„SUMMER 1987 - DATA BITS RACING THROUGH YOUR PROCESSOR. BREAKING INTO THE CYBER WORLD AND TURNING THE WORLD UP SIDE DOWN. THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL ERA HAS JUST BEGUN AND ITS CORE BRAIN EXPANDZ A HACKING COMMUNITY THAT CHANGES THE C64 WORLD. THE SOFT PIONEER, A LIL TEENAGE HACKING DUDE BLOWS UP THE COMPLETE SCENE BY USING THEIR OWN HACKING WEAPONS AND POINTING THEM AGAINST THEMSELVES. THE RESULT IS AN ANGRY FREAKED OUT CONSPIRACY TO KILL THE SOFT PIONEER. THE HUNT HAS JUST STARTED...“
2025 REPRESS ON TRANSPARENT GREEN VINYL
Compiled by Philip King “And then came the rise of synth pop : blokes with dodgy haircuts hunched over keyboard-operated machines stuffed with wires and do-it-yourself tone oscillators making sounds like a brood of geese passing gas in a wind tunnel. Whoopee! This is the way the ‘70s ended : not with a blood-curdling bang bang but with a cheap, synthesized, emasculating whimper.” NICK KENT, NME. All The Young Droids: Junkshop Synth Pop 1978-1985 is a new compilation that charts the underbelly of the epoch-defining sound of the synthesiser in 80s popular music. Compiled by Philip King (previously seen compiling All The Young Droogs, Glitterbest and Boobs - The Junkshop Glam Discotheque), the music here connects the dots between DIY synth enthusiasts grappling with new, cheap synthesisers at the tail-end of punk and wannabe, jobbing songwriters enthral to the new music pioneered by Gary Numan, Depeche Mode and Daniel Miller’s Mute Records. Featuring rare tracks of auto-didactic progressive pop music, proto-techno punk, shoot-for-the-stars-land-in-the-gutter chart flops and heralded, underground synth classics, School Daze paints a picture of beautiful failure. Complete with extensive sleeve notes written by King and never before seen imagery, all 24 tracks were remastered by RPM in-house engineer Simon Murphy, many from vinyl copies due to lost master tapes. The story told on All The Young Droids is one of the dawning opportunity presented by both the emergence to the market of cheaper analog synthesisers and the distribution networks plus indie labels that exploded with the advent of punk music in 1976. While the music that sprouted out all over the globe in the wake of these factors was decried as fake, plastic, a refutation of punk’s guitar-led revolution, it’s telling that much of the music on All The Young Droids.. was created in bedrooms, ramshackle studios and home-made set ups with often borrowed equipment. In the era of record labels jumping to capitalise on the success of The Sex Pistols, The Clash (both on major labels, of course) these artists struggled to stand out from a new gold-rush with next to no budget or PR team. With radio and labels desperate for the new Yazoo, what resulted was a testament to necessity being the mother of invention. At the time, the synthesiser was the music of the future, a shiny new machine that could paint like an orchestra with a single finger and a 4-track. In the hands of Manchester avant-pranksters Gerry & The Holograms it’s a pulsing, sardonic weapon.. the only instrument on the Messthetics classic lampooning of New Wave fashion. In Hamburg, a 16 year old Andreas Dorau used it to write and record (with his female classmates on vocals) a global smash in Fred Vom Jupiter (later licensed to Mute Records). The hard-to-find English version (Fred From Jupiter, natch) is included here. Many artists with alreadystoried careers caught the bug and recorded synthesiser-fuelled peons to space, computers, the future and, of course, love-interests. Harry Kakoulli, late of Squeeze, recorded a solo album in 1979 that included the incredible power-synth-pop smash-that-never-smashed I’m On A Rocket. Similarly, Ian North of Neo and American Power Pop stalwarts Milk ’n’ Cookies bought a Korg MS20 and used a tape machine to record We’re Not Lonely, an absolute lost-classic of minimal synth pop. We’re Not Lonely also features on the Junkshop Synth Pop sampler 7” twinned with John Howard unreleased track You Will See, released April 12th 2025. There are plenty of compilation debuts in evidence. Sole Sister were a mysterious trio who were featured on the Scaling Triangles compilation of female-fronted, queer-adjacent post-punk / underground music that also featured The Petticoats. Selwin Image were from San Francisco and featured members of the recently defunct power pop/punk group The Pushups. Their stupidly catchy The Unknown fizzes with New Wave energy - think XTC to Sparks but remains unreleased until now. Dream Unit’s A Drop In The Ocean is an early synth wave cut, positively teaming with Joy Division instrumentation, previously only released on a long-forgotten and super rare, self-released EP. Incandescent Luminaire’s Famous Names belies an archetypal struggle of a small-town trying to make it in a cruel industry but is a thrilling New Romantic-Synth Wave cross over with a OMD gloominess that’s a joy to hear. Feminist Minimal Wave track I Am A Time Bomb by performance artist Peta Lilly and Michael Chance is a revelation destined for new found cult status. It was released on 7” and lost until now. The flipside to the subterranean, never-made-it synth pop mentioned above are the ambitious, even fruity attempts at success that have a perennial elegance to their confidence. New Jersey-ite Billy London (real name Ed Barth) tried to cash in on the synth boom with Woman, released by a major label, a lurching new wave track built on the Louie Louie rhythm and a wonderfully camp Lou Reedstyle sleazy vocal before exploding in the synthesised chorus. The song bombed but with a chorus like this, you have to wonder why? Ex-Glitter Band member John Springate’s My Life is truly epic, with doomed chord progressions and massive sounding drums turning into at least 3 different songs in the course of the track. Before you wonder what’s going on the song resolves with a glorious return to the main refrain. The dry-ice-dressed dance floor is well catered for too. Design’s Premonition and Vision’s Lucifer’s Friend are stone-cold minimal synth bangers, well loved but given a new lease of life here. The Warlord’s The Ultimate Warlord was released in 1978, a homespun proto Hi NRG banger that was later re-recorded by The Immortals in Canada who had a club hit with it. One-man- band Disco Volante’s No Motion was re-issued by Synth wave label Medical in 2012 but makes its first vinyl compilation appearance here. Close your eyes and you can imagine what Lawrence of Felt would have sounded like with some cheap Korgs a little earlier in his career. Gibraltar-based trio The Microbes imagined a computer programming people to dance - how prescient - and ended up with a propulsive, robo-funk track with splendid rubbery bass playing over a tectonic drum machine. Previously picked up by Belgian label Stroom TV, Dee Jay Bert & Eagle’s heavily Euro-accented I Am Your Master demands the listener to “come to paradise!” In a frankly terrifying manner. All The Young Droids is the first compilation to peel away from the narrative that dour, Minimal Synth and Cold Wave were the only musical children of the first rush of synth pop. Philip King and School Daze Records describe a much more complicated world: along with the austere, Brutalist children of Daniel Miller (who produced Alan Burnham’s Bowie-Low-influenced Science Fiction here) was a plethora of desperate cash-ins, accidental mainstream hits, ambitious pop dramas and major label punts that went nowhere. Crucially, the compilation blurs the line between junk and treasure. What if the two things are interchangeable. What if it’s all science fiction?
GEMiNii Records proudly announces its latest release, featuring three exceptional artists who redefine the boundaries of deep-minimal production.
Bauch & Niimm deliver an iconic track, "Paradisiac," that transports listeners into a realm of celestial pads and captivating basslines. This deep-minimal masterpiece is adorned with delicate piano touches, creating an auditory experience that truly feels like the gates of paradise opening before you.
Renowned for his expertise in break-microhouse, Rumenian Maestro CEZAR LAZAR elevates "Paradisiac" to new heights with his unique remix. Infusing the track with echoes of ethereal voices and synths that transcend human knowledge, Lazar’s remix adds a layer of complexity and intrigue, making it a must-listen for discerning ears.
Don’t just sleep on this release but let it inspire your dreams.
translucent red vinyl[27,69 €]
REPRESS ALERT!: Dub techno dons Lempuyang are back with the first double LP from the revered JS Zeiter, an assured artist whose early 12"s merged Chain Reaction's energy with deepchord's immersive depth and made him a modern-day great. Since then, he has spent years refining his craft into a consistently exceptional and sought-after sound across various aliases. Context Collapse marks a significant new chapter with eight expertly designed sounds that offer dub for all occasions, from those zoned out early mornings after a long night at it to more airy and uplifting dreamers like 'Interplay' via cosy, cuddly and introspective gems such as the smooth and seductive 'Open'. JS Zeiter is a true craftsman, as this double pack shows once more
Lemon Vinyl. Black Screen Records and Kaizen Game Works have once again teamed up for the vinyl repress of About That_ Paradise Killer B-Sides, the follow-up release to Barry "Epoch" Topping's vibrant funky city pop/vaporwave soundtrack to the open world adventure game Paradise Killer, which has proven to be a true essential release for itself. The record is featuring three new songs, vocal tracks, instrumental versions, remixes and piano arrangements along with a number of amazing guests, which are Fiona Lynch, Kyle Murray-Dickson, Fabian Hernandez, Ged Cartwright, Thomas Temple, MEEBEE and Okumura. Now available on lemon coloured vinyl with gorgeous cover art by José Salot. The sounds of Paradise. The music of a cosmic dream. Tunes from another reality. The tempo of the crime to end all crimes. The beat of long dead alien gods. The playlist of the investigation freak. Let the music take you away to Paradise. Feel the sun scorching your skin. Smell unbearably hot concrete. Savour the sweet taste of crime committed on a tropical island in another reality. Remember when we danced along the beach? Along the streets of Paradise? You made me this mix tape on the roof of your apartment block. We stared at the moon. You said you'd kill the moon. I didn't believe you. I was wrong.
e 5TO THE HEART [VOCAL VERSION]
[f] 6HOUSE OF BLISS [VOCAL VERSION]
[h] 8LEAVING [PIANO ARR.]
[i] 9LADY BLUE [MEEBEE & OKUMURA. REMIX]
[k] 11ABOUT THAT... [INSTRUMENTAL]
[l] 12PARADISE (STAY FOREVER) [INSTRUMENTAL]
[e] 5TO THE HEART [VOCAL VERSION]
[f] 6HOUSE OF BLISS [VOCAL VERSION]
[h] 8LEAVING [PIANO ARR.]
[i] 9LADY BLUE [MEEBEE & OKUMURA. REMIX]
[k] 11ABOUT THAT... [INSTRUMENTAL]
[l] 12PARADISE (STAY FOREVER) [INSTRUMENTAL]
Picture disc, artwork by C. Bedford Black Screen Records and Kaizen Game Works have teamed up for two new vinyl editions of Barry "Epoch" Topping's vibrant funky city pop/vaporwave soundtrack to the open world adventure game Paradise Killer. Topping's incredible soundtrack will be available on brand new picture discs as well as rosé & crystal clear with white marbled vinyl. The LPs are housed in a gatefold sleeve with beautiful 80s anime- & city pop-inspired artwork by Mizucat - additional art and layout by Kaizen Game Works, Barry Topping and Dane Baudoin. The picture disc artwork was crafted by C. Bedford as well as the one for the included folded A2 Crimson Acid poster. The sounds of Paradise. The music of a cosmic dream. Tunes from another reality. The tempo of the crime to end all crimes. The beat of long dead alien gods. The playlist of the investigation freak. Let the music take you away to Paradise. Feel the sun scorching your skin. Smell unbearably hot concrete. Savour the sweet taste of crime committed on a tropical island in another reality. Remember when we danced along the beach? Along the streets of Paradise? You made me this mix tape on the roof of your apartment block. We stared at the moon. You said you'd kill the moon. I didn't believe you. I was wrong.
Whether you’re cheering for Montreal or Boston, Hollanov always comes out on top. Relive every beat of Shane and Ilya’s yearslong rivalry--turned--romance with the official Heated Rivalry soundtrack on vinyl, featuring a curated selection of needle--d-rops from the series by Wolf Parade, Feist, t.A.T.u, Harrison and more, alongside selections from Peter Peter’s pulse-pounding, heart-m-elting original score, from the Vegas penthouse all the way to the cottage.
Pressed on two striking block-c-olored discs (Montreal Metros Blue/Red and Boston Raiders Black/Yellow), the deluxe gatefold edition includes printed sleeves, two trading cards, a fold-out poster, and liner notes by show creator Jacob Tierney.
“An extremely dynamic and creative release — Roadhouse combines acoustic and electronic music with a strong balance to invoke the complexity and confusion of a growing planet earth.” - Delroy Edwards, 2021
“‘Supernatural XS' is more bombastic (than its predacessor, ‘Aladdin Sales’). Imagine if French prog-dogs Heldon grew up on a diet of Hip Hop and high fructose corn syrup, or a mid-point between early Blues Control and Foodman's blissful mutations of Footwork. This Southern Indiana self-identified producer shows no particular allegiance to any lineage and evokes a couple they potentially aren't even privy to. Like Footwork, this music feels new and unique without outwardly attempting to break new ground, or inheriting any technological innovation. While I’m stoked on new music every single goddamn day, Roadhouse makes me particularly excited for the future of creativity, even if the odds are against it. Contemporary "Fusion" at it's best!. Very, very recommended!” - Repressed Records
Summer of 2025, the UK techno community was shocked to hear of the sudden and untimely passing of one of its leading lights, James Baker, better known as ReKaB. As his light had been glowing ever brighter in recent years, with forays across the deep end of the techno spectrum, his passing was even more tragic. He had certainly found his voice, a particularly emotive, soul-tinged strain of techno building on the foundations of the 90s bastions of the form. Though bittersweet, Distant Worlds is immensely proud to present this release showcasing his personal evolution and mastery of the sound both he and the label love so much.
‘Art 4 Me’ opens with a transcendent chord progression, gradually incorporating brain piercing synth-work and chunky percussion before opening out into a perfect intersection of melancholy and euphoria. ‘Trapped In Boxes’ opts for a more introspective take on the classic techno template incorporating a Detroit palette of sound atop punchy bassline and beats.
Flip over for UK techno royalty Nuron’s take on ‘Art 4 Me’, a characteristically apposite reimagining. Teasing layers of inverted synth and percussive elements until a beautiful breakdown finally delivers that majestic chord progression. ‘Our World’ closes out this fantastic release with pure elegance; beats skitter, Detroit strings soar and cosmic pads align in timeless fashion. These are 4 tracks of deep, electro-soul music helping cement the legacy of one of the truest practitioners of the form over the last decade.
After spending much of the last years focusing on the evolution of his own instrument, the drummophone, the release of ZERO,999… reveals a new paradigm in La Foresta's work and career.
In this album he collects fragments of live performances and site-specific installations conducted over the last decade, with and without the drummophone — reimagining and repurposing them as compositional elements that he has interwoven with recent studio recordings and collaborations to form eleven viscerally powerful pieces of overwhelming rhythmic and textural density.
La Foresta weaves together these captured moments in time, while employing combinatory strategies inspired by Italo Calvino's tarot stories in "Il castello dei destini incrociati," forging relationships and connections between recordings from the collaborators and his own. In approaching accompanying and augmenting these recordings, Riccardo, in the role of percussionist and composer explores the tension between his personal and academic focus on rhythmic structures and his fascination with repurposing the drum as a durational instrument.
Contributions from collaborators include the synthetic textures of Valerio Tricoli, Anthony Pateras, Aleksandra Słiż, and Renato Grieco, the vocalizations of Antonina Nowacka and Sara Persico, and the guitar experimentations of Ale Hop and Stefano Pilia, bringing together a distributed ensemble of musicians pulling apart the orthodoxies of their own instruments and techniques. Through the interaction of these elements, La Foresta imagines a causal network that binds, integrates and informs fragmented contexts, performers and performances, exploiting new possibilities of the drummophone.
ZERO,999… is conceived as a suite where sound and time are communicated simultaneously at different orders of scale, a single strike of a drum is a drone if slowed down one thousand times, an hour-long drone is a brief tick in the clock of geological time. A seemingly static object, such as the number 1, can both be defined by its fixedness, and as a process in which eternally approaching (0,999...) is the same as arriving.
k 11: EyeContact (Nereo`s) feat. Stefano Pilia
For years & years & years, I have been trying to get some solo music from Champa B on Future Retro London! This release has gone through so many different forms & iterations to try and accommodate getting him onto a release in some form & it's now finally here as a collaborative release with me.
I'm a huge huge fan of Champa B's tunes, especially his 93 darkside hardcore style that he previously done on releases for Modified Magic, Parallax Recordings & Green Bay Wax. I wanted so desperately to have him do some more music in that vein, but he was busy making other styles of music under his Grief alias as well as being busy with his day job to not really have the time for it.
But eventually, he was able to make some time for getting back into this style & we were able to do 2 collaborations and a solo tune each to get this done. Big thanks to him for his involvement in this release, hopefully not the last you'll see of his darker side!
Vinyl[21,64 €]
The definition of the word 'fado' is technically 'fate', though the Portuguese meaning bound up with this term is more complex. The music itself can be fairly closely compared with that of Greek rebetika - also the American blues or the original working-class tango music of Argentina and Uruguay - and similarly takes it's common subject matter from the various cruel realities of the world. Though perhaps what distinguishes fado in character is it's often poised acceptance of the pains of life rather than protestation or resistance - as writer Paul Vernon says "It speaks with a quiet dignity born of the realisation that any mortal desire or plan is at risk of destruction by powers beyond individual control"
Death Is Not The End compile here a spine-tingling collection of fado recordings, taken from records issued in the mid 1910s through to the 1930s. The fado's Lisbon and Coimbra variants are presented here by some of the music's earliest recorded stars - spanning a time period leading up to the emergence of the fado's all-conquering star, Amália Rodrigues.
Megadeth have announced their final, self titled album, for release in 2026, via Dave Mustaine’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label. The campaign is anchored by the first single “Tipping Point”, multiple variants and exclusives and and a farewell tour has been hinted for 2026 “There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional,” DAVE MUSTAINE says. “Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. I have traveled the world and have made millions upon millions of fans and the hardest part of all of this is saying goodbye to them. We can't wait for you to hear this album and see us on tour. If there was ever a perfect time for us to put out a new album, it's now."
a 1Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) Phase Remix
b 2Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) Submotive Remix
d 4Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) Special Request Remix
a 1Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) Phase Remix
b 2Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) Submotive Remix
d 4Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) Special Request Remix
a 1Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) Phase Remix
b 2Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] 1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] 2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] 4 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] A1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] A2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] B2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] A1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] A2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] B2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] A1 Goldikus (Feat. Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] A2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[d] B2 Still the Same (Feat. CASISDEAD) [Special Request Remix]
[a] A1 | Goldikus (Feat Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] A2 | Still the Same (Feat CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[Special Request Remix]
[a] A1 | Goldikus (Feat Cleveland Watkiss) [Phase Remix]
[b] A2 | Still the Same (Feat CASISDEAD) [Submotive Remix]
[Special Request Remix]
2026 Repress
The clergy is pleased to introduce you to a new initiate: Birds ov Paradise. This highly anticipated Hypnus debut comes split into three separate EP's which will be released one each full moon starting October.
Some of you may be acquainted with the music of Birds ov Paradise already as he's put out two stellar records on Jens and Aniara Recordings in 2016-2017, as well as making a contribution to our podcast series The Memoir where his sound was put on a grand display. Those of you who are new to the fantastic dream world of this very talented artist will quickly get lost in the flowing rhythms that drives his magical deep techno sound.
Early support from Etapp Kyle, Ness, Slam, Iori, Refracted, Svreca, Cio D'Or and Dorisburg to name a few.
We hope that you enjoy the trip into the Bayou.
2026 repress
The clergy is pleased to introduce you to a new initiate: Birds ov Paradise. This highly anticipated Hypnus debut comes split into three separate EP's which will be released one each full moon starting October.
Some of you may be acquainted with the music of Birds ov Paradise already as he's put out two stellar records on Jens and Aniara Recordings in 2016-2017, as well as making a contribution to our podcast series The Memoir where his sound was put on a grand display. Those of you who are new to the fantastic dream world of this very talented artist will quickly get lost in the flowing rhythms that drives his magical deep techno sound.
Early support from Etapp Kyle, Ness, Slam, Iori, Refracted, Svreca, Cio D'Or and Dorisburg to name a few.
Everyone knows the story of American disco.
But few are aware that, between the late 1960s and the late 1980s, Italy wrote a parallel one — spontaneous, surprising, and incredibly creative.
It is a story that spans two distinct seasons: the Italian disco of the 1970s — melodic, handmade, sometimes naïve yet always original — and the emerging Italo Disco of the 1980s, electronic, futuristic, and lightheartedly projected toward the future.
Two different languages, yet both driven by the same desire for freedom and modernity. Discoteca Sound — Italian Discoteca Underground 1975–1986 brings together 18 rare tracks — including two previously unreleased — that tell this story of transition: from the orchestral and sentimental disco of Italian dance halls to the synthetic and visionary sound of the first drum machines.
A journey through private archives, local labels, regional studios, and forgotten voices — the sonic map of a country that has always danced, but to its own rhythm. From Mediterranean disco to the first Italo Disco, from the dim lights of provincial dance halls to the early home synthesizers, each track opens a window onto an Italy that dreamed of the dance floor as a universal language of connection during the brief season of revolutionary utopias.
This compilation celebrates ten years of work by Disco Segreta — a decade dedicated to the research, recovery, and appreciation of Italian disco and electronic culture. An act of justice owed to all those artists who had their moment yet were never remembered by history — bringing back to light an essential, still too little known part of our musical heritage.
Because dancing today remains, more than ever, a living act of memory.
Limited edition 2LP, features 2 previously unreleased tracks and a new 2025 version of Coscarella & Polimeno – Station to Station.
f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased
f Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) Previously Unreleased
f B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) Previously Unreleased
q D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]
[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]
[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]
[f] B2. Grazia Vitale – Poi (1975) [Previously Unreleased]
[q] D4. Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble – Vivo Solo Con Te (1982) [Previously Unreleased]
The Éthiopiques series returns! Essential archive recordings from an extremely fruitful period in Ethiopian music.
Before “Swinging Addis” took over the world, there was Moussié Nerses Nalbandian — the Armenian-born composer who shaped modern Ethiopian music. Mentor, arranger, and pioneer, he laid the foundations of Ethio-jazz.
This Éthiopiques volume revives his forgotten legacy, recorded live by Either/ Orchestra First issue ever with new exclusive photos and in depth liner 8-page insert.
“Ethiopian jazzmen are the best musicians that we have seen so far in Africa.
They really are promising handlers of jazz instruments.”
Wilbur De Paris
(1959, after a concert in Addis Ababa)
አዲስ፡ዘመን። *Addis zèmèn* **A new era.**
The time is the mid-1950s and early 1960s, just before "Swinging Addis" bloomed – or rather boomed – onto the scene. Brass instruments are still dominant, but the advent of the electric guitar, and the very first electronic organs, are just around the corner. Rock’n'Roll, R’n’B, Soul and the Twist have not yet barged their way in. Addis Ababa is steeped in the big band atmosphere of the post-war era, with Glenn Miller's *In the* *Mood* as its world-wide theme song, neck and neck with the Latin craze that was in vogue at the same period. Life has become enjoyable once again, with the return of peace after the terrible Italian Fascist invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1941). The redeployment of modern music is part and parcel of the postwar reconstruction. *Addis zèmèn* – a new era – is the watchword of the postwar period, just as it was all across war-torn Europe.
The generation who were the young parents of baby boomers** were the first to enjoy this musical renaissance, before the baby boomers themselves took over and forever super-charged the soundtrack of the final days of imperial reign. Music is Ethiopia's most popular art form, and very often serves as the best barometer for the upsurge of energy that is critical for reconstruction. Whether it be jazz in Saint-Germain-des-Prés or the *zazous* who revolutionised both jazz and French *chanson* after the *Libération*, be it Madrid's post-Franco Movida, or Dada, the Surrealists and *les années folles* that followed World War I, the periods just after mourning and hardship always give rise to brighter and more tuneful tomorrows. Addis Ababa, as the country's capital, and the epicentre of change, was no exception to this vital rule.
**Two generations of Nalbandian musicians**
Nersès Nalbandian belonged to a family of Armenian exiles, who had moved to Ethiopia in the mid-1920s. The uncle Kevork arrived along with the fabled "*Arba Lidjotch*", the** "*40 Kids*", young Armenian orphans and musicians that the Ras Tafari had recruited when he visited Jerusalem in 1924, intending to turn their brass band into the official imperial band. If Kevork Nalbandian was the one who first opened the way of modernism, pushing innovation so far as to invent musical theatre, it was his nephew Nersès who would go on to become, from the 1940s and until his death in 1977, a pivotal figure of modern Ethiopian music and of the heights it. Going all the way back to the 1950s. Nothing less. And it is Nersès who is largely to thank for the brassy colours that so greatly contributed to the international renown of Ethiopian groove. While the younger generations today venture timidly into the genealogy of their country's modern music, often losing their way amidst a distinctly xenophobic historiographical complacency, many survivors of the imperial period are still around to bear witness and pay tribute to the essential role that "Moussié Nersès" played in the rise of Abyssinia's musical modernity.
Given the year of his birth (15 March 1915), no one knows for sure if Nersès Nalbandian was born in Aintab, today Gaziantep (Turkiye/former Ottoman Empire) or on the other side of the border in Alep, Syria... What is certain is that his family, like the entire Armenian community, was amongst the victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Turks. Alep, the place of safety – today in ruins.
Before Nersès then, there was uncle Kevork (1887-1963). For a quarter of a century, he was a whirlwind of activity in music teaching and theatrical innovation. *Guèbrè Mariam le Gondaré* (የጎንደሬ ገብረ ማርያም አጥቶ ማግኘት, 1926 EC=1934) is his most famous creation. This play included "ten Ethiopian songs" — a totally innovative approach. According to his autobiographical notes, preserved by the Nalbandian family, Kevork indicates that he composed some 50 such pieces over the course of his career. This shows just how much he understood, very early on, the critical importance of song as Ethiopia's crowning artistic form. Indeed, for Ethiopian listeners, the most important thing is the lyrics, with all their multifarious mischief, far more than a strong melody, sophisticated arrangements or even an exceptional voice. (This is also why Ethiopians by and large, and beginning with the artists and producers themselves, believed for a long time — and wrongly — that their music could not possibly be exported, and could never win over audiences abroad, who did not speak the country's languages).
Last but not least, one of Kevork's major contributions remains composing Ethiopia's first national anthem – with lyrics by Yoftahé Negussié.
Nersès Nalbandian moved to Ethiopia at the end of the 1930s, at the behest of his ground-breaking uncle. Proficient in many instruments (pretty much everything but the drums), conductor, choir director, composer, arranger, adapter, creator, piano tuner, purveyor of rented pianos,... he was above all an energetic and influential teacher. From 1946 onwards, thanks to Kevork's connexion, Nersès was appointed musical director of the Addis Ababa Municipality Band. In just a few years, Nersès transformed it into the first truly modern ensemble, thanks to the quality of his teaching, his choice of repertoire, and the sophistication of his arrangements. It was this group that would go on to become the orchestra of the Haile Selassie Theatre shortly after its inauguration in 1955, which was a major celebration of the Emperor's jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his on-again-off-again reign.
At some point or other in his long career, Nersès Nalbandian had a hand in the creation of just about every institutional band (Municipality Band, Police Orchestra, Imperial Bodyguard Band, Army Band, Yared Music School…), but it was with the Haile Selassie Theatre – today the National Theatre – that his abilities were most on display, up until his death in 1977. To this must be added the development of choral singing in Ethiopia, hitherto unknown, and a sort of secret garden dedicated to the memory of Armenian sacred music, and brought together in two thick, unpublished volumes. Shortly before his death (November 13, 1977), he was appointed to lead the impressive Ethiopian delegation at Festac in Lagos, Nigeria (January-February 1977).
His status as a stateless foreigner regularly excluded him from the most senior positions, in spite of the respect he commanded (and commands to this day) from the musicians of his era. Naturally gifted and largely self-taught, Nerses was tirelessly curious about new musical developments, drawing inspiration from the very first imported records, and especially from listening intensely to the musical programmes broadcast over short-wave radio – BBC *First*. A prolific composer and arranger, he was constantly mindful of formalising and integrating Ethiopian parameters (specific “musical modes”, pentatonic scale, and the dominance of ternary rhythms) into his “modernisation” of the musical culture, rather than trying to over-westernise it. It even seems very probable that *Moussié* Nerses made a decisive contribution to the development of tighter music-teaching methods, in order to revitalise musical education during this period of prodigious cultural ferment. Flying in the face of all the historiographical and musicological evidence, it is taken as sacrosanct dogma that the four musical modes or chords officially recognised today, the *qǝñǝt* or *qiñit* (ቅኝት), are every bit as millennial as Ethiopia itself. It would appear however that some streamlining of these chords actually took place in around 1960. It was only from this time onward that music teaching was structured around these four fundamental musical modes and chords: *Ambassel*, *Bati*, *Tezeta* and *Antchi Hoyé*. A historical and musical “details” that is, apparently, difficult to swallow, especially if that should honour a *foreigner*. Modern Ethiopian music has Nersès to thank for many of its standards and, to this day, it is not unusual for the National Radio to broadcast thunderous oldies that bear unmistakable traces of his outrageously groovy touch.
