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Limited Violet Vinyl repress for Indies only. Genre: alternative/punk/heavy/riot grrl. Debut album for legendary Tasmanian noise-punk band formed in the early 90s. Recordings span more than 20 years, including tracks thought lost on a corrupted hard drive from the late 90s. Legendary Australian punk band Little Ugly Girls formed in Hobart, Tasmania in the very early 90s, but have never released a record until now. This new self-titled set is officially their debut album, and features recordings spanning more than 20 years. The band formed around fiery vocalist Linda Johnston, whose high-kicking stage antics make her one of Australia's most electrifying frontpeople, and her guitar demon brother Dannie "Bean" Johnston. After moving to Melbourne in the mid 90s, the band settled on their classic lineup of Brent "Sloth" Punshon on drums, and rock-solid bassist Mindy Mapp (previously of another cult 90s band, Brisbane's much-loved Fur). Little Ugly Girls played with the likes of Bikini Kill, Fugazi, and once memorably headlined over the White Stripes in Melbourne. But their only recordings released to date include a handful of 90s cassettes. Now nearly 30 years since they formed, the debut album by Little Ugly Girls shows them at their towering best - fierce and inspiring, with Linda's scarifying lyrics and impassioned delivery set to a huge wall of taut punk noise. It has been a long time coming, but it's as good as you could have dreamed. Tracklist 1. Tractor 2. Slip 3. Jimmeh 4. Senseless 5. Baggage 6. The Pit 7. Storm After Storm 8. Dead C 9. Snap 10. Tardis 11. Vinegar 12. Boxen-Hooda-Hayda

THE ICONIC 1986 DOOM METAL OPUS 'EPICUS DOOMICUS
METALLICUS', FEATURING REMASTERED AUDIO & PRESENTED WITH ITS
ORIGINAL SLEEVE DESIGN
Candlemass was formed by bassist & songwriter Leif Edling in Stockholm,
Sweden in 1984 & they are well known for their epic doom metal, having a great
influence over a generation of the genre's subsequent greats - Candlemass
themselves taking a large influence from Black Sabbath. Bands such as Paradise
Lost & My Dying Bride to this day rate 'Epicus...' among their most inspirational
albums. 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' is a true classic. Heavy metal riffs blended
with almost neo-classical touches, plus some theatrical elements recalling bands
like Mercyful Fate (thought to be another influence). All-in-all, this is considered
one of the definitive Doom Metal releases. 'Epicus € ' was recorded at
Thunderload Studios in 1986 & was released later that same year. The vocals
were handled by Johan L ngqvist, before the iconic vocalist Messiah Marcolin
became a solid fixture in the band until the early nineties. Candlemass instantly
became a great inspiration to countless metal bands upon the album's release in
1986; a time when thrash metal, not doom, was fast becoming the dominant style
in both Europe & the US. This edition of 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' features
recently remastered audio courtesy of Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony &
is presented with its original sleeve design.

Collectors' limited edition 180g orange coloured vinyl pressing of 'Stan
Meets Chet', comes with a unique sticker
It's said that tenor saxophonist Stan Getz and trumpeter Chet Baker never
particularly liked each other and even though they had musically compatible
styles, they only worked together briefly in three periods. This 1958 session,
produced by Norman Granz, exposes the two musicians' mutual hostility towards
one another in subtle ways, which at the time divided critical opinion on the
release. Nonetheless, this is an LP worthy of being in the collection of any Getz
and Baker fan - musically controversial as the LP might be.

Guitar and drums duo GIRAFFES? GIRAFFES! have been making fiercely
unique music since their explosion into the San Francisco Bay area in
2005
Their mostly instrumental, odd-time compositions quickly grabbed the attention
of listeners worldwide and their second album More Skin With Milk- Mouth is a
quintessential math rock album. With every new release, they continually make
music that is both melodic and technical, experimental yet accessible "and the
result is a sound that is both transcendental and incredible fun. Spanning 37
"chapters" that seamlessly bleed into one another over six tracks, the duo have
created a monolith of an album in Memory Lame that builds from the erratic
melodicism their cult fanbase has come to know and love.

Lisa Decker is back with her new single and two songs of her upcoming album which will appear around May 2023.

After her debut album "Serendipity" in 2021 with Japanese Jazz trio Nautilus from Tokyo and a superb single remix of "Everytime" by Pat Van Dyke featuring rapper John Robinson this will be another step forward in her career and conceptually a bit different.

It gets the "Oonops Drops" FLIP SERIES treatment which means: Side A of Lisas songs are arranged by Nautilus and Side B by producer SaturnVybz (Jazzanova/Slick Walk/The Ruffcats).

To get a first impression please have a listen to this upfront single-release and get one of these limited 45s.

Lisa is careful about the artwork and after working together with renowned artist Lindsey Kustusch from San Francisco on her first album she collaborates with local artist Sebastian Maria Otto now who is known for his signature art style and exhibitions from Germany to Japan.

Stay excited for the really astonishing full release very soon.

• Fame collectors know how rare this 45 is to find in the wild; it hardly ever happens. ‘Go Away With Me’ is a fabulously, catchy dance number from 1963 when the little-known Dixon wandered into the Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals and laid these track down. It is one of Dan Penn’s very early compositions and the nascent talent of the writer is in evidence here.

• The tuneful self-penned ‘Time Will Tell’ flip reveals another accomplished musical bent to the singer who, though he only cut two 45s, was revered as a major Muscle Shoals influence by the likes of Jimmy Johnson, Donnie Fritts and David Hood.

Griselda's Rick Hyde release's Plates 2 w/ features by Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine, Westside Gunn and others With Griselda rhymer Benny The Butcher having what seems like an endless run of Ws, his BSF Records imprint appears to be getting more attention by the day. Rick Hyde is one of the top benefactors. His new project Plates II, a sequel to his independent mixtape Plates, positions Hyde as one to watch in the Griselda-wave 2.0. Sporting production from the likes of Daringer, Sha Money XL, Harry Fraud and the late DJ Shay (who the album commemorates by its release date falling on the anniversary of his death), as well as verses from Benny, Heem, Skyzoo and Westside Gunn, Hyde flexes his connections and curates a solid body of work.The project's shiniest gems include some of the singles that have already hit the net. "Hustler's Prayer" features Hyde and Heem interlocked in a battle to see who can drop the most street flexes, complemented by The SoulMonsters' grainy production. Another noteworthy cut is the DJ L-produced "Alone" featuring Benny and G Herbo -- which, aside from the DJ Shay-produced outro "Black Sinatra," is possibly the project's most replayable track.One thing that comes across crystal clear is Hyde's lyricism. He holds his own alongside a formidable tracklist of guests and shows a lot of diversity with his delivery. Look no further than the "Sarah Freestyle," where the subdued DJ Chopz and Skrilla loop provides an atmospheric backdrop to a relentless, two-minute onslaught.

Repress !

Selva Discos returns to the LP reissue game with a bang – by giving a new life to the stunning and very sought-after Memória das Águas album by Fernando Falcão. Originally recorded in 1979 in Paris but only released independently in Brazil in 1981, the album comes complete with genre-hopping explorations that swirl around ambient soundscapes, lively jazz, experimental-leanings, Afro-rhythms and a unique blend of Latin grooves and French pop with a Brazilian accent, but it also comes with a story as deeply unique as the music.

To make a long story short, after participating in the political movements against the military regime in 1968 in Brazil, Fernando Falcão left the country and moved to France, where he lived in exile for 15 years. There, after working in music, acting, and sculpting, he involved himself in Jérôme Savary's legendary Grand Magic Circus, where he met his first wife, Valérie Kling. It was from this relationship that a partnership began between the musician and his father-in-law, the artist François-Xavier Lalanne, who guided Falcão in the process of inventing sound sculptures such as the balauê – a horizontal version of the berimbau string instrument whose sound was influenced by a water stream (since there was a hose soaking parts of the balauê wet during the performances). Much of this exploration and experimentation resulted in the album Memória das Águas.

The album still sounds like little else from the time. As audacious and experimental as it is seamlessly listenable, it takes in immersive textures one moment before breaking out into Fela Kuti-esque brass-soaked grooves the next. It’s ultimately a record that captures the spirit and rhythm of Falcão’s homeland combined with the lush production and art-pop approach associated with his exiled home; It’s a polished, well executed and glistening record. Its fusion of African, Brazilian, jazz, pop, classical and avant-garde collides to create a record that spans as many continents as it does genres.

Remastered from the original master tapes, not only the sound but the artwork of Memória das Águas was completely and faithfully restored. Also, the reissue comes with unprecedented liner notes featuring rare photos of the musician and his sound sculptures plus articles that help to explain who Fernando Falcão was and where Memória das Águas sits among other staples of Brazilian music, including one from DJ and selector John Gómez – who helped to connect Selva Discos' Augusto Olivani with Diana Lion, Fernando Falcão's daughter (since the musician died in 2002), for this project. After Memória das Águas, Selva Discos will also reissue another long lost Fernando Falcão LP album – Barracas Barrocas.

We have a very limited amount of these available now for stores. 4LP boxset - white vinyl - edition of 300 - includes: The Dream Derealised LP, Lightnesses I & II LPs, Near Future Residence LP. It’s nearing a decade since William Doyle released his Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album, Total Strife Forever, as East India Youth in 2014. A year later, he had toured the world and was releasing his second album, Culture of Volume, but it would be another four years before Doyle returned with his third full album, and the first official release under his own name. The dizzyingly ambitious Your Wilderness Revisited arrived in 2019 and was followed last year by the artpop masterpiece, Great Spans of Muddy Time. In the years between leaving the old project behind and re-emerging under his own name, Doyle self-released a string of ambient-leaning albums, The Dream Derealised, Lightnesses Vol I & II and Near Future Residence, which are now to receive a first vinyl pressing via Tough Love as both a highly limited four LP box set, titled ‘Slowly Arranged: 2016-19’, and as separate albums. The Dream Derealised is a collection of nine abstract, lo-fi pieces that were recorded during the summer of 2016, when focusing on creating them helped guide Doyle through a “difficult period of anxiety, panic and a regular dissociative feeling called derealisation.” At the time, doing something creative in a quick and immediate fashion felt vital to Doyle, carrying him to a new place: “I’m releasing them now as a cathartic measure, and as a message for others who may be going through difficult times themselves. What I told myself at the time, what I can tell you now: You are not in danger. You are not going insane. You are not alone.” Lightnesses Vol. I & II sees Doyle create what we might understand as true ambient music – that is, music intended for the background that wasn’t composed as such, but allowed to blossom out of the setting of some rules and parameters, played by sounds he created and then resampled. The deceptively simple, droning pieces are unlike anything Doyle has made before or since. “During their creation I’d often take photographs of the light coming in through the windows of the two houses I lived in during their creation. I’d post these on social media and they became quite popular parts of my output. This music was intended to accompany those visuals. The first volume’s photo is a double exposure of the sun shining in on my notebook and my hand, whereas the photo for the second volume was taken in Joshua Tree Park, California as I saw our tail lights illuminate one of the trees.” Near Future Residence is music for an imagined place based on real ideas; the soundtrack for an ecologically sustainable housing development somewhere in a not-too-distant future Britain. The eleven instrumental pieces here come from a place of optimism, imagining a future that is based on cooperation, community and ecological urbanism. It's music intended to sit in this imagined environment rather than impose upon it, similar in principle to the function of Kankyō Ongaku (Japanese environmental music). The ideas contained on Near Future Residence laid the groundwork for - and can be seen as a companion piece to - the album Your Wilderness Revisited, released to critical acclaim in 2019. Doyle explains how the pieces “were composed in entirely generative ways using samples of instruments, synthesisers and field recordings I've collected and developed throughout 2018. In generative composition, rules are set and parameters are chosen and then put into motion, the results constantly changing and surprising.”

Pharoah Sanders' "Shukuru" is noteworthy as being the album that reunited Sanders with vocalist Leon Thomas, who sang on some of Sanders' most endearing and powerful compositions-- among them the legendary "The Creator Has a Masterplan".

Thomas only joins the band on two tracks-- "Mas in Brooklyn (Highlife)" and "Sun Song". The former gets a full calypso reading complete with steel drum sounds and chanted vocals traded between Sanders and Thomas. It's a lot of fun, but by and large, throwaway. The latter is one of the true gems on the album-- a pretty ballad that serves as both a launching point for Sanders' best balladry and Thomas' vocal, with the latter soaring in his upper register wordlessly between verses intoned in his trademark baritone. It's by and large simply stunning.

The rest of the record has got its issues however, and by and large this comes in the part of Henderson's synthesizer-- while his piano tone is virtually indistinguishable from an acoustic piano, several tracks receive irritating synth vocals or strings (it's really hard to tell which, it's fairly indistinct and obnoxious), mangling otherwise fine performances of traditional tenor feature "Body and Soul", Sanders-penned "Jitu" (although admittedly the leader manages such a powerful solo it gets past it) and an absolutely breathtaking reading of "Too Young to Go Steady". At least opener "Shukuru" and closing funereal piece "For Big George" are spared this as the use of synths of them are far more tasteful (although one questions Sanders' choice to intone his wife's name over the former's smokey lines, but that's another story). by Vine Voice

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

Forte is proud to present these fantastic reissues on the Aarght label from one of Australia's greatest rock & roll bands, the Cosmic Psychos.

The band debuted on wax almost 30 years ago and since then have become an Aussie punk/pub rock institution, touring the globe and influencing a generation of Seattle musicians (Mudhoney, the Melvins and Pearl Jam among them) in the process. On top of that there's the recently released full-length documentary on the band, Blokes You Can Trust, which is doing the rounds in cinemas around Australia and the US, a US tour in September and now these! 2013 is the Year Of The Cosmic Psycho.

Let's start with 1985's Down On The Farm mini-LP. This is the record which made the original splash back in the day and hasn't been in print on vinyl anywhere since that time. Featuring original guitarist Peter 'Dirty' Jones on wah-wah guitar, it's an absolute classic of heavy-duty punk/grunge. The vinyl edition comes with a download card.

The self-titled LP from 1987 is another classic with the original line-up. The download card for the vinyl edition comes with two bonus tracks - outtakes from the same recording session - and the CD also contains the two bonus tracks PLUS the entire Down On The Farm mini-LP. 19 songs in total.

1989's Go The Hack was Dirty's last foray with the band and featured the killer single, 'Lost Cause'. The LP edition comes with a download card.

All of these classic '80s recordings by the Psychos have been out of print since the 20th century. With the band's fortunes and notoriety in the upswing this year, expect some big interest in these long-unavailable quality reissues. Blokes you can trust, indeed.

With its name indicative of the music's boundary-testing diversity and Southwestern inspiration, On the Border finds the Eagles leaving everything on the table and embracing a harder edge that takes the band out of more relaxed territory and establishes it as a group that knows how – and wants – to rock. Glenn Frey, Don Henley, new member Don Felder, and company immediately announce their intent on the defiant album-opening hit "Already Gone" and never look back, crafting a gem of a record that from start to finish is arguably their most consistent and balanced effort.

Limited to 10,000 numbered copies, pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original analogue master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition pays tribute to the record's significance and enhances the experience for generations to come. Playing with reference sonics that elevate an effort revered by audiophiles, it provides a lively, dynamic, transparent, and intimate view of a release whose contemporary importance continues to grow. The opportunity to zero in on the particulars of the Eagles' golden harmonies, distinct vocal timbres, and cohesive interplay has never been better.

Visually, the premium packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S On the Border pressing befit its select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the iconic Navajo cover painting to the meticulous finishes.

And with On the Border, there's plenty to take in and soak up. Declared by famed critic Robert Christgau as "the Eagles' best album," the 1974 set claims a rich backstory. Initially recorded amid tumultuous sessions with producer Glyn Johns in London shortly after the release of the group's sophomore Desperado set, On the Border took a new turn after the band elected to scrap most of the prior work, return to its native California, and team with producer Bill Szymczyk to give the material less of a smooth, polished sheen and more toughness. Szymczyk also afforded the Eagles more input and freedom in the arrangements, and suggested adding another guitarist to play on "Good Day in Hell." Felder got the call, and so won over the Eagles with his skills, he quickly became the fifth member of the band.

While the late-arriving Felder only plays on one other album cut, "Already Gone," his mates more than prove their muster on the remainder of a double-platinum affair that established the Eagles as a force whose range transcended the calmer country-leaning style it perfected on their first two LPs. Primarily written by Jackson Browne and shelved during the Desperado sessions due to its higher-energy nature, the throttle-twisting "James Dean" ricochets with barbed riffs and rebellious swagger. Listen without limits to how Szymczyk's raw production stamps the song with a leather-and-jeans cool befitting its protagonist. Similarly rugged, the slide-guitar-fueled "Good Day in Hell" boasts its own mean streak. And the funk-laced, boot-stomping title track cautions "don't you tell me 'bout your law and order." Throughout On the Border, the Eagles are in no mood to mess around.

Not that the band skirts sentimental territory. On one of the era's finest covers, the Eagles nail the bittersweet feelings and bring high-definition detail to the vivid scenery of Tom Waits' "Ol' '55," a song the group makes its own. The rustic ballad "My Man" serves as a tribute to the recently deceased Gram Parsons, with singer-guitarist Bernie Leadon taking the lead on the microphone as he pours his heart out to his former Flying Burrito Brothers mate. And when it comes to romance, is it possible to top "Best of My Love"? Graced with Henley's honey-dipped vocals, refined wordless group harmonies, brushed drums, and the gentle strum of acoustic guitars, the Johns-produced cut soared to Number One and set the stage for what would soon be the Eagles' reality: global dominance.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master recordings, painstakingly transfer them to DSD 256, and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master recording. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.

If, among the Afro-Peruvian music groups that have emerged in recent years, there is one that has dared to take the sound to new dimensions, it is Perkutao. Heirs to the best Afro-Peruvian tradition, they have been able to integrate Afro-Cuban elements and various contemporary popular styles, which they play with amazing with speed and precision. "Mis ancestros", is their debut album for Buh Records. Perkutao is an Afro-Peruvian percussion ensemble founded in 2005, directed by Percy Chinchilla, musician, percussionist, zapateador and teacher of young generations of percussionists. "Mis Ancestros" (My ancestors) is their first record under the production of Manongo Mujica and is the fourth title of the collection "Perspectivas de la Música Afroperuana" (Perspectives on Afro-Peruvian Music). Chinchilla shares the artistic direction of Perkutao with William Nicasio 'Makarito', another outstanding percussionist. Both grew up in the famous Callejón del Buque, in the district of La Victoria, a spot preferred by bohemians and known by local music partying -jaranas criollas. Both were also formed in Perú Negro, an emblematic Afro-Peruvian ensemble, and both carry in their blood the cult of percussion and Afro tradition. Chinchilla comes from a family of Afro-Peruvian musicians including Caitro Soto and Ronaldo Campos. And Makarito is the son of Macario Nicasio and grandson of El Niño, legendary Cuban percussionist in charge of introducing congas and bongo to Afro-Peruvian rhythms. Perkutao arose precisely from the merging of these traditions, Afro-Peruvian, Afro-Cuban and Caribbean music, and have become one of the most sought-after percussion ensembles due to the intensity of their sound and their powerful performances that include stage movements and surprising acrobatic skills. In addition to Chinchilla and Makarito, the ensemble is completed by Edu Campos, Andree Liendo and Víctor Sánchez Pitín. "I follow in the footsteps of my ancestors, to the beat of the cajita, the quijada and the cajón, to the rhythm of a zamacueca, a festejo and a good landó". This is an excerpt of the lyrics of "Poema", the opening track of the album, the rhythmic base accompanies Chinchilla's voice and then increases in a crescendo that announces the paths to be explored by Perkutao. "Azañero Colorao", "Trucutum Kiti Pa" and "Cancha con Sabor", composed based on minor percussion (cajita, quijada), zapateo and cajón, respectively, are compositions that serve as an introduction, a tribute to the essential instruments of the Afro-Peruvian tradition. The last one in particular already defines Perkutao's style: a trepidant and orgiastic rhythm, hypnotic and hard hitting, Dionysian and cathartic. With "Madre Africa" and "Al Tayta Bukense", for djembes and congas, respectively, we find Perkutao retaking the Afro-Cuban heritage embedded to the Afro-Peruvian sounds, abakuá and festejo. "Lloraré", a version of a famous Cuban song, mirror the ensemble's fascination with Caribbean music (salsa is another genre cultivated by its members). "Mis ancestros" is an album about a tradition, but it is also a renewal. Perkutao opens a new direction for Afro-Peruvian music, its sound is an evocation and the here and now, it is deep-rooted but freely flowing percussion. Perkutao are Percy Chinchilla, William Nicasio "Makarito", Edu Campos, Andree Liendo y Víctor Sánchez Pitín. Produced by Manongo Mujica y Daniel Mujica. Recorded and mixed by Juan José Salazar at La Encía del Leopardo Estudio, Chorrillos, Lima, Perú. Mastered by Mario Breuer en Sensei Mastering, Córdoba, Argentina. Cover and Design by Yerko Zlatar.

Eck Echo records is set to release a mixed bag of original songs and remixes by one of digital cumbia's founding fathers, Peru's Tribilin Sound. Plastic Toy Sounds turns "Virgenes del Sol" into a woozy cumbia-dub with bright, shimmering guitar lines. Loris, adds squiggly sawtooth synths to the already irresistible beat of "Sarita", and Chancha Via Circuito offers up an atmospheric take on "Condorcanqui" that sounds like DJ Shadow and Augustus Pablo soundtracking a Peruvian heist while Peruvian duo Dengue Dengue Dengue reinvent "El Carmen's" Afro-Peruvian festejo groove as ageless ambient techno. Eck Echo records is set to release a mixed bag of original songs and remixes by one of digital cumbia's founding fathers, Peru's Tribilin Sound. Jalea is the affectionate term used by seafood-craving Peruvians for one of the country's signature dishes. In this jalea the menu consists of four original tracks highlighting the artist's career on one side, and four selected remixes by iconic producers from Mexico, Argentina, and Peru. Tribi arrived on the scene as digital cumbia was busy spreading its wings from Buenos Aires, soon to take over Latin America (and later the world), with Lima the next city to catch the bug. Ernesto had been DJ'ing in clubs since the mid-90s, and experimenting with Peruvian cumbia since the mid-00s, but the birth of his alias Tribilin Sound allowed him to go wholesale into his beloved chicha, reinterpreting grooves by classic Peruvian groups like La Pintura Roja, Los Titanes and Chacalón y la Nueva Crema, as well as proving to be a dab hand at a mash-up. Soon, he found himself at the heart of a like-minded community, releasing a debut self-titled album with Peruvian label, Terror Negro, and following it up with Aquí Siempre Bailamos (2014) for pan-Latin collective Sello Regional. Coming from a club background, rhythm has always been central to Ernesto's approach, his adopting of Peruvian styles never deviating from the necessity to get bodies moving, and the remixers here seem to take delight in stretching out his rhythms. Mexico's Plastic Toy Sounds turns "Virgenes del Sol" into a woozy cumbia-dub with bright, shimmering guitar lines; another Mexican, Loris, adds squiggly sawtooth synths to the already irresistible beat of "Sarita", and Chancha Via Circuito offers up an atmospheric take on "Condorcanqui" that sounds like DJ Shadow and Augustus Pablo soundtracking a Peruvian heist while Peruvian thunder-duo Dengue Dengue Dengue reinvent "El Carmen's" Afro-Peruvian festejo groove as ageless ambient techno..

This compilation brings together 22 sound poems, including both pioneering and current pieces, and constitutes itself as the first great overview of sound poetry from Peru. It continues a cycle that began in 2009 with the appearance of a CD called Inventar la voz: Nuevas tradiciones orales To Invent the Voice: New Oral Traditions and was followed up in 2011 with another one called Irse de lengua [To Let It Slip], both of which contributed to articulate diverse manifestations of poetry that used technological means, also in the context of intense activity in the local scenes of experimental music and sound art that opened spaces for interdisciplinary dialogues. What we know as sound poetry is the product of a technological revolution associated with the appearance of various means of recording, transmission and amplification of the voice. A long process that took shape in the 20th century, until it became a discipline, articulated as an international movement which, based on phonetic research, expanded into a universe of oral/vocal artistic practices as part of a new technological context. The recordings gathered here comprise a time frame that goes from 1972 to 2021. We find poems that work with montage techniques, either because they explore simultaneity or juxtaposition, such as those by Mario Montalbetti, Frido Martín, Florentino Díaz, Carlos Estela, Luisa Fernanda Lindo, Macri Cáceres, Rodrigo Vera Cubas, Tilsa Otta, Giancarlo Huapaya/Omar Córdova, Virginia Benavides, Lisa Carrasco and Luis Alvarado. Others emphasize vocal/oral performance: we find the phonetic poems of Carlos Germán Belli and Eduardo Chirinos, as well as the concrete conceptual poems of Michael Prado, Sandra Suazo, Peru Saizprez, and the oral/guttural poem of Omar Aramayo. Finally, we find another group of pieces where the poem starts with the creation of a computational parameter or algorithm, as is the case with the pieces by Jorge Eduardo Eielson and Enrique Verástegui, eventually reaching the use of Artificial Intelligence as in the poems by Francisco Mariotti and Paola Torres Núñez del Prado. The Verbal Matter: An Anthology of Peruvian Sound Poetry is part of a series produced by Buh Records for Centro del Sonido, a website set up as a digital archive of Peruvian experimental music and sound art. The compilation has been made by Luis Alvarado and is published in a limited edition of 300 copies in vinyl format. It includes extensive notes and visual documentation. Mastered by Alberto Cendra. Art by René Sánchez.

"Matasuna Records" musical journey takes the listener this time to "Panama" - a country in Central America, which offers a rich and breath-taking variety of musical treasures. In a first reissue, two songs from the legendary "Loyola Records" label were selected, both released in 1969: one by "Camilo Azuquita" and one by the group "Panama Brass". Two super-rare tunes that fetch crazy prices, if you're lucky enough to find a copy at all. Available for the first time as an official remastered reissue on 7inch vinyl - the song by Panama Brass even makes its 7inch premiere. Don't sleep on it!

The A-side features the killer boogaloo tune "Borombon" by "Camilo Azuquita". Its take of the song composed by "Javier Vasquez" is undoubtedly the best version of this song. The striking piano, driving bass and rich horns are fueled by percussive accompaniment and especially by Azuquita's powerful voice. A terrific song that has also recently gained new notoriety in movies and series - such as "Better Call Saul".

The B-side features the instrumental Latin Jazz/Guaracha tune "Con La Mano En La Biblia" by "Panama Brass" - an orchestra led by the excellent organist "Cristobal Munoz Jr." and consisting of Panama's best musicians. A no less energetic and furious song composed by "G. Garcias". The musicians of the orchestra combine a great musicality and diversity in the song, delivering a special delicacy.

"Camilo Luis Argumédez" is a singer and composer born in "Colon (Panama)" on February 18th 1945. He became world famous under his stage name Camilo Azuquita. He began his career at a young age, when he participated in various competitions organized by local radio stations. He left Panama for the first time for an engagement in "Lima (Peru)" - the prelude tocountlesstrips.

After returning to Panama, another engagement in 1966 took him to "Puerto Rico", where he also recorded music. Due to a tour he was involved in, he ended up in "New York City" where he made new & fruitful acquaintances with other artists that resulted in some more recordings.

In 1968 he returned again to Puerto Rico, where he joined a band to record an album. In the following years, tours and concerts followed, as well as an engagement in a club where he musically accompanied many stars of Latin American music.

Between 1972 and 1976 he spent four years in "Los Angeles", where he performed in night clubs, recorded two albums and toured California with his own band "Melao". In LA, through a brother of the "Fania" boss, he got a contract with "Vaya Records", a subsidiary of the Fania label, which brought him back to New York City in 1976. There he joined the band "Tipica'73" and their two following albums brought him much success.

A tour led him to "Paris", where he met the journalist "Pierre Goldman". A proposed project became reality two years later: Azuquita opened the first Parisian Salsa Club. As this became a complete success and the audience filled the club on each of the evenings, a first engagement of one month was extended to several years. In France, he performed at the world-famous "Olympia Theater "or played at the "Old Bourget airport", opening for a live concert by reggae legend "Bob Marley" in front of 75,000 people. From France, he traveled throughout Europe, where the performances in front of European audiences brought him enormous prestige.

From 1985 to 1987, "Azuquita y su Melao" toured extensively in "California", where he signed a 1-year contract at "Club Candilejas" in "Hollywood" in 1988. In the following decades, he recorded many more albums - in NYC, Cali (Colombia), France or Havana (Cuba), among others. In addition, he was still very active on tours, festivals and concerts around the globe. An extremely remarkable artist, whose activity has brought him to the top.

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"Panama Brass" was an orchestra directed and orchestrated by the excellent organist "Cristobal Munoz Jr." The orchestra consisted of one of the best musicians of Panama at that time. Munoz was an exclusive artist of "Loyola Records" at the time and was considered a promising or up-and-coming conductor. That this album could be realized at all had only been possible thanks to Hubert J. Pretto. Pretto, then Assistant Vice President & General Manager of "Coca Cola Panama" arranged the funds necessary for the realization of this album and supported the campaign to promote music culture in Panama. This album would remain the only one released by this group.

Outernational Live from Studio Two Abbey Road" is a unique live LP featuring new stars of UK jazz recorded at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios during the winter lockdown of 2021.

Tracks were originally laid down for a covid-friendly filmed show hosted by the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in March of that year following a run of ground-breaking live showcases at the Austin event since 2017.

Featuring UK rising jazz stars Doom Cannon, Camilla George, Richard Spaven, Theon Cross, Noya Rao, Daniel Casimir and Tess Hirst, this will be a VINYL ONLY release - limited to 500 copies.

Previous acts from these internationally celebrated showcases include Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd with this special-edition LP highlighting the best of the next wave.

Theon Cross stated, "The JRF/BU Outernational showcase for SXSW filmed and recorded at Abbey Road in Feb 2021 was a very special one. It was one of the first times since the start of the pandemic that we were able to play together and make music for an audience despite them not being in the room. We really hit our stride with Panda Village a track from my album FYAH channeling all the joy and emotion of this cathartic moment."

Jazz Re:freshed also confirmed they will be returning to SXSW in 2023 for another landmark showcase, with further details to follow.creditsreleased September 2, 2022

Recorded in February 2021 in Studio Two, Abbey Road Studios, London.
Produced by Jazz re:freshed and British Underground.
Engineered by John Barrett
Mixed/Mastered by Mark Lewis
Photography Miles Myerscough-Harris
Cover Art by Luke Drozd

Suck A Dick has been a favourite in PL’s live sets for years. It’s one of the most requested tracks by DJ’s & it’s been through many different versions. After a long struggle to clear the sample it’s finally out! The repetitive hook goes throughout the track while Mutado Pintado delivers another iconic vocal half way through. A more spacey version & instrumental can be found on the other side. As usual Paranoid London make the most of very few elements & twist them into a guaranteed dance floor throbber.

The Belgian minimal synth band's three releases – a cassette and two vinyl EPs – were all titled »Against The Dark Trees Beyond«. This compilation collects the songs from these records.

"They were interesting times, the early eighties. Against a backdrop of cold war and economic crises, the DIY attitude of the earlier punk movement had spawned near countless new genres where artists and bands broke the three-chord guitar mould and experimented with new content matter, singular song structures and – in many cases – new instruments. Synthesizers became affordable and were no longer the sole privilege of rock millionaires. All around the globe, musical creativity boomed as never before, and Belgium was no exception: Digital Dance, Snowy Red, The Names, Pseudocode, Marine, 1000 Ohm, De Kommeniste, M.Bryo & D.M.T., De Brassers, Struggler, Siglo XX are but a few legendary names of bands and artists who started making a name for themselves.

In Leuven, things were happening as well. Until then, the music scene in this rather provincial town had been dominated by straightforward rock and blues acts. Not for much longer, though: in places like Arno'z and (later) The Gladhouse, where young budding artists met with kindred spirits, bands were often formed on the spot and, more importantly, started to make ripples.

Ludo Camberlin and Karel 'Bam' Saelemaekers already had a certain track record in Leuven's burgeoning music microcosm. But what they shared would become the cornerstone of A Blaze Colour (Against The Dark Trees Beyond): a fascination for new forms and instruments, a penchant for sonic adventure and a profound love for gripping songs. The full band name, by the way, was inspired by a phrase from the Irish-American novelist J.P. Donleavy, a writer who belongs in the definitely-worth-checking-out section.

After appearing on the first No Big Business LP (1981) with the instrumental 'Fisk', A Blaze Colour's first proper release, as was so often the case in those days, was a self-produced cassette. The music – which would later be dubbed 'minimal' – was characterized by the use of basic rhythm machines (Boss Dr. 55, mainly) and analog synthesizers (for the synth geeks: Korg Delta and MS20, Roland SH-2 and Jupiter IV, and the infamous Casio VL-1). Camberlin’s vocals, meanwhile, displayed an aloofness totally in sync with the zeitgeist. Equally important, though: all five tracks on this cassette were bona fide songs with a clear sense of structure, aided by a sonic mastery that demonstrated a high level of experience: 'Means To An End' started out as a proto-industrial track before bursting out into a moroderesque finale. The remix of 'Fisk' was as sprightly as the next river salmon, while 'Or Lie Again' proved the perfect soundtrack to a nightly walk through wet deserted streets. On the other hand, 'Through With Life', rife with disturbing sound effects countered by a slow portamento, could have been a prize track on a post punk 'Lamb Lies Down On Broadway'. And in true dramatic fashion, 'Follow The Signs' was the perfect ending of this five-song cycle: a driving sequencer and gripping chord progression coupled with a simple but powerful vocal line. Considering the limited technical means the duo was working with, this was no less than a triumph.

A few months later, the band released a seven-inch single on its own ABLACO label. 'Dark Trees Beyond', a quirky pop song, was coupled with 'Addict Of Time', a dark and brooding spoken word piece. Not the kind of single to storm hit parades, but it didn't go unnoticed. The Minny Pops' Wally van Middendorp, who had founded the Plurex label in 1978, invited A Blaze Colour to his studio in the Netherlands, to record an EP. It would prove to be a massive step forward: recording in a semi-professional studio offered great possibilities, the recently acquired TR-808 drum machine allowed for a broader rhythm palette, and the three new tracks (next to the re-recording of 'Through With Life') showed a band on the top of their game: 'The New Ones' was a wry and haunting song built around a live drum loop and an ominous bass pattern, while 'Nowhere Else' was a near-pop track with very un-minimal vocal harmonies. And it's a mystery why 'Altitude' – another instrumental – was never used in a stylized, high-profile detective soundtrack.

Another song from these sessions, the revved-up 'Cold As Ever' turned up on the high-profile Plurex "Hours" compilation, where it shone brightly, next to songs of a.o. X-Mal Deutschland, Nasmak, Minny Pops and Section XXV.

Meanwhile, Camberlin had already carved out a bit of a reputation for himself as a producer, while Saelemaekers was a respected graphic designer. It remains uncertain if this played a big part in the end of A Blaze Colour, but the fact remains: as studio recordings go, 'The Ultimate Fight' on the "No Big Business 2" compilation, was to be their swan song. What a way to go, though: maybe their best song ever, this was a synthetic bastard funk groove, complete with shout-out chorus and punch-drunk middle-eight. It shut a door, for sure, but it did so with a resounding bang.

So there it is and there it was. Short, sweet, visionary, pioneering and highly influential. And as anybody listening to this first ever compilation will be able to assess probably one of the most colourful electronic acts of its time.

On a more a personal note, A Blaze Colour proved to be instrumental in my own coming of age as a lyric writer, when Ludo and Bam graciously adopted some of my earlier writings, warts and all. To hear them translated into songs was no less than magic, and it certainly gave me the confidence to start our own band a bit later. And the magic continued when Ludo became our producer and Bam designed our record sleeves. But that’s another story, obviously. Because this is the place and the time to dive back into the wondrous world of A Blaze Colour!"

Bart Azijn (Aimless Device)

LOCUS unveil the second instalment in their VA series ‘LOCUS Trax’ with fresh material from Mathijs Smit, LaRosa, BODJ, and Nolga.

Continuing to quickly grow as one of the most-loved emerging labels in the game, LOCUS looks set to go from strength-to-strength throughout the remainder of 2022 as the FUSE family builds yet another label offering quality and consistent material from across the house sphere. Having launched their new various artist series LOCUS Trax earlier this year, TBC welcomes the arrival of the sophomore offering with four fresh productions as Groningen’s Mathijs Smit, Brooklyn’s LaRosa, Athens’ BODJ and Manchester’s Nolga all make label debuts.

Mathijs Smit’s ‘Green Hill’ is a slinking cut guided primed for peak time fun as slinking acid tinged low-ends meet playful samples and sweeping pads, while ‘Amelia’s Groove’ sees LaRosa work shuffling drums amongst warped vocals and rich melodies. Next, BODJ veers towards spacey sythns and colourful electronic motifs across ‘Back To Party City’, before Nolga lays down woozy chords on top of a no-nonsense bassline to close the show.

Jackson Ryland comes in focused and ecstatic with his first vinyl release under his technoid alias JR2K. Jackson is based in Washington DC as one-half of both Superabundance and Rush Plus. He’s recently released on Peach Discs and Pleasant Life, showcasing his knack for presenting energy as a delicacy. JR2K “Walking Backward” is another illustrious highlight in the savvy DC producer’s already-accomplished underground career. Played on Hör Radio by Kush Jones and supported by Peach, Ciel, Clarisa Kimskii, Ryan Elliott, CMD, Davis Galvin, livwutang, Furtive, Golden Medusa, Lychee, Miley Serious, and Jialing!

The A side opens up whooshy and hard with “ExoGeni Approach”. This illustrates perfectly what I love about Jackson’s style(s)...it sounds like the sickest mid-90s techno track, full of energy and movement while taking in the atmosphere with repose. After the rollercoaster intro, the acidic up-ticks, lush synth layering, and perfectly crunchy closed-hats sink your ass straight through the dance-floor to tumbling free-for-all in the green-screen collage of your daydreams. Wake up…A2 “Call Back” splashes you with a glass of refreshing water…you still got hours at the party, and you’re coming up on some healthE shit…time to get back to that business of dancing your soles and soul away to this driving monorail of euphoric acidic techno. Choo choo choose your own dance destiny, baby!

Svart Records proudly presents: Finnish prog-psych quintet Sammal sheds skin and changes into a power trio, new album announced Sammal have since their 2013 debut cemented their reputation as one of the leaders of the Fenno-Ugrian neoprogressive and psychedelic scene and also raised some waves internationally, performing at the well-respected Roadburn Festival in 2015 and garnering a series of raving reviews around the world of psychedelia and progressive rock fandom, such as “Truly amazing and otherworldy music” or “Earnest, vibrant music specked with impressive nuance”. A few years have passed since the successful Suuliekki album, and since then two of their five members have left the fold. Guitarist and songwriter Jura Salmi decided, however, that Sammal must continue in some form or another. “During the spring of 2020 I would spend time alone recording new demos with the guitar. The remaining three Sammal members had already decided that if the band was to continue, we would not seek another keyboard player.I had bought a guitar pedal that can simulate keyboard sounds and it opened a new world to me. I realized we can perform fine as a power trio without a bass or a keyboard player”, comments Jura Salmi. “Sammal has always been a melting pot of all music we like. If in the past we used to be heavily into bands lke Camel, Dungen and Opeth, when working on this album we’d liste to everything from Bo Hansson and Iron Butterfly to Type O Negative and Whitesnake”, laughs Salmi and continues, “We’d also pick the language of a song’s lyrics based on what we felt would fit the mood of the song. This album has songs in Finnish, Swedish and English.” Sammal’s unexpected prog-psych-boogie epic Aika laulaa will be released on November 18th on all platforms as well as on CD and LP.

Svart Records proudly presents: Finnish prog-psych quintet Sammal sheds skin and changes into a power trio, new album announced Sammal have since their 2013 debut cemented their reputation as one of the leaders of the Fenno-Ugrian neoprogressive and psychedelic scene and also raised some waves internationally, performing at the well-respected Roadburn Festival in 2015 and garnering a series of raving reviews around the world of psychedelia and progressive rock fandom, such as “Truly amazing and otherworldy music” or “Earnest, vibrant music specked with impressive nuance”. A few years have passed since the successful Suuliekki album, and since then two of their five members have left the fold. Guitarist and songwriter Jura Salmi decided, however, that Sammal must continue in some form or another. “During the spring of 2020 I would spend time alone recording new demos with the guitar. The remaining three Sammal members had already decided that if the band was to continue, we would not seek another keyboard player.I had bought a guitar pedal that can simulate keyboard sounds and it opened a new world to me. I realized we can perform fine as a power trio without a bass or a keyboard player”, comments Jura Salmi. “Sammal has always been a melting pot of all music we like. If in the past we used to be heavily into bands lke Camel, Dungen and Opeth, when working on this album we’d liste to everything from Bo Hansson and Iron Butterfly to Type O Negative and Whitesnake”, laughs Salmi and continues, “We’d also pick the language of a song’s lyrics based on what we felt would fit the mood of the song. This album has songs in Finnish, Swedish and English.” Sammal’s unexpected prog-psych-boogie epic Aika laulaa will be released on November 18th on all platforms as well as on CD and LP.

Reissued double vinyl album of first part of THIS IMMORTAL COIL's Coil homage in gatefold sleeve with new artwork! "Brilliantly versatile tribute album to British-based avant garde and experimental group, Coil." More than a tribute to cult dark ambient band COIL, This Immortal Coil is a project of re-interpretations by Ici d'Ailleurs' artists and more: Yael Naim, Bonnie Prince Billy, Matt Elliott, Yann Tiersen, DAUU, Christine Ott, Chapelier Fou, Sylvain Chauveau, Deadverse. Mixed by OKTOPUS of DÄLEK. Peter Christopherson himself immediately put it up for sale on the Coil website at the time, cherrishing the work as "The Most extra-ordinary, beautiful and moving re-interpretations of Coil I have ever heard." "On November 13th 2004, John Balance passed away, He was, along with Peter Christopherson, the founding member of the group Coil. His brutal death marked the end of over twenty years of activism and musical genius. I have then decided to work on a project that would pay tribute to them. I didn't want another compilation that would pile up pieces, without any link. My wish was to transpose this unique musical mood to another one, more classical and more accessible to everyone. The whole idea was to pay tribute to the music for what was beyond it, just the way COIL underlined it: « Coil is more than music »I got my inspiration from the project This Mortal Coil, started in the eighties by the English label 4AD. Its label manager had then grouped some of its own artists together in order to play some standards of rock and pop music. Most of those who participated in this work hardly knew COIL. My purpose wasn't to go towards those artists who had a conscious connection with the music of the group, let alone musicians who claimed to be the heirs to this seminal work.

Deniz Cuylan set out to explore his own distinctive sound on his 2021 solo debut album 'No Such Thing As Free Will.' The album signaled the Turkish musician's first bold step into the spotlight following a winding 15-year path in the music industry playing in multiple bands with home bases dotted all over the globe - Stockholm, NYC, Istanbul - and tackling a wide array of styles both on the stage and in the studio. Now settled into his current home in Los Angeles, Deniz lends his instrumental talents to create scores for independent films and recurring Netflix original series, yet these projects inevitably fulfill the sonic backdrop for another artist's vision. Looking inward on his own for the first time, 'No Such Thing As Free Will' laid the groundwork for his own personal soundtrack, one that fused his love of classical guitar, introspective jazz, and ambient expressionism with his whimsical compositional ear. Over a magical 6-track journey, 'No Such Thing As Free Will' painted a lush cinematic narrative with Deniz's guitar as its guide, delivering an album that "seems to invent new languages for the guitar" (The Guardian) and receiving glowing comparisons to legends like Steve Reich, The Durutti Colum's Vini Reilly, Glenn Branca, and Bert Jansch. With such a singular foundation exposed on a debut album, many artists would stay true to their inventive winning formula and find out if lightning could strike twice. Deniz is not one of those artists. An explorer at heart, Deniz unveils a beautifully alluring and lightly adjusted language on his mesmerizing second album 'Rings Of Juniper.' The record continues to spotlight Deniz's exquisite guitar work and hypnotic compositional skills, yet it boasts a punchier, refined, and more immediate tone right from the start. Accented by a desire to once again uncover a new shade of his sonic palette with the support of a talented cast of friends and artistic collaborators, 'Rings Of Juniper' lays bare a rich, dynamic, and evocative sound that Deniz lovingly refers to as Mediterranean Minimalism.

Florence Cats is a poet, visual artist, sound composer, performer and acupuncturist. Born in Vilvoorde (Belgium) in 1985, she is currently living and working where Brussels merges with the Sonian forest.

Florence Cats’ working process involves things about to appear or disappear, and echo one another : air, light, wind, tone, print, voice, water, color, dust, junk, rumor… She creates eclectic pieces related to travel, porosity, natural energies and celestial events. Each proposal is in tune to a context, a space, an environment.

Ys is a generous debut. Raw, courageous.

Sunken Cathedral is Florence interpreting Claude Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie (trans. the Sunken Cathedral). The track reminds me of one of those fabled Charles Ives home recordings. Where he records himself on Speak-O-Phone - an old brand of recordable aluminium phonograph discs - while practicing and composing his music. But unlike Charles Ives treating these home recordings as personal sketches, Florence Cats shares her captured moments as compositions for the public.

Similar to the Speak-O-Phone recordings, we now meet the piano as a physical expression - not as an archetype. We are together with Florence in a room. The pedal. The keys. The hiss of the room. Learn, repeat.

Trough Florence’s hands and feet, La Cathédrale Engloutie is brought out of its pupa stage to become a presence. Instead of being grounded in luxurious concert halls or on high end recordings, the piece is now natural. Sunken Cathedral is a template, an affirmation for amateurs.

The piece was originally created for the group exhibition "Here Comes the Wave” at Project(ion) room, Brussels, February 2020.

In Fall Call, we find ourselves at QO2, a sound art initiative in Brussels. This piece was captured during a residency Florence took over the summer of 2022. We listen to the moment when a summer storm just washed the city.

Fall Call is a testament to Florence’s magical - humanistic way of playing her custom-made theremin. By pushing the controls of the instruments so high, her whole body starts to control the instrument - instead of just her hands. So when she walks around in the room, the instrument answers in full color.

And then, a phone-call. Giving it a bit of a Poulenc vibe.

For the last piece, Drop Out, we find ourselves in Florence’s apartment. When Florence opens the windows, the ambience of the surrounding Sonian Forest seeps in. This is an adorable moment. It predicts new beginnings. The smell of wet dirt and dripping leaves in the air. The poetry of rain.

James Taylor's best-selling record since 1970's hallmark Sweet Baby James, the triple-platinum JT takes its permanent place as one of the singer's most enduring albums — an affair that gorges on country, blues, and rock styles as well as incisive songwriting. As the pre-eminent singer-songwriter's Columbia debut, it catapulted Taylor back into the limelight and re-established his place as the era's leading-edge folk-rock troubadour.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP possesses a warmth, immediacy, and intimacy absent from other pressings. The singer's comforting voice, breath control, and enchanting guitar lines sound as if they pour right out of the studio control room. Similarly, the splendid array of backing instrumentation is balanced, vivid, and dynamic. Taylor should always sound this realistic, warm, and lively.

More than any other of his records, JT features all sides of Taylor's lyrical persona. Optimistic, content material fills half of the 1977 set while Taylor reveals a darker, moodier identity on a number of songs that keep the 12-track set alternating between shade and light, shadow and sun. He turns romantic and blissful on the touching ballad "There We Are," praises the power of love on "Your Smiling Face," and enchants with the graceful "Secret O'Life."

In addition to channeling domestic bliss, Taylor expresses surprise and cynicism on "Honey Don't Leave L.A.," delves into despair on "Another Grey Morning," and invites sardonic tones on "Bartender's Blues." The result is a complete picture of an extraordinary songwriter and an accurate sketch of the mixed emotions many of us feel when it comes to romance. Taylor's ability to capture deep-seated feelings and set them to lyrical and musical poetry explains why we relate to him on such a meta-level. It's also why his music, including JT, remains timeless.

Taylor doesn't do it all alone. JT benefits from an all-star support cast. Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt supply background vocals, saxophone great David Sanborn plays the horn, Russ Kunkel mans the percussion, and arranger David Campbell oversees the strings and woodwinds. It's no wonder why many fans consider this gorgeous collection of Laurel Canyon pop-rock Taylor's finest.

Whether you've never heard this record or know it inside and out, this reissue will open your ears to previously hidden details ranging from pedal-steel guitar accents to honky-tonk tonalities. Taylor's funky rhythms, too, gain in stature, as does his command of pace and tempo.

Repress of this 2014 single. First time that we have had this one. “City Heights” is a breezy walk through the neighborhood on a Summer’s day. Light and easy, the intro guitars give way to magnificent horns. Some sweet Soul Jazz at its finest. Reminiscent of George Benson meeting the Memphis Horns while Herbie Mann gets down, this side is soulful and funky at the same time. By the time the flute comes in and give way to more drums that knock, you’ve not just circled the neighborhood, you’ve walked the city and back nodding your head the whole way. This track is another winner from SFSE and a sure shot for Colemine Records. On point as usual, they are once again highlighting some of the newest and best bands out there. The flip, “Strollin’ Adams” picks up where “City Heights” left off. A little more jazzy, a little bit funkier but with that breezy feel still, this track brings you back to those mid 60’s early 70’s Blue Note / Prestige / Verve Soul Jazz moments. A time when the players clicked and gave us this genre that has wooed listeners for decades moving forward. The old sound is new again, and preserved just right. Aces high, this is a winner on both sides. - Flea Market Funk.

Repress of this 2014 single. First time that we have had this one. “City Heights” is a breezy walk through the neighborhood on a Summer’s day. Light and easy, the intro guitars give way to magnificent horns. Some sweet Soul Jazz at its finest. Reminiscent of George Benson meeting the Memphis Horns while Herbie Mann gets down, this side is soulful and funky at the same time. By the time the flute comes in and give way to more drums that knock, you’ve not just circled the neighborhood, you’ve walked the city and back nodding your head the whole way. This track is another winner from SFSE and a sure shot for Colemine Records. On point as usual, they are once again highlighting some of the newest and best bands out there. The flip, “Strollin’ Adams” picks up where “City Heights” left off. A little more jazzy, a little bit funkier but with that breezy feel still, this track brings you back to those mid 60’s early 70’s Blue Note / Prestige / Verve Soul Jazz moments. A time when the players clicked and gave us this genre that has wooed listeners for decades moving forward. The old sound is new again, and preserved just right. Aces high, this is a winner on both sides. - Flea Market Funk.

KU is proud to celebrate a powerful moment in hip-hop history, in which the underground found space amongst the mainstream.
20 plus years ago, Dilated Peoples dropped their first studio album, ‘The Platform’. The Los Angeles-based group was composed of legendary Beat Junkies member, DJ Babu, staple underground and prolific emcee, Evidence, and fellow Los Angeles-based rapper, Rakaa.

The crew formed in the early 90s, exploring their craft and dynamic for many years before making their imprint known and gaining the attention of Capitol Records, who’d eventually put out ‘The Platform’ in the year 2000.

Mainstream Hip Hop and specifically the greater Los Angeles area radio during those years was inundated with West Coast Gangster Rap. Dilated Peoples offered a different look for the genre, steering away from celebrating gun violence and misogyny. Stepping into the light with notes of positivity, boosting one another up, thought-out observations about social issues, and catharsis.

KU is celebrating the influential group with a replica 45” repressing, of the title track from ‘The Platform’. The track hit #22 on the US rap charts in 2000, and #89 in the UK. “The Platform” was produced by the aforementioned, The Alchemist.

The Vivid label is yet another one from Burnski who also runs Constant Blanc and Instinct. He is s single handed garage hit making machine and he knows how to tap into the next gen, too. Here he calls upon Peaky Beats for a naughty and nasty three track affair that has retro feels but contemporary style. 'Can't Stop' opens up with a 2-step shuffle and steely hits, then 'Get Ready' gets more free and melodic with some boxing little melodic patterns and oscillating bass. Last of all is the most menacing and dark - 'Wildcat' flips into a dub wise swagger mid-way through that is going to blow up the clubs.

After a summer of touring and working on remixes, Big Miz readies this new self-released 5 track EP. The first outing on Miz Records since February, three solo cuts and two collaborations
bring us yet another versatile spin on the modern house sound.

With aquatic sound design and tight kicks introducing ‘Causal Loop’, an opener that quickly morphs into a Legowelt / Alden Tyrell type synth-led jacking house jam, the EP wastes no time in getting going. There’s a sharp vocal sample of the narcotic persuasion that brings to mind Paul Johnson’s classic ‘Give Me Ecstasy’, whilst the clubbier vibe of those early LIES 12”s is also present. The title track is a drum machine workout that gradually ends up in a loopy 90s style minimal techno groove, whereas ‘An Facile’ pushes and pulls at the dancefloor with a mean acid line and makes reference to a gig that may or may not have taken place at a now shut-down Glasgow club many moons ago. You’ll need to ask Miz.

Over to Side B and ‘Sleep Well’ brings in production help from fellow Scottish stalwart Ewan McVicar, the pair working on the tune in a hotel room after a show. Evidently no sleep was had as the swirling acid lines, modulated rimshots and tempo trickery combine to make one of the trippiest jams on the record. Things draw to an end with an Underground Resistance sampling colab with Good Thing resident DD Watermelon.

We wrote and recorded Enjoy The View in the first 8 months of the pandemic, initially working separately before joining up in the studio to finish the album. We always felt like this album was a chance for us to try some things out and approach writing music together differently than we had done before. After getting back out on the road again we thought it may be fun to revisit some of those songs and take another new approach. So after our mammoth six-week tour of North America finished in April 2022 we decided to have another crack at some of these songs and see where else we could take them. Our idea for this EP was to go into the studio and just see where we went from there… I think making music is just making hundreds of tiny decisions that ultimately give the final feeling and sound of a song. We have absolutely loved playing music and spending more time with Andy Monaghan and jumped at the chance to head into the studio with him and make some different decisions! We also thought it would be great to see where other people could take some of those songs and are so delighted that we’re lucky enough to have Andy, Manchester Orchestra and Zoe Graham put their own spin them and make them something that we could never have done

Somewhere between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, the rif largely disappeared from mainstream rock & pop. Its transformative power - the rif as a means to transport the listener into another dimension - became an art cherished only in the underground of rock and metal. One of the strong proponents of that transformative power is ASTROSAUR, an overlooked gem in the international heavy psyche rock and post- metal scene. The Norwegian power trio has been employing the rif as their principal mode of transport since their 2017 debut album Fade In // Space Out. Now, with the release of their third album Portals, ASTROSAUR are sounding more expansive and convincing than ever, delivering an intuitive exploration of the infnite powered by soaring guitars and surging grooves. With their third full-length album, ASTROSAUR have delivered an incredibly diverse and musically challenging and satisfying experience, showing that this band is greater than the sum of its truly great parts. Over the course of fve tracks and 48 minutes, the band use the best traits of the aforementioned genres to take you on a sonic journey into the deepest caverns of space and time. First single «Black Hole Earth» is masterclass soaring post-rock guitars, with its magnifcent main melody, which is ofset against a blistering desert rock rif, like a star ship phasing in and out of hyperspace, alternating between crushing your guts and showing you the most marvellous views of deep space. From a compositional viewpoint, «Eternal Return» is a mind-blowing afair. This giant psychedelic prog epic has been built from diferent themes and motifs that take turns in appearing, shifting form and developing as they go along. Segueing into new themes or returning to earlier ones, «Eternal Return» gloriously comes full circle, ending the mind-boggling journey of Portals. With the addition of vibraphones, Moog and acoustic guitars, the sound of ASTROSAUR is fuller and more diverse than ever before. From the soaring overture of «Opening» to the glorious fnale of «Eternal Return», Portals shows the next great post-metal band at their most accomplished. Fans of dynamic rifs and intricate compositions can once again rejoice as they're able to tune in and fade out once more with another wild ride courtesy of this exciting Norwegian powerhouse. Limited Eternal Return Vinyl Edition!

LTD ETERNAL RETURN ED.

Somewhere between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, the rif largely disappeared from mainstream rock & pop. Its transformative power - the rif as a means to transport the listener into another dimension - became an art cherished only in the underground of rock and metal. One of the strong proponents of that transformative power is ASTROSAUR, an overlooked gem in the international heavy psyche rock and post- metal scene. The Norwegian power trio has been employing the rif as their principal mode of transport since their 2017 debut album Fade In // Space Out. Now, with the release of their third album Portals, ASTROSAUR are sounding more expansive and convincing than ever, delivering an intuitive exploration of the infnite powered by soaring guitars and surging grooves. With their third full-length album, ASTROSAUR have delivered an incredibly diverse and musically challenging and satisfying experience, showing that this band is greater than the sum of its truly great parts. Over the course of fve tracks and 48 minutes, the band use the best traits of the aforementioned genres to take you on a sonic journey into the deepest caverns of space and time. First single «Black Hole Earth» is masterclass soaring post-rock guitars, with its magnifcent main melody, which is ofset against a blistering desert rock rif, like a star ship phasing in and out of hyperspace, alternating between crushing your guts and showing you the most marvellous views of deep space. From a compositional viewpoint, «Eternal Return» is a mind-blowing afair. This giant psychedelic prog epic has been built from diferent themes and motifs that take turns in appearing, shifting form and developing as they go along. Segueing into new themes or returning to earlier ones, «Eternal Return» gloriously comes full circle, ending the mind-boggling journey of Portals. With the addition of vibraphones, Moog and acoustic guitars, the sound of ASTROSAUR is fuller and more diverse than ever before. From the soaring overture of «Opening» to the glorious fnale of «Eternal Return», Portals shows the next great post-metal band at their most accomplished. Fans of dynamic rifs and intricate compositions can once again rejoice as they're able to tune in and fade out once more with another wild ride courtesy of this exciting Norwegian powerhouse. Limited Eternal Return Vinyl Edition!

Tape
Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band's Wede Harer Guzo is the third release on Awesome Tapes From Africa for Ethiopian keyboard and accordion maestro. In the years since Shemonmuanaye, Mergia has revamped his touring career, playing festivals and clubs worldwide, including a recent tour supporting Beirut. By 1978, Addis Ababa's nightlife was facing challenges. The ruling Derg regime imposed curfews, banning citizens from the streets after midnight until 6:00 am. But that didn't stop some people from dancing and partying through the night. Bands would play from evening until daybreak and people would stay at the clubs until curfew was lifted in the morning. One key denizen of Addis' musical golden age, Hailu Mergia, was preparing a follow-up to his seminal Tche Belew LP with the famed Walias Band. It was the band's only full-length record and it had been a success. But his Hilton house band colleagues were a bit tied up recording cassettes with different vocalists. Still Mergia, amidst recording and gigs with the Walias, was also eager to make another recording of his instrumental-focused arrangements. So he went to the nearby Ghion Hotel, another upmarket outpost with a popular nightclub. Dahlak Band was the house band at Ghion at the time. Together they made this tape Wede Harer Guzo right there in the club during the band's afternoon rehearsal meetings, with sessions lasting three days. Dahlak Band catered to a slightly more youthful, local audience, while Mergia's main gig with the Walias at Addis' swankiest hotel had a mixed audience that included wealthy Ethiopians, foreign diplomats and older folks from abroad. Therefore, their sets featured lighter fare during dinnertime and a less rollicking selection of jazz and r&b. Meanwhile, Dahlak was known more for the mainly soul and Amharic jams they served up for hours two nights a week to a younger crowd. Mergia released Wede Harer Guzo ("Journey to Harer," a city in eastern Ethiopia) with Sheba Music Shop, which was located in the Piazza district but has long since shut down. His cassette copy is the only known source we could find. Jessica Thompson at Coast Mastering managed to restore the recording to clean up layers of hiss, flutter and distorted frequencies, made worse by years of storage. Although there are some remaining sonic artifacts of the era's recording and cassette duplicating quality, this reissue captures the band's inimitable vibe. Recalling the audience's positive reaction to Wede Harer Guzo's novel arrangements, he says it sold well and found many fans. However, as no trace of the tape can be found online, there's no indication as to why the cassette appears largely forgotten until now