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It is with great pleasure that we announce Mitchum Yacoub's debut album Living High in the Brass Empire a showcase in unique stylings of tropical funk, afrobeat, cumbia, and soul; a musical patchwork threaded by a heavy, hypnotic rhythm section and powerfully vibrant horn lines. What sounds like a 12-piece ensemble was actually mostly recorded and performed by Yacoub at his home in San Diego, featuring a few close friends from local groups Sure Fire Soul Ensemble and Boostive. The horn section is comprised of Travis Klein, Bradley Nash, and Wesley Etienne (featuring Todd Simon on "Los Muñequitos"), each with distinguished performances that send the music to higher heights. Nuanced vocalist Divina Jasso lends humanity and introspection throughout the head-nodding soul sounds of "Never Knew", latin dance anthem "Cumbia Divina", and the syncopated funk of "Empire". You'll hear rhythms from Colombia, folkloric percussion of Cuba, interlocking grooves à la Fela Kuti, 70's r&b influence, and something in between it all. Drawing many inspirations into a refreshing and unified record, we think you'll enjoy Living High in the Brass Empire.

Seit 2005 schaffen es Local Natives sich immer wieder neu in die Indie-Herzen ihrer Fans zu spielen und liefern nun mit „Time Will Wait For No One“ den nächsten Soundtrack für einen ausgedehnten Roadtrip im Sommer.

In L.A. leben viele Menschen, die auf der Suche nach dem einen Trick sind, der ihnen hilft, sich zu verwirklichen, erfolgreich und glücklich zu werden. Es ist ein lohnendes, aber zum Scheitern verurteiltes
Unterfangen, und das Beste, worauf wir hoffen können, ist, in einem Moment präsent zu sein. Das Album der Local Natives kommt in einem Moment der persönlichen Metamorphose. Das frühere Selbst schmilzt dahin, einige werden Väter, andere durchleben Zeiten der Isolation, des Verlusts und der Identitätskrise.

Time Will Wait For No One ist ein Mantra der Beruhigung als Antwort auf unerbittliche Veränderungen.

For Fans Of… Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Lee Fields. Debut album from Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints. Produced by Dala Records Founder Billy Aukstik. Featuring members of Charles Bradley, Dap-Kings, Antibalas. Recorded to 1” analog tape at Hive Mind Recording Studios. Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints are proud to announce their debut album, “Bridge of Love.” The album’s ten original compositions are presented in sparklingly-clear stereo sound and run the soul gamut, from grits-n-bricks R&B (‘Played a Fool by You’) to throw-back psychedelia (‘One Tribe’), svelte seventies pop (‘One Night of the Week’) and some seriously sophisticated ballads (‘Wounded Hearts’, ‘Bridge of Love’). Together they document Bobby’s life journey in song. Through youthful self-doubt in the opening track ‘It’s My Time’, to confirmation on the exuberant finale ‘Raise Your Mind’, Bobby proves that faith and hard work can pay dividends. “Life is a joy when you free your soul.” Throughout the album, Harden’s voice is tailored to perfection by the almost impossibly dexterous Soulful Saints, and further dressed to the nines by an accoutrement of Latin percussion, full-on horns, high-flying backing singers and even a string quartet. This comes as no surprise as The Soulful Saints have performed live and recorded together with acts such as Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Lee Fields & The Expressions, The Budos Band, Mark Ronson, Antibalas, The Impressions, & The Wu-Tang Clan.

Malian and French duo Siraba drop the second single from their debut album on Secret Teachings, ‘Kômo Fôlly’, backed by a rare remix from electronic music icon St Germain.

A new alias from Malian hunter Boubacar Samake and Damien Vandesande, one half of French electronic band dOP, Siraba is a unique and expansive project set to merge ancestral music passed down by Malian hunters with electronic-leaning spheres with nods towards the future. Recently debuting on the label with their debut single ‘Ngana Fôlly’, the first single from their forthcoming album set to arrive in September this year, the pairing return to Damian Lazarus’ alternative imprint Secret Teachings for their follow-up single, ‘Kômo Fôlly’ - once again unveiling a tapestry of traditional and modern soundscapes as they deliver a tribute to Boubacar’s father, Sibiri Samake.

With Boubacar returning to the Ngoni and uncovering further lyrics and words in Bamabra, ‘Kômo Fôlly’ builds from traditional Malian tones into an expansive trip through shimmering synths and crisp, organic percussion. It’s a spellbinding and captivating trip into the minds of typically contrasting worlds while uniting the two effortlessly to provide and produce a slice of electronic excellence. A true pioneer of the electronic realm, Ludovic Navarre, known to many under his legendary St Germain alias, is an artist who needs little introduction, having been responsible for some of house and techno’s most iconic productions across a 30-year career on labels such as F Communications and Blue Note. Turning his hand to the track and providing an extremely rare remix, the renowned talent brings his typically vibrant sound palette to the fore as he harnesses the original’s vocals and weaves excellently worked drums, subtle snaking grooves and resonant chords effortlessly for typically classy interpretation while rubber-stamping the fascinating and exciting project in the process.

Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's documents a very special concert recorded at the iconic Manchester venue during lockdown.

Released in November 2020, Matthew's Halsall's Salute to the Sun was the trumpeter's first album since 2015's Into Forever, and marked the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester's finest young musicians. The album drew it's energy from the band's weekly sessions and was inspired by Halsall's love of nature. Lush and spiritual it received universal praise, but Halsall and his band were frustrated that they were unable to share their beautiful new sound live with an audience.



On November 25th 2020, Halsall took his band into the iconic Manchester venue, Hallé St Peter's, for a concert recording in aid of the charity Mind, that was streamed on January 21st 2021 to a global audience in the thousands. The concert was also recorded for posterity.



"When we recorded Salute to the Sun, I wanted to create something playful but also quite earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. It seemed to strike a chord with people and I was blown away by the response to the album. Our concert film, recorded at the height of last winter's lockdown was a special moment for us all and I feel that the concert recording captured something beautiful that we wanted to share".



Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's features Matthew Halsall– trumpet, Matt Cliffe- flute & saxophone, Maddie Herbert– harp, Gavin Barras– bass, Liviu Gheorghe– piano, Alan Taylor– drums and Jack McCarthy- percussion



The recording has been mixed by Matthew Halsall and George Atkins at 80 Hertz and is mastered by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works. The vinyl was cut at Calyx in Berlin and the album is pressed at Optimal in Germany. It is presented in the form of a limited edition 2LP set with artwork by legendary designer Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.



Spread over three sides of the vinyl LP for maximum fidelity the fourth side of the LP (side D) features an etching of Daniel Halsall's now iconic artwork for the album Salute to the Sun and copies are strictly limited with just 3000 available in total. The album will also be available for download and on streaming platforms.

Following a 2020 debut on DJ Monchan’s Dailysession Records, Tinker’s Knob returns with a five-tracker on a new imprint, Pinehurst Music. “These edits were selected from projects dating back to 2017,” he explains, “and most of the revisions have to do with structure and arrangement, which are indispensable. I’m beholden to the original musicians and producers for providing the ‘bones’ of these edits. Some of the recordings are uncommon, some less so, but each has elements of magic, sparks blowing off of a burning branch that drove me to follow them into the night.”

Highlights from the collection include: “Juice,” an early Tom Moulton mix refreshed and dripping with strings (fiddle, not philharmonic); “Thief,” a looped-up boogie number with a break that goes all the way across the urban highway; and “Happy Air Dance,” a heartfelt homage to the late Hamilton Bohannon. Limited to 212 copies.

MARMO, a collaborative project between Christian Duka (Vādin / Amoenus) and Marco Maldarella (Sinestesie), was born out of friendship and shared passion for music-making. Starting off respectively as the electric guitarist and singer in a metal band nearly a decade ago, the pair have worked their way through various flavours of electronic music inhabiting someplace between ambient and dance music, arriving at their singular aesthetic on this, their second album and first for Utter.

'Epistolae' - Latin for 'written letters' - was created between London and Bologna during the COVID-19 pandemic, an ode to friendship and as a way to keep connected during a time of isolated separation. The album is conceived as one continuous musical experience, with each track flowing effortlessly into each other in sequence as is heard on the final cut you are listening to now. A veritable sonic journey, as one might say.

The outcome is an undulating collage carrying emotion as its common thread, with rich ambient textures giving way to bursts of percussion, simmering with shrouded whispers and spoken word, embossed with rhythms and borrowing influences from downtempo, dub, breaks, techno and tribal electronica.

'Epistolae' is available on limited vinyl and digital formats, mastered & Cut by Anne Taegert at D&M. Artwork by Marco Maldarella.

Moodfamily buddies Niels (AMyn) & Ijsbrand (member of Stavroz) have been nurturing Mosley Jr for quite some years by now. The result of years of hermitage and grinding has now culminated in their much-anticipated debut album 'Lonestar Retreat' - a sonic escape to a more creative reality and both the imaginary and physical place you visit when in need of solitude and peace of mind. Brought to you in cooperation between yours truly and Core Records.

Derrick Jamerson was the son of Motown bassist James Jamerson Jr. and grandson of Motown Funk Brother's house band bassist James Jamerson. He himself made a select few house records back in the mid-nineties which have been unearthed by some contemporary deep diggers.

A couple of his tunes now get reissued on this The Legacy Continues EP on Endangered Musique. 'So Hard' is traditional US house with organ chords, chattery claps and well-placed vocal samples, then 'Hot House' gets a bit more loose and soulful. On the flip are three different versions of Derrick's biggest tune, 'Adventures Of A Disco Diva', all of which bring some form of piano house magic.

Ruth Koleva hails from Sofia, Bulgaria, and has been a TV star and singing out concert halls for years. She has also long been singing on some superb broken beat and nu-jazz records while working with top-level production talent and having her tunes remixed by Zed Bias, Kaidi Tatham, Mark de Clive-Lowe and Eric Lau.

The neo-soul star's Ruth album gets a special anniversary edition release here with four heart-melting and textbook neo-soul tunes on the A-side then some super remixes on the flip. This is timeless stuff that works on the heart and the heel in equal measure.

In the debut EP 'We Are The Ones/Fire/Forever', Chicago DJ legend Rahaan collaborates with an incredibly talented group of musicians, including Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals, Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, Carnell C. Newbill (also known as Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals, Todd Swope on guitar, and Lou Terry on bass. Together, they create a 3-track EP that perfectly showcases Rahaan's production skills and the musical talents of the entire group. Rahaan's experience and expertise as a DJ and producer are evident in each track, with grooves that are sure to keep the dancefloor moving. The title track, 'We Are The Ones', is a story of adventure and return, with a twist. Created by Rahaan and The Ones while under the influence, the track was lost for years as it was unnamed on his computer. However, Rahaan's determination to find it paid off, and with the help of Ohio Players' Kenny Anderson on the horns, he built upon the elusive skeleton track. With Marcus J. Austin on lead vocals and Nancy Clayton on backing vocals, 'We Are The Ones' delivers a soulful, 4-to-the-floor anthem that showcases the vocal talents of the group. And in 'Fire', Todd Swope's guitar skills shine through, creating an epic production that draws spiritual inspiration from traditional AfroBeat rhythms. It's worth noting that The Ones features some truly talented musicians, including Carnell C. Newbill (Spike Rebel) on keyboards and backing vocals. Spike Rebel is a well-known producer and musician in his own right. With his soulful vocals taking center stage, Carnell Newbill leads the charge on "Forever," he also superbly delivers on bass, keys, percussion, and guitar. Expertly mixed by Rahaan, this track is sure to become a dance floor anthem. In summary, 'The Ones' EP is an impressive collaboration between some of the most talented musicians in the Chicago underground House and Disco scene. With Rahaan at the helm, this project is sure to be a hit with anyone who loves to dance. Mastered with Love by the Grammy nominated The Carvery Studios, this is one for any worthwhile DJ’s record bag.

Repress!

Superb new LP from the crew... Magestic tunes, dancefloor, melting new tricks to the old shcool style of each... Defenitly a beautyful pack of anthem ! Soon at a cinema near you:)

Marc Richter aka Black To Comm released his debut record 20 years ago. In 2023 he is still busy releasing music under various disguises and is currently signed to the Thrill Jockey label. To celebrate this anniversary his own Cellule 75 label is re-releasing some classic out-of-print vinyl albums that originally came out on the defunct Type and De Stijl labels. The LP will feature a full-colour lyric sheet / poster exclusive to this edition.

After releasing the critically acclaimed Alphabet 1968 on the seminal Type label (Grouper, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Yellow Swans), Richter chose De Stijl for this 2012 album, an American label that had just put out future classics by the likes of Circuit Des Yeux, Hype Williams and Wolf Eyes.

EARTH is a 2009 silent film by Ho Tzu Nyen, one of Singapore's foremost visual artists. After hearing Black To Comm's Alphabet 1968 Ho Tzu Nyen invited Richter to accompany the film at Berlin's Asian Film Festival, Unsound in Krakow and several other art biennals and music festivals around the world.

In his own words: "Most of the music was composed under the influence of heavy pain killers while recovering from a broken leg (the recordings literally took place in bed). The music (like the film) is about slowness and decay, states of unconsciousness, sleeping and waking up, dying and being reborn. The film is a post-apocalyptic collage based on paintings by classical European painters (Caravaggio, Delacroix, Rembrandt, Gericault) -- the music translates this concept employing corresponding collage-based sampling techniques using loops made from vintage vinyl and shellac records combined with acoustic and electronic instrumentation and voice."

From the original De Stijl one-sheet:
"Richter’s already formidable expressive power stretches over all of EARTH. Reflecting the countless cyclical forces that make up, oh, more or less everything we know and are, the music on EARTH is bracing, lovely, bustling and still, and at times bittersweet, a commingling of sensations and emotions that can’t be neatly separated from one another. (EARTH is complex, as you know.) Guests on EARTH include David Aird, a.k.a Vindicatrix (on the Mordant Music label), contributing startling vocal work; Renate Nikolaus on an array of instruments and noise devices; Rutger Zuydervelt (singing bowls); and Christopher Kline (singing saw). EARTH is Black to Comm’s seventh album and his debut for De Stijl, following the acclaimed Alphabet 1968 (on Type) and last year’s vinyl-only collaboration with Mike Kelley of Destroy All Monsters (on the En/Of label)."

Alex Neilson in The Wire:
"The most marked aspect of Earth is the voice of David Aird, aka Vindicatrix. Imperious and dolorous, he has the gravity of post-Climate Of Hunter Scott Walker, David Sylvain or Klaus Nomi stripped of the pathetic ritz. This is something that's easy to do badly, but Aird pulls it off with aplomb. On "The Children" he breaks into a morose yodel, rolling the words around his palate and colouring each syllable black before gifting them to the air. The meaning isn't understood verbally as much as viscerally. Beneath Aird's ululations, Richter casts handfuls of angelic debris from keyboards and digital devices, generating a celestial electronic tapestry reminiscent of Japanese musician Nobukazu Takemura. Sounds vie and twist at frequencies you can't so much hear as feel in the bridge of your nose, and the variety and full-bloodedness of the accompaniment is what prevents Aird's vocal from occassionally lapsing into shtick."

First proper album by Settima Tacca, aka Apollinariya Kaspars from Moscow.

"Here’s a vinyl edition of an album i recorded in 2021 with a few extras that have been added quite recently for the sake of making it into a full LP (thanks to the initiative of HHR). i have recorded the whole thing at my home studio with an upright piano, two of my favorite polyphonic analog synths - korg polysix and roland juno 60, and a greco stratocaster, that i have bought accidentally because i understand nothing about guitars. the main material for this album was composed around 2017, when entering my mid-twenties and trying to overcome the disenchantments of some crucial personal realms of human life.
as for the later added instrumentals (1,4,9,10) i have kept the sonic consistency intact but with way more hopeful spirits during the process. despite this ambivalent intervention from the future, this work feels even more complete to me now."

Spaceman, otherwise known as Stephen Munson or Stephan James, is the former lead singer of English cult glam punk band Living In Texas, one of the very first bands to play an MTV Europe session when MTV was in its infancy, one of the last bands to play at the legendary Elixir Festival in France, once #3 in the Italian charts (1985.),...

At the end of Living In Texas, Munson continued to form other projects without such conviction and to write songs, until meeting Christelle Canot aka Confused, a moment which he describes as his epiphany. He entrusted her with the production of his first (double) solo album.

This follows during the pandemic by the production of a double album featuring 9 songs already recorded in 2000 and the composition of 16 others with musicians from all over the world, carried by the same punk and DIY spirit that has always lived with him.

Poet, director, an artist touching everything and a great lyricist, his songs are personal and universal, love letters to his children, to nature, to our addictions, confessions of weakness, regrets, his life passes through these 25 songs that range from the folk lo-fi masterpiece "frEND" to pure postpunk sound straight out of the 80s "Everybody's Hooked On Something", to folk-rock ballads like Martin's Garden, eternal songs with "Loving Ways" or ballads of Lynchian love... As many universes as eras crossed with the greatest sincerity through the eyes of an eternal child.

Lost private press gem "The Swimmer" by Florida native Danny Morgan, is a cool and breezy, beguiling easy glide from 1987. It should've been huge. It still could be. It's a mellow marina masterpiece and quintessentially Balearic. Over the past few years, it's gathered a cult following yet the album from which it derives is virtually impossible to come by.

Finally available on a standalone, fully remastered 12", it's been backed by an instant classic "Seahawks Swimming Through Space Remix", courtesy of those beloved cats Jon Tye and Pete Fowler.

These won't be around for long, limited to just 500 copies for the world, so don't drown in procrastination.

One listen and you'll want to dive in.

Fans of the deeply entrancing, nautically and narcotically-enhanced cuts of Dennis Wilson or Michael Nesmith’s The Prison will be instantly mesmerised by the sheer beauty of "The Swimmer". After tracking Danny down, we wanted to know more. How does something so magical come about? The man himself answered thusly:

"At the time I was running many miles on the Sanibel Island beach and doing a bit of swimming in the Gulf Of Mexico. Keeping my mind busy on a long run, I imagined a “what if” movie scene. Almost every run or swim someone is sitting there on the beach watching what goes by. Back at my desk I started finger picking some chords and the picture in my head showed up. I punched in a rhythm loop and the song was on its way.

Adrian Belew and I had the same manager Stan Hertzman so I was listening to some of Adrian’s work. I was a huge fan of Joni Mitchel and the unusual chord changes and melodies in some of her songs. All of this influenced the sound on “The Swimmer”

I had a support band at the time living in my house on Sanibel Island so we practiced a lot. We came up with an arrangement of the song and we took across the bridge to John McLane’s Important Studios and recorded it. I played finger picking acoustic guitar and sang, Tim Miller played drums, Jeff Holck played fretless bass, Dave Dust played lead guitar and John McLane played keyboards and sang harmony."

Our deep thanks must go out to Jon Tye (MLO / Seahawks / Ocean Moon) for first hipping Be With to this stunner. We returned the favour by giving him the keys to the stems and requesting a strung out remix to go on the flip - he returned having conspired with Pete Fowler to conjure a cosmically copacetic rerub with the subtropical chug of the "Seahawks Swimming Through Space Remix".

Putting together the artwork for this 12" release was an enjoyable process. It was nice to be able to flip the original sleeve for the Beach Life album by using previously unseen photos, sent to us by Danny. We wanted to create something that looks like it would've gone with the LP sleeve. We think we've cracked it. Simon Francis remastered Danny's original audio and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 12" sounds appropriately outstanding. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this previously lost masterpiece stays forever found.

Catorce reflexiones sobre el fin (Fourteen Reflections on the End) originated from an installation exhibited at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2019. Fourteen magnetic bodies of tape that dialogued with the fourteen pieces of electroacoustic music now contained in this album composed from the sound anthology of Angélica Castelló. Thus, Catorce reflexiones sobre el fin is a complex piece consisting of multiple parts that, although articulated with each other, hold a life of their own.

Like every body, these have a unique history made up of mixed fragments spun by Angélica, ranging from field recordings, references, and self-references to previous pieces, experiences, and voice recordings made specifically for these compositions re-recorded in various formats, from lo to high fidelity, analog and digital, composed, decomposed and recomposed (Castelló, A., 2019). Likewise, as any body, they also reflect on their end, whether absolute or temporal, of the many ways of being finite and of saying goodbye.

During the Catorce reflexiones sobre el fin, Castelló takes you on a journey that is difficult to locate. An ethereal space between shattered glass, stridulation of cicadas, war drums, murmurs in French, Italian maledictions, and soft recitations in Spanish. From uproar to solace, all wrapped in a soft abstraction that only allows access to the subtle whisper of these expressions. A gesture between invitation and sharing because who does not recognize oneself in this emotional storm?

First, the approach of the winds, the first breeze that caresses the body. Then the bewilderment announced by the scent of uncertainty condensed in the air’s humidity. The prelude to the storm, to something that will shake you from head to toe, something from which there will be no return.

To the acceleration of the winds comes the percussions, the tremor of the storm with its lightning. la Ira (1). A vibration running through the whole body, unstoppable. This reverberating sound, resulting from its re-percussion with our body acoustics, owes its tones and echoes to the cavities and organs of different masses. From what is hollow and what is full; what is void and what is matter. There is no turning back. It is a dive into the void; to fight and resist because there is no other way to go. It is a matter of survival.

Ma fin est mon commencement Et mon commencement ma fin (2)

After this, the cicada resumes at the crack of dawn, a gentle breeze, and solitude, that temporarily musical silence of embraces (3) with hints of harpsichord and bells.

The breaking of the waves in Sicily is accompanied by the antenna that picks up radio transmissions that already invite other tastes. The Mediterranean and its currents mingle and divide tense routes of escape, exchange, and struggle between Blutorangen, tides, and birdsongs.

An immersion into deep waters.

And in the end, we all commit sins! Queste maledette! (4)

Lorena Moreno Vera, 2023

When he‘s not writing or recording, Baba Stiltz immerses in fearless fiction by the likes of Denis Johnson and Dodie Bellamy; prose where pedestrian details become transcendent in aggregate and the inner lives of marginal characters are examined as though they were kings.
A similar thesis runs through „Paid Testimony“, the essential second tape of minimalist guitar music from the FilipinoAmerican-Swedish artist.

In recent years, Stiltz has made like Lee Hazelwood‘s Cowboy In Sweden in reverse, making annual pilgrimages from Stockholm to California and reconnecting with his roots via a guitar and a Fostex 4- track. He‘s drawn to the less glamorous corners of the golden state, an observant habitué of unkempt streets and dive bars stretching from LA to Vacaville. It‘s a long stretch from the jetset techno clubs
where Baba originally plied his musical trade, but it‘s where he finds characters and ideas worth writing about.
The characters on „Paid Testimony“ are on the edge and on the run. Surrounded by flawed men with big schemes since childhood, he extrapolates characters who plot bank heists and order milk and vodka in AM hours, the type of confrontation- prone characters who „say some shit, make everyone uncomfortable and then just split.“ To focus on the rawness of this document would discount the humor and sympathy with which he treats his characters, not to mention the subtly- psychedelic songwriting recalling David Berman, early Smog, the original indie rock minimalist poets.

On the final song, Stiltz looks back on the city that raised him „Stockholm,“ referencing „young professionals carelessly living“ before adding „I can‘t say I‘m not jealous even though I live my life just like they do.“ There‘s an honesty in the small details revealed on „Paid Testimony“, and a defined sense of place, be it Stockholm, Sacramento or some dim barroom across from the Bank Of America.

Baba doesn‘t quite fit in anywhere. This outsider quality has often been used as a marketing tool, yet here, it lends a writerly aspect to the proceedings, an unreality to the everyday.

2023 Edition - Now a 'cult classic' , repressed for 2023 ears on All City Dublin. Onra started the project in August 2006, freshly returned from a trip to Vietnam, the land of his grandparents. A vinyl junkie at heart, he really couldn’t come back to France without bringing back some wax.

After hours spent riding on a motorbike through the streets of Saigon, a taxi finally helped him find some Asian records - he almost felt like an explorer discovering a forgotten treasure. He bought 30 records, most of them in poor condition, went back to his crib and started making beats with material that he wasn’t quite used to …

Fates Warning’s ninth studio album, “Disconnected,” contain recurring images of separation and incompleteness reflective of the album’s title. “To do something similar to earlier release would have been an easy way out,” says guitarist Jim Matheos of the set. “The best thing for me to do, and the biggest inspiration, is to say, ‘Let’s do something different now and stretch ourselves in the other direction.’ ” Disconnected,” sees Fates Warning collaborate with ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore, as well Armored Saint’s Joey Vera on bass and backing vocals. Vocalist Ray Alder takes a more active role in the writing process for this album. Matheos, who writes the group’s music, has served as Fates Warning’s primary lyricist for years, but on “Disconnected” Alder pens the words to two songs, including the first single, “One.” Another “Disconnected” track, “Pieces Of Me,” is the first lyrical collaboration between Alder and Matheos. Throughout the band's career, Fates Warning has always cut a clear path, remaining steadfast in their vision to create inspired progressive metal. A must have for fans!

ME LOST ME led by Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent announces a new album RPG via Upset The Rhythm on 7th July, and is touring across the UK including support dates with Pigs x7. RPG (recorded in Blank Studios with Sam Grant of Pigs x7) is ME LOST ME’s fourth outing as a collective, having transitioned from an ambitious solo project in 2017, Jayne now regularly collaborating with acclaimed North-East jazz musicians Faye MacCalman and John Pope.
ME LOST ME delights in experimenting with songwriting and storytelling, creating a beguiling mix of soaring vocals and atmospheric electronics that playfully weave together disparate genres, drawing influence from folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music. Hauntological in part, RPG is concerned with tales and with time - are we running out of it? Does insomnia cause a time loop? Do the pressures of masculinity prevent progress? Jayne Dent asks these questions and more on RPG, her homage to worldbuilding and the story as an artform, calling back to those oral traditions around a campfire, as well as modern day video games - bringing folk music into the present day as she does so.
ME LOST ME presents sound reaching in opposite directions, straddling time towards the archaic and timeless traditions of folktales, and towards the possible and potential futures of pastoral Britain and the world at large. Part speculation, part reminiscence, what results on the new album RPG is music that sounds ultimately displaced and yet omnipresent, adjacent to a hapless Vonnegut hero whose life is scattered throughout time and history, but full of wonder and curiosity rather than fear.
On track “The Oldest Trees Hold The Earth”, we see time stretched out between the branches of impossibly old beings in the woods. This track was co-written in Aarhus, Denmark with fellow Newcastle folk musician (with Danish heritage) Ditte Elly. The pair wordlessly passed a sheet of paper between each other to write the lyrics, inspired by Højbjerg and Mosegård, the woods they were sitting in. “How long should I wait/Before the moss grows?/On my skin, on my outstretched arms,” the lyrics are sung in a round, the close harmonies delicate and detailed.

A central thesis of this album is the joy of creation, something which is paid homage to in the album’s final track, “Science And Art” (Not because we need it to last/just because we needed to make it - so we invented the words/this language). It is also reflected in the definition that Jayne gives for “folk” itself. She comments, “To me, folk is quite an expansive idea. I think of it as creative work that's often made ad-hoc, with things that are at hand and more often than not it's born of a DIY ethos. It is songs and stories of the people, as in the traditional sense, but also creative coding, game design etc. Whatever outlet someone has for their creative expression could be described as folk. It's the things we make because humans need to make things, and the stories we tell about ourselves and the world around us.”
Crucially, on latest album RPG, Dent expands her songwriting and looks towards the unreal locations of worldbuilding in video games for inspiration. She comments, “I think the main similarity is the importance of a song's setting/environment to inform its narrative and textures, I'm often most inspired when out walking in the natural landscape, in cities and travelling to places I've never been before - the environment I'm in really impacts the work I make. While writing this album, however, I found myself inspired by imaginary landscapes, those in video games, paintings, etc. I was writing stories into these unreal locations instead. Even the songs inspired by real places, like The Oldest Trees Hold the Earth, have a very surreal quality to them in the songs, like they're being warped and turned into something not of this world. I think that's the main difference for me in terms of the thematic content and inspiration behind this album - I've been getting more and more interested in balancing surreal and fantastical environmental elements with ordinary and everyday settings.”
RPG upends the concept of the eternal return - we may be in the midst of inevitable repetition, but we tell stories whilst awaiting the passage of time.
"Being familiar with, and a fan of Jayne's earlier work, it was great to get the opportunity to work with her on the production of her new record. I had in mind a sense of what the record might be, but what came of the sessions, led by the vision Jayne had for the record, totally exceeded my expectations. As far as albums go, it has a breadth of writing and a sonic depth that made it a truly brilliant record. Having Jayne join us on a leg of the Pigs x7 tour in April is going to be ace. The creative nature, the sincerity and bold strokes of ME LOST ME put it in that space outside of any genre pigeonholes, and between our two sets I imagine the audience is going to have a proper sonic bath..."
Sam Grant, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, 2023
“The music of Me Lost Me is beguiling, idiosyncratic and cinematic - or should that be video-game-omatic? This suite of songscapes often hits the sweet spot between ancient and modern with its masterful blend of stark folk, neon electronic burbling and unusual arrangements. Jayne's singing is refreshingly straightforward and nuanced - it's exquisite! - and perfectly punctures the nebulae of synths and brass which billow around the old wooden frames of the songs. Whilst listening I had images in my mind of what Northumberland might look like through the eyes of Simon Stalenhag - foggy moors, a robot looking across the sea to Lindisfarne, twinkling lights on metal towers.... that sort of thing. It's a really great album.”
Richard Dawson, 2023

Der finnische Musikveteran Jesse Heikkinen und seine Co-Leadsängerin Natalie Koskinen (Shape of Despair) ließen sich von esoterischen Organisationen, ihrem Glauben und ihren eigenen Praktiken lyrisch inspirieren und verwoben rituelle Geschichten aus den dunkelsten Ecken ihrer selbst mit Musik, die ein provokantes, verführerisches Kaleidoskop aus dunklem, schwerem Rock ergibt. Das Ergebnis ist das mystische "Word of Sin", das neun-track-Debütalbum von The Abbey. Mit dem ehemaligen Sentenced- und The Man-Eating Tree-Schlagzeuger Vesa Ranta, Janne Markus (Gitarre, ebenfalls von The Man-Eating Tree) und Henri Arvola (Bass) wird das Debütalbum der aufstrebenden Progressive-Doom-Rock-Band die Hörer mit Sicherheit in seinen Bann ziehen.

Recorded in the early 2000s, The Sand Dollars' two Tropicália-inspired remakes of classic late 60's nuggets by The Kinks and Donovan are paired together for the first time here on F-Spot Records' new subsidiary label Pangea International Recording Co., which focuses on world and global groove inspired releases, curated by David M Celia and Dan Ubick.

From the vaults of Dan Ubick's Lions Den Studios, we get the crown jewel in Ray Davies' catalog, "Waterloo Sunset" from Something Else by The Kinks, redone as a funky Tropicália-inspired track and re-named "Waterloo Bossa" complete with fuzzy compact organ, bouncy Fender bass, funky drums from Connie Price, a lush horn arrangement by Ubick's former Keystones cohort and trumpeter Todd M. Simon (Dap Kings, El Michels Affair, Macy Gray), string arrangement by mix guru and multi-instrumentalist Steve Kaye (The Lions, Inara George, Hepcat, Marley Bros.) and topped off with stereophonic vocals by jazz chanteuse Gretchen Parlato (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Esperanza Spalding, Lionel Loueke).

Side B's "Get Thy Bearings" was initially pressed on Now-Again Records back in 2003 and quickly sampled by Lily Allen on her track "Sunday Morning" due to the raw and heavy drums and Fender bass courtesy of Connie Price and Richard "Doo" Lee along-side inventive horn arrangement by Todd Simon flipping the original on its heady head. Now freshly mastered, this B-side instrumental is available again as the hard-hitting remake of Donovan's classic from 1968's The Hurdy Gurdy Man LP that may inspire you to sample it as Biz Markie did on "I Told You."

Penguin Cafe kündigen heute ihr fünftes Studioalbum Rain Before Seven... an, das am 7.Juli 2023 bei Erased Tapes erscheinen wird.



Eine zuversichtliche Grundstimmung durchzieht das fünfte Studioalbum von Penguin Cafe, Rain Before Seven…, wobei es sich keinesfalls um jenen extrem selbstbewussten, fast schon prahlerischen Optimismus handelt, sondern eher um so eine auf bescheidene Art hoffnungsvolle Grundhaltung, die man den Menschen auf der Insel ja häufiger nachsagt. Auch wenn alle Anzeichen das Gegenteil behaupten, spürt man hier sofort diese Gewissheit, dass sich alles doch noch irgendwie zum Guten wenden wird. Vermutlich zumindest.



Der Titel des Albums geht auf eine alte Bauernregel zurück, wobei die gereimte Vorhersage – „… fine before eleven“: ab 11 Uhr also wieder alles klar – auf ein baldiges gutes Ende hindeutet, vollkommen unabhängig davon, was die Wissenschaft sagt: „Ich habe diesen Spruch in einem Buch entdeckt. Davor hatte ich ihn noch nie gehört“, erzählt Arthur Jeffes, der Kopf von Penguin Cafe. „Er hat so einen dezent optimistischen Beigeschmack, und das gefällt mir sehr. Man verwendet ihn heutzutage kaum noch, aber der Reim beschreibt tatsächlich Wetterphänomene in England, die vom Atlantik aus über die Insel ziehen.“



Angefangen beim leinwandgroßen und schwärmerischen Eröffnungstitel „Welcome to London“, der mit einem Augenzwinkern auf Morricone anspielt, bis hin zum „Goldfinch Yodel“, jenem „Maibaum-Banger“ (um es mit Arthurs Worten zu sagen), mit dem das neue Album ausklingt, zieht sich ein angenehmes Gefühl von Leichtigkeit und Lebensmut durch den Longplayer, unterfüttert mit der Ausgelassenheit exotischer Rhythmen. Alles wirkt spielerisch und verspielt, und selbst der Titel ist eine Anspielung – auf A Matter of Life… aus dem Jahr 2011, der letzten Veröffentlichung, deren Titel in eine Ellipse mündete Jenes Debütalbum von Penguin Cafe diente einst als Bindeglied und Brücke – zwischen dem legendären Penguin Cafe Orchestra, das einst Arthurs Vater Simon Jeffes leitete, und dem gefeierten Nachfolger, als dessen Mastermind seither Arthur verantwortlich zeichnet.



„Ich glaube, das wirklich Neue an seinem Ansatz bestand darin, spannende und schräge Ideen zu nehmen – und dann seltsame Dinge damit anzustellen“, meint Arthur, „dabei aber konstant im Blick zu haben, dass es hinterher auch schön klingt und emotional ansprechend bleibt.“ Dieses Ethos lebt weiter in der Musik von Penguin Cafe: „Dazu haben wir uns entschlossen, als ich daran anknüpfte, schließlich spielen wir die Sachen meines Vaters und machen dazu auch neue Musik, die im selben Klanguniversum angesiedelt ist. Das bedeutet, dass ich gewissermaßen moralisch dazu verpflichtet bin, den ursprünglichen roten Faden im Auge zu behalten – und dafür zu sorgen, dass wir nicht plötzlich in Richtung Thrash-Metal abbiegen.“



Dennoch waren die rhythmischen Elemente, die zum Teil sogar an elektronische Sounds erinnern, noch nie so präsent und tonangebend wie auf Rain Before Seven…, was durchaus auch dem Co-Produzenten Robert Raths geschuldet ist. „Find Your Feet“ etwa hat ein Beat-Fundament, das weit über einen bloßen Pulsschlag hinausgeht. Abgemischt von Tom Chichester-Clark, blitzt an Stellen wie diesen etwas auf, das Arthur selbst als „fast schon elektronischen Vibe“ bezeichnet, um dann ganz aufgeregt zu ergänzen: „Es geht vor allem auch einfach ums Spaßhaben, was auf den letzten drei Alben nicht so zu hören war.” Extrem ausgelassen klingt auch „In Re Budd“, das dem verstorbenen Ambient-Urgestein Harold Budd gewidmet ist. Arthur erfuhr von dessen Tod an jenem Tag, als er diesen feierlichen Ohrwurm komponierte, dessen Synkopen deutlich komplexer sind, als sie auf den ersten Blick wirken. Auf einem präparierten Klavier gespielt, wobei die Filzstücke dem Track zusätzlichen Bounce verleihen, setzt Jeffes hier auf einen Afro Cuban Cafe-Vibe – was wunderbar zum widerspenstigen Geist des verstorbenen Budd passt.



Und schließlich wäre da noch das bereits erwähnte „Welcome to London“, das seinen Titel erhielt, als sich die Welt gerade wieder zu öffnen begann und die Menschen auch wieder Fernreisen antreten durften. Jeffes, der somit nach langer Zeit endlich wieder einen Fuß auf britischen Boden setzen konnte, war sofort beeindruckt von filmischen Soundtrack-Qualitäten (à la John Barry) dieses Stücks, als er mit dem Taxi von Heathrow nach West-London fuhr und zur Musik die opulente, in Dämmerungslicht getauchte Metropolenkulisse auf sich wirken ließ. Hier kann man deutlich die eingangs erwähnte Zuversicht raushören – und dazu vielleicht auch einen Hauch von bissiger Ironie: „Robert Raths hat der Sache noch eine Nuance hinzugefügt, die ich interessant finde, weil doch so viele Londoner ursprünglich gar nicht aus London stammen. Man schlägt also in London als Zugezogener auf, man weiß noch nicht, zu welchem Lager man sich zugehörig fühlen soll, und dann wird man auf der Straße überfallen und ausgeraubt – und in dem Licht betrachtet, hat dieses ‘Welcome to London’ doch einen eher sarkastischen Beigeschmack.“

Als autodidaktische Musikerin und charakteristisch private Künstlerin, die ihr Leben ihrer Arbeit widmet, taucht die amerikanische Songwriterin Julie Byrne nach über sechs Jahren seit ihrem ihrem letzten Album "Not Even Happiness" aus einer zutiefst anstrengenden und generativen Phase mit der kraftvollsten, glänzendsten und lebensbejahendsten Musik ihrer Karriere auf. The Greater Wings wurde über mehrere Jahreszeiten hinweg geschrieben, mit Bildern von Nächten auf Tour, Zeiten der Isolation und den Fahrten quer durchs Land für die verschiedenen Kollaborationen zwischen Chicago, New York und Los Angeles. Die Aufnahmen begannen mit dem verstorbenen Eric Littmann (Phantom Posse, Steve Sobs), ihrem langjährigen kreativen Partner und Not Even Happiness-Produzenten, und endeten in den Catskills von New York mit dem Produzenten Alex Somers (Sigur Rós, Julianna Barwick). Obwohl sie die Plastizität des Verlustes in sich tragen, sind die Lieder universell, ungezügelt in ihrer Hingabe und Freude. Byrne lehnt sich weiter in Atmosphären, die sowohl weitläufig als auch intim sind; das üppige, beschwörende Songhandwerk fließt zwischen ihrer charakteristischen fingergezupften Gitarre, dem Synthesizer und einem neu hinzugefügten Klavier, das durch Ausschmückungen mit Harfe und Streichern erweitert wird. Es ist der transzendente Klang von Ressourcen, von Freundschaft, die nie ohne Romantik war, von Loyalität, die von innen heraus brennt wie ein brennendes Herz, und der Lebenskraft, die in unwiederholbaren Momenten heraufbeschworen wird - roh, wunderschön und wild. "Meine Hoffnung für The Greater Wings ist, dass es als Liebesbrief an meine auserwählte Familie und als Ausdruck der Tiefe meines Engagements für unsere gemeinsame Zukunft lebt", erklärt Byrne. "Durch die Trauer neu geformt zu werden, hat mir auch bewusster gemacht, was der Tod mir nicht nimmt. Das nehme ich mir zu Herzen, in Worte, in Töne. Musik ist nicht an eine lineare Zeit gebunden, so dass sie in der Lage ist, die Zukunft aufzuzeichnen und zu ihr zu sprechen: So hat es sich für mich angefühlt, als wir gleichzeitig lebendig waren und alles auf einmal geschah. Wie es sich angefühlt hat, an meine Grenzen zu gehen und zu stoßen, die Liebe, die diesen ganzen Kampf wert war. Diese Erinnerungen sind meine Werte, sie gehören zu mir."

Als autodidaktische Musikerin und charakteristisch private Künstlerin, die ihr Leben ihrer Arbeit widmet, taucht die amerikanische Songwriterin Julie Byrne nach über sechs Jahren seit ihrem ihrem letzten Album "Not Even Happiness" aus einer zutiefst anstrengenden und generativen Phase mit der kraftvollsten, glänzendsten und lebensbejahendsten Musik ihrer Karriere auf. The Greater Wings wurde über mehrere Jahreszeiten hinweg geschrieben, mit Bildern von Nächten auf Tour, Zeiten der Isolation und den Fahrten quer durchs Land für die verschiedenen Kollaborationen zwischen Chicago, New York und Los Angeles. Die Aufnahmen begannen mit dem verstorbenen Eric Littmann (Phantom Posse, Steve Sobs), ihrem langjährigen kreativen Partner und Not Even Happiness-Produzenten, und endeten in den Catskills von New York mit dem Produzenten Alex Somers (Sigur Rós, Julianna Barwick). Obwohl sie die Plastizität des Verlustes in sich tragen, sind die Lieder universell, ungezügelt in ihrer Hingabe und Freude. Byrne lehnt sich weiter in Atmosphären, die sowohl weitläufig als auch intim sind; das üppige, beschwörende Songhandwerk fließt zwischen ihrer charakteristischen fingergezupften Gitarre, dem Synthesizer und einem neu hinzugefügten Klavier, das durch Ausschmückungen mit Harfe und Streichern erweitert wird. Es ist der transzendente Klang von Ressourcen, von Freundschaft, die nie ohne Romantik war, von Loyalität, die von innen heraus brennt wie ein brennendes Herz, und der Lebenskraft, die in unwiederholbaren Momenten heraufbeschworen wird - roh, wunderschön und wild. "Meine Hoffnung für The Greater Wings ist, dass es als Liebesbrief an meine auserwählte Familie und als Ausdruck der Tiefe meines Engagements für unsere gemeinsame Zukunft lebt", erklärt Byrne. "Durch die Trauer neu geformt zu werden, hat mir auch bewusster gemacht, was der Tod mir nicht nimmt. Das nehme ich mir zu Herzen, in Worte, in Töne. Musik ist nicht an eine lineare Zeit gebunden, so dass sie in der Lage ist, die Zukunft aufzuzeichnen und zu ihr zu sprechen: So hat es sich für mich angefühlt, als wir gleichzeitig lebendig waren und alles auf einmal geschah. Wie es sich angefühlt hat, an meine Grenzen zu gehen und zu stoßen, die Liebe, die diesen ganzen Kampf wert war. Diese Erinnerungen sind meine Werte, sie gehören zu mir."

In addition to his day job transforming pop music with his own records, as well as those of Gastr del Sol, Loose Fur and Sonic Youth over the past few decades, Jim O"Rourke has been contracted for several dozen film scores over the years as well. It makes sense - his abilities as an improviser, composer and producer allow him to interpret cinematic moments with a unique understanding for their construction and how they work. It doesn"t hurt that Jim"s a well-versed cineaste, a complete and total fan of watching films, which has given him a preternatural understanding of the role of music in movies. What doesn"t make sense is how Hands That Bind is the first film soundtrack of Jim"s to ever receive worldwide release! He"s worked with filmmakers of international repute, like Olivier Assayas, Allison Anders, Werner Herzog and Kôji Wakamatsu! He served as music consultant on Richard Linklater"s 2003 laff-fest, School of Rock! He"s played in ensembles of award-winning documentaries and films alike! Throw the guy an internationally-promoted soundtrack LP every more often, why doncha? It was left to the "suits" of Drag City Records to innovate, once again, by taking a leap on an O"Rourke work. Made for an indie film that"s been seen by festival audiences and not enough others, the soundtrack for Hands That Bind is a moody, atmospheric delight. Jim"s roots in composition via tape-editing have evolved into a sophisticated assembly of found-and-processed sounds that achieve highly musical, near-orchestral majesty as they hang in the very air of the drama that unfolds in Kyle Armstrong"s Hands That Bind. Described as a "slow-burn prairie gothic drama" set in the farmland of Canada"s Alberta province, and starring Paul Sparks, Susan Kent, Landon Liboiron, Nicholas Campbell, Will Oldham, and Bruce Dern, Hands That Bind is a spellbinding trip to the existential bone of rural working life in North America. As conflict rises over the hard-worked patches of land that provide a mere and mean existence, a desperate air settles in, as a series of mysterious, often supernatural occurrences rock the small community. O"Rourke"s vaporous, serpentine musical backdrops and atmospheres reflect the obsessions and distractions of the film"s principles; moods of all sorts seen or otherwise implied. Additionally, the music highlights cinematographer Mike McLaughlin"s closely observed accounting of the farmers" environment, as well as the striking widescreen images of the big sky country with unnerving flair. For fans of Jim"s ongoing steamroom series as well as collectors of soundtracks, Hands That Bind will provide hours of engrossing listening. And if you get a chance, see the movie projected in a movie house, please - farmers aren"t the only ones struggling these days!

"Unsettling Whispers", das erste vollständige Album von GAEREA, war bei seiner Veröffentlichung 2018 ein großer Schritt nach vorne für die junge Band. Auf diesem Album zeigen die Portugiesen angriffslustigen Black Metal, der auf eine Reise über intensive, seelenzerreißende Gipfeln und durch abgrundtiefe Täler führt. In vielerlei Hinsicht ist "Unsettling Whispers" die Verwirklichung des kathartischen Black Metals, der zu ihrer Stärke geworden ist und den sie zu neuen epischen Höhepunkten treiben.

"Gaerea", das selbstbetitelte Debüt portugiesischen Post-Black Metaller, offenbart die Wurzeln der Band. Ursprünglich im Jahr 2016 veröffentlicht, ist dieses Album - die früheste Inkarnation der Band - deathiger und doomiger als der epische Black Metal, den sie heute verfolgen. Jetzt zum ersten Mal seit mehreren Jahren wieder erhältlich, mit erweitertem Artwork und einem Bonustrack.

"Gaerea", das selbstbetitelte Debüt portugiesischen Post-Black Metaller, offenbart die Wurzeln der Band. Ursprünglich im Jahr 2016 veröffentlicht, ist dieses Album - die früheste Inkarnation der Band - deathiger und doomiger als der epische Black Metal, den sie heute verfolgen. Jetzt zum ersten Mal seit mehreren Jahren wieder erhältlich, mit erweitertem Artwork und einem Bonustrack.

"Unsettling Whispers", das erste vollständige Album von GAEREA, war bei seiner Veröffentlichung 2018 ein großer Schritt nach vorne für die junge Band. Auf diesem Album zeigen die Portugiesen angriffslustigen Black Metal, der auf eine Reise über intensive, seelenzerreißende Gipfeln und durch abgrundtiefe Täler führt. In vielerlei Hinsicht ist "Unsettling Whispers" die Verwirklichung des kathartischen Black Metals, der zu ihrer Stärke geworden ist und den sie zu neuen epischen Höhepunkten treiben.

Tresor is proud to present the debut split 12" from Chloe Lula and Ireen Amnes. Meeting in the darker, harder-edged side of the Berlin techno scene in 2019, the pair have regularly collaborated and performed together, but Synergy marks the first time they've shared a record sleeve. Amnes describes Synergy as "the world we built while thinking about our journey as friends and the connection we share as people and artists," and while the record highlights their relationship and shared influences, it also showcases how each has grown into their respective lane.

Amnes' tracks lean into significantly more distorted territory, characterized by a dense fog of grainy pads punctured by sharp, expertly-programmed percussion. On "Our Bodies," these fragments are sculpted into driving hardware gear, replete with distant vocals and acidic squelches, where "Fragments of Desire" makes space for a more somber attitude, descending into murky, psychedelic electro.

In counterpoint to Amnes' deep atmospherics, Lula's contributions are driven by intricate sound design and a focus on dancefloor
impact. Taking cues from Regis and the Birmingham techno sound, she reins in the distortion of 2021's Errant Bodies for aufnahme + wiedergabe in favor of rolling techno and breakbeat-inspired rhythms that nod to her EBM influences. Making use of the extra space, she builds tension through heaving, textured basslines and crescendos of noise, and on EP closer "Event Horizon," she carves through the beat with her own metallic vocals.

Synergy includes a digital bonus track from each artist. Lula's sees her pushing deeper into finely-tooled techno territory, her drums at a swift, driving gallop, surrounded by ominous swaths of reverb. In contrast, Amnes crafts a gritty warehouse trip, sharpening the angles of her drums and detuning her synths until they sound bent and alien. Complete with the EP's physical cuts, these tracks are a testament to how the pair can simultaneously complement and contrast with each other, departing from their shared sonic origins and ending up in wildly dierent destinations.

In collaboration with Timmion Records, Daptone is proud to present My Echo, Shadow and Me, the debut album from the soulful Chicano brother, Johnny Benavidez. Hailing from San Diego (via El Paso, TX), Johnny's desire to sing was influenced by his grandfather, John Lorenzo Guzman, who as a teen in the early sixties spent some time harmonising with groups in El Paso, most notably Sonny Powell and the Night Dreamers. When he was 13, Johnny was given a record player and a box filled with R&B, Doo-Wop, and Soul 45s that he studied obsessively, employing the harmonies and melodies therein to cultivatehis own unique voice. After a chance encounter with the legendary Dimas Garza, Johnny's career began to blossom and soon he would find himself singing alongside stars like Eugene Pitt and Archie Bell, garnering the interest of Timmion Records..


Backed by the incomparable Cold Diamond & Mink (Bobby Oroza, Pratt & Moody) two incredibly successful singles were cut and plans for a full length were struck, culminating in 11 original songs penned by Benavidez. From the uplifting bounce of the title track, the doo-wop dinged "Dedicated to You", the Latin flare of "Uncle Sam," to the Sweet Soul masterpiece "Somebody Cares" (licensed and released on a Penrose Records 45), My Echo, Shadow and Me is not only an aweinspiring display of Jonny's versatility as an artist but also serves as a window into the eclectic array of soulful sounds that inspired him to fall in love with music and become a singer. A must have for fans of Daptone, Timmion, Penrose, et al.

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

Megastar Elton John befindet sich im Frühjahr und Sommer 2023 auf seiner Abschiedstour in Europa. Passend dazu hat sich Jean-Michal Bernard, französischer Pianist, Komponist und Arrangeur, der mit Koryphäen wie Ennio Morricone oder Lalo Schifrin gearbeitet hat, am Klavier 17 Songs von Elton John in eigenen, subtilen Arrangements angenommen. Mit dabei sind die bekanntesten Hits von "Rocket Man", "Your Song", "Tiny Dancer", "Crocodile Rock" bis zum traurig-süßen "Candle in the Wind".

Converge "Jane Live" is the classic "Jane Doe" album performed and recorded live in its entirety at Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands. The set was mixed by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at God City Studio and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. Recorded by Marcel Van De Vondervoort Mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City Studio Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Artwork by Ashley Rose Couture Photography by Karen Jerzyk Design by J. Bannon

No More Sound, Sad Park’s third full-length, begins with an ending. More specifically, with its own ending. Because the short, just-over-a-minute-long “No More Songs” is kind of a stripped-down reprise of the title track that closes this record. In one way, it means this album—the band’s first for Pure Noise—travels back in time over its 38 or so minutes, but in another it’s also traveling forwards. Because while “No More Sound” is a more fleshed-out version of “No More Songs”, it also contains melodic and lyrical throwbacks to the eleven songs that sit between them. Perhaps more importantly, as everything comes full circle on the record, it offers something that the opener doesn’t. Recorded across ten days at Balboa Studios in Los Angeles, No More Sound is, in fact, the sound of a band really coming into their own.

No More Sound, Sad Park’s third full-length, begins with an ending. More specifically, with its own ending. Because the short, just-over-a-minute-long “No More Songs” is kind of a stripped-down reprise of the title track that closes this record. In one way, it means this album—the band’s first for Pure Noise—travels back in time over its 38 or so minutes, but in another it’s also traveling forwards. Because while “No More Sound” is a more fleshed-out version of “No More Songs”, it also contains melodic and lyrical throwbacks to the eleven songs that sit between them. Perhaps more importantly, as everything comes full circle on the record, it offers something that the opener doesn’t. Recorded across ten days at Balboa Studios in Los Angeles, No More Sound is, in fact, the sound of a band really coming into their own.

Freakazoid was written mostly in the months before the pandemic. When we were ready to start tracking, we found ourselves with a lot of free time to be creative but no opportunity to get together, so we tried something we'd never done - recording an album all by ourselves in isolation. To create the sessions, we would record instruments separately in our houses and email the tracks to each other. That was an extremely frustrating and time-consuming process that took from the fall of 2020 until late 2022 to complete. We were used to banging out albums in a studio in a few weeks so it was a blessing and curse to have all the time in the world to work on it. They say great art is never finished, it is only abandoned and that's how it felt to wrap this up. There are still little changes I wish I could make from time to time but I've had to learn to just let it go. That being said, I'm so proud of the album and so happy that the reaction has been so incredibly positive so far.