New York City"s Jennifer Vanilla, aka Jennifer Vanilla and Brian Abelson, offered a portal into a colourful world of innovative electronic sound with their 2022 debut album "Castle In The Sky", traversing new wave, post-punk, art pop, and experimental R&B. Now Love Injection, the multi-faceted brainchild of Barbie Bertisch and Paul Raffaele comprising a print magazine, radio show, record label, and production duo breathe new life into one of the album"s standout tracks "Jennifer Pastoral" on home turf, in the form of a 12" single alongside two ethereal mixes featuring maestros Dave Darlington on mixing duties and Francois Kevorkian as mastering engineer.
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First Word Records is very proud to present 'The Liminality of Her', a brand new 10-track album from their newest signing, Amanda Whiting; a highly-acclaimed Welsh harpist & composer. A virtuoso in her field, this classically trained musician has quickly established herself as an essential player in the UK jazz scene, carving her own unique sound, following on from the paths forged by Ashby and Coltrane. Amanda recently joined the First Word label roster, via a collaborative project with Don Leisure, 'Beyond The Midnight Sun', as well as a feature on his Welsh Music Prize nominated project 'Shaboo Strikes Back'. She's previously toured extensively with her own band, as well as with Matthew Halsall, Rebecca Vasmant, DJ Yoda and Chip Wickham (who also features on this new project), whilst previously releasing three solo albums on Jazzman Records, and a remix project for Scrimshire's Albert's Favourites imprint. Along the way, there's been a nomination for 'Instrumentalist of the Year'...
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'Alma EP' came to life when Jacob played in Havana in 2019.
Joined by Bocarriba, they blended the city's soulful energy with Jacob's signature warmth, crafting these romantic groovers. YokoO works his remix magic on Katai, delivering a stripped-down psychedelic mood setter.
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140 Gramm Vinyl inklusive Downloadcard (inklusive vierExtratracks) Auch "Separations", das Album aus dem Jahre 1992, wird als Teil der Fire Embers Reissue Serie mit unveröffentlichtem Bonus-Material neu aufgelegt. Pulp hatten sich bereits einmal musikalisch verwandelt und sich durch die düstere elektronische Phase auf ,Freaks" weit von ihrem Debüt "It" entfernt und dabei deutlich an Schwung aufgenommen. Der inzwischen zu Kritikerlieblingen avancierten Band ging bereits der Ruf voraus eine Live-Band geworden zu sein, mit der nur wenige mithalten konnten, doch erst ,Separations" war der große Schritt hin zu dem Sound, mit dem Pulp nur wenige Jahre später die Massen mitreißen sollten. Auf ,Separations" gibt es zum ersten Mal diesen unausweichlichen Disco-Puls. ,Separations" ist das Übergangs-Album, in dem Pulp die romantisch-verklärte Außenseiter-Vergangenheit zurückließen und brachte passenderweise mit ,Countdown" und "My Legendary Girlfriend " auch zwei sehr erfolgreiche Singles hervor. Der Download bringt noch vier Bonustracks hinzu: ,Death Goes To The Disco" und "Is This House " sowie die längere Maxi-Version der Single ,Countdown" und das bisher unveröffentlichte "Death Comes To Town". Remastered und neues Packaging. Liner Notes von Everett True.
"Back in the 1990s original Verve pressings of this record were hot items pushed into prominence in great part by write-ups in The Absolute Sound, particularly by my friend Frank Doris. I found a few, and even a few in pretty good condition, but none of them begin to compare to this double 45 RPM set that offers more of everything, particularly transparency and instrumental separation. ...Ella's on a microphone with a slightly rising high end but if it sounds icy, don't blame the recording or the mastering. It's your system. If it's well-balanced and your cartridge is a good tracker, the vocal transparency and clarity are spooky and the sibilant articulation is precise. These double LPs cut at Sterling Sound use the original tapes, not copies of the original tapes and the clarity and transparency coupled with QRP's drop-dead silent pressings are remarkable. The original pre-MGM buyout LP has a pleasingly nostalgic quality and the added warmth produces a bit more room sound, but in my opinion it can't compare to this reissue unless you like hearing things through rose-tinted loudspeakers. Elegantly produced, arranged and recorded and easy to recommend ..." Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 - Michael Fremer, February 15, 2013.
Fourteen numbers from the heyday of swing, composed sometime between 1930 and 1945 - played and sung time and time again in ballrooms, or on the radio to advertise biscuits or war bonds, were recorded by Ella in completely new and personal interpretations in 1961. No one should be put off by the rather unfortunate cover. Clap Hands... is absolutely top notch as regards musicality, perfect recording quality, superb accompaniment by a small ensemble, with room for improvisations; it offers a wonderful opportunity to discover something new in these evergreens, despite the occasionally banal lyrics. The songs of this recording conjure up bygone days, with listeners in the 21st century being offered a highly personal homage to one of the most successful periods in the 100-year history of jazz.
To abandon animals for music – and avant-garde jazz at that –, could seeming shocking to some people. However, it is exactly what Manuel Villarroel did, as he was a vet for three years before leaving his native Chili for Europe and a career in music. And though the animals may have suffered, the world of music can be grateful.
Born in 1944, Manuel Villarroel lent an ear to the best pianists from North America: Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner then Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner and Cecil Taylor. Manuel left Santiago in September 1970 to participate in the Contemporary Music Workshop in Berlin. To pursue his musical career, he rapidly decided to remain in Europe.
The following year in Paris, Manuel began a quartet with saxophonist Jef Sicard (who would also play with his brother Patricio, in the Dharma Quintet). But the group would rapidly expand: Villarroel and Sicard added Gérard Coppéré (saxophone), William Treve (trombone), François Méchali (bass) and Jean-Louis Méchali (drums). And with the arrival of Sonny Grey, a Jamaican trumpeter heard ten years earlier with Daniel Humair, the Matchi-Oul Septet was complete.
Complete and ready: on May 8th, 1971, Matchi-Oul was in the studio for Gérard Terronès’ Futura label. The septet recorded seven of the pianist’s compositions. A succession of tracks which flow magically from one to the next: from the first drum strokes to the last deep notes of the bass, the successive waves roll over the piano and whistle through the wind instruments. And when they all come together it gives even greater force to Villarroel’s beautiful songs. Terremoto is a masterpiece of collective expression: but what else could we expect from a “supergroup’’ of this stature?
Returning to the well of Roger Doyle once again, his “Babel” project spans a decade of composition work before its’ initial release in 1999 as a 5CD set. Over 100 pieces and almost 50 collaborators it marks a journey through a virtual tower of Babel with each piece corresponding to a room within an imagined giant tower city. For the 25th Anniversary vinyl edition Doyle has revisited it- remastering it and providing its first vinyl edit - 80 minutes spread across two 180gm LP’s - rounding out the package with extended liner notes and a download code to the full 6 hours.
We’ve previously explored Roger’s Operating Theatre days and the idea for this project came in the early nineteen eighties while Doyle was heavily involved with the experimental theatre group. Working with emerging technologies and across a variety of genres he realised that he would be unlikely to achieve an overarching compositional style. Instead deciding to make a virtue out of the fact that he composed so schizophrenically, he wished to create a musical alphabet out of short abstract sounds with these sounds being analogous to phonemes in speech. With Blade Runner and sci-fi embedded in the zeitgeist of the times he came to the idea of the Tower of Babel as both a futuristic skyscraper and also an embodiment of language.
In the spring of 1990 Babel was finally begun and kept growing until it reached over 6 hours of music and was released in 1999.A large-scale musical structure making use of many technologies and music languages, with each piece of music being thought of as a 'room' or place within an enormous tower city. Each track in the main section corresponds to a virtual sonic architecture. The pieces are divided into two kinds: aural representations of actual spaces like The Dressing Room, The Stairwell and Mr. Brady's Room alongside internalised dream spaces like the Room Of Rhetoric, the Spirit Levels and the Mansard childhood memory room. Listeners can navigate their way differently through this virtual building at each hearing. As a supplement to the Babel Tower KBBL - the fictitious radio station – broadcasts a number of shows. Each has its own style and atmosphere. Collaborating with DJs, actors, writers and singers, KBBL is made to sound like a real radio station with ads, traffic reports and phone-ins.
Examples of the connections within the project can be found via the architecture were the saxophonist in the off-stage dressing room is rehearsing for her solo in the concert-hall (heard in Pagoda Charm) or the room off the stairwell, where the sounds of piano lessons and apartment life can be heard and the apartment where a muffled KBBL can be overheard At a molecular level The Iron Language Alphabet is a sound alphabet containing tiny fragments of sound representing letters or characters of an alien alphabet. This sound alphabet can be heard scattered through other pieces like The Room of Rhetoric, Pagoda Charm and in KBBL in Johnny’s Body at 002. Other molecular scatterings can be found in Cantilena where two songs sung by Operating Theatre’s Elena Lopez in KBBL are exploded and re-arranged to form new entities.
Doyle’s Babel celebrates language - a slight variation on the Biblical morality tale - and musical expression in all its variety.
Celebrating our tenth release, we proudly present "Feeling Everything, All At Once" - a compelling VA compilation featuring music from our current label family and introducing some talented debutants from Scotland.
RED010 marks a powerful statement of intent as we look to the next five years and beyond whilst reflecting on our achievements so far, what we aspire to accomplish and how we can continue to push the sounds that resonate with us. Although it has taken time to reach this milestone, our commitment to quality over quantity remains unwavering.
This compilation serves not only as a collection of club-ready tracks but also as a longform piece suitable to more passive listening. With a total of 14 tracks, it stands as our most extensive release yet, expanding our label family to well over 20 artists. The digital release will be complemented by a physical cassette, perfect for playing in the dusty tape deck of your mate's Vauxhall Corsa as you head to that mad rave in the countryside everyone is talking about.
We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with the Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) on this project with all the profits being donated to this cause. Both Lewis & Ethan have their own personal experiences with mental health difficulties and strongly believe that SAMH is absolutely vital in facilitating the provision and promotion of mental health care, support & information.
A massive thank you to all those involved in making this happen and their generosity in donating their time and talent to the project.
'Clannad in Concert' was the first live album by, now globally recognized, Irish folk band Clannad, released in 1978 by Ogham Records It was recorded at an unknown location during their 1978 tour of Switzerland, during which the group decided to continue with the band full time. This 2023 remastered CD re- issue replicates the original artwork as it was first released. The cover features an elaborate mythological Celtic design by artist Roy McCullough. The interior artwork also features lyrics in the original Irish language. The line-up consists of Ciaran O Braonain, Maire Ni Bhraonain, Pol O Braonain, Noel O Dugain and Padraig O Dugain. The band line up features O Braonain and O Dugain siblings without sister and niece Eithne Ni Bhraonain (better known as Enya) who joined the group for two years between 1980 and 1982. Nicky Ryan, who would later become Enya's long-time production partner, was on producer duties for this live recording
Northwest & Nebulous is Liverpool-based musician Luce Mawdsley’s sixth studio release, a lush and accomplished instrumental album suffused with radiant and fluid possibilities, where expansively cinematic instrumentals conjure queer cowboy landscapes via the Northern English coastline. The album is a world-building piece of work, pulling from folk, Americana and soundtrack influences, fusing their romantic and exploratory energies to signal the beginning of a new journey for composer, with an open invitation for listeners to come along for the ride. The album was recorded and mixed by Luce Mawdsley in the Grade II listed Scandinavian Church in Liverpool, with a core chamber trio of Luce on guitar, organ and percussion, Nicholas Branton on clarinets, and Rachel Nicholas on viola. A self-taught musician, Mawdsley has released a host of both solo and collaborative albums (Mésange, Cavalier Song), and in 2023 started Pure O records, an independent record label dedicated to the nurture of queer and curious music based in the Northwest of England. “Wordlessly fashions heady, droney atmospheres that could soundtrack a film where a man walks through a monochrome desert” - The Quietus “The spindly guitars and knotty progressions of ‘Insect Fire Dance’ and ‘Heathen’ explore an unprissy English prog with soil under its fingernails” - 8/10 UNCUT "A triumph of imagination – a wide-eyed stare at the skies, in love with sound and possibility." - **** The Skinny “It’s not a stretch to suggest that no one is making music like Mawdsley. While the Liverpool visionary’s 2020 release, Vulgar Displays of Affection (Maple Death Records), was something likened to splintered bones passing through a meat grinder, Mawdsley’s Luke Two is far removed, solidifying the notions of an artist leaping from one sound world” - Sun 13 “Hallucinatory echoes of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s dream-realism symbolic El Topo share room with otherworldly portals and the all-too real depressive, bleak traps of a run-down, unloved English seaside town.” Monolith Cocktail
Out of print as a stand-alone release for decades since its original 1974 issue. Produced by George Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends is an almost-forgotten masterwork – an emotional and sonic pact between two like-minded souls to both advance their spiritually minded bond and unite musical styles, cultures, and sounds in wondrous fashion Contributions from Ringo Starr, David Bromberg, Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman, and a host of virtuosic Indian musicians add to a diverse album that melds Eastern and Western traditions; encompasses jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop; and represents the spirit and breadth of Harrison's Dark Horse Records imprint.
Memorable contributions from an A-list of American and English musicians — Ringo Starr (drums), David Bromberg (electric guitar), Billy Preston (organ), Nicky Hopkins (piano), Jim Keltner (drums), Klaus Voorman (bass), Robert Margouleff (Moog), Malcolm Cecil (Moog), Tom Scott (saxophone) included — add to the richness of a set that melds Eastern and Western traditions. These “names” mesh with a host of Indian virtuosos — Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Kamala Chakravarty, Hariprasad Chaurasia included — who turn Shankar Family & Friends into a journey laced with percussive, string, and vocal components that aren’t soon forgotten.
Throughout, Shankar Family & Friends remains true to its title — a mesmerizing record named to reflect the group participation approach of its creators. The idea started when Shankar told Harrison about a ballet he wrote. The Beatle, who first met Shankar in June 1966 — roughly a year after Harrison became interested in Indian music after overhearing it in a restaurant while filming Help! — immediately was convinced they needed to record it. Harrison’s staunch admiration of Shankar and serious approach to Eastern styles are reflected throughout the album.
Indeed, for Harrison, Shankar Family & Friends marks the culmination of a years-long effort to master the sitar, study Hinduism, and incorporate elements such as drones, unusual chords, and expressive picking into his own songs. The seeds of this unique collaboration can be heard in Beatles works such as “Norwegian Wood,” “Love to You,” and “Within You Without You.” Both musicians were also fresh from performing at the 1971 Concert for Bangladesh shows. Yet Shankar Family & Friends remains entirely unique in each visionary artist’s history — and ultimately, led to a collaborative tour Harrison and Shankar staged across North America.
Encompassing jazz, funk, bhajan, Indian, and pop, Shankar Family & Friends is thematically split into halves. Side One reveals Shankar’s uncanny ear for melody — even when applied to Western forms. The lead-off “I Am Missing You,” the first single ever released by Dark Horse Records and reportedly the first pop composition Shankar completed, underscores his skills as a composer and global ambassador. Beautifully sung across three octaves by his sister-in-law, Lakshmi Shankar, the devotional song features multiple drummers and production that mirrors Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound approach. Harrison plays autoharp and guitar; Starr sits in on drums; Scott handles flute and soprano saxophone. It’s the inviting start of a musical adventure teeming with color, majesty, and mysticism.
A second version of the track — designated with a “(Reprise)” tag — appears minutes later. Unfolding in different ways, it follows a folk ballad structure stitched together with Indian instrumentation. Here, according to Shankar, the musicians “attempted to convey the sounds and atmosphere of Vrindavan, the ancient holy place where Krishna grew up.” Both renditions speak to the cross-continental fusion that came so naturally to Harrison and Shankar, whose oversight on the side’s other vocal tracks ensures listeners familiar with Western methods gain easy access to the hypnotic allure of his native country’s music.
Nowhere is this more evident than on Dream, Nightmare & Dawn (Music for a Ballet), the side-long piece that served as the genesis for Shankar Family & Friends. Launched with an airy overture and unfolding across three movements, the mostly wordless suite features everything from call-and-response interplay and classical lyricism to uptempo dance figures, stacked rhythms, and intoxicating grooves. Blurring the lines between contemporary and traditional, and Western and Eastern, the inspirational work is the exclamation point on a record that defined “world music” well before the term became co-opted as a catch-all genre.
Miles Davis' boundlessly influential On the Corner was so far ahead of its time upon release in 1972, the jazz cognoscenti rejected its groundbreaking concoction as middling in nature. Yet time has a way of righting wrongs and shifting views by adding needed context and perspective to visionary ideas, music, and approaches — the likes of which fill Davis' boldest and most controversial — undertaking. Designed to bring the focus back on the groove and bottom-end frequencies, the funk-loaded On the Corner revolutionized jazz. It also set new standards for record production, presaging remixing and electronica by more than a decade. And the work has never sounded more thrilling thanks to this very special pressing.
Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP of On the Corner exposes the internal mechanisms, free-associated playing, and then-unmatched studio techniques in vivid fashion. The low end, crucial to every composition here, is both heard and felt, with locked-in bass lines and low-range percussion conveyed as taut, solid, and visceral passages. You can discern the multiple layers of rhythm Davis employed on complex tracks such as "Black Satin," as On the Corner stands as his first effort to use overdubbing and multiple tape machines. As a pioneer, Davis likely would’ve loved MoFi’s groundbreaking SuperVinyl profile that features the lowest-possible analogue noise floor as well as pristine transparency, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition.
New degrees of spaciousness and airiness — equally important to the musique concrete arrangements — give the impression Davis and Co.'s creations float in space. Instruments are portrayed in three-dimensional manners, rhythmic loops retain tonal purity, and horn solos skitter across an extra-wide soundstage that takes listeners into Columbia's Studio E. Mobile Fidelity's SuperVinyl LP captures Teo Macero's innovative production — and the trumpeter's cutting-edge aural collages — in definitive fashion.
Heavily inspired by Sly and the Family Stone, On the Corner portrays street vibes and remains Davis' Blackest-sounding record. The conscious attempt to connect with youthful audiences tapped into rock and funk is evident not only on the colorful cartoon cover art depicting hot-pants and zoot-suit revelers, but in the music's emphasis of recurring drum and bass grooves. Distinct from Davis' earlier fusion experiments, the record's long-misunderstood set dials back improvisation in favor of beats, loops, and atmospherics that generate trance-like effects. While Davis utilizes his band for core duties — Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock prominently figure — he also relies on an all-star cast of side-men for concentrated soloing and additional support.
With rhythm providing the basic foundation, other notes fall into place, with their positioning steered by Macero and Davis' editing-room techniques. Looking to the manipulation-based work of Karlheinze Stockhausen and teaming with Stockhausen disciple Paul Buckmaster, Davis re-imagines what grooves constituted and could accomplish throughout On the Corner. The shapes of the songs become completely transformed as they progress. Faint melodies, spacey chords, chunky riffs, wah-wah fills, and repeated motifs bounce in and out of a sonic funhouse that wouldn't be out of place at a Harlem block party.
Exotic, intrepid, and filled with Davis' "jungle sound," On the Corner remains daringly hip more than four decades later.
A showcase for Peter Frampton’s growth as a songwriter and guitar player, Frampton’s Camel is named after his touring band, honouring the groove this collective had reached in 1973. Prominently featuring Mick Gallagher’s superlative keyboards, the hard-rocking hooks and catchy melodies here lay the foundation for the superstardom that would come just a couple albums and tours later with Frampton Comes Alive. Camel includes the smash hits “Lines On My Face,” “Don’t Fade Away” and a majestic cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Believe (When I Fall In Love With You It Will Be Forever).” Camel also introduced the world to the all-time classic rock anthem “Do You Feel Like We Do,” with a songwriting credit to the entire band. This fan favourite has remained a highlight of Frampton’s legendary live performances for decades.
Janis Joplin wouldn't be denied on Pearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a stupendous band, and partnered with a producer that knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record. Ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Pearl sold more than four million copies and stands as the first female rock superstar's definitive studio work.
Mastered from the original master tapes, cut at 45RPM, and pressed on dead-quiet vinyl at RTI, the iconic audiophile label's reissue takes Joplin and Co.'s stupendous performances to newly transcendent levels. Boasting a fidelity that further magnifies the singer's passion and producer Paul A. Rothchild's clear production, this pressing benefits from increased spaciousness, dynamics, and openness afforded by the wider grooves. Joplin's husky, strong, and penetrating singing has never sounded so vibrant or made deeper connections. Warm, organic, and free of any artificial ceilings, this version lets you step into Sunset Sound Recorders with the performers, such is the degree of realism and authenticity. Indeed, few, if any words, describe Joplin better than "authentic," and her spirit comes to life on this 2LP set in positively transcendent fashion. Like its headliner, this pressing leaves it all on the floor.
While Joplin's electrifying vocal prowess is universally lauded – she's recognized as the greatest white female blues singer the world has ever seen – her mix of compassion, confidence, and charm play as large a role in attracting listeners and keeping them ensnared more than four decades after her tragic death. And on Pearl, she burrows into deeper stylistic veins, teasing out sides of her persona and craft she'd never previously displayed. Her signature desperation, sadness, and vulnerability remain – the harrowing, lonely wail that begins her soul-ravishing take on Jerry Ragovoy's "Cry Baby," underlined with a Wall of Sound-like piano accompaniment, could only come from a person severely scarred by loss and disappointment – yet Joplin also reveals a sense of humour and beatnik innocence that helped propel the album to the top of the charts for nine straight weeks.
Playfully introduced as "a song of great social and political import," the acapella "Mercedes Benz" reflects Joplin's throaty timbre as well as her enhanced, sunnier mood. Similarly, her definitive read of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" signals a laidback demeanour and a move into country strains, with the delivery as natural, carefree, and loving as any in the rock canon. As she does throughout the record, Joplin invests her all in the narrative so that there's no line between the performer and the song. She makes everything on Pearl feel autobiographical, and by extension, gut-wrenchingly honest, and devastatingly intimate. Joplin achieved these feats often during her brief career, yet there are differences on Pearl, chiefly among them her balance of impeccable timing and raw emotion. Heart-aching anthems such as "A Woman Left Lonely" offer both grit and control, subtlety and attack, resulting in cathartic releases distinguished with originality, personality, and instinctual passion.
Pearl remains Joplin's finest hour, with credit also owed to the Full Tilt Boogie Band – the only group she ever considered to be her own – as well as the Doors alum that sat behind the boards. Joplin and Rothchild both admitted to sharing a common bond and understanding, with the latter inheriting the role of teacher and Joplin, a willing student ready to discover how she could use her voice in new, more expressive ways. The fruits of the pair's labours fill Pearl, be it the guardedly optimistic "Get It While You Can" or assertive, fleet-footed "Move Over."
Experienced in the new light brought to fore by this definitive Mobile Fidelity edition, Joplin's swan song is no longer about a masterpiece that its creator never lived to see finished. Rather, it's about a once-in-a-lifetime vocalist realizing mammoth potential and wringing passion out of every note. It's not a tragedy, but a triumph. Get it while you can.
The album "Vital - Van der Graaf Live 2CD Edition" by Van der Graaf Generator is a captivating live recording that showcases the band's exceptional talent and energy on stage. Released by Cherry Red Records, this 2CD edition offers fans an immersive experience of the band's electrifying performances.
Recorded during their European tour in 1978, "Vital" captures the essence of Van der Graaf Generator's unique sound and intense live presence. The album features a selection of tracks from their critically acclaimed albums, including "Pawn Hearts," "Godbluff," and "Still Life."
From the opening track to the closing notes, each song on "Vital" is performed with precision and passion. The band's signature blend of progressive rock, jazz influences, and poetic lyrics shines through in every moment. Peter Hammill's powerful vocals soar above the intricate instrumentation provided by Hugh Banton on keyboards, Guy Evans on drums, and David Jackson on saxophone and flute.
The remastered audio quality of this 2CD edition enhances the listening experience, allowing fans to fully appreciate the dynamic range and nuances of each performance. The package also includes a booklet with rare photos and extensive liner notes written by renowned music journalist Sid Smith.
Whether you are a longtime fan or new to Van der Graaf Generator's music, "Vital - Van der Graaf Live 2CD Edition" is a must-have addition to your collection. Immerse yourself in the energy and artistry of one of progressive rock's most influential bands with this exceptional live recording.
Domino kündigt die physischen Wiederveröffentlichungen von Nicos zweitem und drittem Soloalbum an, „The Marble Index“ von 1968 und „Desertshore“ von 1970. Beide Alben sind seit langem vergriffen; die Wiederveröffentlichungen werden ab dem 29. März auf Vinyl und CD erhältlich sein, mit Audio-Mastering von den Originalbändern.
„The Marble Index“ und „Desertshore“, die beide von Nicos Bandkollegen John Cale von Velvet Underground mitproduziert wurden, haben die Goth-Rock-Bewegung stark beeinflusst. Der ikonische Musikjournalist Lester Bangs schrieb: "The Marble Index ist das bisher größte Stück 'avantgardistischer Klassik', 'ernster' Musik der letzten Hälfte des 20 Jahrhunderts. Beide Alben sind nun wieder auf CD und Vinyl erhältlich, nachdem sie vergriffen waren. Der Ton wurde von den Originalbändern gemastert. Die CD & LP für beide Alben enthalten bisher unveröffentlichte Fotos von Nico von Guy Webster.
Domino kündigt die physischen Wiederveröffentlichungen von Nicos zweitem und drittem Soloalbum an, „The Marble Index“ von 1968 und „Desertshore“ von 1970. Beide Alben sind seit langem vergriffen; die Wiederveröffentlichungen werden ab dem 29. März auf Vinyl und CD erhältlich sein, mit Audio-Mastering von den Originalbändern.
„The Marble Index“ und „Desertshore“, die beide von Nicos Bandkollegen John Cale von Velvet Underground mitproduziert wurden, haben die Goth-Rock-Bewegung stark beeinflusst. Der ikonische Musikjournalist Lester Bangs schrieb: "The Marble Index ist das bisher größte Stück 'avantgardistischer Klassik', 'ernster' Musik der letzten Hälfte des 20 Jahrhunderts. Beide Alben sind nun wieder auf CD und Vinyl erhältlich, nachdem sie vergriffen waren. Der Ton wurde von den Originalbändern gemastert. Die CD & LP für beide Alben enthalten bisher unveröffentlichte Fotos von Nico von Guy Webster.
Für LORNA SHORE war 2020 nichts weniger als eine Abrechnung - in einer Karriere, die auf Herausforderungen, Veränderungen und einer zielstrebigen Vision aufgebaut war. Für das Quintett aus New Jersey bedeutete 2020 die Pandemie und abgesagte Tourneen. Das darauffolgende Jahr stellte die Band vor eine große kreative Herausforderung in Form des Songs 'To the Hellfire' von ihrer vielbeachteten '...And I Return to Nothingness'-EP. Und doch haben sie mit 'Pain Remains' ihr klangliches Niveau gesteigert, ein Album, das nicht nur alles zusammenfügt, was LORNA SHORE angedeutet haben, sondern es auch übertrifft - brutal und großartig. 'Es fühlt sich an wie eine Wiedergeburt von allem für uns - von der Energie, der Band, der Moral', sagt Schlagzeuger Austin Archey. 'Pain Remains' ist der Sound einer Band, die ihren Klang und ihre Identität verfeinert hat. Von den eröffnenden Chorgesängen und der Orchestrierung (komponiert von Gitarrist Andrew O'Connor) von 'Welcome Back, O' Sleeping Dreamer' direkt in das Labyrinth aus musikalischen Wendungen, technischen Details und rohen Emotionen im Kern von Tracks wie 'Sun Eater' oder 'Soulless Existence' und gipfelnd in der 'Pain Remains'-Trilogie, haben LORNA SHORE ein ausuferndes Dokument aus Ehrgeiz, Seele und Können gewoben, das nur Wenige erreichen können. Es ist auch der Sound von LORNA SHORE, der aus jeder Art von Kategorisierung ausbricht und sich selbst als eine großartige Extrem-Metal-Band etabliert. Mit 'Pain Remains' sind LORNA SHORE wirklich angekommen. 'Das war schon seit Jahren die Idee und die Vision für die Band', sagt Adam. 'Wir wollten uns nie einschränken lassen oder die Erwartungen von irgendjemandem erfüllen, was wir zu sein haben.
The Diggin' in the Crates Crew, commonly abbreviated as D.I.T.C., is a hip hop collective from New York City. It was founded by Diamond D and Showbiz and its name is from the art of digging for records to sample for production. The members have achieved substantial and consistent recognition in the music industry and Hip Hop circles.
They have collaborated with underground and commercial artists from around the world. All of the members are from the Bronx, with the exception of the late Big L from Harlem, and O.C. from Brooklyn. D.I.T.C., “The Official” Version is an alternative version of D.I.T.C.'s self-titled album D.I.T.C. which was not officially available on vinyl upon its initial release via Tommy Boy when it became apparent that group maintained vinyl rights of the album.
The Official Version has a different track listing with many of the songs being totally different versions than the ones appearing on the first album and also 2 tracks that weren't on D.I.T.C. at all - "All Love" and "We Known For That" (which is actually a remix of the 12" single "Internationally Known"). The album is executively produced by Show and re-released on D.I.T.C. Records with distribution by Fat Beats Distribution -20 years after its initial limited pressing.
Many of the songs appear in remixed forms that had yet to be released, some remixes and some original versions. Highlights include "Where Ya At"; the Big Pun/Milano collaboration but here, instead set over a slamming DJ Premier remix. Likewise, the "Way Of Life" features a totally different Buckwild beat, that is actually the original version of the track, that stands in stark contrast to the B-Boy anthem heard on the Tommy Boy album.
a A1. Thick Rockwilder Mix
b A2. Way Of Life Buckwild's OG Mix (Ft. additional Lord Finesse verse]
[c] A3. Get Yours [Show Remix]
[d] A4. Where Ya At [DJ Premier Remix] (w. Big Pun & Milano)
[e] A5. We Known For That (Internationally Known) [Show Remix]
Yuko Kureyama returns to TAL with the album Heart Fresh, her first ever full length release under her Kopy moniker. All tracks for the album were recorded in Tokyo in June 2023 at the famous live house Ochiai Soup. For the recordings of the ten tracks, Ochiai Soup was swiftly converted into a recording studio as the intimate atmosphere of the club and its perfect room acoustics gave Kopy the chance to record her music like in a live situation.
Amazingly Kopy‘s instrumentation on Heart Fresh consists only of a Jomox x Base 09 rhythm machine and an Elektron Digitakt mini sampler. In the hands of Kopy this fairly basic and common gear creates an unmistakeably intuitive and original approach to drum programming, which is recognizably her very own.
Due to extensive live playing in the past two years, Kopy has garnered a lot of admiration for her consistently unpredictable and fearless club performances and has easily become one of the most exciting and inventive live acts from the ever vibrating electronic music scene in Japan.
However, Heart Fresh seems even more focused, urgent and ambitious than its predecessors, the Paredo EP (TAL12 including a remix by Lena Willikens), the Eternal EP (TAL 24 featuring a remix by Elena Colombi) and the split album Super Mild (TAL15). Nothing on Heart Fresh is subdued. The entire production is resonating with its peculiar frequencies, it is wonderfully evocative, open hearted, full of life and intelligence.
The album opens with Night Sarkas with quirky snare rolls played against slashing, nervy chunks of melody. Samples of organ and chimes evoke an rollercoaster spinning out of tune and synch. Hole Hole is a beat driven and melody free short story for bass drum, snare and hi hat with constantly changing bpm‘s. Tir Tone marks the arrival of annunciatory rhythm patterns and a lovely sprinkling of distorted synths. The album's final track Moonlight Pool is the perfect closer for an album of taut, free wheeling figurations of meter and tone, a nod to classical ambient music as well as to contemporary more experimental digressions.
However, the album’s most startling and unexpected moments come when Kopy follows her futuristic inclinations and matches them with dissonant excoriations that shuttle the mind into a completely different place where all kinds of different activities seem to follow their own individual compasses. Imagine to walk down the noisy streets in Tokyo and you hear all kinds of different sounds infiltrating your ears independently from different sources and directions. In that sense Heart Fresh is the most appropriate soundtrack we can imagine for the contemporary era.
Svart Records release NYC crust punk band Nausea’s two legendary EP’s on one remastered 12” in March 2024! Crust punk originates from the misty moors and factory cities of the UK. Since the '80s, countless bands have been established to play their dirty apocalyptic ruckus in the vein of Amebix, Antisect, and Axegrinder. At the same time, across the ocean, in the squats of New York’s Lower East Side, bassist John John Jesse founded Nausea. Svart Records is releasing Nausea’s two legendary EPs in 12” format for the first time ever, including the Cybergod 7” from 1991 - with a bonus track, "Here Today," from the same recording sessions - and the Lie Cycle 7” from 1992. All tracks are remastered from the original, untouched studio tapes by Jack Control (Darkthrone, Kohti Tuhoa, Fear). Tribal and rocking apocalyptic crust for apocalyptic times. The Cybergod lineup might be the most legendary era of Nausea, where the tracks reach almost epic proportions. The EP is pretty much the blueprint of crust, where Vic Venom’s hypnotic and rocking guitar riffs meet the tribal drumming of Roy Mayorga. Al Hoon’s and Amy Miret’s dueling vocals spit out timeless issues dealing with consumerism and the hypocrisies of organized religions. Musically, the Lie Cycle EP rocks out more in the faster and straightforward style, where Discharge meets Motörhead, and lyrics reflect the times when war and nuclear destruction are still the plague of mankind. Nausea’s timeline lasted only seven years, but they managed to create a cult following with their true dedication to the punk scene and played shows in the squats of Europe and the eastern part of Europe. Their music is timeless, unpleasant music for unpleasant times, but hey! At least it’s more fun to rock out to the apocalypse!
Svart Records release NYC crust punk band Nausea’s two legendary EP’s on one remastered 12” in March 2024! Crust punk originates from the misty moors and factory cities of the UK. Since the '80s, countless bands have been established to play their dirty apocalyptic ruckus in the vein of Amebix, Antisect, and Axegrinder. At the same time, across the ocean, in the squats of New York’s Lower East Side, bassist John John Jesse founded Nausea. Svart Records is releasing Nausea’s two legendary EPs in 12” format for the first time ever, including the Cybergod 7” from 1991 - with a bonus track, "Here Today," from the same recording sessions - and the Lie Cycle 7” from 1992. All tracks are remastered from the original, untouched studio tapes by Jack Control (Darkthrone, Kohti Tuhoa, Fear). Tribal and rocking apocalyptic crust for apocalyptic times. The Cybergod lineup might be the most legendary era of Nausea, where the tracks reach almost epic proportions. The EP is pretty much the blueprint of crust, where Vic Venom’s hypnotic and rocking guitar riffs meet the tribal drumming of Roy Mayorga. Al Hoon’s and Amy Miret’s dueling vocals spit out timeless issues dealing with consumerism and the hypocrisies of organized religions. Musically, the Lie Cycle EP rocks out more in the faster and straightforward style, where Discharge meets Motörhead, and lyrics reflect the times when war and nuclear destruction are still the plague of mankind. Nausea’s timeline lasted only seven years, but they managed to create a cult following with their true dedication to the punk scene and played shows in the squats of Europe and the eastern part of Europe. Their music is timeless, unpleasant music for unpleasant times, but hey! At least it’s more fun to rock out to the apocalypse!
Diggin In The Crates (D.I.T.C.) was born out of a group of artists who began making noise in the late ‘80s and into the next decade and beyond—namely Lord Finesse, Diamond D, and Fat Joe. After well-received albums, an official, wider collective was founded that also included O.C., Big L, Buckwild, and producer-rapper combo, Show & A.G. (originally known as Showbiz & A.G.).
The crew proceeded to drop a run of sublime records, including Show & A.G.’s Soul Clap EP (1992), their full-length debut Runaway Slave (1992), followed by Goodfellas in 1995. Show & A.G.’s next project, Full Scale, arrived in 1998 and featured appearances from O.C., KRS-One, Big Pun, the Ghetto Dwellas and verses from members of D.I.T.C. including Diamond D, Big L and Lord Finesse.
In 2002 a CD version titled Full Scale LP (using the same artwork) was released with 10 additional tracks which had originally been released on various 12" singles and projects in the late 1990s. The project had never been released on vinyl in its entirety – until now.
Production on Full Scale was handled by Showbiz and A.G. except for "Time To Get This Money" which was produced by long-time collaborator Ahmed, and "Hold Mines" and "Hidden Crates" which were produced by DJ Greyboy.
The assortment of guest features doesn’t detract from A.G., a masterful emcee with a no-nonsense style that is simple but impactful. Full Scale follows the tried and true blueprint from Show & AG’s earlier classics cementing its place in hip hop history.
Stu Chapman one of the hardest working producers in the breakbeat rave revival scene has had recent releases on Remix Records, Amen Brother, Monky Records & Ars Musica Imprendere Vitah out of Spain to name a few and has a repress series on his noughties label Enormous Mouse planned for 2024. Stu makes his debut on the Hardcore Vinylists label with 3 tracks of rave breakbeat proving what you can do when 90s rave meets modern samples we didn't ask for a free ride, we only asked Stu to show me a real good time...
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decade-plus together, the four-piece - Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals) - have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album. Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love . Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all. Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally." "Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "1-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh." "We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness...we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."
Transnational Speedway League ist Clutch’s allererste Album Veröffentlichung (1993) und wurde bis dato nie auf Vinyl veröffentlicht. Es ist das nächste Album in unserer Clutch Collector’s Serie. Clutch’s Gitarrist, Tim Sult, war federführend inder Neuentwicklung dieses Albums. Das Album ist remastered und die farbige LP wurde auf 180 gr Vinyl gepresst. Das Artwork ist von Dan Winters (dem ursprünglichen Grafiker) und Tim Sult neu interpretiert worden. Der Hochglanzdruck des Albumcovers auf einem Spezialpapier lässt Teile des Gatefold Covers fast metallisch erscheinen. Wie üblich beinhaltet das Album einen nummerierten und von den Bandmitgliedern handschriftlich unterzeichneter Kunstdruck ist vielleicht das wichtigste Element fuer den potentiellen Käufer. Clutch Fans weltweit werde sich um diese limitierte Auflage von 7,500 Stück reißen.
..and this is how an endless summer night's dream sound! Puestel meets his alter ego Friebe again! Can you imagine that this whole song came to Rico Friebe in a dream?!
In that dream, he was sitting in a strange living room, playing a live set with very odd, weird and partially never-seen-before equipment while everyone was annoyingly talking to him (while performing) – one person right next to him even told him that he frequently manages to eat glass by accident. WTF?!
According to all this obscurity, he tried to escape into his performance, just looking straight into a weird countertop electronic device that created sound and suddenly he played this completely unknown song with these special vocals kicking in and he immediately fell in love with and got lost in it, forgetting all about the strange situation he was in – the distracting voices around him fell into a mute state.
Shortly afterwards, he woke up and kept trying to remember all the details, the lyrics, the melody, the production, just anything, wandering around like a maniac. Finally, all of it went pretty well and you're now listening to a dream composition. Magic everywhere!
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Two of Calibre's most sought after production's remastered and recut to Vinyl for 2023.
The legendary Badmarsh & Shri - Signs (Calibre Remix) from 2001.
On the flip side Calibre's liquid funk underground classic Soul 80.
Vinyl Re-mastered by Lewis at Star Delta
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Driven by lust-fueled limerence and drifting far from conformity, Butterflies Don't Go Away captures Majesty Crush's transient, yet subversive mark on the landscape of American shoegaze to come. Tracked between 1991-1995, the quartet reimagined the collapse of the American rust belt as a late-night, nail biting fever dream/revenge fantasy. This deluxe 2xLP compiles their Love 15 album, singles, EPs, and rarities, all remastered from the original tapes, with thorough annotation and visual documentation in a 24-page booklet. An immortal transcendence if there ever was one.
Mesmerizing and exuberant Argentinian La Yegros, probably the most magnetic artist on the South American continent, is back with a new album!
The undisputed Queen of "Nu Cumbia" has not rested on her laurels. Surrounded by the same accomplices who have supported her for the last ten years, but eager to renew herself, she has set about recording her fourth album, which stands out from her discography. Although her personal folklore is still rooted in South American folklore, La Yegros is now absorbing contemporary, global music, while tackling intimate, often melancholy and even painful subjects, which she overcomes with the same resilience that drives her in concert. Nothing stands in the way of this Argentinian whirlwind, all the more fascinating for the fact that personal considerations are now surfacing beneath the veneer of the party atmosphere she sets alight.
La Yegros returned to the stage in 2022 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Viene de Mí, her single hit from the self-titled album, released in 2012 in Argentina and then worldwide in 2013, which catapulted her to international fame. We then discovered a singer who had grown up in the traditions of her country. Her parents come from Misiones, a province bordering Brazil and Paraguay, where balls are filled with the sounds of chamamé (a mix of polka and Guaraní music), Carnavalito (Andean folklore) and Colombian Cumbia. But she herself is a native of Buenos Aires, whose nights are enlivened by the bass of Dancehall and electronic music.
These influences have merged in two further successful albums, Magnetismo (2016) and Suelta (2019), followed by high voltage tours during which La Yegros has been able to display her generous nature, inexhaustible energy, exuberant personality and infectious enthusiasm.
To record her new album entitled 'HAZ', La Yegros has put her faith in the same team that has worked with her since Viene de Mí. On one hand, producer Gaby Kerpel (also known as King Coya), a pioneer of synthetic experimentation applied to traditional music, who has remained her faithful accomplice for over twenty years. On the other hand, composer Daniel Martín, who knows how to come up with melodies to dream about and hymns to sing along to. Inseparable and complementary, the trio continues to concoct this mesmerizing mixture where acoustic instruments meet samples and the rolling of machines. But the new productions don't rely on a tried and tested formula. Generally co-produced between France and Argentina, they break away from over-defined genres. La Yegros knits together new rhythms and incorporates sounds that are unheard of in her country, derived from the latest urban trends, as well as echoes of reggae and funk. As for the lyrics, signed alternately by the trio, they are embodied by La Yegros whose charismatic voice questions a period of her life tossed by waves of love and lovelessness, joy and sorrow, euphoria and anguish, indulgence and resentment.
The album is open to a wealth of musical styles. You'll hear funk guitar and Andean flutes, melancholy accordion and rolling drums, Tuareg blues enhanced by brass, house and electro Cumbia loops, and the bassoons of a chamber orchestra. The folklore 2.0 of La Yegros, nourished by its colorful inspiration, at times tender or exalted, has been imagined as a hymn to love and the contradictory feelings that come with it. As always, it has also been conceived with the stage in mind. Hatching in a storm of overturned emotions, the album is all the more explosive for the strength of the live show that accompanies it. In addition to the usual line-up of guitar, accordion and percussion, a musician handles synthesizers and machines to boost the electronic turboshaft. In any case, you can count on the singer to assert her increasingly clear-cut character with each new project. And, above all, she won't give up. L.a Yegros is back and her batteries are fully charged.
RECORDED LIVE AT MAISON DE LA RADIO, STUDIO 105 PARIS ON MARCH 2ND 1993.
FEATURING EXCLUSIVE LIVE VERSIONS OF TRACKS FROM ACROSS THE BAND’S CAREER UP TO THAT POINT. A CLASSIC, FAN-FAVOURITE SESSION, REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES.
ON COLOURED VINYL! NEVER BEFORE RELEASED!
Recorded in Paris – nine urgent Dinosaur Jr classics performed at arguably the band’s 90s peak as a live outfit. Produced in conjunction with the band and INA, France. A companion piece to 2022’s best-selling ‘Seventytwohundredseconds’ MTV EP
An expanded 3-LP edition of Sonny Rollins’ essential and legendary live trio album A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters is added to Blue Note’s acclaimed audiophile vinyl series in Q1, mastered for the very first time from the original tapes. (The first release and subsequent reissues were made from a tape transfer.) This deluxe tri-fold edition includes a plethora of great editorial, including a new interview with Rollins in conversation with Blue Note President Don Was.
“As we began to prepare for this album, I made my customary call to Capitol tape vault archivist Jack Arenas to inquire about the analog master tapes. Naturally, I assumed there would be a set of Rudy Van Gelder assembled 15ips analog masters of all the material. Indeed, there was, but then Jack said something that caught my ear. ‘Now there are these other tapes, but they haven’t been assembled, and they are all recorded at 7.5ips.’ I sat straight up and probably looked a bit like the mind-blown emoji. With this issue of Sonny Rollins ‘A Night At The Village Vanguard: The Complete Masters’ we are finally able to hear the actual masters that were recorded that afternoon and evening.” — Joe Harley
Every morning when Dent May wakes up, the first thing he says is, “What’s for breakfast?” For the Los Angeles-based songwriter and pop auteur, this question is part inside joke with his girlfriend, part sitcom-style catchphrase, and part mantra about getting up every day and persevering in the face of good or bad is happening around you in your life. It’s also the title of his sixth album, which is out on March 29, 2024 via Carpark Records. What’s For Breakfast? is May’s most immediate, nostalgic, and rollicking LP yet, one that’s concerned with breaking daily routines and rediscovering the joys of songwriting.
Over the past 17 years, May has been a consistently adventurous and prolific bedroom pop pioneer and connoisseur of impeccably crafted melodies. Though his songs are always well-written and comfortable, with What’s For Breakfast?, May has freed himself up to more playfully experiment with new and vintage musical inspirations. “I’ve occupied a lot of different lanes over the years,” says May. “I’ve always been drawn to making kaleidoscopic pop inspired by old soul, disco, country, whatever. This time around, I was tapping into music from my childhood, like The Strokes, Weezer and Elephant 6 Collective bands.” By revisiting the music of his youth—energetic and infectious guitar rock—he found a vibrant palate to explore for this new LP.
Lead single “One Call, That’s All” kickstarts with frenetic guitar-driven intensity. While the track slyly takes its name from the slogan of an ambulance-chasing Mississippi lawyer, May sings of unrequited love and phone-based ennui. “It’s a fast tempo pop-rock song that isn’t like anything I’ve done before,” says May. Elsewhere, opener “You Already Know” showcases May’s goofball lyrical charm with lines about playing chess online and looking like a Dawson’s Creek character. Beyond the jokes in the song, there is a bittersweet recognition of time passing and a call to action when May sings, “Now you already know what time it is / It’s time to live your life / Cuz it’s flying by / No matter the day, week, month or year / It’s time to do a lot / Ready or not.”
What’s For Breakfast? marks another first for Dent in being his most collaborative LP yet. Alongside guest appearances from Jimmy Whispers and co-writes with Paul Cherry, are two standout singles with Jordana and Pearl & The Oysters respectively. Jordana assists on the wistful “Coasting on Fumes,” which captures the feeling of being stuck in a rut while the yearning “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” guests Pearl and the Oysters. “My first album came out almost 15 years ago, so bringing in others to help out is crucial to keep things interesting,” says May. “I’m constantly falling back in love with music through the eyes of others. This album is about remembering why I like music.”
After achieving some decent notoriety, and not only in Italy, as an electro-pop duo (thanks mainly to the single 'Short Wave, a small 'classic' in the early years of that decade), between January 1982 and March 1983 Ruins morphed into a new five members line-up. With this fresh option, Ruins restructured the previous repertoire and produced entirely new material.
The original 4 track recording had remained largely unpublished at the time and seemed irretrievably lost. However, thanks to persistent research and with the aid of modern technology, they have been brilliantly recovered from the archives and are now available in this collection aptly titled “BRAIN FLAKES (The Lost Combo Tapes)“, bringing to light the 'explosive' blend of prog, funk, new wave, and electro-pop, that such short-lived lineup managed to create in just over a year of activity.
Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album has few parallels. Viewed solely through the lens of sales numbers, Whitney Houston is a watershed statement on par with the most commercially successful and culturally dominant LPs ever released. Having sold more than 14 million copies in the U.S. and upwards of 25 million units worldwide, the 1985 LP became the equivalent of the television show or blockbuster film that everyone collectively experiences and discusses. Nearly four decades later, it’s lost none of its appeal or magnetism — and its artistic significance and historical import have only grown.
Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 4,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's 180g SuperVinyl LP of Whitney Houston presents the breakthrough in audiophile sound for the first time. The signature traits Houston exhibits on every song — her three-octave range, radiant warmth, personal conviction, impossibly controlled register — come across with exceptional clarity, focus, and presence. Free of artificial ceilings and constricted dynamics, this reissue plays with an openness, airiness, and balance that put the singer’s once-in-a-lifetime instrument and immortal artistry into proper perspective.
It does the same for the songs’ cascading melodies and captivating arrangements. Individually produced by one of four renowned industry veterans — Kashif, Micheal Masser, Jermaine Jackson, and Narada Michael Walden — each composition feels grander, closer, more genuine. A vocal spectacular, Whitney Houston benefits from the high-end characteristics of SuperVinyl, which include a nearly inaudible noise floor, superb groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces. This is how an album that changed the direction of popular music — opening previously inaccessible doors for Black artists; bringing smooth-singing vocalists back into the mainstream; kickstarting a movement that soon included several “divas” who would command the charts through the early 21st century — should look and sound.
Though Houston’s seemingly effortless performances suggest otherwise, creating the record Rolling Stone ranks as the 257th Greatest Album of All Time wasn’t easy. Nearly 18 months were required to identify songs suitable for a still-unknown singer who did not fit into the conventional frameworks of the mid ‘80s. Confident, powerful, and prodigiously talented, Houston would forge her own parameters with Whitney Houston. In the process, she obliterated the stubborn lines between R&B and pop, Black and white radio. She dared to reimagine who could be a superstar and then went out and defined the role. Recorded for nearly $400,000 and released on Valentine’s Day, the LP exceeded the wildest expectations of those most closely associated with it — save for Houston and her family.
Having made her first public appearance at the age of 11 singing at a Baptist church, Houston understood pressure and knew her way around, inside, and through a song. The invaluable guidance and support she received from her mother, Cissy, an accomplished gospel vocalist who backed Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, are on display throughout Whitney Houston. They arrive in the types of authoritativeness, discipline, and diction rare for even most seasoned veterans — and unheard-of for a 21-year-old newcomer. Houston brings a soulful elegance, understated glamour, and in-the-moment rapture to every note. Moving up, down, or staying in the middle of the vocal ladder; channelling softness or sweetness; showing restraint or increasing the volume, she is a marvel of emotionalism, a dynamo who can seamlessly transition from one mood to another within a verse.
Though the 10-track LP largely concerns itself with the ballad tradition, Houston covers the bases, getting into an R&B groove on the fleet “Thinking About You,” turning up the heat on the duet “Take Good Care of My Heart,” and investing the contagious dance-pop confection “How Will I Know” with all the anxiety, hope, energy, and enthusiasm its lyrics demand. Featuring her mom on background vocals and Houston’s pitch-perfect tone, uncanny precision, and skyscraper highs (no AutoTune here, friends), the synth-based anthem propelled Whitney Houston into the stratosphere, the vocalist into regular MTV rotation, and the term “crossover” into popular parlance. The double-platinum single reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, Hot R&B, and Adult Contemporary charts — a trifecta that foreshadowed accomplishments that would ultimately crown Houston as the most-awarded female artist of all time.
Whitney Houston became the first album by a Black female performer to top the Billboard charts. It remained there for 14 non-consecutive weeks en route to claiming the title of the best-selling LP of 1986. It stands as the first debut and first album by a solo female artist to spawn three No. Hits, as well as the first album by a Black female artist to top the year-end charts in Australia and Canada. These are just a handful of the accolades — along with four Grammy nominations — that surround a set that also contains the unforgettable ballad “Saving All My Love,” string-accompanied “Greatest Love of All,” and sensual “You Give Good Love.”
As TIME observed in an article written two years after the album took the world by storm: “This is infectious, can't-sit-down music, and her performance dares the listener not to smile right back.” We’re still smiling.
When Sean Cimino and Isom Innis were getting ready to work on what would become Acid Star, the full-length debut of their syrupy electronic rock group Peel, they started by tapping into the music that they liked as kids. That is, the music they gravitated toward before they had "any taste or judgment," as Innis puts it. The results are an album that swirls dance-music paint onto a rock canvas. Inspired in part by genre-bending Creation Records bands like Primal Scream and Madchester groups like Happy Mondays, Acid Star gives a modern spin on a classic formula.
"This new song "Citizen X" does vibrate with the weird aura of a live show; there's a sense of disorientation and detachment, and Cimino's vocals--which are reminiscent of Paul Banks' in Turn on the Bright Lights--are like a guiding light." FLOOD
The Loch Ness Mouse was started in 1992 by the brothers Ole Johannes and Jørn Åleskjær and has since the beginning been a band constantly moving forward with radically changing style expression from record to record. From the 60's jangly psychedelic debut "Flair for Darjeeling" via the more classic pop oriented "Key West" to the more soul, R&B and jazz inspired expression that characterized their album "11-22". "New Graffiti", is probably The Loch Ness Mouse's sharpest and softest record at the same time. It swings in moods and incorporates everything from organic band-played R&B to electric jazz, pop soul and rock. The band also has some strong guest appearances on the record, including soul singer Myrna Braza and rapper Stella Mwangi who contribute on the album's title track, which also was a single heavily rotated on Norwegian radio. The album is now beautifully remastered and available on vinyl for the first time,
