Acid Jazz Group Label Countdown Records is proud to present 'Shake A Tail Feather' - a Vinyl/CD collection from Fast Eddie, one of the early '80s most exhilarating live groups, and a favourite of the Rhythm and Soul powered Mod scene of 1980s. Initially called 'The Investigators', Fast Eddie emerged from Billericay in the wake of Thames Delta Blues pioneers, Dr. Feelgood. Having gained a following playing the raw R&B of the Pub Rock circuit, the band diversified their sound to incorporate classic soul repertoire, alongside their own material, which is documented throughout this collection.
Significantly, the group was also managed and produced by a certain young Eddie Piller - our founder - in his first foray as a music Mogul. Consequently, this collection marks an important document in the formation of Well Suspect Records, Countdown Records and the wider Acid Jazz Story. The LP contains a sharp selection of 16 tracks from their recordings, while the CD and digital version extends this with 4 extra tracks. Their storming versions of 'Shake A Tail Feather' and 'Out Of Sight', show their love of classic club soul, while 'Help Me' and 'My Babe' prove that they could play the blues with plenty of rhythm and feeling.
quête:one hand
- A1: Deliver Us
- A2: For Other Eyes
- A3: Swine
- A4: Expert Rites
- A5: Dead Letter
- A6: I Almost Had A Weakness
- A7: Why?
- A8: Who Do You Think You Are?
- A9: Taking My Life In Your Hands
- A10: This Offer Is Unrepeatable
- A11: Dear Sweet Filthy World
- A12: The Letter Home
- B1: Jacksons, Monk And Rowe
- B2: This Sad Burlesque
- B3: Romeo’s Seance
- B4: I Thought I’d Write To Juliet
- B5: Last Post
- B6: The First To Leave
- B7: Damnation’s Cellar
- B8: The Birds Will Still Be Singing
• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• INCLUDING INSERT
• FEATURING THE BRODSKY QUARTET
• LIMITED EDITION OF 2500
INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON PURPLE COLOURED VINYL
The Juliet Letters is the 14th studio album by singer and songwriter Elvis Costello. Originally released in 1993, the critically acclaimed album peaked at No. 18 on the UK album chart. The entire instrumental backing for The Juliet Letters is provided by The Brodsky Quartet. Costello had become interested in classical music around the time of Spike and began attending classical concerts. One of the ensembles he enjoyed most was the Brodsky Quartet. Once Costello and the Quartet got to know each other, they were keen on working together, eventually resulting in a full length album.
Costello described The Juliet Letters as “a song sequence for string quartet and voice and it has a title. It’s a little bit different. It’s not a rock opera. It’s a new thing.”
The album is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on purple coloured vinyl and includes an insert.
- A1: Solo Gemini - Koolkite
- A2: Moo Latte - Healium
- A3: Baklu - Leer
- A4: Bodziers On - Indra
- A5: Roux Spana - Munchkiny
- A6: Printempo - Alta Rapide
- A7: Moonfeeder - Pco
- A8: Pantalaimon - Hole In My Kite
- A9: Krisqu071 - Quick Glide
- A10: Tapchan - Brassiliano
- A11: Typol - Yerba Blues
- A12: Swtrppl - Summer Kite Race
- B1: Pers - Allg (Feat Dj Vazee & Odme)
- B2: Pepe - Flight
- B3: Devv - Pudding
- B4: Coachmotel - Eternal Dream/Higher
- B5: Aflo - Lagodi G
- B6: Bknd - Let Them Fly Away
- B7: Bitykradne - Clock
- B8: Spear Oh - Colorful (Feat Ninka)
- B9: Steps - Manjha
- B10: Worstcase - Duality
- B11: Szatt - Bumblebees
- B12: Brak Oczu - La Ultima Mariposa
We have two versions (two different covers) - black vinyl or multicolor, limited, hand nubered (111 copies) vinyl.
Two years after the well-received compilation "Nebula," Himalaya Collective (probably the largest team of beatmakers in Poland) returns with another release. This time the Himalayan section of 24 producers (and some exceptional guests from outside the collective) will take us on a journey into the skies. On "Latawce" (which means "Kites" in English), we will hear 24 tracks with one goal in mind - to allow a maximum two-minute flight. The premiere (not accidentally) will take place on the 1st day of summer.
The sound of each Kite has been colored thanks to the excellent mastering done by Eprom. The album's vinyl version was made in two options and with two different covers. @Eloprzemi is responsible for the design of the classic version, and the cover of the limited surprise vinyl was designed by Gbur. The limited edition is hand-numbered (111 copies), and the surprise is worth emphasizing the different colors of each vinyl! Crazy Action! Great album! The perfect soundtrack for the summer holidays 2022!
- 1: Whatever (Live)
- 2: Wherever (Live)
- 3: Gravel (Live)
- 4: Willing To Fight (Live)
- 5: Shy (Live)
- 6: Joyful Girl (Live)
- 7: Hide And Seek (Live)
- 8: Napoleon (Live)
- 9: I'm No Heroine (Live)
- 10: Amazing Grace (Live)
- 11: Anticipate (Live)
- 12: Tiptoe (Live)
- 13: Sorry I Am (Live)
- 14: The Slant/The Diner (Live)
- 15: 32 Flavors (Live)
- 16: Out Of Range (Live)
- 1: Untouchable Face (Live)
- 2: Shameless (Live)
- 3: Distracted (Live)
- 4: Adam And Eve (Live)
- 5: Fire Door (Live)
- 6: Both Hands (Live)
- 7: Out Of Habit (Live)
- 8: Every State Line (Live)
- 9: Not So Soft (Live)
- 10: Travel Tips (Live)
- 11: Wrong With Me (Live)
- 12: In Or Out (Live)
- 13: We're All Gonna Blow (Live)
- 14: Letter To A John (Live)
- 15: Overlap (Live)
Living In Clip (25th Anniversary Edition) Newly remastered for vinyl + cd in deluxe packaging. This landmark double album by Ani DiFranco, features her trio from 1995-1996 with Andy Stochansky (drums) and Sara Lee (bass). Twenty-five years later the album is recognized as a point of entry that radically expanded DiFranco’s audience, and a historically important testament to the relationship between Ani as a live performer and the devoted community she created with her fans. If there was ever a record to help you pull through until the next time the Folksinger makes her way to your town, Living In Clip is the one. Affectionately named after the state of stage amps about to blow out, the record is constructed like a show complete with the onstage humor and antics we love. The culmination of years of studio work and constant touring, Living In Clip is a tour in itself: nearly two-dozen venues provide the atmosphere for over two hours of music complete with intermission and encore. Recorded straight from the soundboard on an 8 track ADAT, digital videotape and mixed by Ani and Andrew Gilchrist – Living In Clip is conceptually designed to preserve the authenticity and pulse of a live show. There are jazzy folkalicious renditions of "Letter to A John," "Fire Door," "Diner" and "Anticipate." Amusing and sweet snippets are interwoven throughout the songs and sometimes during them - "Out of Habit" harbors a little cinematic glimpse into Ani's first days in New York City. This dynamic collection also offers The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra playing on "Both Hands" and "Amazing Grace" at a hockey arena as well as a phenomenal version of "Shy," that was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance – Female (or whatever). Living In Clip is also considered one of Rolling Stone Magazine's essential albums of the 90's. Living In Clip includes a beautiful photo gallery that contains pictures of the sparkling faces, questionable attire and unique persons behind the road show.
WRWTFWW Records is very happy to announce the official vinyl reissue of the highly sought-after Haruomi Hosono-produced Interior self-titled debut, originally released in 1982 on legendary label Yen Records. The LP comes in a heavy 350gsm sleeve.
Interior is Daisuke Hinata, Eiki Nonaka, Mitsuru Sawamura, and Tsukasa Betto. Their classic 1982 debut, produced by Yellow Magic Orchestra's Haruomi Hosono, is one of a kind - a very rare breed of feel-good ambient music blending instrumental synth-pop, soft electronic minimalism, and cozy sound design in the most heartwarming ways. It evokes the intimate pleasures of daydreaming in a hotel lobby, holding hands in a museum, or napping by the pool. It depicts the urban landscape as a caring environment, where simplicity and repetition is mind soothing and smile inducing.
Interior takes you into an alternate reality, where nostalgic modernism makes the present time feel like the fondest memories.
The unique sound of Interior caught the attention of William Ackerman and Anne Robinson who re-released the album in 1985 on their famed label Windham Hill Records (with a slightly different tracklisting) and then proceeded to put out their follow-up, Design, in 1987. After that, members of the group continued their careers separately, Daisuke Hinata notably recording an overlooked but absolutely amazing solo album, Tarzanland, in 1988.
The wait is over: Arch Enemy are back with the follow up to 2017’s ‘Will To Power’, and they have never sounded hungrier. Delivering a collection of the tightest, most streamlined, and, more importantly extreme metal, ‘Deceivers’ is comprised of 11 tracks that will have their fan base salivating. Every track is ruthlessly catchy and mercilessly violent, and with the likes of ‘Deceiver, Deceiver’, ‘House Of Mirrors’, ‘Handshake With Hell’ or ‘Poisoned Arrow’ the Swedish quintet have never sounded better. Released on July 29th, 2022, it is available in 4 formats, all of which offer something special for the fans. First, there is the hand-numbered Ltd. Deluxe 2LP + CD Artbook which includes a multicolored vinyl (each design is unique), zoetrope/picture vinyl, CD, two bonus tracks, art print and a 36-page LP-sized booklet with liner-notes. The similarly exclusive Ltd. Deluxe CD Box Set includes a special edition CD “PocketPac” (eco-friendly packaging), two bonus tracks, a 32-page DIN A5 booklet (with liner-notes), tote bag and metal pin. Then there is the limited black and colored LP that comes with an 8-page booklet and Obi-Strip, and finally the special edition CD that also comes with a “PocketPac” (eco-friendly packaging) and a 16-page booklet.
The wait is over: Arch Enemy are back with the follow up to 2017’s ‘Will To Power’, and they have never sounded hungrier. Delivering a collection of the tightest, most streamlined, and, more importantly extreme metal, ‘Deceivers’ is comprised of 11 tracks that will have their fan base salivating. Every track is ruthlessly catchy and mercilessly violent, and with the likes of ‘Deceiver, Deceiver’, ‘House Of Mirrors’, ‘Handshake With Hell’ or ‘Poisoned Arrow’ the Swedish quintet have never sounded better. Released on July 29th, 2022, it is available in 4 formats, all of which offer something special for the fans. First, there is the hand-numbered Ltd. Deluxe 2LP + CD Artbook which includes a multicolored vinyl (each design is unique), zoetrope/picture vinyl, CD, two bonus tracks, art print and a 36-page LP-sized booklet with liner-notes. The similarly exclusive Ltd. Deluxe CD Box Set includes a special edition CD “PocketPac” (eco-friendly packaging), two bonus tracks, a 32-page DIN A5 booklet (with liner-notes), tote bag and metal pin. Then there is the limited black and colored LP that comes with an 8-page booklet and Obi-Strip, and finally the special edition CD that also comes with a “PocketPac” (eco-friendly packaging) and a 16-page booklet.
We like what Trouble have done with this album, “Plastic Green Head”. The music sounds fairly dissimilar to the completely doom-laden, crushing riffs present on the earlier material, but what Trouble do here sounds every bit authentic. Not to mislead you, this definitely still sounds like Trouble, but they seem to have adopted a more laidback, stoner metal approach; sacrificing sinister atmospheres for more upbeat ones. The first few tracks are completely awesome offerings of vintage Trouble. The playful, thrashy riff of the title track, which opens the album, is a great introduction to the music at hand and Eric Wagner’s distinctive vocals sound powerful overtop. “Plastic Green Head,” “The Eye,” “Flowers,” these are all what you would expect from Trouble, huge churning riffs, 80 bpm drumbeats, Eric Wagners nasal yet powerful voice. They are simple, they are catchy, and they are just plain good. “The Porpoise Song” is a cover of a song by The Monkees, and strangely enough it’s very good. Big wall of guitar noise, and Eric singing in a less nasal and more melodic voice. “Opium Eater” sounds like it could easily be an Alice in Chains song. On this album there is silly plenty of Sabbath worship, but also more of an upbeat, hard rock feel. We would even say that a little grunge has crept into their sound (to be fair, it’s probably the other way around, Trouble influence crept into grunge.) If you’re looking for a nice dose of stoner metal, you’ll find just that right here. There’s plenty of memorable riffs which provide good replay value, and although you won’t find as much doom as you might expect from Trouble, it’s still there if you look for it.
- Disc: 1 1. Queen Songs/Human
- 2: Pep Talks
- 3: Quarter Life Crisis
- 4: Don't Mess With My Mama
- 5: Why Did You Run?
- 6: 7000X
- 7: I'm Ok
- 8: Alright (Freak It!)
- 9: Pictures Feat: Kasey Musgraves
- 10: Goofballerz
- 11: Over My Head
- Disc: 2 1. Joyboy
- 2: Passion Fashion Feat: John Bellion
- 3: Dance With Ya
- 4: Family/Best Is Yet To Come
- 5: Sportz
- 6: 17
For Judah & the Lion, the last two years should’ve been the best of their lives as the Nashville band toured behind a powerful single and a genre-upending album, sharing stages with heroes and playing to oceans of fans. But as everything was coming together for them, singer-guitarist Judah Akers’ family was falling apart in a hail of alcoholism and affairs, death and divorce. From that tension comes Pep Talks, the trio’s third LP, and a hard left turn into deeply personal terrain. Knowing they had something new on their hands, Judah, Brian Macdonald (mandolin), and Nate Zuercher (banjo) took their time crafting a set of songs that not only shores up their one-of-a-kind sound—a heart-pounding whirl of folk, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, and electronic production— but takes the listener on a bracingly candid, surprisingly anthemic journey from the kind of pain that tears your whole world apart to the sort of hard-won hope that can bridge the deepest of rifts.
Very few copies in on this. Limited to 350 2LP’s pressed at 45RPM Black vinyl, pressed at Kindercore in Athens, GA, housed in “bootleg-style” hand-stamped and numbered LP jacket. Lacquers cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service. Mixed by John Congleton w/ Jeremy Lemos and Steve Shelley." In the summer of 2009, Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley and the band’s long time sound engineer, Jeremy Lemos, invited Lemos’ White/Light bandmate Matt Clark and Chicago spacepunx Disappears to come over to Lemos’ Semaphore Recording studio and jam. Their one-afternoon, two-drummers, three-guitarists, no-rules jam evolved into a productive and glorious multi-day freakout, which resulted in the recording of these eight songs. Producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Angel Olsen) later mixed the marathon session with Steve and Jeremy at Echo Canyon West in Hoboken, NJ.
Originally released as an obscure private-press LP by the Florida trio of Ben Champion, Ken Burkhart and Danny Burger.
Special guest on this super rare funky jazz outing is Mike Longo who says a few words on behalf of the group on the back cover, and sure enough he contributes scorching Rhodes in the style of his early 70s Greasy Groove sides for Groove Merchant and Mainstream. Also on board are Kelton Champion on guitar, Gary Champion on Bass, Mickey McGann on keys and David Winters on Congas and Percussion: (Just what we love to see on these kind of grooves. Added Phat Funkiness!)
The 20 minute title number weaves, bobs, and scorches with a sound that has been described as a "Headhunters Headspace" the groove never dropping for an instant with a Fender Rhodes meets Hammond B3 Prestige Style Scene with an added flavouring of some chunky Moog Synthesizer.
This has gotten a lot of chatter on the underground Jazz Vibes lately, copies changing hands for $300 and more. The track "These Are My Friends " regularly sells for upwards of $500 and is one of the most hard to find singles on the Rare Soul circuit.
The band are from South Florida, a well known melting pot of culture and music.This area has produced an impressive number of Super Star Jazz Musicians.
Among them Cannonball Adderly, Blue Mitchell, Jaco Pastorius, and Mike Longo and a multitude of others.
Jazzberry Patch can now be added to that roster with this fantastic re-issue from Jazz Room Records.
- 1: Preliminary Purification Before The Calling Of Inanna
- 2: Rapture Of The Empty Spaces
- 3: Contemplate This On The Tree Of Woe
- 4: A Most Effective Exorcism Against Azagthoth And His Emissaries
- 5: Slavery Unto Nitokris
- 6: Shira Gula Pazu
- 7: Kali Ma
- 8: Curse The Sun
- 9: Impalement And Cruxifiction Of The Last Remnants Of The Pre-Human Serpent Volk
- 10: Dying Embers Of The Aga Mass Sssratu
The subterranean slumber of Nile mastermind Karl Sanders’ Eastern-ambient Saurian series finally ceases with the third chapter of his darkly hypnotizing saga, Saurian Apocalypse! The album’s musical and lyrical themes detail the vexing fictional journey of Dr. Eduardo Lucciani, one of very few survivors of mankind’s self-destruction, who descends into madness after discovering the violent horrors occurring at the hands of the Saurian Masters. Emphasized by unique instruments like the baglama saz (Turkish lute), Ancient Egyptian Anubis Sistrum, Dumbek (Middle Eastern goblet drum), glissentar and gongs, the album’s score weaves cinematic auras and deep grooves, accented by the tribal percussive stylings of original Nile drummer Pete Hammoura and returning Saurian vocalist Mike Breazeale. Whispering atop the ominous sands of opener “The Sun Has Set on the Age of Man” are resonant flutes, forewarning percussion, and an exquisitely tasteful and contextual acoustic guest solo by guitar virtuoso Rusty Cooley – kicking in the massive doors of Saurian Apocalypse. Immediately, the album’s impactful production and crystal clarity versus its predecessors is apparent
Vocalists/multi-instrumentalists Claus Lessmann and Michael Voss, who also produces acts such as Michael Schenker: a combination that makes rock fans sit up immediately. Considering the two’s various collaborations - lately as members of PHANTOM V - spread over several decades, »Rock Is Our Religion« is way more than a debut. The album, which was recorded and produced by Voss at German Kidwood Studios Münstertal and Kidroom Studios Greven (only Vincent Golly’s drums were tracked by Mathi Brandstetter at Home Studios Hamburg, Germany), rather is a relevation, a bow down to genuine rock packed in 49 minutes of handmade music performed to the point. Lessmann and Voss complement each other over these 12 tracks as if they hadn’t done anything else before: from mysteriously starting opener 'Medicine Man' to lead single 'Smoke Without A Fire', the recording of 'Take My Heart And Run', circling back to one of their earlier songwriting cooperations in the '90s, and the duo’s interpretation of AMERICA’s 1975 hit song 'Sister Golden Hair' (feat. Kenny Lessmann on drums and Martin Huch on pedal steel guitar), this album impressively shows that it still doesn’t need many frills to create impactful heavy music nowadays. Amen!
Now onto its fourth volume, NuNorthern Soul’s annual Summer Selections EP is fast becoming a must-check for fans of slow-motion sunshine sounds, contemporary Balearic beats and sumptuous downtempo grooves.
Summer Selections Four showcases six hand-picked tracks from EPs and albums to be released by NuNorthern Soul in 2022. A genuine ‘cream of the crop’ or ‘best in class’ feel, with NNS label boss and curator Phil Cooper putting together a varied EP piled high with evocative melodies, atmospheric chords, tactile grooves and ear-catching instrumentation.
First to step up to the plate is experienced producer James Bright, whose cut ‘Amber’ offers a bubbly, colourful and analogue-rich stroll through mid-tempo Balearic house territory. The track is one of the highlights of Bright’s forthcoming Totem EP. It’s quickly followed by ‘Nana a Leon’ from Be.Ianuit’s Entre Dos Islas EP, a gorgeous mixture of deep bass, twinkling pianos, sultry synth-strings, sparkling synthesiser arpeggios, echoing machine drums and spoken word vocals from guest performer Marcos de la Fuente.
San Francisco’s Cole Odin offers a snapshot of his forthcoming Songs For Suns EP via ‘Growing’, a slow-motion sunset soundscape built around ethereal chords, chiming melodies and head-nodding drums, while Gold Suite’s ‘The Cowboy’ – taken from the On My Horizon EP – brilliantly joins the dots between jangling Americana, mid-‘80s Balearic reggae and sun-soaked instrumental synth-pop. While brand-new, it could easily be mistaken for the kind of obscure, hard-to-find gem that gets Balearic record collectors so hot under the collar.
Next up is another new signing to NuNorthern Soul, North of the Island, whose debut EP Feeling Free is undoubtedly a highlight of the label’s 2022 release schedule. ‘I Feel’, the track showcased here, adds attractive, sunset-ready musical flourishes to a chugging, delay-laden rhythm track and the kind if squelchy bass-line most often found in proto-house and early ‘80s electro-funk cuts. It’s a spaced-out, mind-altering delight.
Rounding off another sizzling Summer Selections excursion is ‘Smoke & Fly’ from fast-rising twosome Residentes Balearicos, an Ibiza-based Italian duo who impressed many with their 2021 EPs on Balearic Ensemble. Dusty, bass-heavy, drowsy and picturesque, the track is a simply gorgeous chunk of Balearic dub piled high with organic percussion, undulating acid lines and mazy solos. It provides a fittingly triumphant conclusion to another essential sampler EP from NuNorthern Soul.
LIMITED release (no repress) 300 units hand numbered, stamped copies with insert.
After the first Jam experiment back in 2019 here we have the second chapter of the Bosconi Gang Band session pressed on this limited white label hand stamped & numbered waxx.
This jam was recorded in front of an actual crowd in an event held at Manifattura tabacchi Florence on the 21st February 2020 just a couple weeks before the pandemic started and the first lockdown happened in Italy.
The concept is the same as the previous one with Fabio Della Torre on the mixer conducting the gang mysitc gulf this time with: from left to right Ennio Colaci from Minimono, Dukwa, Rufus, Andrea Giachetti & Antonio Pecori from "The Clover" and Dj Rou.
As it happened with the previous release, the actual jam follows the order of the live execution which naturally developed in a crescendo of speed and intensity.
The result is a collection of 5 of the best takes slightly mixed and revisited afterwards but very much faithful to those performed live.
This is another adventurous release that goes well off grid, plays with strange temps, original textures and moods.
Bosconi Gang Band aims to be an itinerant live improvisational project open to all artists who have released on Bosconi Records that sets the goal of always being unpredictable and special, naturally affected by the artists who perform always creating something unplanned new, and unexpected.
"A very exciting blueprint for the continued evolution of modern dance music!!"
- A1: Kaytranada - Breackdance Lesson N1
- A2: The Souljazz Orchestra - House Of Cards
- A3: The Bamboos - My Baby's Cheating (I Sure Got The Feeling)
- A4: Marschmellows - Soulpower (Jazzanova Reworked - Extended Version)
- A5: The Quantic Soul Orchestra - Hold It Down
- B1: Cookin' On 3 Burners - Keb's Bucket
- B2: Alice Russell - A Fly In The Hand
- B3: Nubiyan Twist - Buckle Up (Feat Soweto Kinch)
- B4: Joel Culpepper - Remember
- B5: Llorca - All We Ever Have Is Now (Feat Stefan Frank)
On the outskirts of late 1970s Olympia, Washington, something stirs, sings, and breathes. Cheri Knight, a music composition student at the Evergreen State College, is developing her practice in a quaint but adequately equipped campus recording studio, amalgamating with the sonic timbre of the surrounding time, space, and place, while devoting to her own inner maxims. At once performative and meditative, electronic and organic, collaborative and self-contained, Cheri’s early compositions are simultaneously complete and sketches of a ceremonial process at play. American Rituals captures the artist’s environmental emergence, unearthing a unique compositional voice and signposting a regional sonic ethos.
The path to Evergreen seems gently preordained for Cheri, a whisper in the trees. Growing up in a musical household in Western Massachusetts, she learned to play piano and clarinet, demurring from notated music but composing piano pieces in the minimalist mode of Erik Satie and folk songs inspired by Joni Mitchell. In high school, her class studied John Cage’s work, an epiphanic moment
for the young artist. The group also visited a studio outside Amherst where she encountered the modular limitlessness of a Moog synthesizer. Cheri studied philosophy and music at Whitman College in Washington, and then took a year to build a stone house with some friends in New Hampshire. She settled at Evergreen soon after, carrying with her a zeal for improvisation, creative investigation,
and hands-on experimentation.
- A1: A Spindle, A Darkness, A Fever & A Necklace
- A2: A Scale A Mirror & Those Indifferent Clocks
- A3: The Calendar Hung Itself
- B1: Something Vague
- B2: The Movement Of A Hand
- B3: Arienette
- C1: When The Curious Girl Realizes She Is Under Glass
- C2: Haligh Haligh A Lie Haligh
- C3: The Center Of The World
- D1: Sunrise, Sunset
- D2: An Attempt To Tip The Scales
- D3: A Song To Pass The Time
It’s the desire to celebrate their sonic bounty that first got Oberst and the band excited about
the idea of comprehensive reissues. But this wouldn’t be a Bright Eyes project if a moment
devoted to appreciating the past weren’t turned into an opportunity to connect with the future.
That’s where the companion EPs (on Opaque Gold vinyl) come in. Or as Oberst puts it, “the
supplemental reading” for the primary reissues: one six-track EP per reissued album, each
featuring five reworked songs from that album. “My thing was they had to sound different from
the originals, we had to mess with them in a substantial way.” Plus one cover that felt “of the
era” in which that particular albums was made - a song that meant something to the band at
the time. To help the EPs come alive in the fullest way, Bright Eyes called in lots of old friends,
like Bridgers, M. Ward, and Welch and Rawlings, as well as new ones like Katie Crutchfield of
Waxahatchee.
‘Fevers And Mirrors’ is pressed on Merlot Wave coloured double vinyl
* Comes with the original 1985 artworks & obi strip. * All-star line-up featuring Herbie Hancock, Mory Kante & Bernie Worrell. * 180g blue Vinyl repress. Manu Dibango needs little introduction, born in Cameroon in 1933, Manu developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. He's definitely among the best known African artists outside of Africa. Collaborations were numerous and include top acts like Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Sly & Robbie, Don Cherry and Bernie Worrell. In addition to selling hundreds of thousands of copies of the albums he recorded, he played such huge venues as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden. In 1972, at 40 years of age, Manu Dibango did something almost unheard of for an African artist - he had a pop hit. His song "Soul Makossa" became an enormous hit which influenced popular music for decades to follow. First picked up by David Mancuso (The Loft), "Soul Makossa" took New York dance floors by storm & in July 1973 it became the first disco record to enter the Billboard Top 40_an early instance of Western pop experiencing a paradigm shift thanks to Africa. The song's chant of "ma-mako ma-ma-sa mako-mako sa" echoes through the greatest-selling pop album of all-time, Michael Jackson's Thriller, and it's in the DNA of the music of Kanye West, Rihanna, A Tribe Called Quest, Akon and The Fugees. By 1985, Dibango was back in Paris, one of the most successful African artists in the world, to start on the recordings for the Electric Africa album. This album hooked Manu and the Soul Makossa Gang up with New York avant garde producer Bill Laswell, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, Parliament-Funkadelic keyboard player Bernie Worrell, Pan African synthesist Wally Badarou, New York guitarist Nicky Scopelitis, African drummer Aiyb Dieng and Malian kora virtuoso Mory Kante. This means of working gave Manu and Laswell license to fuse synthesizers and kora, talking drums and samples, ngoni and electric guitar. What it all boils down to is world beat in its truest sense. Electric Africa remains one of Manu's strongest albums. His deep growl of a honey and sandpaper voice and the energetic honk of his saxophone merge with the seamless samples and the myriad hand percussion and overt funkiness of his band. Herbie Hancock plays on three tracks, contributing an amazing electric piano solo on the title track and interacting with Manu's sax while weaving to the warp of Mory Kante's kora during "L'arbre a Palabres." Similarly but more subtly, Laswell, Badarou and Worrell play dueling synthesizers in and around the band throughout "Pata Piya." All of this makes the album an hypnotic & upbeat Afro-Funk classic that will rock every part your body (and mind). Now finally back available as a limited vinyl edition (Blue vinyl, limited to 500 copies) for the first time since 1985.
Pressing Info: 180g black vinyl, standard sleeve, printed inner sleeve. In dark, troubling times, maybe the most instantly gratifying solace one can seek is a wittily barbed diagnosis of the situation. “The fox has his den. The bee has his hive. The stoat … his stoat-hole,” Stewart Lee once remarked: “But only man chooses to make his nest in an investment opportunity.” Caustic retorts like this are what fuel the debut EP by dance-punk outfit Regressive Left, ‘On The Wrong Side of History’. For pervading through their dynamic and glitching music is a duty to report unflinchingly society’s ills. They are a staunchly political group, but far from your average po-faced by-numbers punk band. There is a gristly social commentary at the band’s core, but the songs themselves are characterised by a need to have fun, to find some kind of solace and escapism from the inevitable rapture. Recorded over an intense 5-day spell with in-demand producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, MIA, Amyl and The Sniffers) in Sheffield, Regressive Left’s debut EP ‘On The Wrong Side of History’ was immortalised over a handful of 11am-1am sessions in his studio. In many ways it is a time capsule of the maelstrom of ideas that got the group to this point in the first place – the infuriating, bleak political climate, and the urge to find escapism from it – consigned to vinyl in one herculean effort. Taking influence from the booming post-punk, funk and disco scenes of New York, Regressive Left’s sound is stark and danceable. Angular guitar scratches meet dirty synth basslines, whilst Simon Tyrie’s Edwyn Collins croon is chased around by effervescent drums. The banal horror of life in Tory Britain expressed with sharp and dry wit, and then set to truly barnstorming and infectious dance music Due out July 15th on Bad Vibrations Records, the new EP arrives following a trio of acclaimed singles (‘Eternal Returns’, ‘Take the Hit’, ‘Cream Militia’), tours with the likes of Bodega and Folly Group, festival appearances at End of the Road, Latitude, Great Escape and Wide Awake, and a sold out headline at The Windmill.




















