quête:orchestral

Singer, songwriter and composer Melike Şahin is set to releases her new album AKKOR via Gülbaba Records in partnership with Day Dreamer

An empowering assertion of survival that propels traditional Anatolian pop and folk influences into the future, AKKOR rises like a phoenix from the flames to reintroduce the Turkish superstar diva to an international audience. An expression of Şahin’s personal growth, the album is an affirmation of her growing status as the voice of a generation, and hose lyrics have been adopted as a callto rights for the women’s movement in Turkey.

Recorded live in London with producer Martin Terefe (London Brew, Buika, Jamie Cullum), AKKOR features a selection of the most talented and forward-thinking musicians on the scene, including guitarists Dave Okumu and violinist Raven Bush, as well as terling Campell (David Bowie) on drums, Glen Scott (Eric Bibb) and Nikolaj mTorp Larsen on keyboards. Bringing an international feel to her mheart-rending performances, the record represents the most focussed and complete expression of Şahin’s sound to date. Melike Şahin has made a career of facing down criticism and censorship to make sumptuous and provocative music that captures the defiant tone of progressive creativity in contemporary Turkey. Having performed around the world with Turkish psych legends BaBa ZuLa, Şahin released her debut album Merhem in 2021, gathering billions of streams and building a reputation for unforgettable live performances in the process. Influenced by the style of Sade, cutting an elegant and beguiling figure on the stage. Where Şahin describes Merhem as about healing, she says AKKOR is about survival, both on an emotional level, coming to terms with difficult relationships, childhood trauma and the pressures of newfound fame, and on a social level, in continuing the champion the rights of the oppressed in the face of state and media violence. Powerful and vulnerable in equal measure, AKKOR demonstrates an orchestral grandeur and a dramatic flair drawn from Şahin’s love for traditional Anatolian pop and folk music, injected with the urgency of contemporary production. Bound together by Şahin’s inimitable voice AKKOR skips between Middle Eastern melancholy and classic disco hedonism, for an album that is as stylistically open, pluralistic and affirmative as the messages the music carries.

Although she does not describe herself as an activist, Şahin’s poignant lyrics have come to define the women’s movement in Turkey, with the words, “I deserve each and every inch of this smile,”adorning protest banners on International Women’s Day and celebratory posters at Pride.

“This is the moment that I told myself, Yes, I am an artist,” Şahin says. “I am bearing all of the other things because of this, because I am affecting people's lives, and I am giving some power.” AKKOR – which translates as candescent – finds Melike rising again and burning brighter than ever before.

Overall though, Şahin says AKKOR is her rebirth album – a statement of self-empowerment, through which she hopes tocontinue to raise up the voices of those around her. “You are seeinga woman who falls down, but who rises again and flies,” sheexplains. “Maybe she doesn't win, maybe she doesn't lose, but she's a survivor,” Şahin concludes. “She is a phoenix.”

2025 Cream VINYL REPRESS.

When Alex Stephens (A.K.A. Strawberry Guy) self-released his debut single last year, he was merely doing it out of a love for songwriting. What he wasn't expecting was a million Youtube streams and an avid fanbase. Now, the South-Wales born, Liverpool-based songwriter is ready to release a full EP of his compelling, lushly produced dream-pop.

Born outside Cardiff, Strawberry Guy moved to Liverpool to study music and grow as a writer. 'I knew that it was a very artistic city with all it’s creative history, it seemed like the perfect place to move to.' he says. Whether it's playing keyboards in The Orielles or just being part of the city's growing musical scene, Alex plays music for the love of music, something that heavily translates into his adept songwriting.


The intense emotional feel of the tracks he writes is down to Alex's songwriting process, recording the entire EP in his bedroom & producing it himself. 'I feel that it’s important to me to only write/record when you’re channeling some kind of emotion, so I would only work on it when I was in the right mood to do so.' He answers when asked about the isolated environment into which he put himself for the recording process.

Much of the inspiration for Alex's work comes from experience rather than other artists. 'When something significant happens to me, all I want to do is make music.' In terms of musical touchstones however, there's the obvious dream-pop contemporaries such as Beach House and Weyes Blood, coupled with great songwriters of old like Nat King Cole or Harry Nillson. Sonically, a blend of orchestral & synthesized melodies layer together to act as a platform for his heartfelt lyrics.

Opener 'Without You' is a fine example of this, a break-up song of sorts, with an infectious keyboard melody and swirling synths over which Alex contemplates whether it's even possible to find lasting love. The lyrics 'Do you really have to talk about the things you do with him? Do you really have to talk about your love?' hit particularly heavily.

Contrast this with the final track, the titular 'Taking My Time To Be', a powerful song of self-discovery. Beginning with downtempo piano and drums, the song breaks out into a saxophone and synth solo that wouldn't go amiss on a Badalamenti soundtrack. 'The song is about me learning to be comfortable with myself, but then wondering if I'll be accepted for being myself' Alex imparts. It's a fitting closer to a EP driven by emotion and experience.

Repress!

The sixteenth edition of Defected’s vinyl series continues to commit the label’s biggest digital releases to wax, delivering some of the best house music previously unavailable on vinyl. EP16 brings together four recent releases from Defected’s catalogue of world-class house. First up on the A-side is Claptone & Rune’s ‘Calabria’, a highly anticipated release from summer 2022 thanks to its warm familiarity, big rubbery bassline and brassy saxophone hook that captivated dancefloors instantly. Similarly, Jack Back’s ‘Feeling’ has a hint of noughties nostalgia, released in March of 2022 ready to sweep dancefloors with a rave-ready bass and electrifying vocal. The B-side opens with Ibiza stalwart Marco Faraone’s 2021 release ‘My Name’, featuring intoxicating vocals from Lolita Leopard; dripping with attitude. Closing out this club-focused collection is Payfone’s distinct ‘Day & Night’, featuring an orchestral approach to composition and a deep house groove that bursts in with ease.

Mit bezaubernden Streichern, verzückten Bildern, klassizistischen Melodien und verträumten Harmonien ist es ein Album der orchestralen Pop-Romantik in ihrer erhabensten Form: ein Album, das von Herzen kommt und von einem tiefen Schmerz der ständigen Sehnsucht erwärmt wird.
Auf Alluvium aus dem Jahr 2022 hatte Chris seine breit gefächerten Geschichten als fruchtbaren Boden für eine Platte mit vielschichtigen Tönen und Stilen genutzt. It’s Only a Love Song kommt einer Song-Suite näher, die makellos sequenziert, aufwendig arrangiert und in persönlichen Liebeserfahrungen und Verlusten verankert ist.

Sein neues Album ist sein nächster großer Schritt nach vorne, eine herzergreifende Liebeserklärung an die Romantik, die den Himmel berührt und die Kinosäle füllt. Zu seinen erklärten Einflüssen gehören neben den Carpenters und Scott Walker auch Michel Legrand, Bernsteins West Side Story und die Filme von Jacques Demy, dessen Die Regenschirme von Cherbourg mit Musik aufwartet, die Herzen zum Singen bringt. „Es ist fast schon hyperromantisch, was ich liebe“, erklärt Chris: ‚So in der Musik, wo man an einen Punkt kommt, an dem das Herz eigentlich nicht mehr kann.‘ Strahlend und verzückt bringt einen It’s Only a Love Song genau dorthin.

BASta! is the solo project of double bass player and composer Joris Vanvinckenroye, in which he explores and pushes the limits of the double bass. In this project, using looping and effect pedals, Joris creates an almost orchestral sound, using the full range of his instrument-from the deepest basses to the highest notes. These layered compositions weave complex rhythms and melodies into a rich and compelling soundscape.

The debut album of BASta!, Cycles, was released in 2009 on the label Homerecords.be and marked the beginning of an adventurous journey that brought BASta! to numerous stages, both solo and in collaboration with multidisciplinary productions by Rode Boom and Retina Dance Company, among others. Besides BASta!, Joris has been active for decades in bands such as Aranis, Troissoeur and MOTYK (formerly Flairck), with which he performs internationally, from Mexico to China and from Oman to the United States. He also composes music for dance, theatre and multidisciplinary productions, including Rode Boom's successful production Unknown Evidences, which has been performed over 600 times in France, Morocco and Denmark, among others.

Joris Vanvinckenroye:double bass, Viola da Gamba
Composed and recorded by Joris Vanvinckenroye,
Mixed at Studio Cucurucu by Jesse De Roo
Mastered at Elektropolis by Uwe Teichert
Album produced by Nik Bartsch

Linking music and literature, building a bridge between the written and the sung – only the greats have managed to do this in the past. Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, and Patti Smith were just some of the shining stars that Anna B Savage orientated herself towards as a teenager. Born on the anniversary of Bach’s death, the young musician spent her birthday every year in the Green Room of the Royal Albert Hall watching her parents perform compositions by the grand master. That shaped her. Today, thanks to albums such as her debut, “A Common Turn” (2021), and the incredibly sensual art-pop opus “in|FLUX” (2023), the singer-songwriter is one of the truly exceptional talents on the British independent scene. In her music, otherworldly vocals nestle up against chamber orchestral compositions, delicate arrangements rise up and blow away, and the musician’s highly eclectic sound grows song by song into an experience that lingers for days and weeks. Potentially life-changing.
A sense of rootedness is at the heart of Anna B Savage’s third record You and i are Earth, a record that is as much about healing as it is an unbowed sense of curiosity, and, more simply, “a love letter to a man and to Ireland.” Following on from her critically acclaimed records A Common Turn and in|FLUX, You and i are Earth manages to convey a sense of intimacy, while also being open-ended. Gentleness is as radiant a touchstone on the record as earthiness, something that Savage attributes to the place she finds herself at present, both geographically and emotionally. And quite literally the record bears witness to a particular piece of earth - Ireland, and Savage’s relationship to it as her new home. That process is brilliantly rendered on Agnes, a complicated piece of work featuring Anna Mieke that turns on tropes of duality and transformation. It mirrors an unsettling experience that Savage had through meditation, which ultimately ended in an immersive, beautiful feeling, “I felt like I was part of the earth, completely connected to the mycelium network, I felt like I was where I was meant to be.” In many ways, that experience framed the album’s artwork, a photograph taken in some woodlands in Co. Sligo, with Savage looking up at the trees, their fractals reflected in her eyes, mirroring something she had felt in her meditation, bringing us back full circle, and to that sense that we are essentially in unison, or at least striving to be, that “you and I are earth”.

Linking music and literature, building a bridge between the written and the sung – only the greats have managed to do this in the past. Leonard Cohen, Scott Walker, and Patti Smith were just some of the shining stars that Anna B Savage orientated herself towards as a teenager. Born on the anniversary of Bach’s death, the young musician spent her birthday every year in the Green Room of the Royal Albert Hall watching her parents perform compositions by the grand master. That shaped her. Today, thanks to albums such as her debut, “A Common Turn” (2021), and the incredibly sensual art-pop opus “in|FLUX” (2023), the singer-songwriter is one of the truly exceptional talents on the British independent scene. In her music, otherworldly vocals nestle up against chamber orchestral compositions, delicate arrangements rise up and blow away, and the musician’s highly eclectic sound grows song by song into an experience that lingers for days and weeks. Potentially life-changing.
A sense of rootedness is at the heart of Anna B Savage’s third record You and i are Earth, a record that is as much about healing as it is an unbowed sense of curiosity, and, more simply, “a love letter to a man and to Ireland.” Following on from her critically acclaimed records A Common Turn and in|FLUX, You and i are Earth manages to convey a sense of intimacy, while also being open-ended. Gentleness is as radiant a touchstone on the record as earthiness, something that Savage attributes to the place she finds herself at present, both geographically and emotionally. And quite literally the record bears witness to a particular piece of earth - Ireland, and Savage’s relationship to it as her new home. That process is brilliantly rendered on Agnes, a complicated piece of work featuring Anna Mieke that turns on tropes of duality and transformation. It mirrors an unsettling experience that Savage had through meditation, which ultimately ended in an immersive, beautiful feeling, “I felt like I was part of the earth, completely connected to the mycelium network, I felt like I was where I was meant to be.” In many ways, that experience framed the album’s artwork, a photograph taken in some woodlands in Co. Sligo, with Savage looking up at the trees, their fractals reflected in her eyes, mirroring something she had felt in her meditation, bringing us back full circle, and to that sense that we are essentially in unison, or at least striving to be, that “you and I are earth”.

Die Wilde Jagd veröffentlicht gemeinsam mit dem Grammy-prämierten Metropole Orkest unter der Leitung von Simon Dobson das neue Album Lux Tenera - A Rite to Joy, eine Auftragsarbeit des Roadburn Festivals. In Lux Tenera, das am 21. April 2024 in Tilburg uraufgeführt wurde, verbindet Sebastian Lee Philipp, der kreative Kopf hinter Die Wilde Jagd, seine visionäre Musik mit den orchestralen Klangfarben des 50-köpfigen Metropole Orkests. Mit lyrischen Elementen auf Deutsch und Englisch sowie instrumentalen Besonderheiten wie Taiko-Trommeln und der historischen Carnyx führt das Werk die Zuhörenden in eine meditative Klangwelt voller Freude und Tiefe.

Glory Fades is a song book written using a common collaborative musical language developed by Yair Elazar Glotman and Mats Erlandsson, building intimate musical spaces, primarily focused on acoustic instrumentation with electronic counterparts contributing light and shade. Throughout the eight songs on the record, each piece unfolds according to its own logic while simultaneously reflecting the overarching tonality of the song book as a whole. The music focuses on the topography outlined by a melodic and harmonic modal framework and the exploration of the negative space found in the decay and in between the notes. There is a tension in this music caused by a reduced and stark emotional expression on the surface and the complex structures hidden underneath, where the harmonic material shimmers and shifts, and tempo and time signature modulates imperceptibly. The instrumentation forms a non-traditional chamber ensemble consisting of plucked and bowed acoustic guitars, zithers, bells, double bass, violin and percussion with additional treatments through manipulated tape and reamplification techniques. Mats Erlandsson is part of the vibrantly re-emerging field of drone music in Stockholm, Sweden, and is associated with practices characterized by the extensive use of sustained sound. Utilizing synthesized and recorded analog and digital sound, contaminated field-recordings and extensive tape processing his music slowly unfolds sets of precisely tuned harmonic material while textural properties of the imaginary rooms where the music takes form shifts, shimmers and moves from sparse and open to dense and claustrophobic. In addition to his own artistic practice, Erlandsson holds a position as studio technician at the world-renowned Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm and has frequently presented electroacoustic music and new music from Sweden in concert. Yair Elazar Glotman is a composer and a musician based in Berlin. Glotman trained in classical music as an orchestral contrabass player and in electroacoustic composition. His work for film as well as his independent musical releases are informed by both classical and electroacoustic traditions, and employs a range of improvisation, extended contrabass techniques, and a special interest in textural and spatial compositions and in combining analog and digital processing. His compositions for film began through his close work with the influential, late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, writing additional music for Mandy (2018) and co-composing Last and First Men (2020). He also collaborated on two oscar-winning soundtracks (Joker and All Quiet on the Western Front). Glotman also regularly releases and performs his own music, which has been released on notable labels including Deutsche Grammophon, Bedroom Community and Subtext Recordings. As a duo Glotman and Erlandsson have been collaborating since 2015 and have previously released music on the labels Miasmah Recordings and 130701. This record is the third installment in a series of collaborative records and live presentations by Yair Elazar Glotman and Mats Erlandsson and will be their first published by XKatedral.

For the hotly anticipated third release on her critically acclaimed new record label Uppers and Downers, Dr. Rubinstein has tapped one of her favorite producers--Yerevan's Dave N.A.--to take the helm and deliver a smart and stunning rave EP pitched at the intersection of acid and jungle. A prolific producer, adventurous DJ, and co-founder of the ABC Community, Yerevan's collective hub for amplifying breakbeat,jungle, and drum & bass sounds in the Armenian rave community, Dave N.A. is no stranger to Uppers and Downers, just having contributed a vivacious, jungle influenced reinterpretation of Rubi's track "Extacid" to the label's second release, Rubi's Acid Spa Remixes. For the past decade, Dave N.A.'s productions have reliably offered a fresh, frenetic yet finely tuned take on classic rave genres and their acid-drenched antics while exploring the cutting edge of international experimental bass and hard rave idioms. 'XLSoundwaves' proves to be no exception, taking listeners on a boisterous yet atmospheric, tight yet sprawling sonic journey that combines acid, jungle, hard trance, breakbeat, and IDM influences amid a striking wash of captivating, high-definition ambient studio sound design.
'XL Soundwaves' kicks off with "BFLY," an expansive track that features tunneling hard trance 303 lines deftly weaving through bouncy jungle breaks at a sprightly 165, all emerging from and ultimately fading back into an ethereal plenitude of ambient pads punctuated by a soulful, resonant vocal refrain. Next up, "Radiance" offers an infectiously groovy, sidewinding jaunt through cheeky acid breaks that evolves into a crescendo of lush, eyes-to-the-sky ecstasy. "XL," the EP's third offering, brings the heat with fat basslines, frequent turntablist rave licks, and a freaky sense of humor, almost cinematically projected onto a vast horizon of sumptuous strings. The EP comes to closewith "A.I.R.," a thoughtful banger with a mischievous IDM sensibility that sets acid jungle adrift on an ocean of shimmering orchestral sampladelia and ambient synth radiance.
To some, Dave N.A.'s acid jungle opus might seem like an unexpected plot twist in thecuratorial trajectory of Uppers and Downers. Much to the contrary however, the 'XL Soundwaves EP' is a perfect early release, helping to establish the mission of Uppersand Downers as continuing the search across diverse international rave genres, traditions, and communities for producers and productions that resonate with Dr.Rubinstein's lifelong pursuit of soundtracking her ideal rave: one that offers ravers access to an ecstatic, joyful, affirmative, and inclusive sense of home, of feeling at homewith both oneself and one another through the music.

"Vangelis (29/3/1943 –17/5/2022) was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan. Vangelis started writing music when he was 4 and performed his first live concert at age 6. He started his career as a member of The Forminx. In the sixties, he was a founding member of Aphrodite's Child along with Demis Roussos and Lucas Sideras. He also enjoyed succes as part of Jon & Vangelis early in the eighties. The Best Of Vangelis from 1993 is an absolute classic. It contains Vangelis classics like “Alpha”, “To The Unknown Man”, “Pulstar (Audio)”, “Spiral” and “So Long Ago, So Clear” featuring Jon Anderson from Yes. Now for the first time available on vinyl as a Limited Edition 2LP set, on white coloured vinyl.
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Star Trek – „30th Anniversary Vol. 1“: Der Original Soundtrack auf Vinyl für alle Trekkies! Für alle Star Trek-Fans und Vinyl-Liebhaber gibt es jetzt ein ganz besonderes Highlight: Der „30th Anniversary Vol. 1“ Soundtrack entführt die Fans erneut in die unendlichen Weiten des Weltalls. Das besondere Vinyl-Release feiert die große musikalische Erbschaft, die Star Trek über Jahrzehnte hinweg mit seiner kraftvollen und atmosphärischen Musik begleitet hat. Auf „30th Anniversary Vol. 1“ finden sich einige der berühmtesten Tracks aus der ersten Serie, die das Gefühl von Abenteuer und Entdeckung im All perfekt transportieren. Das knisternde, warme Klangbild der Vinyl sorgt zudem für ein authentisches Retro-Erlebnis, das Fans der ersten Stunde genauso begeistern wird wie die neue Generation von Trekkies.

While she was waiting for her last album 'Pripyat' to be released, Catalan composer and producer Marina Herlop was restless. She was concerned about her (by then) uncertain music career, and felt emotionally unmoored. "Some days I used to sit on the balcony of my flat to catch some sun," she explains, "I would close my eyes and start visualizing myself as a gardener, pulling out purple weeds from the soil, every bad memory or emotion I wanted to expulse being one of the plants." As the days dragged on, the fantasy deepened, and Herlop discovered that parts of the garden was withering; the energy she had been putting into the non-musical side of her life had seeped into her creative pasture and poisoned it. She knew what she needed to do to overcome the blight: plant some seeds and tend to her art to help it blossom and bloom once again. 'Nekkuja' is a place for Herlop's warmest, sweetest sentiments to rise to the surface and crack through the topsoil. She describes the record as a way for her to seek and affirm inner light, and it's undoubtedly her brightest, poppiest statement to date. The forward-thinking, experimental touches that nourished 'Pripyat' are still present, but blessed with a level of positivity that's rare to find in a scene so entranced by darkness and melancholy. Skittering fragments of ornate acoustic instrumentation provide a serene welcome to 'Busa', punctuated by precise electronic processes that shuttle the sound towards abstraction and fantasy. Herlop's voice grows over the tangle of sounds from a childish giggle into a layered, matted mantra, sounding passionate, hopeful and full of energy. The vitality spills over into 'Cosset', where she wraps powerful motifs around ricocheting beats and dramatic piano rolls. Herlop's garden opens up dramatically on 'Karada' when bucolic field recordings crack like sunlight over harp plucks and willowy vocals. Her voice seems to bend around the whooshing streams and chittering of birds as if she's singing to the manicured land itself - a utopian paradise that Herlop employs as a metaphor for the creative process. In contrast to the view that an artist is an isolated genius or an idol to be worshipped, Herlop believes that the garden helps us see the process as closer to devotion or perseverance. A gardener brings order to the wild chaos of the outdoors, collaborating with nature to arrange something vibrant and enduring. Blending familiar sounds with fanciful concepts, Herlop traces an imaginary garden, imploring us to wander and wonder. And by the album's billowing final track 'Babel', it's flowered into a flush of pruned vocal phrases and delicately groomed orchestral rushes, painted in orange, green, blue and red.

46 tracks on a 3-LP collection – including: Adam & The Ants, Kate Bush, The Jam, Madness, Diana Ross, Lipps Inc, Paul McCartney, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark,

Spandau Ballet, Ramones, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Odyssey, Kool & The Gang…

46 tracks on a 3-LP collection – including: Adam & The Ants, Kate Bush, The Jam, Madness, Diana Ross, Lipps Inc, Paul McCartney, Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark,

Spandau Ballet, Ramones, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Odyssey, Kool & The Gang…

For Fans Of... Monophonics, David Axelrod, The Rugged Nuggets, Adrian Quesada. Debut LP from The Ironsides. Founded and produced by Monophonics member Max Ramey. Featuring members of Monophonics, including Kelly Finnigan. Reminiscent of a cinematic soundtrack from a 60s European film. The Ironsides have arrived. Changing Light is the first full-length effort from this masterful group of Bay Area musicians. It melds classic psych-soul sounds with sweeping orchestral arrangements – reminiscent of a cinematic soundtrack from a 60s European film. The Changing Light evokes strong imagery of an open road, a breathtaking view, and scenes of a vast landscape begging to be explored. Cruise up the coast, where sweeping orchestral arrangements rise and fall with the tide. As you head North, the countryside opens to an undeniable groove. Tremolo-soaked guitar tones grow on the vines, and timeless, soulful bass lines flow like wine. In higher altitudes, French horns and trumpets soar like eagles. A river below carries bellowing cello tones through a mountain pass into an expansive canyon. Down in the desert, fuzzed-out electric guitar cuts through the dry heat and leaves the listener thirsty for more. Plot a course, or just turn on the car and drive. Max recommends the latter. "The songs are inspired by landscapes - Each one could mean something to someone and create a completely different meaning for someone else." At the end of a long road, The Ironsides have found the perfect place to begin. Also Available From The Ironsides: Changing Light 7", The Raven / Song For Adrian 7"

The 1998 Norwegian Black Metal classic ‘Soulblight’ re-issued! “Soulblight” is a worthy contender for one of the best Black Metal albums of the 90’s! 1997’s “Witchcraft” wass a challenging album to follow up with its cult status as one of the greatest Black Metal releases owing to its complex compositions and intricate orchestration. Yet Obtained Enslavement did exactly that, as “Soulblight” is a very different release but it maintained the quality and musicianship the band made themselves known for with “Witchcraft”.

This release discards the openness and mystique of the orchestral arrangements in place of a more guitar and drum-oriented sound, but this works for the much darker and aggressive tone of “Soulblight”. The structure of the album is a highlight compared to its predecessor as it feels more conceptual and complete as a whole, rather than just a collection of songs.

This makes sense as the lyrics tell an epic tale of a great war against the ‘soulblight’, a story that can be followed through the music itself too, thus making it a conceptual album in many ways. Speaking of instrumental work, the iconic and untouchable classically influenced composition (it would be insulting to call it songwriting) of guitarists ‘Heks’ and ‘Døden’, with its weaving and developed melodies to the complex chord sequences and intricate structures, is still an aspect that is so unique to this band; the composers truly have a great understanding of music in its high-art form.

The performances delivered by the band are done with terrifying precision and clarity, unusual for the genre where commonly a ‘that will do’ attitude is employed; nowhere on this album can you hear sloppiness of any kind. Pest’s vocals are consistent and hair-raising, nothing about it sounds human and this works in favour of this otherworldly suite. Pytten has once again cemented himself as one of the greats in the Black Metal world and even just knowing this album was recorded in the infamous Grieghallen, adds to its grandeur and appeal. To conclude, “Soulblight” is a worthy contender for one of the best Black Metal albums of the 90’s. The world will likely never again see two Black Metal albums as perfect as “Soulblight” and “Witchcraft”, evil in its intent yet majestic and epic in its final form.

Der niederländische Frenchcore-DJ Sefa ist zurück mit seinem Vinylalbum "Het Ergste Moet Nog Komen" ("Das Schlimmste kommt noch"). Mit brandneuen Titeln, Kollaborationen mit u.a. Devin Wild und Phuture Noize und Orchesterversionen einiger seiner Meisterwerke ist diese Doppel-LP sein bislang ambitioniertestes Werk und ein Leckerbissen für seine Fans. Tracks wie "Requiem For Frenchcore“" und "Justify" reflektieren Herausforderungen im Leben, Sucht und Erlösung. Begleitend zum Release startet Sefa eine Welttournee mit Stopps in Städten wie Madrid, Antwerpen, Hamburg und Den Haag, um den Fans das ultimative Live-Erlebnis zu bieten.

Gregory Porter, with his customary class, elegance and sophistication, presents his new holiday album ‘Christmas Wish’ – a cool yule selection of festive favourites as well as brand new songs written by the singer himself. Backed by his long-time band, produced by repeat collaborator Troy Miller in New York and London, with orchestral contributions recorded at Abbey Road, and featuring powerhouse guest vocalist, double Grammy-winning sensation Samara Joy, Gregory Porter’s seventh studio album is a loving tribute to his favourite time of year – and to great songwriters, singers and interpreters including Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Dinah Washington. Across its dozen tracks, ‘Christmas Wish’ encompasses the saintly and the secular, the funky and the fun, the Great American Songbook and the best of Motown.

With ‘Christmas Wish’, Gregory Porter has given us a whole new soundtrack to this most wonderful time of year.

Acclaimed musicians Nitai Hershkovits and Daniel Dor will release their highly anticipated album, “The Garden Suite”, on Circus Company. Following their previous collaboration on Daniel Dor’s debut album, “Four Petals”, this new project sees the duo exploring uncharted musical territory with an innovative, Moog-based sound.
Inspired by the groundbreaking work of synth pioneer Malcolm Cecil, “The Garden Suite” marries electronic textures with the richness of orchestral sound. Drawing from a vast range of influences, including the works of Benjamin Britten and Fredrick Delius, Hershkovits and Dor meticulously composed each track, layering Moog synthesizer melodies to emulate various instruments from the orchestra - from French horn to percussion, guitar, brass, and woodwinds. The result is a sound that is lush yet light, deeply textured yet not dense.
“The Garden Suite” marks a significant evolution in the partnership between Hershkovits and Dor, with their new compositions shifting from the rhythmic focus of “Four Petals” to a more texture-driven approach. The album showcases their ability to create genre-defying soundscapes, blending Daniel’s rhythmic system, “The Flower,” with lush, ambient layers of sound created on the Moog.
Nitai Hershkovits, known for his extensive work in jazz and classical music, began his musical journey as a clarinetist before transitioning to piano at the age of 15. His early passion for improvisation and jazz earned him several jazz competition awards in Tel Aviv. Nitai’s career highlights include his fiveyear tenure with the Avishai Cohen Trio, and his numerous projects as a solo artist, including work with ECM and his band Apifera.
Daniel Dor, a drummer and multi-instrumentalist, was born into a family of musicians in Tel Aviv. He began exploring rhythm at the age of 10, building his first drum set out of household objects. His innovative rhythmic method, “The Flower”, gained attention with his debut solo piano album, “Four Petals”, which led to his collaboration with Hershkovits. Daniel has performed with notable artists such as NOA, Avishai Cohen, and Chano Dominguez, and regularly lectures on rhythmic symmetry and music.
With “The Garden Suite”, Hershkovits and Dor offer a unique listening experience that challenges traditional genre boundaries. Their seamless fusion of rhythm, melody, and texture creates a soundscape that is as experimental as it is captivating.