unter die Haut gehenden Versionen.
Vom langhaarigen Frauenschwarm mit Nummer-Eins-Balladen zum gereiften R’n’B- und Jazz-Sänger -
in den 30 Jahren seiner Karriere hat Curtis Stigers nicht nur Millionen von Alben verkauft, sondern auch
internationale Hits hervorgebracht, die man heute noch im Ohr hat.
Jetzt schließt sich der Kreis: auf seinem neuesten Album ”This Life” blickt Stigers zurück auf Welterfolge wie “I Wonder Why” und “Never Saw A Miracle”, und Songs aus seinem Schaffen, die ihm besonders
am Herzen liegen. Er interpretiert die Pop-Klassiker neu in der jazzig-intimen Weise, für die er heutzutage
beliebt ist. Das ist mehr als ein nostalgischer Rückblick: ein zeitloses Album eines Sängers und Musikers,
der lässig Genre-Grenzen überschreitet.

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'I Love The
Blues'
On the fourth album of his fusion cycle, George Duke substantially expanded the
number of his colleagues. As before, drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler beats as
the heart of the rhythm section, and the Brazilian couple, Airto and Flora are again
on board. The ten tracks perform a stylistic balancing act. The jittery funk of
"Chariot" and the smooth ballad "Someday" show off Duke's soulful vocal flair.
Flora Purim crowns the complex "Look Into Her Eyes" with her spheric sound as
she and guitarist George Johnson take care of business on this stratospheric
piece with its bluesy electric shuffle. With two high- voltage guitarists (Daryl
Stuermer and Byron Miller), "That's What She Said" points to the tie between rock
and funk. The most eye- opening outing occurs with star guitarist Lee Ritenour
stomping on "Rokkinrowl, I Don't Know", and its Hendrix parody. "Sister Sirene"
shows that, naturally, the typical dreamy Duke instrumentals are not left off the
album. An almost animistic soundscape is woven into the fabric of "Mashavu",
and "Giant Child Within Us - Ego" is a small fusion suite encompassing the
spectrum from the classical to the Zappaesque finale. The title piece is indeed a
blues, dished out pure and simple - a far cry from the sounds of the preceding
piece with its mountains of synthesizers. Rather, the sultry delta heat, the
acoustic simplicity and raw truth of the song prevail - the blues.

Die experimentierfreudigen US-Metaller EIGHT BELLS aus Portland, Oregon haben ihr Songwriting im dritten Anlauf stark gestrafft und verfeinert. Dieser Soundtrack für das Ende der Welt unter dem Namen "Legacy of Ruin" bietet aber auch Kontinuität der besten Elemente wie die für das Trio typischen Gesangsharmonien, die zusammen mit mal schrillen, mal impressionistischen Gitarrenriffs eine eindringlich berauschende Atmosphäre aus Licht und Dunkelheit schaffen. Inhaltlich liegt der Fokus von "Legacy of Ruin" auf Themen wie die Natur des Menschen, Umweltzerstörung, Tod,, Verlust, Bösartigkeit und Rache.

EIGHT BELLS wurden im Jahr 2010 als Songwriting-Projekt von Melynda Jackson gegründet. Die Gitarristin und Sängerin benannte ihre neue Band nach dem letzten Album ihrer vorherigen Wirkungsstätte SUBARACHNOID SPACE. Nachdem bei dem Trio zu Anfang die Besetzung mehrfach wechselte, wird Melynda mittlerweile von Sänger und Bassist Matt Solis (CORMORANT, URSA) und Brian Burke (NO SHORES, CAVE DWELLER) am Schlagzeug unterstützt.
Nach der amerikanischen Veröffentlichung der "Isosceles"-EP (2011) erlangten EIGHT BELLS bald auch internationale Anerkennung für ihr Debütalbum "The Captain's Daughter (2013)". Das Trio tourte anschließend als Support für SUBROSA durch Nordamerika. Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Landless" (2016) festigten EIGHT BELLS ihren Ruf als heißer Underground-Tipp. Die folgenden Einladungen von VOIVOD für eine US-Tour an und zum Psycho Las Vegas Festival nahm das Trio gerne an.

Nun sind EIGHT BELLS reif für den nächsten großen Schritt auf der Karriereleiter und die weite Welt. "Legacy of Ruin" wurde von keinem Geringeren als Billy Anderson (AMENRA, BELL WITCH, LEVIATHAN, SWANS) produziert, wodurch sich dem Trio eine neue Dimension der Klangqualität eröffnet hat.

"Legacy of Ruin" bestätigt eindrucksvoll, dass zeitgenössischer Metal sowohl künstlerisch anspruchsvoll als auch gleichzeitig frisch und eingängig in seinem Ausdruck sein kann. Höchster Zeit, um sich zurückzulehnen, die Augen zu schließen und sich mit EIGHT BELLS eindringlichem Abgesang auf einen sterbenden Planeten von wundervollen Klangwellen überrollen zu lassen.