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/180gr./Insert/1000 Cps Orange Coloured Vinyl

Paradise And Back Again (Ltd. Orange Vinyl) is an album by Anouk, released in 2022. Paradise And Back Again (Ltd. Orange Vinyl) includes a.o. the following tracks: “ Cold Blackhearted Golddigger”, “ Daddy”, “ Breathe”, “ Smile & Shine” and more. The album is a Coloured Vinyl, High Quality, Insert pop LP.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic LP "Ongaku Zukan", originally issued in Japan on his own School label in 1984.

The reissue will replicate the original Japanese release which offered two versions: a normal edition featuring the LP with a bonus 2-track 7" EP (WWSLP71), and a limited edition which includes a 3-track 12" EP in place of the 7" (WWSLP72)

Remastered by Saidera Mastering in Tokyo the reissue boasts the original gatefold artwork plus an extra 2-page insert with new liner notes by Andy Beta



The early '80s were a turning point for Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As a solo artist, the smash hit soundtrack he had composed for 1983's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (a film in which he had also acted), had put him on the verge of becoming a global superstar. Meanwhile he had called a halt to his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra; the influential, globally successful pop trio calling it quits after the release of their 1983 album "Naughty Boys".

Against this backdrop, Sakamoto descended on Tokyo's Onkyo Haus Studio to record his fourth solo album, "Ongaku Zukan" ("Musical Encyclopedia") accompanied by a handful of musicians including his ex-YMO partners Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, and the prolifically talented Yasuaki Shimizu, Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshinori Kondo. Sakamoto began with no particular plan in mind, recording 30 basic tracks over the best part of 1983. It was on his return to the studio the following year that the album truly began to take shape. Accompanied by a newly acquired Fairlight CMI sampler, the musician made extensive use of the revolutionary equipment to create a wide palette of sound textures which he added to the tracks, a creatively fertile process that was captured on film for the French documentary "Tokyo Melody, A Film about Ryuichi Sakamoto".)

Released in August 1984 the album "Ongaku Zukan" proved a huge success, providing Sakamoto with his first top 5 hit in Japan. Filled with inspired melodies that showcase his unique gift as a composer, it offers up a fascinating mix of styles. Asiatic electro pop nuggets ("Tibetan Dance") share space with futuristic ambient pieces ("Hane no Hayashi de"), and brilliantly creative fusions of jazz, funk, techno and reggae ("Etude" and "Tabi no Kyokuhoki.")

Two simultaneous editions of the album were released in Japan: the regular one featuring a bonus 7" EP with two extra tracks: "Replica" and "Ma Mère l'Oye" while a limited edition added a 12" EP (in lieu of the 7") which included a third track, "Tibetan Dance (Version)." An international version was released two years later in 1986 by 10 Records/Virgin under the title "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia," but with a very different track list. Five tracks from "Ongaku Zukan" were dropped, namely "Self Portrait," "Tabi no kyokuhoku," "Mori no Hito," "A Tribute to N.J.P" and "Tibetan Dance (Version)", to be replaced by two non-album singles from 1985, "Stepping Into Asia" and "Field Work."

This is the very first time that the two 1984 Japanese editions of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic album have been released internationally in collaboration with the artist's management and Midi Inc., with remastered audio and the original artwork faithfully reproduced, paying tribute to one of contemporary music's undisputed geniuses.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic LP "Ongaku Zukan", originally issued in Japan on his own School label in 1984.

The reissue will replicate the original Japanese release which offered two versions: a normal edition featuring the LP with a bonus 2-track 7" EP (WWSLP71), and a limited edition which includes a 3-track 12" EP in place of the 7" (WWSLP72)

Remastered by Saidera Mastering in Tokyo the reissue boasts the original gatefold artwork plus an extra 2-page insert with new liner notes by Andy Beta



The early '80s were a turning point for Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto. As a solo artist, the smash hit soundtrack he had composed for 1983's "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" (a film in which he had also acted), had put him on the verge of becoming a global superstar. Meanwhile he had called a halt to his work with Yellow Magic Orchestra; the influential, globally successful pop trio calling it quits after the release of their 1983 album "Naughty Boys".

Against this backdrop, Sakamoto descended on Tokyo's Onkyo Haus Studio to record his fourth solo album, "Ongaku Zukan" ("Musical Encyclopedia") accompanied by a handful of musicians including his ex-YMO partners Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, and the prolifically talented Yasuaki Shimizu, Tatsuro Yamashita and Toshinori Kondo. Sakamoto began with no particular plan in mind, recording 30 basic tracks over the best part of 1983. It was on his return to the studio the following year that the album truly began to take shape. Accompanied by a newly acquired Fairlight CMI sampler, the musician made extensive use of the revolutionary equipment to create a wide palette of sound textures which he added to the tracks, a creatively fertile process that was captured on film for the French documentary "Tokyo Melody, A Film about Ryuichi Sakamoto".)

Released in August 1984 the album "Ongaku Zukan" proved a huge success, providing Sakamoto with his first top 5 hit in Japan. Filled with inspired melodies that showcase his unique gift as a composer, it offers up a fascinating mix of styles. Asiatic electro pop nuggets ("Tibetan Dance") share space with futuristic ambient pieces ("Hane no Hayashi de"), and brilliantly creative fusions of jazz, funk, techno and reggae ("Etude" and "Tabi no Kyokuhoki.")

Two simultaneous editions of the album were released in Japan: the regular one featuring a bonus 7" EP with two extra tracks: "Replica" and "Ma Mère l'Oye" while a limited edition added a 12" EP (in lieu of the 7") which included a third track, "Tibetan Dance (Version)." An international version was released two years later in 1986 by 10 Records/Virgin under the title "Illustrated Musical Encyclopedia," but with a very different track list. Five tracks from "Ongaku Zukan" were dropped, namely "Self Portrait," "Tabi no kyokuhoku," "Mori no Hito," "A Tribute to N.J.P" and "Tibetan Dance (Version)", to be replaced by two non-album singles from 1985, "Stepping Into Asia" and "Field Work."

This is the very first time that the two 1984 Japanese editions of Ryuichi Sakamoto's classic album have been released internationally in collaboration with the artist's management and Midi Inc., with remastered audio and the original artwork faithfully reproduced, paying tribute to one of contemporary music's undisputed geniuses.

LiV Warfield's live show has been described as "like watching Tina Turner,
Sade and James Brown all in one"
Throw in Mary J. Blige, Etta James and Nina Simone and you're getting closer to
an accurate description of singer-songwriter and dynamic performer LiV Warfield.
A Soul Train Music Award winner and former member of Prince's New Power
Generation, Warfield showcases her wide-ranging musical tastes on The Edge.
From the rock- tinged title track, which bears the stamp of her mentor, to her
autobiographical "Bloom" and her take on the Phil Collins' power ballad, "Another
Day in Paradise," LiV inhabits a myriad of attitudes while expressing her inner
strength and soul on her third album overall and first for Leopard.

Limited remastered reissue of Paradise! the one and only release by Deep Invention Orchestra (Alex Neri, Marco Baroni) released on small Italy based label Adriatric Club in 1992.
Here's a fresh reissue of a dream house-era, this edition includes the previously unreleased ""Original Paradise Version"" -
This is something of a deep house heaven via a sublime ambient seawaves intro. Meanwhile on the flip we found two songs more underground club focused like "Paradise Dub Mix" and "Deep Jungle Mix" that despite their titles are completely different from the original songs and add more value to this EP.

'Imagination Is A Weapon' lautet der Slogan des neuen GUNSHIP Albums. Diese Aussage fasst das Kernthema ihrer dritten Platte zusammen. GUNSHIP lädt seine Zuhörer ein, die Macht der Vorstellungskraft zu feiern und sich auf die Suche nach dem Einhorn in ihrem eigenen Leben zu begeben. Taucht schwelgend ein in die Fantasie – findet Euer Einhorn. Die entschlossenen Träumer werden die Welt verändern, wenn ihre Visionen in die Realität umgesetzt werden. Mit ihrem dritten Album UNICORN sprengen GUNSHIP weiterhin die Grenzen des Synthwave-Genres. Zu den besonderen Gästen zählen: John Carpenter, Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Carpenter Brut, Timmy Cappello (Lost Boys), Health, Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians Of The Galaxy), Lights, Power Glove, Charlie Simpson, Britta Phillips (Jem) und Milkie Way (Wargasm).

'Imagination Is A Weapon' lautet der Slogan des neuen GUNSHIP Albums. Diese Aussage fasst das Kernthema ihrer dritten Platte zusammen. GUNSHIP lädt seine Zuhörer ein, die Macht der Vorstellungskraft zu feiern und sich auf die Suche nach dem Einhorn in ihrem eigenen Leben zu begeben. Taucht schwelgend ein in die Fantasie – findet Euer Einhorn. Die entschlossenen Träumer werden die Welt verändern, wenn ihre Visionen in die Realität umgesetzt werden. Mit ihrem dritten Album UNICORN sprengen GUNSHIP weiterhin die Grenzen des Synthwave-Genres. Zu den besonderen Gästen zählen: John Carpenter, Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Carpenter Brut, Timmy Cappello (Lost Boys), Health, Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians Of The Galaxy), Lights, Power Glove, Charlie Simpson, Britta Phillips (Jem) und Milkie Way (Wargasm).

'Imagination Is A Weapon' lautet der Slogan des neuen GUNSHIP Albums. Diese Aussage fasst das Kernthema ihrer dritten Platte zusammen. GUNSHIP lädt seine Zuhörer ein, die Macht der Vorstellungskraft zu feiern und sich auf die Suche nach dem Einhorn in ihrem eigenen Leben zu begeben. Taucht schwelgend ein in die Fantasie – findet Euer Einhorn. Die entschlossenen Träumer werden die Welt verändern, wenn ihre Visionen in die Realität umgesetzt werden. Mit ihrem dritten Album UNICORN sprengen GUNSHIP weiterhin die Grenzen des Synthwave-Genres. Zu den besonderen Gästen zählen: John Carpenter, Gavin Rossdale (Bush), Dave Lombardo (Slayer), Carpenter Brut, Timmy Cappello (Lost Boys), Health, Tyler Bates (John Wick, Guardians Of The Galaxy), Lights, Power Glove, Charlie Simpson, Britta Phillips (Jem) und Milkie Way (Wargasm).

Ein weiterer außergewöhnlicher Release in der hochgelobten WaJazz-Reihe ist dem Leben und der Musik eines der berühmtesten japanischen Jazzmusiker der letzten 60+ Jahre gewidmet, dem legendären Saxophonisten Jiro Inagaki mit seiner Soul Media-Band und ihrer goldenen Ära 1968-1980. Diese ultimative Kollektion erscheint auf goldfarbigem 180g Doppelvinyl im Gatefold mit detaillierten Linernotes von Yusuke Ogawa (Universounds), Kommentaren von Jiro und exklusiven Fotos. 16 mal pures Gold aus Jazz, Jazz-Funk und Jazz-Rock, darunter eine unveröffentlichte Version des Tracks 'Express' – erstmals auf Vinyl!

OPUS („Live is Life“) haben zwar ihr Karriereende bekanntgegeben, aber Schluss ist deshalb doch noch nicht.

Die Band – ohne Sänger – hat sich nämlich nun mit den Schick Sisters, die ebenfalls aus der Steiermark kommen, zusammengetan und veröffentlichen gemeinsam das Album „We Are One“ auf CD und als limitierte (300 only!) LP.

Geplant war zwar nur ein Song, doch die gemeinsame Arbeit im Studio hat sich für alle Beteiligten als derart fruchtbar herausgestellt, dass die Entscheidung ein Album aufzunehmen gar nicht getroffen werden musste.

Neben orchestrierten Stücken, darunter ein Song zum Weltfrauentag ‚We Are‘ (mit Arrangement von Christian Kolonovits), gibt es auch eine Gast-Performance von Opus Sänger Herwig Rüdisser. Das Artwork basiert auf der ‚Paradiso ‘ Werk-Trilogie des österreichischen Ausnahme-Malers Ernst Fuchs.

Im Februar 1994 veröffentlichten Green Day ihr hochgelobtes drittes Studioalbum, "Dookie". Als erstes Major-Label-Album der Band ist "Dookie" eines der einflussreichsten und prägendsten Alben der 1990er Jahre und verkaufte sich weltweit über 15 Millionen Mal, davon 10 Millionen Mal (RIAA Diamond zertifiziert) in den USA.

Das Album enthält fünf Hit-Singles: "Longview", "Basket Case", "Welcome to Paradise", "When I Come Around", und "She".

Am 29. September 2023 wird Warner Records zur Feier des 30-jährigen Jubiläums des Albums Limited Edition Super Deluxe Box Sets in Vinyl, CD und digitalen Formaten veröffentlichen. Die Sets enthalten unveröffentlichte Demos, Outtakes und unveröffentlichtes
Live-Material. Der Woodstock '94-Auftritt der Band - der erst 2019 als Record Store Day-Veröffentlichung erhältlich war - ist ebenfalls enthalten.

Limited BioVinyl 2023 repress, which provides an ecological alternative to the conventional vinyl record with strictly no sound or visual compromises.
“We all dance away our lives to the tune of the sovereign pleasure-pain axis.” – David Pearce, The Hedonistic Imperative

Pleasure-seeking and pain-avoidance as a rave metaphor fits the music of Sam Barker. The Berghain resident and Leisure System co-founder has spent the last few years exploring the euphoric potential of altering key variables in dance music formulas.

This was especially true on his 2018 Ostgut Ton debut EP Debiasing, which was flush with unconventional rhythmic chord stabs, melody and percussion but devoid of kickdrums. What seemed like an experimental exercise on paper was in reality equally geared towards the club: tracks that worked for the floor but resisted the genre categorizations that kick drums often provide. This has come to define Barker’s sound.

Now, on his debut solo LP Utility, Barker turns his focus toward melding experimentation and dancefloor pragmatism with the psychology behind the musical decision making process. In his own words: “After ‘Debiasing’ it occurred to me that my musical decisions were often unintentionally utilitarian, following an instinct to maximize pleasure in one way or another. It’s sort of unfashionable to admit, but by removing elements that have strong genre associations, this became a natural consequence.”

Accordingly, Utility is a playful but non-ironic musical approach to a whole spectrum of utilitarian and transhumanist ideas: from models for quantifying pleasure and “gradients of bliss” to abolishing suffering for sentient beings (not just people) through the ethical use of drugs and nanotechnology. Over nine tracks, Barker’s vision ebbs and flows through waves of deeply psychedelic musical vignettes; free-floating and futuristic melodies and rhythms as targeted brain stimulation. The sound draws heavily on modular synthesis, as well as self-built mechanical instruments and plate reverbs to create atmospheres that are at once alien and emotionally recognizable, functional and utopian.

Utility is by no means a concept album. Instead, it is an honest take on music as both pleasuremaximizer and consciousness-expander.

“We all dance away our lives to the tune of the sovereign pleasure-pain axis.” – David Pearce, The Hedonistic Imperative

Vergnügungssucht und Schmerzvermeidung als Rave-Metapher – das passt zur Musik von Sam Barker. Der Berghain-Resident und Leisure System-Mitbetreiber hat im Laufe der Jahre das euphorische Potenzial der Veränderung von Variablen in der Dancefloorschablonisierung erkundet.

Das traf besonders auf sein Ostgut Ton-EP-Debüt Debiasing zu, das nur so sprudelte vor unkonventionellen rhythmischen Akkordfolgen, Melodien und Percussion – die Kickdrum aber wegließ. Was auf dem Papier wie eine experimentelle Übung wirkte, war tatsächlich gleichermaßen für den Klub gemacht: Stücke, die auf dem Dancefloor funktionieren, sich dem oft vorgegebenen Kickdrumdiktat und damit einhergehender Genrekategorisierung aber verweigerten. So hat sich Barkers Klang definiert.

Auf seinem Solodebütalbum Utility widmet Barker seine Aufmerksamkeit nun aber der Verschmelzung von Experiment und Dancefloorpragmatismus mit der Psychologie hinter dem musikalischen Entscheidungsfindungsprozess. In seinen eigenen Worten: „Nach Debiasing kam mir in den Sinn, dass meine musikalischen Entscheidungen oft unbeabsichtigt utilitaristisch sind, einem Instinkt folgen, Glück auf die eine oder andere Art zu maximalisieren. Das einzugestehen ist recht unmodisch. Aber durch die Auslassung von Elementen mit starken Genreassoziationen, wurde dies eine recht natürliche Konsequenz.“

Dementsprechend ist Utility eine spielerisch-neckische aber unironische musikalische Betrachtungsweise eines ganzen Spektrums utilitaristisch und transhumanistischer Konzepte: Von Modellen zur Quantifizierung von Wohlergehen und Verläufen von Glückseligkeit („Gradients of Bliss“) zur Abschaffung von Leid für fühlende Wesen (meint: nicht nur den Mensch) über die ethische Nutzung von Drogen und Nanotechnologie. Im Laufe von neun Stücken ebbt und schwillt Barkers Vision durch Wogen zutiefst psychedelischer Musikvignetten; freifließende und futuristische Melodien und Rhythmen als gezielte Hirnstimulation. Der Klang gründet stark auf modularer Synthese, ebenso wie selbstgebaute mechnische Klangerzeuger, Instrumente und Plate Reverbs Atmosphären schaffen, die gleichermaßen fremdartig als auch emotional vertraut wirken, funktional und utopisch.

Utility ist keinesfalls ein Konzeptalbum. Vielmehr ist es eine aufrechte Auseinandersetzung mit Musik als Freudenmaximierung und Bewusstseinserweiterung.

wAFF makes a triumphant return to Hot Creations after a seven-year hiatus with his three-track, groove-driven ‘Slapfunk EP’.

Since his first outing back in 2012, wAFF has been an integral part of the Hot Creations family, remixing various releases and dropping a total of four EPs - the last being ‘Sick Pleasure’ in 2016, which still stands today as a highlight in the label’s extensive catalogue. Marking a long-awaited return to Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ beloved imprint after seven years, with material via renowned labels such as Solid Grooves, Cocoon, Desolat and his very own NATURE imprint over that period further establishing him as a leading name, he arrives fresh from his third Paradise show of the season ready to ignite dancefloors with a trio of irresistible beats on ‘Slapfunk’.

Title track ‘Slapfunk’ opens the release with shifting stabs, warping bass patterns and fizzing lead synths, steadily progressing into a menacing club-focused workout. Continuing his signature style, ‘Questions’ showcases a blend of pulsating beats synchronised with a warped vocal topline that enhances the allure. Finally, ‘Next Game’ delivers a punchy trip loaded with subtle minimal-leaning influences, combining chopped vocal snippets with slick, stripped-back percussion.

After already having taken forward-thinking extreme music to unprecedented heights over the course of their short but propulsive career, Richmond's INTER ARMA are back with another opus of epic proportions. Like the band's previous works, the new album Paradise Gallows is direct and foreboding while maintaining a nuanced, artful perspective. INTER ARMA's signature palette of dissonant high-end and abyssal low-end has been augmented with swathes of thick, impressionistic melody that lend Paradise Gallows a truly biblical sense of scale, both lyrically and in terms of the album's sonic content. Harsh and acoustic passages (including the band's first-ever foray into clean vocals) spar with complex rhythmic structures across nine sweeping tracks over 71 minutes of expansive, progressive heaviness. Dense, funereal, and richly evocative, Paradise Gallows is a vibrant blend of doom, post-metal, sludge, avant-garde, black and death metal, and is a singular and powerful new addition to the band's already monumental discography. Includes Digital Download

Eddie Money’s self-titled debut album, released in 1977, was an immediate commercial success and an amazing start to the singer’s career. The album’s singles “Baby Hold On” and “Two Tickets To Paradise” both reached the top of the Billboard charts. It was produced by Bruce Botnick, who is best known for his work on the legendary album L.A. Woman by The Doors.

Ultimately, the album sold 2 million copies in the US alone, and Eddie Money became an established figure in the rock music scene of the late 1970s and 1980s.

Eddie Money is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on pink coloured vinyl.

Richmond's INTER ARMA, reigning masters of the slow build, continue to trace a distinctly ambitious trajectory through modern metal. Their impulses tend toward the epic, but never bloat; they meld several styles — doom, sludge, and hard psych — without coming off like dilettantes. This newest full-length, Sulphur English, finds them mining deeper in the proggy organic doom fields that made both Paradise Gallows and Sky Burial so thrilling while expanding further the on the psych-folk strain that made those albums' peaks seem so lofty. Few metal bands have ever made such effective use of acoustic instruments in truly heavy environments as INTER ARMA do; the acoustic guitar that stitches "Stillness" together is as effective as any overdriven bass; a two-minute gloomy piano-and-feedback piece titled "Observances of the Path" rolls out the carpet for "The Atavist's Meridian," an album highlight that rides a gigantic, roomy drum sound into realms akin to a murkier Paradise Lost, a more aggressive Om, and a dreamier, more stoned Kylesa all playing together at once. Few bands make music as engrossing as INTER ARMA; their lengthy, almost meditative songs rumble patiently forward until you're ready to get thrown off a bridge — and then they throw you, with great force. - Words by John Darnielle

Now in its eleventh year and following hype for recent releases from Osaka's Kiji Suedo (Hosek EP & Riot album) and Edinburgh's George T (Roll On, King's Cross single), Edinburgh's Hobbes Music label burrows deeper into experimental ambient terrain with brand new signing Galun. With a discography over 15 years deep, Galun brings no shortage of his own props.

Galun is the solo project of Moscow musician, artist, and producer Sergei Galunenko (currently based in Tallinn), who has performed at numerous prestigious Russian events and collaborated on projects internationally in a career spanning more than 15 years, with a discography to match, turning his attention to myriad styles: IDM, funk, techno, juke, post rock, beatboxing, free improvisation, drone.

“In my project, Galun, I do not use musical instruments,” he explains. “All the sounds are produced with only the use of my voice through beatbox and special vocal skills. Some effects are used to produce electronic sounds.”

Hot on the heels of the new Golos album (out now via Berlin's One Instrument) plus a remix for US collaborator Alek Finn via Nevada's Mystery Circles label, Galunenko’s eighth studio album, Glagol (or Glagolь / Глаголь in Russian) is an ambient collection, recorded between 2013 and 2022. The title is an old Russian word which translates as ‘Speak’.

"This album consists of tracks written in different periods, so it turned out to be diverse," he says. "There are classic ambient tracks, as well as experimental ones in search of new possibilities for voice processing."

Why "glagol"? “Since the music on this album is 90 percent processed voice, it's a form of conversation for me," he reveals, “where I talk about my thoughts and mood, so speak music, while using my voice, is an amazing way of expressing.”

Five singles will be released on streaming platforms only, at intervals, over summer, with the full album released on digital 25.8.23 and a limited edition cassette plus lathe cuts out from 8.9.23.

"How gorgeous is that?! I have heard the rest of the LP and it is all equally gorgeous" DEB GRANT played ‘Mirror’ (New Music Fix show, BBC 6 Music, 17.8.23)

"'Glagol' translates as 'speak', an apt title when you consider 90 percent of the noises contained on it originated as recordings of his own voice, and that lends the ambient experiments here a very human, tactile feel. Closing tune 'Mirror' is a serene masterpiece, '1981' is an evocative phase-fest, the stuttery 'Stone' is endearing and enrapturing and Galunenko generally displays a knack for communicating clear emotions through abstract sounds. Recommended." ELECTRONIC SOUND
‘Really beautiful’ AVALON EMERSON (US)
‘Really loving the Galun tracks!’ INTERGALACTIC GARY (NL)

‘Super!’ JD TWITCH (Optimo, UK)
'Wow, this sounds amazing. Loving the atmosphere here, ambient with some groove somehow, really feeling this one.' DAN CURTIN (US/DE)

"Sounds great. Looking forward to getting into this properly" LORD OF THE ISLES

‘Wicked. It’s great stuff’ DRIBBLER (Pikes, Ibiza // Paradise Lost, Red Light Radio, Pure; SP)
‘Very nice, will play on Cashmere Radio here in Berlin. Keep up the good musical works x ALEX VOICES (DE)
‘Sounds really nice. The sort of thing I’d absolutely listen to on streaming etc’ AUSTIN ATO (UK)
‘Excellent stuff as always’ PAT BENSBERG (The Eccentric Selection, Phonic FM, UK)
‘Digging this one! Right up my street and just the ticket for my Radio Buena Vida show’ TOM CHURCHILL (UK)

A tidal wave of Minny-beat surf and garage from all incarnations of the carnivorous Vaqueros! Like Twin City neapolitan ice cream, surf instros, Linda Anderson vocal surf-rock cuts, and John Grizzard's grizzly garage cuts add three splendid flavors all in one sonic carton!

Billy Talent returns with Live at Festhalle Frankfurt, their first live album since 2007’s 666. The new album, produced by Juno Award nominee for Producer of the Year Ian D’sa and mixed by Juno Award winner Eric Ratz, sees the band perform 21 career spanning hits and was recorded this past November at the iconic German venue in front of a sold-out crowd. The 21-track set is slated for release digitally and on double disc CD on June 16, 2023 – with a vinyl pre order available now. The vinyl release is expected to ship to fans in late September. Following the release of Live at Festhalle Frankfurt, Billy Talent will drop several live videos from the show, culminating in a full-length concert film, directed by Dennis Dirksen that will premiere later this fall.

Beyond Paradise returns with a sumptuous slice of tripped out business from the mind of Richard Hardcastle aka Solid State, complete with two stunning remixes from Richard Sen and The Veteran Delinquents.

Over 35 years in the game, as a club DJ, radio presenter and producer since the late ‘80s, Richard Hardcastle is a true veteran of the scene and certainly knows a thing or two about what works on the dancefloor. ‘Seven More Minutes Of Funk’ delves into the psychedelic side of his production with a club-ready cosmic stomper complete with twisted guitars, hypnotic synths and wall shaking bassline.

‘Rhodes To Nowhere’ is more beachside than basement, a funked up retro electro cut with dazzling keys, ‘80s snares and a serious shot of feel-good flare.

On the flip, the title track gets the remix treatment from Richard Sen and The Veteran Delinquents, the former warping the original into an EBM powerhouse whilst the later turns into an end of the night, electro-infused chugger.

'Etienne Daho's new album, “Tirer la nuit sur les étoiles” is one of the great pop successes of the year in France. The song which gives its name to the album is a sensual duet with Vanessa Paradis, inspired by legends of the 50s in Hollywood: Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra, who celebrated their passion by shooting a revolver on the stars in the Californian desert... This new 7inch 45 rpm vinyl, in blue vinyl, is strictly limited edition. On the A side, the original version of "Tire la nuit sur les étoiles" and on the B side, the remix of the title by Yan Wagner. Reviews and Ads – London Macadam, Le Petit Journal

Weaponize your DJ record bag again with fresh ammo from the Greek studio machine, Aggelos Baltas does it again with another volume of remixes to the Sound Metaphors re-issue catalogues, an invigorating contemporary club touch to a wide range of dance floor material that was originally produced in the early 90s and late 80s. A new patina layer formed by the aging acid baths and chemical reactions of the experienced studio magician. Aggelos' signature atmospheric grandiosity and big room sound once again delivered with precision and high efficiency for the caring modern dancefloor. Can't go wrong.

Le Magnifique is a cult film. Many a viewer has memorized the lines of this character, whose role was tailor-made for Jean-Paul Belmondo. In the year of our Lord 1973, Belmondo reunited with director Philippe de Broca, a pair who, decades before the Jean Dujardin version of OSS 117, were unknowingly making meta cinema. The film's soundtrack, by Claude Bolling, successfully navigates between the first and second degree, without ever sinking into the clumsiness of "fantasy music". For the record, Claude Bolling is none other than the chief composer of the all-female group Les Parisiennes and of some 100 film scores, including Borsalino, which is certainly the best-known. Above all, he is a genius of French jazz, whose talent makes his music sound relaxed and familiar, even when you're listening to it for the first Tme. From the very first track on the album, "TaQana", postcard images of Mexico spring to mind. Claude Bolling plays with the codes of film music without ever losing a certain communicaTve jubilaTon. With the soundtrack to Le Magnifique, Claude Bolling equals the Anglo-Saxon masters of the easy-jazz pop genre, such as Henri Mancini. Fans of jerks to dance to at the ambassador's parTes will be delighted by the composiTon "Pop Mod". Even today, those who invented the term "lounge core" would go out of their way to own an original Claude Bolling vinyl. Thanks to Claude Bolling and his original French Touch, before thedays of Dimitri From Paris and Bob Sinclar who, if they hadn't been able to take advantage of this musical and cinema to graphic heritage, wouldn't have had anything to sample.

2023 REPRESS

This is just the sort of jam that Best Records Italy love. Asso originally released his slick cover of ''Do It Again'' by Steely Dan back in 1983, and it's a faithful version that simply injects a little disco magic into the impeccably composed bones of the track. It received plenty of play back in the day, and it's highly worthy of its own side of wax now. Meanwhile on the flip, ''Don't Stop'' is an even more essential a slab of club heat, tapping into the heady atmosphere of the Paradise Garage at the time that disco merged with boogie.

In 1972, left-wing intellectual film critic Uwe Nettelbeck suggested to Anthony Moore that he might write some straight songs (relatively speaking), which in turn prompted Moore to invite his old schoolfriend Peter Blegvad over to Hamburg to form the band Slapp Happy.

Dagmar Krause, a young singer from Hamburg and Moore‘s girlfriend, joined them both on their trip to Wümme to record what was to become this album, Sort of, using Faust as their rhythm section. In honour of this album ́s 50th anniversary the album will get a nicely remastered reissue with the newly founded Week–End Records –the fetsival‘s inhouse label who managed to get the band together for a final reunion shows in November of 2016 and Spring of 2017.

BOTANICA is the newly established Japanese label created by DJ/ Producer, Iori Wakasa. It was formed for him to utilize it as a foundation for the realization of his own unique, artistic expression.
And now, he has the pleasure to announce his label’s inaugural title with the release of his own BOTANICA EP.

Born in 1988 in a rural Japanese city surrounded by mountains and the sea with a mild climate, Iori grew up playing RPGs with a father who was a devoted game aficionado. And he was introduced to electronic music through game music from an early age and formed his musical sensibilities through playing the classical piano around the same time.

Influenced by the spirituality and idiosyncrasies of punk rock and ethnic and indigenous music in his youth, also gradually influenced by the Tokyo club scene and the music, it didn't take him long before
he made the choice to start DJing at the age of 17 and soon afterwards, started exploring the path of music production as a form of self-expression.

Iori set up Botanica to convey 2 main concepts of 'presenting music that provides each listener with their own viewpoint' and ‘to construct a fusion between 'nature' and 'man-made objects and human
activity’. Through the experience of traveling around Japan, Europe and Asia and connecting with people of different languages and cultures, he became to appreciate that music transcends all languages and grooves, and the framework in which he would like to shape his perspective and embody it as his way of life is what he envisions as the vital expression for BOTANICA, The two tracks and the artwork included in this first EP are the first steps towards hopefully chronicling the story of the vortex that he resides in now and the new forest that he plans to weave in the future with his label.

'The Pure Land' means in Japanese 'Gokuraku-Jodo (= a space where you can live in bliss)', but in English it is closer to 'utopia' or 'paradise'. However, 'The Pure Land' is a musical work that evokes a
hypnotic and pleasant euphoria through the gradual layering of multiple rhythms and soft particles of spatial sound design. It is also shaped with the aim of liberating the listener and guiding them towards their primal self.

In contrast, 'Lunar Down' expresses the changes that occur in the human state of mind during the extended period from moonrise to moonset especially when the moon sets from its zenith and is completed with a focus on maximum dance floor impact via an inner voice that resonates in the brain that echoes throughout a well-textured bass line and rhythm track.

The artwork for the front cover of this EP was created by SHINOZAKI HILOSHI, an illustrator who has been traveling and painting to express his true way of life that he learnt in the 10+ years of commuting between Tokyo (the end) and the Hawaii Islands (the beginning), and the graphic designer hiro, who stands by Iori`s side as his life partner and as the person who understands him the best. Iori`s first steps are complemented by the label design and art direction by graphic designer hiro, who stands by his side as his life partner and most understanding partner, and the proof is the physical cut, which is presented as the foundation for the future.

Das neue Album "The Sound of Movies" von Klassik-Superstar Jonas Kaufmann erscheint am 15. September 2023 bei Sony Classical. Großartige Songs aus klassischen Filmen waren schon immer eine Leidenschaft von Jonas Kaufmann, und sein neues Album feiert dies mit unvergesslichen Filmsongs aus fast einem Jahrhundert - Musik, die weltweit das Publikum begeistert hat."The Sound of Movies" enthält Hits aus großen Filmklassikern wie West Side Story, Gladiator, Cinema Paradiso, The Sound of Music, Les Misérables, The Mission, The Great Caruso, Singin' in the Rain, Once upon a Time in America, Breakfast at Tiffany's und vielen mehr! Das Album wurde mit dem auf Filmmusik spezialisierten Czech National Symphony Orchester und Chor unter der Leitung von Jochen Rieder aufgenommen, ein spekatuläres Sounderlebnis ist garantiert. Bei drei Titeln wird Jonas Kaufmann vom bekannten Gitarristen Miloš Karadaglić begleitet. Auch eine Weltpremiere ist auf dem Album zu hören, das Thema aus dem Film "The Cider House Rules" der Oscar®-gekrönten Komponistin Rachel Portman. "Für ein paar Stunden in diese Welt einzutauchen und alles um sich herum zu vergessen, ist unglaublich faszinierend - ähnlich wie im Theater oder in der Oper", sagt Kaufmann über klassische Filmmusik. "Ich bin über viele Jahre viel gereist, oft allein für Wochen und Monate in fremden Städten am anderen Ende der Welt. Neben den Museen war es das Kino - diese großartige Möglichkeit, sich zu unterhalten, wenn man allein ist - das meine Fantasie beflügelte.""The Sound of Movies" erscheint als CD, Vinyl und digital.Die limitierte 2-LP-Gatefold-Edition auf 180 Gramm Vinyl enthält eine persönliche Einführung von Jonas Kaufmann und ein ausführliches Booklet.Das Standard-Jewelcase enthält eine persönliche Einführung von Jonas Kaufmann und ein ausführliches Booklet in Englisch, Deutsch und Französisch.

"Mid Air" ist ein Album über das Feiern, die Zuflucht und die Erlösung auf der Tanzfläche. Es ist ein Album, das sich mit Liebe, Trauer, Beziehungen, Identität und Sexualität beschäftigt. Es ist Romys Liebesbrief an die queeren Clubs, in denen sie Gemeinschaft und Anschluss gefunden hat. Die Entstehung des Albums, ihres ersten Soloprojekts, war ein Prozess, bei dem sie sich selbst außerhalb von The xx kennengelernt hat und in dem sie auch noch die Zeit hatte, sich zu verlieben. Es gibt einen Moment, ein Zwischenspiel, ein paar Tracks in "Mid Air", als Romys Stimme leise den Text "it hit me in mid air" singt. Diese Erkenntnis führt uns direkt in den Song "Enjoy Your Life", die zweite Single des Albums, die wie eine Offenbarung klingt. "Meine Mutter sagte zu mir "genieße dein Leben"", singt Musiker Beverly Glenn-Copeland im Refrain - ein Sample aus seiner Platte "La Vita". Als Romy den Satz zum ersten Mal hörte, hat er sie umgehauen - eine Erinnerung in den Tiefen der Trauer, dass das Leben kurz ist und man es in vollen Zügen genießen sollte. Freude, Verbundenheit, Liebe zu suchen. Während die Strophen die härteste Zeit nach dem Verlust ihrer Eltern zum Ausdruck bringen, ist der Refrain eine Art feierliche Ruhe. Schmerz und Freude tanzen zusammen. Die Art von Liedern, die Romy am liebsten mag - das, was sie "emotionale Musik zum Tanzen" nennt - Lieder wie "Smalltown Boy" von Bronski Beat oder "Dancing On My Own" von Robyn. Das ist die Art von Musik, die "Mid Air" inspiriert hat, die Art von Musik, die Menschen in Clubs zusammenbringt, insbesondere in queeren Clubs. Romy begann als Teenager in Londoner Queer-Clubs aufzulegen und sieht "Mid Air" als eine Rückkehr in diese Zeit, ein Pop-Dance-Album, das die Orte beschwört, an denen sie sich zum ersten Mal in das Genre und seine Kraft, Menschen zu bewegen, verliebt hat. Die Tatsache, dass das Album größtenteils unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit entstand, als Romy die Clubs vermisste, machte diesen Impuls, ein Album zu schaffen, das in einem Club ein Zuhause finden könnte, umso wichtiger. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Fred Again.. und Stuart Price (der eines von Romys Lieblingsalben, Madonnas "Confessions on a Dancefloor", produziert hat) sowie mit Jamie xx, einem ganz engen Freund, Mitglied von The xx und Kollaborateur des Tracks "Enjoy Your Life", sorgte für die perfekte Balance zwischen Emotion und Tanzbarkeit. Auch wenn Romy nicht damit gerechnet hätte, dass ein solches Album jemals zustande kommen würde, als sie 2018 begann, mit Fred zu schreiben "Mid Air" führt uns durch die Höhen und Tiefen - einer Nacht, einer Beziehung, von Trauer und Heilung - und endet schließlich an einem Ort des Optimismus. Der letzte Track "She"s on My Mind" ist eine bewusste Anspielung auf den Disco-Song, der am Ende der Nacht in angesagten Queer-Clubs wie der Paradise Garage gespielt wurde und bei dem die getrennt tanzenden Körper zueinander fanden. Es ist das Ende eines Albums, das die besonderen, aber flüchtigen Momente der Ekstase feiert, die man nur in der Tanzmusik finden kann. Oder wie Romy es ausdrückt: "Das Gefühl der Gemeinschaft in den Clubs ermöglicht eine Flucht vor der Realität der Welt. Ich bin vielleicht nicht das Leben und die Seele einer Party, aber in der Atmosphäre eines Clubs zu sein, zu beobachten und sich zu verbinden - dadurch fühle ich mich weniger allein und lebendiger"

"Mid Air" ist ein Album über das Feiern, die Zuflucht und die Erlösung auf der Tanzfläche. Es ist ein Album, das sich mit Liebe, Trauer, Beziehungen, Identität und Sexualität beschäftigt. Es ist Romys Liebesbrief an die queeren Clubs, in denen sie Gemeinschaft und Anschluss gefunden hat. Die Entstehung des Albums, ihres ersten Soloprojekts, war ein Prozess, bei dem sie sich selbst außerhalb von The xx kennengelernt hat und in dem sie auch noch die Zeit hatte, sich zu verlieben. Es gibt einen Moment, ein Zwischenspiel, ein paar Tracks in "Mid Air", als Romys Stimme leise den Text "it hit me in mid air" singt. Diese Erkenntnis führt uns direkt in den Song "Enjoy Your Life", die zweite Single des Albums, die wie eine Offenbarung klingt. "Meine Mutter sagte zu mir "genieße dein Leben"", singt Musiker Beverly Glenn-Copeland im Refrain - ein Sample aus seiner Platte "La Vita". Als Romy den Satz zum ersten Mal hörte, hat er sie umgehauen - eine Erinnerung in den Tiefen der Trauer, dass das Leben kurz ist und man es in vollen Zügen genießen sollte. Freude, Verbundenheit, Liebe zu suchen. Während die Strophen die härteste Zeit nach dem Verlust ihrer Eltern zum Ausdruck bringen, ist der Refrain eine Art feierliche Ruhe. Schmerz und Freude tanzen zusammen. Die Art von Liedern, die Romy am liebsten mag - das, was sie "emotionale Musik zum Tanzen" nennt - Lieder wie "Smalltown Boy" von Bronski Beat oder "Dancing On My Own" von Robyn. Das ist die Art von Musik, die "Mid Air" inspiriert hat, die Art von Musik, die Menschen in Clubs zusammenbringt, insbesondere in queeren Clubs. Romy begann als Teenager in Londoner Queer-Clubs aufzulegen und sieht "Mid Air" als eine Rückkehr in diese Zeit, ein Pop-Dance-Album, das die Orte beschwört, an denen sie sich zum ersten Mal in das Genre und seine Kraft, Menschen zu bewegen, verliebt hat. Die Tatsache, dass das Album größtenteils unter Ausschluss der Öffentlichkeit entstand, als Romy die Clubs vermisste, machte diesen Impuls, ein Album zu schaffen, das in einem Club ein Zuhause finden könnte, umso wichtiger. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Fred Again.. und Stuart Price (der eines von Romys Lieblingsalben, Madonnas "Confessions on a Dancefloor", produziert hat) sowie mit Jamie xx, einem ganz engen Freund, Mitglied von The xx und Kollaborateur des Tracks "Enjoy Your Life", sorgte für die perfekte Balance zwischen Emotion und Tanzbarkeit. Auch wenn Romy nicht damit gerechnet hätte, dass ein solches Album jemals zustande kommen würde, als sie 2018 begann, mit Fred zu schreiben "Mid Air" führt uns durch die Höhen und Tiefen - einer Nacht, einer Beziehung, von Trauer und Heilung - und endet schließlich an einem Ort des Optimismus. Der letzte Track "She"s on My Mind" ist eine bewusste Anspielung auf den Disco-Song, der am Ende der Nacht in angesagten Queer-Clubs wie der Paradise Garage gespielt wurde und bei dem die getrennt tanzenden Körper zueinander fanden. Es ist das Ende eines Albums, das die besonderen, aber flüchtigen Momente der Ekstase feiert, die man nur in der Tanzmusik finden kann. Oder wie Romy es ausdrückt: "Das Gefühl der Gemeinschaft in den Clubs ermöglicht eine Flucht vor der Realität der Welt. Ich bin vielleicht nicht das Leben und die Seele einer Party, aber in der Atmosphäre eines Clubs zu sein, zu beobachten und sich zu verbinden - dadurch fühle ich mich weniger allein und lebendiger"

2LP, erstmals auf Vinyl

Das achte Album der amerikanischen Singer-Songwriterin und das erste Album bei Epic Records wurde 2002 veröffentlicht. Es erzählt von der imaginären Reise Scarlets durch die USA.

Indies Only LP is opaque green vinyl. Both LPs come with a download. The moment the needle drops on Bite, the new A Giant Dog record, one’s conception of what an A Giant Dog record sounds like bends like space and time around a starship running at lightspeed. The biggest point of departure is that Bite is a concept album, concerning characters who find themselves moving in and out of a virtual reality called Avalonia. A Giant Dog’s first album of original songs since 2017’s Toy, Bite finds the band Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low, and Andy Bauer at their peak as musicians, challenging themselves with more complex arrangements and subject matter that forced them out of their heads and into those of the characters who occupy this supposed paradise. “We had to find ourselves within, or project ourselves into, the principal characters. We developed them, got to know their minds, emotions, and motivations, and then expressed those in nine songs,” Ellis explains. Themes of addiction, gender fluidity, living ethically in a capitalist society, physical autonomy, avarice, grief, and consent bubble beneath the promised happiness of Avalonia. This is evident in songs like “Different Than,” where Ellis sings, “My body can’t explain the things my mind don’t comprehend” as if societal gender pressure is squeezing its protagonist out of their skin. The songs on Bite are full of bombast, at turns calling to mind the spacefaring operatic rock of Electric Light Orchestra and the high drama of an Ennio Morricone film score. The album’s narrative sweep is epic in scope, its characters facing impossible odds and certain doom, existing as comfortably with the sci-fi grandiosity of Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak as it does with the high fantasy of Dio and Iron Maiden. Appropriately, A Giant Dog came to this narrative armed to the teeth with new ideas, unleashing synthesizers and string sections to create what Ellis describes as orchestral, symphonic, futuristic punk. To achieve this, they left their home turf of Austin, Texas, for La Cuve Studio, just outside of Angers, France. Living in the French countryside, A Giant Dog laid down their vision of the future against a decidedly pastoral backdrop. On walks from Angers to La Cuve, Ellis says that they “would see many things, and also nothing at all. Swans on the river. Romani people living in little trailers, with a side hut built for their dog. A juggler on a unicycle—not fucking with you.” “We thought we wouldn’t be allowed back in France after this trip, to be honest,” they continued. “Five loud, stomping, clapping, rowdy Americans who ran through the streets of Angers for three weeks in November 2022.” The experience capped two years of planning and writing, fleshing out the universe of Avalonia beyond the bounds of most concept albums. The resulting nine songs do not merely occupy this space: They’ve lived in it, and they want out.

The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975 and released their third album ‘Positive Touch’ in 1981 which peaked at #17 in the UK Charts.

The Undertones' Positive Touch marks the departure from speedy pop-punk of their first two debut albums though the songwriting remains as tight and lively with plenty of hooks that keep you listening.

The punk-derived energy is almost entirely gone, replaced by a more varied and softer instrumental palette that features new textures like piano (courtesy of Paul Carrack, then in Squeeze) recorders and brass instrumentation.

Features the lovely "Julie Ocean" which has an undercurrent of anxiety, as well as much faster tracks like the pounding opener "Fascination" and the near-paranoid "His Goodlooking Girlfriend" are downright nerve-wracking.

This reissue is an exact replica of the embossed original sleeve and has been pressed on white colour vinyl for the first time.

Lisa Batiashvili gathers all the places and memories that have been important in her life and career together with some of the world’s most beautiful music. A journey from her native Georgia to Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires and Hollywood that features ground-breaking collaborations with artists as diverse as Miloš, Katie Melua and Till Brönner. City Lights shares the beautiful melodies from Cinema Paradiso and Chaplin’s own compositions with all time classics from Piazzolla, J.S. Bach and the late Michel Legrand - all in new arrangements by Nikoloz Rachveli - and last, but not least a new song by Katie Melua about the magic of London. This Special Edition of Lisa Batiashvili’s City Lights combines the most popular music from her latest album on a 10 inch vinyl. Including a brand new track: Desafinando recorded with the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra in July 2021.

KAWALA today announce their emotionally resplendent debut album ‘Better with You’. The album marks the culmination of years of work which has seen the band grow from humble begging’s to the world class act they are today. Along the way they have done everything from support Bombay Bicycle Club on their European tour, play socially distanced shows in UK parks (after the first easing of restrictions in 2020), appear on FIFA 2021, write and perform in their own YouTube sitcom (the mad-cap Paradise Heights) and become ambassadors for the Music Venue Trust. Each step on the journey has seen the band grow and expand on what KAWALA means to their community. Ahead of the album’s release, the band are about to head out on their biggest UK and Ireland tour to date – including a sold-out show at the O2 Kentish Town Forum. NME describes them "the Bombay Bicycle Club-approved indie heroes making bangers without borders"

Elysian Park is a slice of unaffected paradise found in downtown Los Angeles. Home to countless birds and (what feels like) infinite layers of greenery, the park plays the role of muse for tstewart’s 21 track album, Elysian. With each track named after his favourite nooks of the Elysian, tstewart likens his crescendos to the grand, never-ending steps found just before the park. As the new project from tstewart (aka MachineDrum), the artist whose credits include Azealia Banks and A$AP FERG, he has signed to Mercury KX with a diverse, piano-led sound that juxtaposes his previous glitchy, pop-fused work.

Der britische Folk-Singer/Songwriter Roo Panes kündigte sein neues Album 'The Summer Isles' dieses Jahr mit ersten Konzerten an namhaften Orten in London (Union Chapel), Amsterdam (Paradiso) und Berlin (Heimathafen) an. Zu Panes' durchdachtem Gitarrenspiel gesellen sich himmlische Harmonien und klangvolle Strukturelemente, die sich mühelos zu stimmungsvollen Bildern verbinden, während Roo von Schätzen, Jacarandas, unberührten Blumen und ruhigen Meeresnächten singt. Durchweg sicher und atmosphärisch, trägt die klare Produktion des Albums zur natürlichen Thematik bei.

- 'Mit seiner grandiosen Gitarrentechnik verzaubert er die Ohren, mit den Texten die Herzen der Hörer*innen. Der Aufbau und die Harmonik seiner Songs stammen nicht selten aus der klassischen Musik.' - heimathafen-neukoelln.de

The debut album, "Won’t Die This Way," from Cleveland-bred singer/songwriter/guitarist Erin Viancourt brings her lived-in storytelling to a gritty but gorgeously detailed batch of songs, encompassing everything from Americana to Western swing to classic outlaw country. Rooted in the warm and radiant vocal presence she’s shown onstage in touring arenas with Cody Jinks (who recently made Viancourt the first signing to his Late August Records), Won’t Die This Way ultimately reveals her rare capacity to soothe the soul and leave the listener newly empowered to live each day to the absolute fullest.

Mike Cooper wrote his final songwriter record, a suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio, while living on the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain, an era when he was considering retiring from music altogether. A chance encounter and a last-ditch record deal convinced him to make one last album, which he recorded in 1974 at Pathway Studios in London, with “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,” featuring the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Louis Moholo and Harry Miller with UK saxophonist Mike Osborne. This first-ever reissue includes a bonus CD of Milan Live Acoustic 2018, a previously unreleased solo set that represents Cooper’s return, after forty-four years pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, steel guitar, and songcraft. The deluxe LP+CD edition also features a six-panel insert with additional artwork and an essay by the artist about both records. The deluxe 2xCD gatefold edition features an eight-panel version of the same insert. In the wake of his magisterial triptych of early 1970s avant-folk-rock records Trout Steel (1970), Places I Know (1971), and The Machine Gun Co. (1972) the British songwriter, guitarist, and fledgling improviser Mike Cooper retreated to the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain. With no prospects for touring or recording again, his fiery band the Machine Gun Co. had disintegrated. Cooper sets the scene in his liner notes of the first-ever reissue of his unjustly forgotten next album Life and Death in Paradise (1974): No one came running with offers of fame and riches, and we fell apart, and I left the country and headed for the beach, disillusioned and a bit disorientated musically. I went to Almuñécar in Andalusia, a place I had been going since 1969, because a painter friend from Reading, Rowland Fade who made the collage in the gatefold of my earlier album Trout Steel had moved there in 1968. It was in this synthetic coastal “paradise,” unmoored and adrift, considering retiring from music altogether, that he began tentatively writing new songs. A chance encounter with producer Tony Hall, who offered Cooper a last-ditch record deal on Hall’s nascent Fresh Air label, convinced him to make one last album with the stipulation that he could assemble what he called “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World.” I told Tony that I would do it if I could hire some of my South African jazz musician friends that I had used on my Pye/Dawn albums and some friends from Reading that I still knew and admired. I called up Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, and Mike Osborne, who were in fact a trio at the time … and several local Reading heroes, including the singer-songwriter Terry Clarke. The result, recorded live with minimal overdubbing at Pathway Studios in London, was Life and Death in Paradise, an utterly singular suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio comprising the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Moholo and Miller with UK saxophonist Osborne. Unlike anything else in Cooper’s extensive catalog. Fresh Air fizzled, and Life and Death became Cooper’s final record as a songwriter, having pushed the form as far as he could. Drifting north from Spain back to the UK, he fell into the scene of the London Musicians Collective (LMC) including Paul Burwell, David Toop, and saxophonist Lol Coxhill, Cooper’s bandmate in the Recedents and fully embraced free improvisation. He was still, however, interested in singing and lyrics, so, influenced by Tom Phillips, William Burroughs, and Brion Gysin, he began experimenting with text collage and cut-up techniques, arriving at his own hybrid compositional strategy for improvisatory songs. The previously unreleased solo set Milan Live Acoustic 2018 represents Cooper’s return, after more than four decades pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, lap steel guitar, and songcraft. Presented here together with Life and Death in Paradise, the two records provide fascinating bookends to Mike Cooper’s long, mercurial, and pioneering practice as a songmaker.