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He, who once ruled the world of the living, was slain by his envious brother Seth. Now, he must now pass onto a new, eternal role in the cosmos.

We present to you four raw, undead performances, in veneration of the eternal lord of the underworld and father of Egyptian civilisation - Osiris.

ANCESTROS. A new record label run by Nulek & Brian Topham.

The 1990 album Scène De Vie was the big follow-up album to her debut Mademoiselle Chante and it confirmed the singer's talent and potential. The album went straight to the top of the French charts and featured several successful singles, including ""Les Hommes Qui Passent"", ""Les Mannequins d'Osier"", and ""Kennedy Rose"". The album eventually reached 2 million sales worldwide and received a diamond status. The album also had great success in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, and Russia. Scène De Vie is available as a limited edition of (1000?) individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl and includes an insert.

Der britische Gitarrist/Produzent Phil Dawson lernte sein Handwerk bei Legenden wie Hugh Masekela, Tony Allen, Mulatu Astatke oder DJ Osibisa.

Auf "Don't Waste Your Ancestors' Time" kreiert er eine Fusion aus afro- und afro-brasilianischen Grooves, hochkarätiger Improvisation und Dub und wartet dabei mit etlichen Kollaborateuren auf, die die Musik in neue Richtungen treiben, darunter Spoken-Word-Künstlerin Khadijatou Doyneh (Heliocentrics), Saxophonist Tony Kofi (Abdullah Ibrahim, Jazz Jamaica, Cymande,), Pianist Sam Leak (Aquarium) und Afrobeat-Meister Dele Sosimi, der in Kontexten singt, in denen man ihn noch nie gehört hat. Der Albumtitel paraphrasiert den Romanautor Wole Soyinka in einer Bitte an alle, nicht wegzuwerfen, wofür ihre Vorfahren gekämpft haben – sei es durch die Missachtung des spirituellen Erbes, durch das Zulassen, dass wir gespalten und erobert werden, oder durch das Wegschauen gegenüber zeitgenössischen Ungerechtigkeiten.

JETHRO TULL sind musikalische Riesen mit einem einzigartigen Sound - oder besser gesagt Sounds, die im Kanon der Rockmusik unvergleichbar geblieben sind. Die 1967 in Blackpool, Lancashire, von dem Schotten Ian Anderson gegründete Band hat im Laufe ihrer jahrzehntelangen Karriere immer wieder stilistische Veränderungen und Imagewechsel durch- und überlebt. Vor allem die charakteristische Stimme ihres Frontmanns und die Einbeziehung der Querflöte als wesentliches Instrument haben JETHRO TULL dennoch mit einem unverkennbaren klanglichen Fingerabdruck versehen.
"Aqualung Redux" präsentiert neue Versionen aller elf Titel des 1971 erschienenen Bestseller-Albums, von dem JETHRO TULL mittlerweile weltweit mehr als 7 Millionen Exemplare verkaufen konnten. Mit "Aqualung" feierten die Briten ihren Durchbruch als Rockband sowohl in Radio und TV als auch auf weltweiten Tourneen. "Aqualung" handelt in erster Linie vom Glauben und von Religion, beschäftigt sich aber auch mit anderen Themen wie der Obdachlosigkeit. Laut Ian Anderson handelt es sich bei "Aqualung" keineswegs um ein Konzeptalbum, für das es dennoch oft gehalten wird. Während die Band wie auf früheren Werken nach wie vor auf Blues, Hard Rock und der Psychedelia setzte, fügte sie auf "Aqualung " vermehrt akustische Folk-Momente hinzu. Bei der Singleauskopplung 'Locomotive Breath' handelt es sich um den vermutlich bekanntesten und am meisten gecoverten JETHRO TULL Song.
Zusammen mit "Aqualung Redux" präsentieren wir auch das Begleitalbum "Best of Jethro Tull Redux", das weitere Klassiker und Raritäten aus dem ebenso umfangreichen wie einzigartigen Katalog der britischen Rocklegende enthält.
Die Magnetic Eye Redux- Reihe lässt ausgewählte Künstler handverlesene klassische Alben aus der Geschichte des Rock und Metal komplett neu interpretieren und respektvoll in das neue Jahrtausend übertragen. Bisher hat das Label solche Meilensteine wie PINK FLOYDs "The Wall", HELMETs "Meantime", BLACK SABBATHs "Vol. 4", JIMMY HENDRIX' "Electric Ladyland", "Dirt" von ALICE IN CHAINS, AC/DCs "Back in Black" und den SOUNDGARDEN-Klassiker "Superunknown" in Redux-Versionen veröffentlicht. Unter vielen anderen haben sich solch herausragende Künstler wie MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, SCOTT REEDER an diversen Redux-Projekten beteiligt.
Angeschnallt und zugestiegen bei Magnetic Eyes achter Expedition ins Redux-Abenteuer, mit dem wir den einzigartigen britischen Rock-Erneuern JETHRO TULL die gebührende Ehre erweisen!

JETHRO TULL sind musikalische Riesen mit einem einzigartigen Sound - oder besser gesagt Sounds, die im Kanon der Rockmusik unvergleichbar geblieben sind. Die 1967 in Blackpool, Lancashire, von dem Schotten Ian Anderson gegründete Band hat im Laufe ihrer jahrzehntelangen Karriere immer wieder stilistische Veränderungen und Imagewechsel durch- und überlebt. Vor allem die charakteristische Stimme ihres Frontmanns und die Einbeziehung der Querflöte als wesentliches Instrument haben JETHRO TULL dennoch mit einem unverkennbaren klanglichen Fingerabdruck versehen.
"Aqualung Redux" präsentiert neue Versionen aller elf Titel des 1971 erschienenen Bestseller-Albums, von dem JETHRO TULL mittlerweile weltweit mehr als 7 Millionen Exemplare verkaufen konnten. Mit "Aqualung" feierten die Briten ihren Durchbruch als Rockband sowohl in Radio und TV als auch auf weltweiten Tourneen. "Aqualung" handelt in erster Linie vom Glauben und von Religion, beschäftigt sich aber auch mit anderen Themen wie der Obdachlosigkeit. Laut Ian Anderson handelt es sich bei "Aqualung" keineswegs um ein Konzeptalbum, für das es dennoch oft gehalten wird. Während die Band wie auf früheren Werken nach wie vor auf Blues, Hard Rock und der Psychedelia setzte, fügte sie auf "Aqualung " vermehrt akustische Folk-Momente hinzu. Bei der Singleauskopplung 'Locomotive Breath' handelt es sich um den vermutlich bekanntesten und am meisten gecoverten JETHRO TULL Song.
Zusammen mit "Aqualung Redux" präsentieren wir auch das Begleitalbum "Best of Jethro Tull Redux", das weitere Klassiker und Raritäten aus dem ebenso umfangreichen wie einzigartigen Katalog der britischen Rocklegende enthält.
Die Magnetic Eye Redux- Reihe lässt ausgewählte Künstler handverlesene klassische Alben aus der Geschichte des Rock und Metal komplett neu interpretieren und respektvoll in das neue Jahrtausend übertragen. Bisher hat das Label solche Meilensteine wie PINK FLOYDs "The Wall", HELMETs "Meantime", BLACK SABBATHs "Vol. 4", JIMMY HENDRIX' "Electric Ladyland", "Dirt" von ALICE IN CHAINS, AC/DCs "Back in Black" und den SOUNDGARDEN-Klassiker "Superunknown" in Redux-Versionen veröffentlicht. Unter vielen anderen haben sich solch herausragende Künstler wie MATT PIKE, PALLBEARER, THE MELVINS, ALL THEM WITCHES, KHEMMIS, ASG, ZAKK WYLDE, MARK LANEGAN, SCOTT REEDER an diversen Redux-Projekten beteiligt.
Angeschnallt und zugestiegen bei Magnetic Eyes achter Expedition ins Redux-Abenteuer, mit dem wir den einzigartigen britischen Rock-Erneuern JETHRO TULL die gebührende Ehre erweisen!

The 1990 album Scène De Vie was the big follow-up album to her debut Mademoiselle Chante and it confirmed the singer's talent and potential. The album went straight to the top of the French charts and featured several successful singles, including ""Les Hommes Qui Passent"", ""Les Mannequins d'Osier"", and ""Kennedy Rose"". The album eventually reached 2 million sales worldwide and received a diamond status. The album also had great success in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, and Russia. Scène De Vie is available as a limited edition of (1000?) individually numbered copies on crystal clear vinyl and includes an insert.

Nour Mobarak’s Dafne Phono is an adaptation of the first opera, Dafne, composed and written by Jacopo Peri and Ottavio Rinuccini in 1598. Drawing on the myth of Daphne and Apollo from Ovid’s Metamorphoses—a story of unrequited love, patriarchal possession, conquest, and transformation—Mobarak’s multimedia and multispecies reimagining splinters the opera’s Italian libretto. Alongside English and Greek versions, it is translated into some of the world’s most phonetically complex languages—Abkhaz, San Juan Quiahije Eastern Chatino, Silbo Gomero, and !Xoon. In this process, the narrative—and an artifact of Western culture—is dismantled, metabolized, and rendered into unruly utterances that shape the sensorium as much as they do the capacity for sense-making. These voices are given material form by a cast of mycelium sonic sculptures whose rhizomatic compositions and broadcasted recordings resemble the formation and mutation of language over time, reconstituting speech into a new, polyphonic body politic, composed of voices whose striking, poetic utterances transfix and transcend meaning.

The A-Side of the record presents a stereo version of Mobarak’s 15-channel sound installation, Dafne Phono. The B-Side uses a recording of a portion of the translation process the libretto underwent in Namibia, live-processed by the artist.

The LP is published on the occasion of Nour Mobarak’s exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, New York (October 26, 2024–January 12, 2025), with support from Sylvia Kouvali.

Artist Bio:
Nour Pamela Mobarak (Lebanese-American, b. 1985, Cairo, Egypt) lives and works between Los Angeles; Bainbridge Island; and Athens, Greece. Her works have been shown at Sylvia Kouvali (formerly Rodeo), London/Paris; Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin; MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA; Amant, Brooklyn; JOAN, Los Angeles; Kim? Contemporary Art Centre, Riga; Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York; Hakuna Matata, Los Angeles; and Cubitt Gallery, London. Exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and Castello di Tivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, are forthcoming. She has performed at Western Front, Vancouver; 2220, the Hammer Museum, and LAXART, Los Angeles; Cafe OTO, London; Renaissance Society, Chicago; the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; and elsewhere. Her music has been released by Recital (Los Angeles), Cafe OTO’s TakuRoku (London), and Ultra Eczema (Antwerp), and she has had sessions on BBC Radio 3, NTS Radio, and Dublab Radio. Mobarak’s writing has been published in Triple Canopy, F.R. David, The Claudius App, and the Salzburg Review, and her first catalog, Sphere Studies and Subterranean Bounce was published by Recital (2021). She received a BA in English and Media Studies from Sussex University and did further studies at Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV. She has held residencies at Denniston Hill, New York and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and was the recipient of the 2023 FOCA fellowship award. Mobarak was a 2024 faculty at Bard College MFA program.

Dafne Phono Vocalists:
Apollo: Renato Grieco (Italian)
Cupid: Arnou Argun (Abkhaz)
Dafne: Agnes | xaye (!Xoon)
Ovid: Olivia O’Dwyer (Latin)
Venus: Don Eugenio Darias (Silbo Gomero)
Abkhaz Chorus: Liana Ebzhnou, Murman Guaramia, Fatima Kharzalia, and Gunda Osia
Chatino Chorus: Felix Daniel Peña Mendes, José Vasquez Canseco, Catalina Candelario Matias, and Claudia Garcia Baltazar
!Xoon Chorus: Franco Tsame, John Djujui Klosi Barase, and Charity Tsame
Clarinet: Steve Kado

Der für seine soundtechnische Vielfalt bekannte Leipziger Rapper und Vocalist softboy ivo wird auf "Seele Aus" über 10 Tracks von Chillhop Legende Philanthrope aus Rotterdam produziert. Herausgekommen ist ein zeitgenössisches Projekt irgendwo zwischen einem Klangteppich der an Lord Folter's "Rouge" erinnert, aber mit Ivo's einzigartigen Neo-Soul Hooks bis hin zu düsteren Nummern auf Griselda Niveau ganz neue Nuancen setzt. Insgesamt auf 300 Stück limitierte 180gr. Vinyl. Features kommen von Wun Two, helmuth und Nuncc.

Stepping outside his usual sphere, Blue Hour delves into dub-infused atmospheres with his latest EP, ‘Duality’. The EP kicks off with ‘Trekia’, a chord-driven techno track evolving slowly with blissful pads and a dreamy melody. ‘Orisus’ follows a similar palette, adding more funk to the drums and introducing drama with an unexpected string variation.
On the B-side, ‘Atoll’ delivers a more rolling, percussive groove, with subtle riffs breaking through the repetition. The final track, ‘Triton’, takes a deeper, moodier turn, featuring melancholic bell like tones and a wandering arpeggio. Followers of Blue Hour will find echoes of his earlier work here, but ‘Duality’ brings a breath of fresh air and sense of refinement, making it the perfect home on Arsenik Records.

Doppel LP, limitiert auf 500 Exemplare. Handnummeriert! Inkl. Downloadcode! Draggo wird nachts im Hauptquartier überfallen. Doch nicht nur die Platten seiner Lieblingsband sind verschwunden, schnell wird klar: Es geht um mehr. Viel mehr. Eine ägyptische Gottheit, eine historische Rede, ein archäologischer Geheimbund und der ewige Erzfeind Klöten Klaus. Das neue Abenteur von L.B. Steel und seiner Brigade Steelforce. Metal, Alter... METAL! mit: Reiner Schöne, Bernd Egger, Steffen Lehmann, Björn Jung, Patrick Winczewski, Josephine Hochbruck Special Guest: Andreas "Gerre" Geremia & Tommi Piper

Ltd Double Silver Vinyl, Monochrome edition artwork, DL card. Originally released in 1990, Royal Trux’s ‘Twin Infinitives’ is being re-issued in all its (yet to be translated) alien glory, by Fire Records. A dismantled overture that sprawls out over two records, an avant-garde masterpiece that was the spark for Drag City Records and generations of new sound seeking musicians. Hailed in the same immortal breath as Beefheart’s ‘Trout Mask Replica’, the Velvets’ at their frenzied peak and Ornette Coleman at his most avant-garde, the duo of Pussy Galore’s Neil "Michael" Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema recorded ‘Twin Infinitives’ while imbibing all kinds of mind-altering substances to create an inadvertent blueprint for what the duo was building with Moogs, guitars and melodicas to name a few ingredients. It is the legendary second album from the masters of the genre mashup - long before “genre mashups” even existed. Arguably, the term “mashup” was coined to describe what Trux, as they subconsciously scrolled through the radio stations of their lives. The album’s chaotic sound and offbeat construction laid the foundations for a string of Royal Trux albums that spiralled between genres, tunings, and noise. Through the 90s they would re-invent the rock ‘n’ roll ethic, straddle alien surf music, re-align boogie rock, not to mention 80s hair metal, and confound critics by their wildly meandering and courageous rites of passage. Remastered as part of a career spanning catalogue deal with Fire Records. The infamous and influential duo of Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty will be delving into the archive with a comprehensive reissue series, unearthing the vaults and revisiting what made them such a compelling benchmark for their contemporaries and imitators. Reawakening their prolific output within a new monochrome vinyl series covering 1988-1993, they begin with their seminal deconstructed rock masterpiece Twin Infinitives. “Sounding like a subway ride inside a television inside an earthquake inside the end of the world and a pounding death rhythm of apocalyptic now.” Pitchfork. Track List: Disc One: A1 Solid Gold Tooth A2 Ice Cream A3 Jet Pet A4 RTX-USA A5 Kool Down Wheels B1 Chances Are The Comets In Our Future B2 Yin Jim Versus The Vomit Creature B3 Osiris Disc Two. C1 (Edge Of The) Ape Oven D1 Florida Avenue Theme D2 Lick My Boots D3 Glitterbust D4 Funky Son D5 Ratcreeps D6 New York Avenue Bridge

For fans of - Darko, Bad Omens, Deftones, Alice In Chains On tour in the US April- May 2024 w/ Attila + Born Of Osiris Band names go a long way in helping paint a figurative picture in the listeners mind of what to expect before one ever hits “play.” When it comes to Extortionist, you think crime—you think gritty, raw, merciless and unsavory and maybe, just maybe, a little sprinkling of suaveness. When it comes to the Pacific Northwest’s resident moshslingers, those premonitions from their name are exactly what you get. As a band who have proven themselves exemplary at styles of heavy music ranging from downtempo deathcore to grunge- tinted metal, Extortionist are more than just a jack-of-all-trades; they’re masters. Utilizing bold, roaring guitars overtop crushing, steamrolling percussion and vocals that run the gamut from guttural to grating, pitched singing and topped off with—you guessed it—a now-infamous dodgeball-smack snare, Extortionist have proven that not only are they incredible at what they do, they’re a band that the heavy scene just can’t go without.

Treffen sich ein Ossi, ein Wessi und ein Ösi. Was wie der Beginn eines etwas abgeschmackter Witzes klingen mag, das lässt sich rückblickend wohl ganz ohne Umschweife sagen, stellt sich vielmehr sowohl als der Gründungsmythos wie auch der Auftakt einer der erfolgreichsten und spannendsten Rockbands unserer Zeit dar. Die Rede ist von Kadavar, jener Gruppe, die, 2010 in Berlin gegründet, in den letzten 15 Jahren auf den Plakaten der gigantischsten Rockfestivals der Welt immer höher kletterte und heute in einer Liga spielt mit den größten Größen aus Psychedelic und Stoner Rock. Kadavar stehen nach rauschhaftem Ritt auf Augenhöhe mit jenen Legenden, von denen sie selbst geprägt sind, sind zur Institution geworden. Eine Erfolgsgeschichte, trotz des Niedergangs der Musikindustrie - und daher um so strahlender. These are self-made men.


Die Box, limitiert auf 500 Stück im Handel, enthält das Debüt Album in seiner Original Version mit 6 Songs auf transparent roter 180gr Vinyl.
Die Bonus LP "Demos & Rarities" erscheint als Picture Vinyl, die im Artwork Bilder des Original Master Tapes des Albums nutzt.
Neben den Demo Aufnahmen der Songs "Forgotten Past" und "Black Sun" befindet sich auf der LP auch der Song "Tommorrow's Dead", der zuvor nur auf der Vinyl Compilation "10 Years 8MM Musik" erschienen ist. Der Track "Living In Your Head" war damals B-Seite der Single "Creature of the Demon" und "The Man I Shot" & "Broken Wings" waren Teil des Split Album mit Aqua Nebula Oscillator "White Ring".
Nun werden all diese Songs aus der prägenden Zeit des Debüt Albums erstmals gemeinsam auf Vinyl veröffentlicht.

Originally released in 1990, Royal Trux's 'Twin Infinitives' is being re-issued in all its (yet to be translated) alien glory, by Fire Records. A dismantled overture that sprawls out over two records, an avant-garde masterpiece that was the spark for Drag City Records and generations of new sound seeking musicians. Hailed in the same immortal breath as Beefheart's 'Trout Mask Replica', the Velvets' at their frenzied peak and Ornette Coleman at his most avant-garde, the duo of Pussy Galore's Neil "Michael" Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema recorded 'Twin Infinitives' while imbibing all kinds of mind-altering substances to create an inadvertent blueprint for what the duo was building with moog's, guitars and melodicas to name a few ingredients. It is the legendary second album from the masters of the genre mashup - long before "genre mashups" even existed. Arguably, the term "mashup" was coined to describe what Trux, as they subconsciously scrolled through the radio stations of their lives. The album's chaotic sound and offbeat construction laid the foundations for a string of Royal Trux albums that spiralled between genres, tunings, and noise. Through the 90s they would re-invent the rock 'n' roll ethic, straddle alien surf music, re-align boogie rock, not to mention 80s hair metal, and confound critics by their wildly meandering and courageous rites of passage. Remastered as part of a career spanning catalogue deal with Fire Records. The infamous and influential duo of Jennifer Herrema and Neil Hagerty will be delving into the archive with a comprehensive reissue series, unearthing the vaults and revisiting what made them such a compelling benchmark for their contemporaries and imitators. Reawakening their prolific output within a new monochrome vinyl series covering 1988-1993, they begin with their seminal deconstructed rock masterpiece Twin Infinitives. "Sounding like a subway ride inside a television inside an earthquake inside the end of the world and a pounding death rhythm of apocalyptic now." Pitchfork Ltd Double Silver Vinyl, Monochrome edition artwork, DL card.

José James - the forward-looking, genre-defying Jazz singer for the hip-hop generation - has done it again. “1978” (his 12th studio album since 2008’s “The Dreamer'') announces an instant classic, combining James’ deep love of jazz and hip-hop with songwriting and production nods to R&B heroes Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson and Leon Ware. Produced by James and featuring an all-star ensemble including Grammy nominees Pedrito Martinez (Camilla Cabello, Eric Clapton), Marcus Machado (Daniel Ceasar, Pharoahe Monch), Jharis Yokley (Sleigh Bells, My Brightest Diamond) Chad Selph (Bilal, FREELANCE) and David Ginyard (Solange, Blood Orange), “1978” pulsates with the socially conscious feel-good vibes of Marvin Gaye, Prince and Stevie Wonder. James also skillfully explores the boundaries of Black music, featuring Brazilian rising star and recent Latin Grammy nominee Xênia França as well as Congolese-Belgian rapper/filmmaker Baloji.

Archival reissue of the Afro-prog-psych Zamrock masterpiece Presented For The First Time Ever In A Yellow Vinyl Pressing

"Electrified by a diet of James Brown, the Stones and Deep Purple, WITCH were the stadium-filling kings of 70s Zamrock. - ****" - MOJO

WITCH’s musical arc is contained to a five year span and, in retrospect, is a logical one. The band’s fifth and final rock album - released before the band splintered and an offshoot band traveled to Zimbabwe to record and release disco albums - makes use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies alongside progressive rock movements. Like Lukombo Vibes before it, it is in the Osibas “afro-rock” style.

Archival reissue of the Afro-prog-psych Zamrock masterpiece Presented For The First Time Ever In An Aged Copper Green Pressing "Electrified by a diet of James Brown, the Stones and Deep Purple, WITCH were the stadium-filling kings of 70s Zamrock. - ****" - The entirety of WITCH’s fourth album, restored and remastered from master tapes, and presented as an archival reissue in an aged copper green vinyl pressing. WITCH’s musical arc is contained to a five year span and, in retrospect, it is a logical one. The band’s fourth album - recorded after the band toured with Osibisa - makes use of traditional Zambian rhythms and folk melodies alongside progressive rock movements. It is the most "afro-rock" of WITCH’s oeuvre..

Vladimir Sivc (Funky Destination a.k.a. Mr. Louie) was born on August 19, 1979 in Osijek (eastern Croatia). With dedication to the retro sound of pure funky instinct, he set out to create a wild and groovy sound with this project. Louie took his first step into the world of music by taking guitar lessons. Later he devoted himself to rock singing and playing rhythm guitar.

At the end of the 90s the move from the eastern part to the western coast of Croatia (on the Adriatic Sea). The encounter with the turntable makes him experiment working as a DJ.

Subsequently he begins to produce his own music, traveling through various styles, using house and tribal elements trying to avoid artificial sound processing as much as possible. By using live instruments, the sound remains fresh and alive, resulting in a musical product whose vibrations contain an indestructible power of movement.

He has collaborated with several European labels including IRMA Records, Timewarp Music and Sound Exhibition Records.

In this single we find two of his most famous songs in remix version: Take It Down by LTJ Xperience and Mr. Bong by himself under his pseudonym Louie. Plus the original versions of Take It Down and another of his classics Praise Me Now. While compiling these notes and preparing the release of the single for distribution, we received the terrible news of his sudden passing at just 44 years old. We are completely shocked by this news and we plan to honor him in any case by publishing this EP to which he was very attached.

Africamore: The Afro-Funk Side of Italy (1973-1978)

Continuing Four Flies' dedication to delving into lesser-explored periods of Italian music, Africamore takes us on a captivating journey into the intersection of Afro-funk and the Italian soundscape during the six years between 1973 and 1978 - a time when disco was looming on the horizon and the nightclub market was rapidly expanding.

Before reaching Italian shores, the infectious sound originating from African and Afro-Caribbean roots traversed both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, landing on New York dancefloors, where DJ Dave Mancuso discovered "Soul Makossa" by Manu Dibango. In 1973, from Mancuso's Loft parties, the song's hypnotic groove spread to the rest of the globe, including in Italy, where it sparked a wave of imitations and variations.


Tribal influences thus found their way into Italian soul-funk and early-disco productions released between 1973 and 1978 – from psychedelic-tinged tunes like Jean Paul & Angelique's "Africa Sound" to the Afrobeat-inspired club banger "Kumbayero" by composer/producer Albert Verrecchia (aka Weyman Corporation); and from groundbreaking Afro-cosmic songs like Chrisma's "Amore", co-written by Vangelis and featuring the rhythms of Ghanaian-British Afro-rock band Osibisa, to mind-blowing floor-fillers like Beryl Cunningham's "Why O", a re-write of Nat King Cole's "Calypso Blues" arranged by Paolo Ormi, with percussion breaks that sound pretty much like what would later become known as techno.


Combining feel-good vibes with driving rhythms, world-style percussion, and even synths, all these productions pushed the boundaries of dance music at a time when disco had not yet taken over. In doing so, they sowed many of the seeds of the later Italian cosmic scene and its unique mixture of African elements, disco-funk and electronic music.

This was a brief but nuanced period in Italian music history, one that deserves to be rediscovered, with love.

Africamore is due out on March 22nd and will be available as a gatefold 2LP and digipak CD. Both formats come with stunning artwork by Kathrin Remest and liner notes by Pierpaolo De Sanctis and Elena Miraglia.

2023 Repress

Maston’s Darkland is a breezy collection of the material from the Tulips sessions that didn’t make it on to the original LP. Originally a digital-only release for those in the know in the autumn of 2018, after re-issuing Tulips in 2020 it made too much sense for Be With to give Darkland a vinyl release.

Like Tulips, Darkland was recorded mostly in Hoorn, in the Netherlands, between 2015-2017 during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. Bits were also done in Los Angeles on some extended trips back home.

The collection plays like an alternate view of Maston’s instant modern classic Tulips; a companion piece to the LP proper with similar mixture of shorter themes and more full length tracks. As Frank Maston explains: “I think Darkland is the shadow of Tulips in a way… what it might’ve been in a different universe. But the heart of Tulips beats in these songs as well and they evoke the same memories and feelings for me. I see my process playing out across these songs - lots of experimentation and trying out new techniques and sounds and just sort of going for it.”

Frank goes on: “It was all from the same pool of material, like 30+ ideas. I was making a lot of little demos… some would be more fleshed out and become songs and others would just be a cool riff and not go anywhere. When I started trying to form it all into an LP I went through all the sessions and ideas and collected the ones I thought were the most fleshed out and cohesive together as a whole. There were a fair amount of songs that were finished and in hindsight really should have been on Tulips (like what would’ve been the title track). And the rest of these songs are either very early versions of tunes that ended up on Tulips or some cool ideas that just ended up being dead ends. It definitely shows how wide my net was in the beginning before I narrowed the record down stylistically.”

Darkland opens with its ornate 39 second title-track before striding into “Tulips”, that full-length title-track that never was. It’s a real head-nod, percussive-rich electric piano stunner that would’ve been a comfortable standout on the album proper. But now this “downlifting” gem is given ample room to shine on this record.

The funky organ-led bass and drums workout “Immaculate Conception” will keep your neck gently snapping while MPC fiends go reaching for their sampler. And that’s gospel. “Love Theme No 3” cuts a breathtakingly stylish vibra-slapped swathe through the middle of the opening side before we’re startled by the pronounced bass and twinkling percussion of “The Owl In Daylight”. Charming digi-drums underpin the wonky synth (quiet-)banger “Innovative Patterns” which has a lovely melodic switch-up in the final third before the tempo (and hairs on your neck) rise on the faintly creepy yet imminently groovy “Osiris”. The gorgeously soft-focus “Groove Experiment No 3” closes out the first half in slow-mo wonderment.

The lushly melancholic “Raincloud” ushers in side B before the emotionally-stirring “Phonic” taps at the door, coming on like the long lost sister to Pet Sounds’ “Let’s Go Away For A While”. Next up, the swooning beauty “Love Theme No 2” keenly sways in front of you, growing ever more insistent and hypnotic. The too-short “Italian Summer” conjures the same flirtatious imagery as the title hints at whilst “Endless” is a fascinating “piano-pella” alternative version to “Rain Dance” from Tulips. “Wonder Theme” has a nostalgic, exotic 60s swing and album closer “Willow” is a hushed, campfire folk gem. The gently circular strumming is just magical.

Speaking to Aquarium Drunkard back in 2019 about the sessions that became Tulips, Frank noted: “I was really surprised by the lack of sunlight during my first winter in Holland, so I would call it Darkland which then became the name of the first demo I wrote during that time. It was also the working title of the record when I first started writing. Some are full songs that didn’t make the cut (including what would have been the title track), some are just ideas that I never finished.”

Whilst we were working on Darkland’s vinyl release Frank explained more specifically about the music that didn’t make it on to Tulips: “When I was putting together the tracklisting for Tulips I was already thinking that whatever didn’t make it onto the LP would be cool to release eventually somehow. The response to Tulips has been so passionate over the years that it’s nice to be able to offer another piece of that world. And for me personally it’s amazing to have more of my work out there in the world. Most common bit of feedback was that many of these songs should have been on Tulips. The odd friend says it’s much better than Tulips.”

Just like Tulips before it, Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering for Darkland has been cut at 45rpm so you can trip out to this as well at a woozy 33 1/3. The artwork too has been designed by Frank himself as a literal visual continuation of the Tulips cover.

We couldn’t possibly say whether Darkland is better than Tulips, and luckily we don’t have to decide.

Gruff Rhys is pleased to announce his new album "Sadness Sets Me Free" which will be released by Rough Trade Records on 26.01.2024. This incredibly will be the 25th album he has released in his 35 year career individually, collaboratively and as a member of various bands. "Sadness Sets Me Free" is also the follow up to 2021"s "Seeking new Gods", his first solo top ten record. The album will be available in a range of formats including a unique Dinked edition on "honeycomb neo-neapolitan" vinyl, an LP sleeve with "container doors" and a bonus 7" with exclusive audio for the first 1500 copies. A gatefold soft pack CD also includes a pull out poster. Lead-off single "Celestial Candyfloss" is a telling four minute glimpse of the forthcoming album, revealing the heady wonders and classic pop sounds within. Soaring strings carry the sweet melodies along, anchored by just enough necessary melancholy to add emotional ballast. The eye-popping video was created by long-time collaborator Mark James and compliments the scope and style of the song on a galactic scale. "Celestial Candyfloss" is, Gruff says, "an attempted pocket symphony about the cosmic lengths that people will travel in the pursuit of love and acceptance. Mark James has brought the Sadness Sets Me Free album cover to life & managed to place me watching TV interference in a shipping container that"s lost in space. For what is apparently the 25th album I"ve had a hand in writing I"ve reverted to a rich seam of inspiration relating to shedding some light on sadness and the general terror of cosmic loneliness." And so it was that Gruff and his band - Osian Gwynedd (piano), Huw V Williams (double bass) and former Flaming Lips drummer turned Super Furry Animals archivist Kliph Scurlock (drums) piled into a van driven by the late, legendary tour manager "Dr" Kiko Loiacono and raced from Dunkirk, where they had just played the final show of a tour of Spain and France, to the outskirts of Paris in the early hours of a March morning in 2022. There, in La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house, Gruff and his road-hardened group tracked "Sadness Sets Me Free" in just three days. Backing vocals were added along the way by Kate Stables from This Is The Kit along with additional strings and orchestration and it was mixed between Marseille and Cardiff. What finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was Gruff"s most accomplished and beautiful record to date. In a career that has taken him from the slate-mining towns of north-west Wales, down to the expat communities of Patagonia, up to the Mandan tribe of the Great Plains of North America and across to the Tuareg rock groups of the Saharan Desert, Gruff Rhys, one of Britain"s most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him. "At this point I quite like working with serendipity," he says. "Not in a cosmic way, but I try and leave things open to chance encounters and chance geography. As I"m around 25 albums in I"m always looking for ways to make a different-sounding record".

Gruff Rhys is pleased to announce his new album "Sadness Sets Me Free" which will be released by Rough Trade Records on 26.01.2024. This incredibly will be the 25th album he has released in his 35 year career individually, collaboratively and as a member of various bands. "Sadness Sets Me Free" is also the follow up to 2021"s "Seeking new Gods", his first solo top ten record. The album will be available in a range of formats including a unique Dinked edition on "honeycomb neo-neapolitan" vinyl, an LP sleeve with "container doors" and a bonus 7" with exclusive audio for the first 1500 copies. A gatefold soft pack CD also includes a pull out poster. Lead-off single "Celestial Candyfloss" is a telling four minute glimpse of the forthcoming album, revealing the heady wonders and classic pop sounds within. Soaring strings carry the sweet melodies along, anchored by just enough necessary melancholy to add emotional ballast. The eye-popping video was created by long-time collaborator Mark James and compliments the scope and style of the song on a galactic scale. "Celestial Candyfloss" is, Gruff says, "an attempted pocket symphony about the cosmic lengths that people will travel in the pursuit of love and acceptance. Mark James has brought the Sadness Sets Me Free album cover to life & managed to place me watching TV interference in a shipping container that"s lost in space. For what is apparently the 25th album I"ve had a hand in writing I"ve reverted to a rich seam of inspiration relating to shedding some light on sadness and the general terror of cosmic loneliness." And so it was that Gruff and his band - Osian Gwynedd (piano), Huw V Williams (double bass) and former Flaming Lips drummer turned Super Furry Animals archivist Kliph Scurlock (drums) piled into a van driven by the late, legendary tour manager "Dr" Kiko Loiacono and raced from Dunkirk, where they had just played the final show of a tour of Spain and France, to the outskirts of Paris in the early hours of a March morning in 2022. There, in La Frette Studios, a recording facility installed in a 19th-century house, Gruff and his road-hardened group tracked "Sadness Sets Me Free" in just three days. Backing vocals were added along the way by Kate Stables from This Is The Kit along with additional strings and orchestration and it was mixed between Marseille and Cardiff. What finally emerged from these intense bouts of cross-continental activity was Gruff"s most accomplished and beautiful record to date. In a career that has taken him from the slate-mining towns of north-west Wales, down to the expat communities of Patagonia, up to the Mandan tribe of the Great Plains of North America and across to the Tuareg rock groups of the Saharan Desert, Gruff Rhys, one of Britain"s most beloved and successful singer-songwriters, has always been willing to follow an opportunity, wherever it may lead him. "At this point I quite like working with serendipity," he says. "Not in a cosmic way, but I try and leave things open to chance encounters and chance geography. As I"m around 25 albums in I"m always looking for ways to make a different-sounding record".

The devastating 4th album from the UK's heaviest Northern offering - OSIAH. Produced by Andy Mallaby (Osiah, Nexilva) and mixed by Christian Donaldson (Ingested, Shadow of Intent), the album also features artwork by Shindy Reehal (Viscera, The Zenith Passage, Archspire). Osiah’s UK tour with Necrotted: 29/9/23 - Plymouth - The Junction 30/9/23 - Derby - The Hairy Dog 1/10/23 - London - New Cross Inn 2/10/23 - Bristol - The Crofters Rights 3/10/23 - Manchester - Satans Hollow 4/10/23 - Sheffield - Corporation 5/10/23 - Glasgow - Audio 6/10/23 - Newcastle - The Cluny 2 7/10/23 - Birmingham - The Devils dog

Repress!

Released on Riverside records in 1962, "Letter from Home" was the debut album of Jazz vocalist Eddie Jefferson. Often credited as the founder of vocalese, Jefferson wrote memorable lyrics to classic jazz standards including "Parker's Mood.", "Lady Be Good," "So What," "Freedom Jazz Dance,"... Eddie Jefferson is backed here by a bunch of Jazz heavyweights, all at the top of their game. Among them: tenor sax masters Johnny Griffin and James Moody, trumpeter Clark Terry, pianists, Winton Kelly, and Joe Zawinul, bassist Sam Jones, and two hyper swinging drummers, Louis Hayes and Osie Johnson. This is an often underrated vocal Jazz album, a hidden gem ready to be unearthed. Don't miss it !!!

Auf "Amongst the Low & Empty" wird der wütende Deathcore von SIGNS OF THE SWARM mit einer gehörigen Portion Groove und Industrial-Impulsen angereichert, die Vergleiche mit Meshuggah, Deftones und Fear Factory nahelegen. Die Band aus Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, erreicht damit eine neue Ebene der Düsternis - der Soundtrack zu einer nicht allzu fernen dystopischen Zukunft, während ihre eigene heller denn je brennt. Das Feuer wurde von Co-Produzent und Mixer Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore, King 810, Tallah) entfacht, der über einen Monat lang im Studio an dem Album arbeitete, wobei Schlagzeuger Bobby Crow das Fundament legte, auf dem alles aufgebaut wurde. "Amongst the Low & Empty" beginnt mit einer Bulldozer-Note - kein mäanderndes Intro - mit einem Titeltrack, der so schwer ist, dass ein später Ausbruch der Double Bass den Manager der Band buchstäblich zum Lachen brachte. Danach geht es mit "Tower of Torsos", "DREAMKILLER" oder "The Witch Beckons" weiter, bei dem Trivium-Sänger Matt Heafy neben dem animalischen Growl von Sänger David Simonich zu hören ist.Unermüdliches Touren mit Bands wie Lorna Shore, Whitechapel, Fit for an Autopsy, Born of Osiris, Archspire und VIELEN anderen hat es Signs of the Swarm ermöglicht, ihr Handwerk zu verfeinern, aber auf "Amongst the Low & Empty" haben sie es wirklich gemeistert und sind bereit, in der Welt des extremen Metal auszubrechen.Einfach gesagt ist dies der Sound von Kunst, die bis zum Äußersten getrieben wird.

Ebo Taylor “Twer Nyame” is being reissued on vinyl by Comet Records, pressed on high quality vinyl, with label designs and artwork as per the original release.
Originally released in 1978 on Philips-West African-Records. Classic highlife sounds; uptempo grooves, vocals, tons of percussion, guitar, horns and organ lines. Featuring
the stand-out ‘Atwer Abroba’.

Ebo Taylor is one of Ghana's finest producer/arrangers.

Taylor was heavily influential in the unique sound that emerged from the country in the 70's; a combination of traditional Ghanaian with Afro-beat, jazz, and funk rhythms.

He worked with bands including Stargazers Band, Broadway Dance Band, Black Star Highlife Band (with Teddy Osei and Sol Amarfio who later joined Osibisa), Apagya Show Band and fellow musicians C.K.Mann, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and the legendary Pat Thomas.

BBE Music are proud to reissue one of the most elusive and sought-after Afro-Funk LPs of all time: SON OF AFRICA, by REMI KABAKA.

Now a proud 85 years of age and enjoying retirement in America, Remi was the cornerstone of British West African music in the 50s, 60s and 70s, along with Ginger Oloronso Johnson, Fela Kuti and others. But while Ginger played mambo and cha cha cha in Soho clubland and Fela released his early ‘highlife jazz’ records on the Melodisc label, Remi Kabaka was fully ensconced in the UK Rock world, playing sessions and live shows with The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Ginger Baker, Steve Winwood and countless others.

As the 60s became the 70s, Kabaka developed yet another string to his bow: the development of a UK based West African Funk scene, that found its genesis in the legendary Osibisa, but with an influence and an inspiration that spilled over into every contemporary Brit Funk band from Cymande and the Equals to The Average White Band, Matata and beyond.

SON OF AFRICA was originally released by Chris Blackwell’s Island records in 1976, to little acclaim, very few reviews, and with almost no promotion. African music was a hard sell when the 70s Black British record market wanted reggae first and foremost, and with Bob Marley on the books, Island understandably had other priorities at the time. The record disappeared. Until it reappeared in the early 2000s, as a £700-plus collectors’ item.

It’s barely 30 minutes long. But every single minute is drenched with sinuous, spare funk: no spacey psych rock, no disco, no boogie, no over-the-top production: just 90-110 BPM grooves that go straight to the body.

So: whether you’re a turntablist, a hip hop sampler, or just an honest-to-goodness African Funk lover, catch this limited reissue (with full, updated liner notes) while you can. There won’t be another chance.

The gentle music and quiet nostalgia of some of the most exquisitely beautiful poetry ever written flows through Hélène Grimaud’s latest album, a tribute to the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov. Together with baritone Konstantin Krimmel, winner of the 2018 International Helmut Deutsch Lied Competition, Grimaud presented extracts from Silvestrov’s song-cycle Silent Songs at the Stienitzsee Turbine Hall near Berlin last August, in the presence of the octogenarian composer, who has lived in Berlin as an exile from his war-torn homeland since March 2022.

Hailing from Essex, the six-member band officially formed in 2015. What originally started off as a few studio sessions between producer Tom and vocalist Alex Osiris, soon turned into a full-blown musical project. The established band line up was finalised after the additions of producer and musicians Tom Donovan, Cameron Morrell and Jonny Poole for what was meant to be a one-off festival performance which subsequently turned into a full-time project due to the undeniable chemistry shared on and off stage. The addition of in-house production and live instruments allowed the band to develop their alternative style of hip-hop that is truly unique and undeniably authentic.

The five songs on the Kingfisher EP deal in nostalgia, lost time, and the peculiar pleasure of sadness. It was recorded in StudiOwz in Pembrokeshire in December 2021, engineered by Iwan Morgan (who co-produced along with Georgia, and with whom she worked on her last album Mai). Musicians include Stephen Black (Group Listening, Sweet Baboo) and Iwan Huws, and with additional percussion by Osian Williams, and string arrangements by Owain Roberts. Georgia’s one-year-old son Idris features in the background of a few of the songs, if you listen closely enough! Glassy electronic beats and improvised vocals sit alongside dreamy Americana.
Georgia said: “There's a freedom you get with an EP - you can try things out, get it all out of your system. But all these songs are connected - they come from the same place. I imagined them all as scenes from the same film! “

London based label Natural Selection present their 3rd release in the form of a 4-track physical and digital EP courtesy of Kamikaze Space Programme (aka Christopher Jarman), entitled "Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust EP". The release also features a remix from Slave To Society (ex AnD). Cut by Simon at The Exchange Vinyl and mastered by Dadub Studios, Berlin.

Jarman is widely considered as one of the most forward thinking and innovative sound designers around. With roots indebted to the music he released as Raiden in the early 00's, his abstract, field recorded, industrial and broken admission into the annals of Techno via his prevailing alias; Kamikaze Space Programme, has seen his music backed, supported and released by the heaviest of renowned labels such as MORD, Mote-Evolver, Osiris, TRUST & more.

As an avid field recording artist, Jarman's release by and large is made up of foley sound design and sonic experimentation using bespoke apparatus and homemade microphones. Capturing internal resonances and electromagnetic radiation of objects, re-amplified or organic, classic hardware dub mixing completes his instantly recognisable Kamikaze Space Programme aesthetic, and successfully traverses the divide between Techno, Drum and Bass, Electro and Breakbeat.

Natural Selection are well known for bridging the heavier spectrum of Techno, Electro, Acid, etc. with new, experimental style and form. One can always expect cutting-edge, hard-hitting, underground electronics from Natural Selection, with extreme diversity in sound.

Station Z Transmissions give you the Bay City Quiet Pills EP.

Produced and performed by Zuckell & Roughneck Jihad respectively.

Limited Edition 12 inch vinyl EP

Two legends in the game bring you:

Dass die Band aus Minneapolis, Minnesota kurz davor ist eine ganz große Nummer zu werden, zeigen nicht nur die fast 200.000 monatlichen Hörer*innen auf Spotify. Der Sound, den Villain of the Story liefern, ist unwiderstehlich und kombiniert das allerbeste aus modernem Metalcore und einem radiotauglichen Rocksound, den sonst nur Bands wie I Prevail so ausgeklügelt kombiniert bekommen.
Energetisch, eingängig und explosiv – so ist der erste Eindruck von „Losing Control“, der ersten Single des vierten Villain of the Story Albums „Divided“. Zwischen poppigen Rock Parts finden sich groovige Metalcore Elemente, die einen Sound auf der Höhe der Zeit abbilden und mit Spannung erwarten lassen, wie dieser Sound auf voller Länge klingen wird.

Die zweite Single „Karma“ zeigt sich hingegen mit harten Metalcore Elementen und einem catchy Pop Chorus, der sich schnell ins Gedächtnis einprägt. Auch Tracks wie „Never Again“ folgen diesem Ansatz. Es gelingt Villain of the Story unfassbar gut, diese harten Breakdowns mit poppigen Refrains zu verknüpfen und dabei enorm frische Metalcorehymnen zu kreieren. Dabei bleiben die US-Amerikaner jedoch nie eindimensional.

Im Sound von „Divided“ finden sich mitunter progressive Elemente, die mit dezentem Deathcore Einschlag an Bands wie Veil Of Maya und Born Of Osiris erinnern, was insbesondere durch die dezent platzierten elektronischen Elemente und Synthesizer unterstützt wird. Neben den leicht djentigen, bouncy Grooves, die Tracks wie „Jester“ und „Under My Skin“ zu wahren Moshpitmagneten werden lassen, sind es die unwiderstehlichen Vocals der beiden Sänger, die den Sound von Villain of the Story so einzigartig werden lassen.

Mit „Wrong“ liefern Villain of the Story jedoch auch einen krassen Kontrast, der noch mehr Farbe mit in das Bild von „Divided“ bringt. „Wrong“ ist eine herzzerreißende Ballade, die mit minimalistischer Klavierbegleitung dem Gesang seine ungeteilte Aufmerksamkeit gibt und die Band von einer vollkommen zarten Seite zeigt. Eine Seite, die spätestens aber vom schmetternden Beginn von „Don’t Go“ schnell wachgerüttelt wird. Es ist eben dieser Kontrast, der die Spannung im acht Track starken Album aufrecht hält und es so überzeugend macht.
Villain of the Story gehen mit “Divided” den nächsten Schritt in der Karriere ihrer Band und beweisen, dass Metalcore im Jahr 2022 noch lange nicht auserzählt ist. Stattdessen ist das vierte Album der Band ein wahres Genrehighlight das sowohl Fans von harter, als auch rockiger Popmusik vor allem in puncto Emotionalität bestens unterhält.

Born of chance meetings in Accra, the band brings together a Burundian producer and vocalist, Betina Quest; with a Ghanaian singer-songwriter, Eli A Free; and a German percussionist and multiinstrumentalist, Ma.ttic. Nyamekye Junction take their name from a bustling junction in the Ghanaian capital, where a number of major roads merge, embodying the musical approach of the band: a singular sound at the junction of their cultural heritages.

In Eli’s words, ‘Dasein’ (from the German for ‘existence’, ‘being there’), captures “the need to live in this moment here and now with a heart full of gratitude” while exploring a number of interlinked themes, including the importance of one's environment – cultural and political, as well as physical - in situating, shaping and explaining each individual’s identity.

The band adeptly channel a wide range of influences, from the Ghanaian legends Ebo Taylor and Osibisa through to US mainstays such as Nina Simone and Erykah Badu; with equal regard given to UK innovators like Benjamin Clementine and Mala. The resulting debut EP ‘Dasein’ is a stunning collage which showcases the band’s impressive range and evolving sound by traversing a diverse range of moods, rhythms and textures.

The lead single ‘GMT’ (short for ‘Ghana Man Time’) is a dancefloor-ready track that carries a deft political message. Driven by a weighty bassline alongside punching drums and percussion, for a rhythm section that would be at home in any broken-beat set, the song explores and emphasises differing conceptions of time between the West and Africa with a playful irony.

Embodying the mutant nature of club music in the modern age, Cocktail Party Effect comes bowling into Sneaker Social Club with a taut, wiry sound which joins dots and melts barriers at will.

The brainchild of Charlie Baldwin, who previously recorded as Kasket, Cocktail Party Effect has been forged over the past six years through heavy bursts of sound design anchored by soundsystem dynamics veering between 140 and 160 tempo zones. From 2020’s self-titled LP on Tectonic to drops on Osiris, Cold, Transfigured Time and more, Baldwin’s deftly avoided allegiance to any specific scene and instead deployed shock-inducing gear for DJs with fortitude to test on their crowds.

On SNKRX010 the commitment to physicality is prevalent across all four tracks, veering from the deadly broken beat barbs and artful fills of ‘Racka’ to the splintered breakbeat rushes and stop-start aggravation of ‘C.A.T.C.R’. ‘Grims8’ is perhaps the purest manifestation of the Cocktail Party sound though, all monochrome rigour with the contrast turned way up, powered by steely, gleaming rhythmic impulses and writhing with dense layers of sonic matter. Watch out for the glutinous bass snarl of ‘58bethe7’ though, which slams in sideways with an unabashed rave instinct crushed through a post-modern production lens.

Baldwin may be operating on his own terms, but on this 12” he demonstrates versatility to match his originality, resulting in four inventive dance destroyers tooled to bridge between styles, sets and scenes.

A new 6-track mini album from a musician with a long list of credits including South African trumpet legend Hugh Masekela, afrobeat co-creator Tony Allen and Ethiopian jazz originator Mulatu Astatke as well as many Brit-jazz and international roots artists. "It's Time" blends spiritual Afro-jazz groove with free improv, spoken poetry and other-worldly atmosphere, with lyrics and titles hinting at unorthodox takes on reality and the times we live in.

Phil Dawson is a top London guitarist who has worked and schooled himself extensively in many different African, Latin and Brazilian music traditions together with styles that more typically cross the radar of someone with a similar British background: roots reggae, punk rock, blues, soul, R'n'B, jazz and funk. As a sideman, he's played with a host of living legends of Afro-fusion music including South African jazz trumpet giant Hugh Masekela, Nigerian afrobeat co-creator Tony Allen, Ethiojazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, the Algerian "king of rai" Khaled, and London based Ghanaian afro-rock dons Osibisa. Heavy company for sure.

Now he's releasing a new mini 6 track album of original compositions under his own name and band - Phil Dawson ٤-tet - and he's joined by a stellar cast of London's finest players who include Rowland Sutherland (flutes - Airto Moreira, David Murray, Carla Bley), Khadijatou Doyneh (spoken word - The Heliocentrics, Danny Keane), Gaspar Sena (drums - Alfa Mist, Maria Chiara Argiro), Marius Rodrigues (drums - Oriole, Hermeto Hermeto Hermeto), Lekan Babalola (percussion - Cassandra Wilson, Ali Farka Toure) and Matheus Nova (bass - Antonio Forcione, Ed Motta, Jazzinho). Phil himself features on guitars, Fender Rhodes and piano.

'This is great' - Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 6 (on 'It's Time)

'Beautiful' - Kassin (producer Caetano Veloso, Sonzeira etc) (on 'It's

Time')

'Rapid-fire guitar work with variety and energy' – The Guardian, UK

'A great guitarist' – Tony Allen

'An absolute killer - irresistible' - Snowboy (on 'Gnostic Hilife')

'Phil Dawson and his (quintet) are really smoking at the mo. No wonder the London jazz young guns are ripping it up with bands

like this leading the way. Miss them at your peril' – Russ Jones (Future World Funk)

Jazzwise Review

The British guitarist Phil Dawson is a fixture of a plethora of Brit-jazz bands and international roots outfits; his nuanced stylings have graced the work of A-listers from Ethio-jazz guru Mulatu Astatke to such late African greats as Tony Allen and Hugh Masekela. Like any an in-demand session player worth his chops Dawson also fronts his own trio/quartet/quintet, all of which allow him to stretch out and do his own thing, which – with his quintet - he does to pleasing effect here.

Buoyed by flute, bass and percussion, It's Time is a six-track brew combining free improv and spoken word with Afro-spiritual groove and a far-out esotericism befitting these strangest of times. Opener 'It's Time (Radio Edit)' is a psychedelic romp through a beneficent cosmos where ringing chords and woodwind trills underpin Khaditjatou Doyneh's pathos-laden musings on love and the universe and one of three variations on a theme. Over three minutes longer at 9:34, 'It's Time (aka Ougama)' is a freewheeling instrumental made dazzling by Dawson's silver-fingered guitar work; Doyneh resumes her pronouncing on the more dissonant but equally mind expanding 'It's Time (Fully Spoken)'. Then there's 'Gnostic Hilife', whose three interpretations each juxtapose the structures of this West African lingua franca in ways tight, spacious and inventive

44 Million+ Streams Worldwide / 5 Album Releases / 3 EPs * As Seen on tour with Norma Jean, Born of Osiris, Fit For A King, Silent Planet, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Demon Hunter, Oh, Sleeper & Red * 2nd Track leading to their 6th full length release “Eulogies”- coming March 11th, 2022 * PR campaigns in US, Europe, UK & Australia kicking off in January.