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Erstes umfassendes Archivprojekt für The Police, welches erweiterte, mehrformatige Wiederveröffentlichungen enthält. Dazu enthält das Projekt bisher unveröffentlichtes Bonusmaterial, neue Linernotes und Interviews, sowie seltene Archiv-Memorabilien und Fotos.
Alle Tracks wurden direkt von den Originalbändern durch Audio-Remastering in den Abbey Road Studios
neu bearbeitet

Printed sleeve offering a painting from Dj Frendleyks himself :)

This is Tek-Hosue, a meeting point between freetekno and house... because there are no frontier !

ISOxo & Knock2 have been building towards the release of the forthcoming 4EVR album since the duo sold-out an historic four (4) consecutive headline performances at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles in November 2023. At the beginning of the year, the duo announced their Coachella debut and a select number of “ISOKNOCK 4EVR” headline events in Seattle (2X WAMU Theater) and Brooklyn (Under The K Bridge) – selling out 10,000 tickets per market in a matter of days. ISOKNOCK also will be headlining the North Coast Music Festival in Chicago. ISOKNOCK debuted at Coachella to a packed-out Sahara Tent with intricate, multi-tiered, live production from Production Club. Many of the songs from the forthcoming 4EVR album were first teased at this performance. Each of the subsequent ISOKNOCK shows in Seattle and Brooklyn had unique production – with special guest cade clair popping out in Seattle to perform forthcoming album focus track “4EVR”. In April 2024, Knock2 and RL Grime co-headlined Ultra Music Festival with a special back-to-back DJ set. During this performance, ISOxo popped out for a special guest appearance and the trio debuted the collaboration “SMACK TALK” to the roaring crowd. In support of the 4EVR album, ISOKNOCK will be producing a narrative short film that embodies the tagline of the album – “Pain is Temporary, ISOKNOCK is "4EVR” On the eve of their highly-anticipated collaborative album 4evr, ISOxo & Knock2 will present the 4EVR Gallery – a tribute to the DIY ethos, uncompromising vision, and longstanding partnership of the two artists who are pushing the boundaries of dance music and reshaping it in their own image. From their humblest beginnings in San Diego to dominating the world’s most prestigious festival stage at Coachella, the 4EVR GALLERY will give fans a rare opportunity to share space with artifacts of history-in-the-making.

Skylla is the debut solo recording of Italian-born and London-based composer, bassist, and vocalist Ruth Goller. This
album of otherworldly detuned bass harmonics and dense vocal arrangements was initially released in 2021 by longtime collaborator Bex Burch's Vula Viel Records, and quickly went out of print. Since then Goller's notoriety has only grown, and her follow-up record, SKYLLUMINA, was released by International Anthem in early 2024 and met with high praise.

Skylla is the genesis of her sound, and it is a sound that is hard to place. Listeners could be convinced that these recordings came out of contexts as disparate as 80s Downtown NYC or some mysterious Bjork-adjacent project of the Icelandic 2010s. It's hard to imagine a person making this music despite the fact that its elements are instantly recognizable.

All the music in the world is at your fingertips, and it's up to you to set the vibe_ So, what should we listen to? If you're having trouble deciding, turn on the radio. It's the perfect place to discover something new, or jam along to a tried-and-true station that'll never let you down.Tune In is due out 11/1/2024 via Chiefdom Records. The second of three installments in the Terrestrial Radio series, it's a carefully curated collection of instrumental fusion, designed to serve as the perfect radio mix for fans of jazz, hip hop, funk, soul, reggae and beyond. It's the latest release from Cincinnati based executive producer Doctor Bionic (Jason Grimez). As a DJ, producer, and former member of 90s rap group MOOD, Grimez' musical career revolves around hip hop. He's always preferred to sample songs from the late 60s and early 70s because of the authentic tone. "Growing up collecting and sampling records was an education, whether we realized it or not," he explained. Grimez records and produces music using analog gear to emulate the instrumentals that he's always loved as he works with some of the best musicians in the Cincinnati area to bring his ideas to life. Among others, Jonathan Luck Spaulding and Josh "Mojo" Cole made several appearances on guitar throughout the record. Every Doctor Bionic release is accompanied by a unique, thought-provoking album cover. For Tune In, Grimez worked with Refael Idan Suissa, a painter and digital artist based in Israel.Next time you're looking for some new instrumental tunes to set the tone, you can count on the growing catalog from Doctor Bionic. Tune In is available everywhere on 11/1/24.

The Penguin Cafe Orchestra Mini Album is an EP by Penguin Cafe Orchestra consisting of six pieces, two derived from previous released recordings (‘The Penguin Cafe Single’ and ‘Air À Danser’), two that were recorded from a live performance in Tokyo (‘Numbers 1-4’ and ‘Salty Bean Fumble’), and two previously unreleased pieces which had not appeared elsewhere (‘The Toy’ and ‘Piano Music’).
The two live pieces were recorded by NHK Radio at the Kan-i Hoken Hall on 10 June 1982.
‘Piano Music’ is a solo piece recorded by Simon Jeffes in Tokyo on 7 July 1982 and ‘The Toy’ was recorded in 1983.
The cover painting was by Emily Young.  This is the first repress since 1983. Pressed on red vinyl.

When In Rome...’ is a 1988 live album by Penguin Cafe Orchestra, and was recorded at The Royal Festival Hall, London, on 9 July 1987.
It was produced by Simon Jeffes.  The cover painting is by Emily Young. This iteration has for the first time the full gig and uses the 2008 remaster.

Danish instrumental collective ALAWARI was founded in 2016, and rapidly garnered a name for themselves on the European jazz scene for their explosive live performances, going on to win Denmark s Young Jazz competition in the same year. A contrast to their eponymous 2022 debut - a cacophonous musical reflection of revolution - their upcoming release is an exploration of spirituality, transformation, and the totality of the human experience. Leviathan oscillates between symphonic grandeur and intimate vulnerability, with moments so delicate that every breath can be felt. In this way, the sextet aims to demonstrate that the path to the divine is found through collective unity unity-a shared experience that transcends the individual. From lamenting melodies on a solo trumpet eventually accompanied by a dense, ominous synth, to hypnotic patterns on a percussive close close-mic d saxophone, to thunderous rhythm section grooves with searing horn harmonies, ALAWARIs innovative and dynamic arrangements offer something brand new and unexpected around every corner. Despite being a six piece, the ensembles sound feels comparable to that of an orchestra or big band, combining through through-composed classical classical-influenced orchestration, intricate interlocking parts, lush waves of texture and a warm, raw, intimate production style to craft a larger larger-thanthan-life listening experience. Leviathan embarks on a profound journey, capturing the divine and spiritual forces that permeate the arts. The album serves as a vessel vessel-slowly navigating like a majestic ship or a steadfast train, embarking on a peaceful yet powerful crusade. It invites listeners to traverse a landscape of sorrow and joy, pain and exaltation, silence and intensity. Through this journey, ALAWARI aims to reveal the primordial truth: that the spirit precedes all, and that the mundane backdrop of everyday life can be transformed and painted anew, if carried by the right vessel.

Repress of DVS1's highly anticipated album that came out on Axis digital during the pandemic. From the perceiving body to the liminal space of the dream-state, audible frequencies send a neurofeedback message. A paradigm-shift is activated in the mind. A movement from the present hour toward the realm beyond measure. The pulse of a synthesized kick. The distance between evolving rhythms of time & place left behind. Sensations created in forgotten corners of the consciousness are distant, yet familiar. A low-penetrating drum beat pulsates. Hypnotic hallucinations reveal detailed layers, oscillating from the back to the forefront of the dream. Synth programming yields abstract ideas into concrete images. Lucid percussion arranged to paint a deeper shade of architecture in this future-memory-system. Be aware that sensations resonate into imagination without warning. The observer extends from rational thought to a deeper state of understanding. The mind-body experience gives way to a transient response from a shock wave to the steady state. The senses reach entrainment.

Die Songs auf der EP erscheinen in der Reihenfolge, in der sie geschrieben wurden. Sie wurden in dem kleinen Gästezimmer seiner Wohnung in West Philadelphia direkt auf vier Spuren aufgenommen. Es ist ein Bogen von vier Liedern, ein gespenstischer Durchgang, ein kurzes und fließendes Werk, das von der schwermütigen Eröffnung von „Mountain Dew Hell“ bis zu den hochgepitchten Vocals von „Pain Meds“, einem winzigen Lied, das in der Unermesslichkeit der Trauer schwankt, zusammenhängt. Die Erfahrung des Durchhörens ist wie das Aufwachen aus einem halb erinnerten Traum, ein Schatten in der Zimmerecke, eine seltsame Einsamkeit, ein zeitlicher New Yorker Herbst mit grauem Himmel und nackten Bäumen. Aber während die Veröffentlichung spärlich und spontan ist, ist sie taktil und verzehrend, ein Einblick in die schönen, einsamen Welten, die im Kern eines Greg Mendez Songs leben.



Jeder Aspekt von Mendez' Welt trägt etwas Handgemachtes in sich. Das Cover von „First Time / Alone“ ist eine Sammlung von Sternen aus dem Skizzenbuch eines Freundes, die Mendez mit Ölpastellkreiden ausgemalt hat - jeder Strich fühlt sich schwer an, drückt sich von der Seite ab und lebt von einer menschlichen Note. Das Gleiche könnte man über das Cover des selbstbetitelten Albums sagen, eine Farbstift-Illustration einer verzweifelten Mutter Maria, gezeichnet von Mendez und seiner Frau und Bandkollegin Veronica; in dem Porträt sind ihre massiven Augen nach oben gerichtet, die Hand ausgestreckt, Gnade entweder angeboten oder weggenommen.



Mendez ist ein intuitiver Songwriter, dessen Melodien durch den Äther gejagt werden, ein Geschichtenerzähler, der in seinem Katalog von Gewalt und Instabilität berichtet, aber auch von Liebesliedern, von Oden an die Freundschaft, an wahre Hingabe, an die Dinge, die einen durch das Schlimmste hindurch tragen können. Mendez hat die Angewohnheit, diese Dinge zu bemerken, das Licht zu finden und selbst aus den düstersten, beschissensten Situationen Poesie zu machen. In seinen Liedern gibt es eine angeborene Fähigkeit, Härte mit Sanftheit auszubalancieren, Grausamkeiten durch übernatürliche Süße umzuschreiben, ein Herz, das unaufhörlich, zuversichtlich, durch die Dunkelheit pocht.

For Greg Mendez, reflection doesnüft mean a static image in a mirror, or even a face he recognizes. Itüfs more a kaleidoscopic mirage, where paths taken shapeshift with the prospect of paths untread, and the subconscious merges with the intentional. On his self-titled new album, the Philadelphia-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist investigates the shaky camera of memory, striving to carve out a collage that points to a truth. But there isnüft a regimented actuality here; instead, Mendez highlights the merit in many truths, and many lives, and how even the hardest truths can still contain some humor. While this is technically Mendezüfs third full-length album, his back catalog boasts an extensive range of EPs and live recordings. Heüfs a prolific and thoughtful songwriter, understanding the joy in impulse, and shying away from the clinical sheen of overproduction. 2017üfs ügüP/ _(c)_ /üPüh and 2020üfs Cherry Hell garnered acclaim for their quiet, lo-fi urgency, exploring themes of addiction and heartbreak with an intentional, authentic haze, and itüfs this approach that has solidified Mendez as a staple in the DIY community for years. Greg Mendez was written in fragments, some stretching across more than a decade, with Mendez reworking old ideas and arrangements, and others blossoming much more recently. The weight of time..and perhaps the anxiety in running out of it..clouds the album, as Mendez prods at some painful experiences from his childhood and early adulthood. The common thread connecting the characters is their evident imperfections, and the various degrees of damage they cause, both knowingly and unknowingly. But where do we draw the line between a good person and a bad person? For Mendez, itüfs never been that easy. Greg Mendez is an intimate dialogue between the chapters weüfve experienced, and how they can inform the reality we perceive. Itüfs a reminder that we are constantly shifting, ever-changing selves and that if we ruminate too long, we may find ourselves stuck in the seriousness of it all. Here, Mendez allows us to take the time to notice what happens outside of the framework we may have built for ourselves, and the beauty that can occur when we finally do.

Lamina is the moniker of multi-disciplinary French artist Clarice Calvo-Pinsolle. 'Olas Curativas' is Calvo-Pinsolle's first vinyl release. Taking influence from the natural world, works of hydrofeminism, and experiences with hypnotism, Calvo-Pinsolle prolifically performs and records her own refreshing take on ambient music alongside working as an established installation artist. She has previously released two full-length albums on Orila Records & Complex Holidays, as well as a joint LP with Kitchen Cynics, and a collaboration project with Bear Bones Lay Low under the moniker XAXI. Her discography is fleshed out by various contributions to compilations, including the opening track 'Soupire' on Twin System's 'Tendrils Lurched Purple In The Slush' tape series. Radio play of Laminas music includes Graham Dunning / NTS, Emil Mirzoev/ Kiosk Radio, Laura de Diaz / CAMPO BASE, xYsse / Radio Vacarme, Melina Despretz / Kiosk Radio, Chris Penty Alvarez / Noods Radio, Leoni Leoni / Radio Alhara, Laura Connant / Ola Radio, Bravo Tounky / Rootradio. Performances of material from 'Olas Curativas' include shows at Cafe Oto / London, Cosmos / Lisboa, TV Control Center / Athens, Iklektic / London, Braille Satellite / Lithuania, Slug Gallery / Leipzig, Spazio X / Treviso, Krut Festival / Ghent, Schiev Festival / Brussels, Woodblocks Festival / Brussels.


'Olas Curativas' was developed and written in 2022, with these pieces first heard as live jams at shows mainly around Brussels and Portugal, before being honed into this mesmeric full-length LP. Calvo-Pinsolle's effective use of manipulated field recordings and tape loops provide a backdrop for harmony that leans towards the mystical, brimming with melodies equal parts haunting and enchanting. Alongside harvesting a sound library over the past several years, Calvo-Pinsolle has developed an approach to composition using field recordings that informs both her musical and sculptural work. These recordings are transformed much like the ceramics seen in the record artwork; shaped, chiseled, and transformed. These ceramics were crafted and painted by Calvo-Pinsolle herself, and hints at this bridge between her two disciplines of music and sculpture. Although an expansive realm, throughout Calvo-Pinsolle's output there are consistent moods and qualities that are absolutely distinctive to this artist's creative worldview, and of which 'Olas Curativas' is a perfect encapsulation.

Expanding beyond the Folk and Pop stylings of his fi rst album, Waits" second studio release The Heart of Saturday Night established his reputation as a versatile and distinctly American songwriter. It"s bluesy jazz arrangements featured bass, drums, sax and Waits on piano. The title track, a melancholy ode to Saturday night rituals, and the tenderly romantic hymn-like "San Diego Serenade" are enduring classics covered by an array of artists from Diana Krall and Nancy Griffi th to folk hero Eric Anderson. The album also features "Diamonds On My Windshield", the fi rst of what would become a signature for Waits", the spoken word-poetry song. Waits" delivers these lyrics as pure beat jazz in the stylings of Kerouac, Langston Hughes and Bob Kaufman.

"This is the time that we, who have benefitted from the Last Poets shouldbe able to say, 'it's the Last Poets. It's them we should be honouring, because we did not honour them for so many years_"

KRS One wasn't just addressing the hip hop fraternity when he uttered
those words by way of introducing the video for Invocation - a poem
written thirty years ago, around the time of the Last Poets' last significant comeback. He was speaking to everyone who's been affected by the word, sound and power issuing from the most revolutionary poetry ever witnessed, and that the Last Poets had introduced to the world outside of Harlem at the dawn of the seventies.

In 2018 the two remaining Last Poets, Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin
Hassan, embarked on another memorable return with an album -
Understand What Black Is - that earned favourable comparison with theirseminal works of the past, whilst showcasing their undimmed passion andlyrical brilliance in an entirely new setting - that of reggae music. Trackslike Rain Of Terror ("America is a terrorist") and How Many Bullets demonstrated that they'd lost none of their fire or anger, and their essential raison d'etre remained the same.

"The Last Poets' mission was to pull the people out of the rubble o f their lives," wrote their biographer Kim Green. "They knew, deep down that poetry could save the people - that if black people could see and hear themselves and their struggles through the spoken word, they would be moved to change."

Several years later and the follow-up is now with us. The project started when Tony Allen, the Nigerian master drummer whose unique polyrhythms had driven much of Fela Kuti's best work, dropped by Prince Fatty's Brighton studio and laid down a selection of drum patterns to die for. That was back in 2019, but then the pandemic struck. Once it had passed, the label booked a studio in Brooklyn, where the two Poets voiced four tracks apiece and breathed fresh energy, fire and outrage into some of the most enduring landmarks of their career. Abiodun, who was one of the original Last Poets who'd gathered in East Harlem's Mount Morris Park to celebrate Malcolm X's birthday in May 1968, chose four poems that first appeared on the group's 1970 debut album, called simply The Last Poets. He'd written When The Revolution Comes aged twenty, whilst living in Jamaica, Queens. "We were getting ready for a revolution," he told Green. "There wasn't any question about whether there was going to be one or not. The truth was many of us still saw ourselves as "niggers" and slaves. This was a mindset that had to change if there was ever to be Black Power." He and writer Amiri Baraka were deep in conversation one day when Baraka became distracted by a pretty girl walking by. "You're a gash man," Abiodun told him. The poem inspired by that incident, Gash Man, is revisited on the new album, and exposes the heartless nature of sexual acts shorn of intimacy or affection. "Instead of the vagina being the entrance to heaven," he says, "it too often becomes a gash, an injury, a wound_" Two Little Boys meanwhile, was inspired after seeing two young boys aged around 11 or 12 "stuffing chicken and cornbread down their tasteless mouths, trying to revive shrinking lungs and a wasted mind." They'd walked into Sylvia's soul food restaurant in Harlem, ordered big meals, then bolted them down and run out the door. No one chased after them, knowing that they probably hadn't eaten in days. Fifty years later and children are still going hungry in major cities across America and elsewhere. Abiodun's poem hasn't lost any relevance at all, and neither has New York, New York, The Big Apple. "Although this was written in 1968, New York hasn't changed a bit," he admits, except "today, people just mistake her sickness for fashion." Umar is originally from Akron, Ohio, but had arrived in Harlem in early 1969 after seeing Abiodun and the other Last Poets at a Black Arts Festival in Cleveland. That's where he first witnessed what Amiri Baraka once called "the rhythmic animation of word, poem, image as word- music" - a creative force that redefined the concept of performance poetry and stripped it bare until it became a howl of rage, hurt and anger, saved from destruction by mockery and love for humanity. When Umar's father, who was a musician, was jailed for armed robbery he took to the streets from an early age where he shined shoes and raised whatever money he could to help feed his eight brothers and sisters. By the time he saw the Last Poets he'd joined the Black United Front and was ready to join the struggle. Once in Harlem, Abiodun asked him what he'd learnt in the few weeks since he'd got there. "Niggers are scared of revolution," Umar replied. "Write it down" urged Abiodun. That poem still gives off searing heat more than fifty years later. In Umar's own words, "it became a prayer, a call to arms, a spiritual pond to bathe and cleanse in because niggers are not just vile and disgusting and shiftless. Niggers are human beings lost in someone else's system of values and morals." And there you have it. It's not just race or religion that hold us back, but an economic system that keeps millions in poverty and living in fear - a system born from political choice and that's now become so entrenched, so bloated on its own success that it's put mankind in mortal danger. It was many black people's acceptance of the status quo that inspired Just Because, which like Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution, was included on that seminal first album. Along with their revolutionary rhetoric, it was the Last Poets' use of the "n word" that proved so shocking, but it would be wrong to suggest that they reclaimed it, since it never belonged to black people in the first place. There's never any hiding place when it comes to the Last Poets. They use words like weapons, and that force all who listen to decide who they are and where they stand. Umar's two remaining tracks find him revisiting poems first unleashed on the Poets' second album This Is Madness! Abiodun had left for North Carolina by then where he became more deeply enmeshed in revolutionary activities and spent almost four years in jail for armed robbery after attempting to seize funds related to the Klu Klux Klan. Meanwhile, the 21 year old Umar was squatting in Brooklyn and had developed close ties with the Dar-ul Islam Movement. A longing for purity and time-honoured spiritual values underpins Related to What, whilst This Is Madness is a call for freedom "by any means necessary," and that paints a feverish landscape peopled by prominent black leaders but that quickly descends into chaos. "All my dreams have been turned into psychedelic nightmares," he wails, over a groove now powered by Tony Allen's ferocious drumming. Those sessions lasted just two days, and we can only imagine the atmosphere in that room as the hip hop godfathers exchanged the conga drums of Harlem for the explosive sounds of authentic Afrobeat. Once they'd finished, the recordings and momentum returned to Prince Fatty's studio, since relocated from Brighton to SE London. This was stage three of the project, and who better to fill out the rhythm tracks than two key musicians from Seun Anikulapo Kuti's band Egypt 80? Enter guitarist Akinola Adio Oyebola and bassist Kunle Justice, who upon hearing Allen's trademark grooves exclaimed, "oh, the Father_ we are home!" Such joy and enthusiasm resulted in the perfect fusion of Nigerian Afrobeat and revolutionary poetry, but the vision for the album wasn't yet complete. He wanted to create a new kind of soundscape - one that reunited the Poets with the progressive jazz movement they'd once shared with musicians like Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders. It was at that point they recruited exciting jazz talents based in the UK like Joe Armon Jones from Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective, also widely acclaimed producer/remixer and keyboard player Kaidi Tatham, who's been likened to Herbie Hancock, and British jazz legend Courtney Pine, whose genius on the saxophone and influence on the UK's now vibrant jazz scene is beyond question. The instrumental tracks on Africanism are in many ways as revelatory and exciting as the Last Poets' own. It's important to remember that the kaleidoscope of styles and influences we're presented with here aren't the result of sampling but were played "live" by musicians responding to sounds made by other musicians. That's where the magic comes from, aided by Prince Fatty's peerless mixing which allows us to hear everything with such clarity. Music fans today have grown accustomed to listening to all kinds of different genres. Their tastes have never been so broad or all- encompassing, and so the music on this new Last Poets' album is as groundbreaking as their lyrics, and perfectly suited to the era that we're now living in. John Masouri

'Distorted Clamor', the latest full-length album from legendary Spanish ambient composer Suso Saiz. Marking his eighth release with our label, the album showcases Saiz at his spellbinding best, continuing a prolific creative phase in a career that spans over 40 years.

Building upon 'Resonant Bodies' and 'Nothing Is Objective', his most recent full length releases for Music From Memory, Saiz's dedication to experimentation and conceptual approach to sound lie at the centre of 'Distorted Clamor'.

Discussing his process and the concept behind the album, Saiz says: “Thousands of beings cry out for their lives, for the sustainability of their habitats, for their future. Their

clamouring together generates a distorted, deafening and incomprehensible noise. Trying to go deeper into that distortion and understand all the voices and discover the strength and beauty in all of them. This was the first image I had when I started composing Distorted Clamor. Can distortion and all those sounds (clicks, clips, ticks, tocs, pluks, crashes) that we normally discard, generate beauty? This question has also accompanied the entire whole project.”

The transit of sound through various materials is also central to the work, with Saiz using water, wood, and metals as filters and sound-transforming pedals. The album was created without the use of synthesizers, relying entirely on acoustic sounds that were transformed in an unnatural way to achieve something completely new.

Spanning eleven compositions, Saiz's mastery of timbre and ability to paint layers of sound with the subtlest of touches stand out unmistakably to the listener. As always, his radiant drones are a nest of hidden feelings; they glisten with complex emotions and textures, teasing out moods of vulnerability and hope.

Sleeve art and design by Michael Willis.

Finally, back on vinyl after 20 years! Skunk Anansie’s seminal 3rd studio album Post Orgasmic Chill was released in 1999 when the band were at the height of their powers - the tour around this album saw the band headline Glastonbury. The album includes classics such as Secretly, Charlie Big Potato and You’ll Follow Me Down.
Gatefold sleeve with printed inner bag.

Ever wish you could travel back in time and be in the thick of the 1960s rock explosion? Well, until an actual TARDIS is perfected, this album is the next best thing. Recorded in the wee hours of May 26, 1966, A Session with the Remains is a no-holds barred romp through their club set, captured live-to-tape in Capitol Records' studios. Recorded as an audition for the label, the albums seethes and snarls, twists and shouts, rocks and rolls and generally embodies the force of nature that was the Remains. Performing a mix of originals and current hits, the band is in command at every step, rocking one minute and pausing to kibitz between songs the next.

In attempting to describe this album, reviewers have used words like "blazing," "explosive," "delirious" -- but honestly, none of these descriptions comes close to what is contained in the grooves. It's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock & roll, ya know? All you really need to do is listen. After all, one guitar lick is worth a thousand words.

This BLAZING, EXPLOSIVE, DELIRIOUS album was painstakingly sourced from the one-and-only original two-track analog mono master tape and wrestled onto high-quality vinyl and compact disc for your review. I'd like to thank you on behalf of the group and Sundazed for listening and I hope they pass YOUR audition!

"A religious totem of all that was manic and marvelous about mid-'60s pop." - Rolling Stone

"Blazing through a mix of originals and covers, the Remains explode in a torrent melody, searing guitar leads and furious drumming. This quartet's ability to play with such delirious abandon yet still nail the tunes' sharp hooks and abundant vocal harmonies marks it as one of rock's more talented and incendiary units. - Chicago Tribune -

Classic free jazz album reissued for the first time since the 70s. Old-style gatefold sleeve LP, with liner notes by Ed Hazell.

Noah Howard, an alto saxophonist and composer, was known for weaving intricate and innovative musical patterns, often likening his work to "sound paintings." His 1971 album Patterns, the first LP he self-produced on his Altsax label, stands as a testament to his experimental and spiritual approach to music. In interviews, Howard frequently used visual terms like "patterns" and "shapes" to describe his compositions, emphasizing the importance of melody and structure even in highly improvisational settings. For Howard, patterns and melodies were essential to guiding listeners through his explorations without alienating them, maintaining a balance between innovation and accessibility. Howard's quest for an original sound was deeply influenced by jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, and Jackie McLean. While he admired these legends, Howard avoided imitation, striving instead to develop his own distinct voice. His sound was unmistakably his own, and he felt a deep obligation to carry the jazz tradition forward through personal expression, not by mimicking others. His music was also rooted in spirituality, a legacy he traced to his upbringing in the Black Baptist Church. He believed jazz had always contained a spiritual essence, from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane, and his work aimed to channel this cosmic, spiritual energy.

Patterns was recorded in the Netherlands during Howard's second stint in Europe, where he found a more open, less racially charged environment compared to the U.S. For the album, Howard collaborated with Dutch musicians such as Misha Mengelberg (piano), Han Bennink (drums), and Earl Freeman (bass). Despite the challenges faced by guitarist Jaap Schoonhoven, who felt out of place in the session, the album came together as a powerful mix of blues, jazz, and classical elements.

The music on Patterns is a high-energy fusion of American free jazz and Dutch improvisation. Howard's saxophone work alternates between leading with passionate, lyrical lines and blending into the collective improvisation. The album’s dynamic interplay, particularly between Mengelberg’s dissonant piano clusters and Bennink’s thunderous drumming, creates a vivid "sound painting" full of contrasting forms and colors. Patterns remains one of Howard’s most unique and celebrated recordings, showcasing his visionary approach to jazz.

McGraw is an artist that can spin a tale with only his soulful voice against a canvas of music. He starts his fourth record by painting a vivid picture of a simple, loving country life with "Where the Green Grass Grows," which gives the listener the same desire to live in that perfect place where less is so much more. The impassioned duet "It's Your Love" with wife Faith Hill will be one of country music's most requested love songs. Even in this day of the rehashed country sound, McGraw's haunting vocals boost the music.