Suche:peel

First album by this duo, known separately for their work in Mouse on Mars
and Gastr del Sol.
 Two long-form pieces, utterly different from one another: one hyper-detailed
electronic music and sound poetry, and the other live-in-the-studio electric
guitar and laptop paint-peeling.
 The exciting first chapter in a long-anticipated collaboration
 David Grubbs and Jan St. Werner met in the mid-1990s when Grubbs was
playing with Gastr del Sol and The Red Krayola and St. Werner in Mouse on
Mars and Microstoria. After years of exchanging ideas, ‘Translation from
Unspecified’ marks their first time locking horns as a duo, and it’s clear this
deck-clearing collaboration was long overdue.
 In January 2020 Grubbs arrived at Mouse on Mars’ Berlin studio Paraverse
with a guitar and ‘Translation from Unspecified’, an open-ended, seemingly
self-generating poem suggesting AI, one of the themes in St. Werner’s recent
work. This became the side-length title track, a winding corridor of electronic
fanfares and spontaneous musical miniatures urging Grubbs’s slow and
steady recitation to grow wings and graduate into song.
 Who knows where this idiosyncratic mise-en-scène - day-glo, extrovert
electronics and task-oriented human - came from? Reference points - distant
ones - might include Robert Ashley and Paul De Marinis’s ‘In Sara, Mencken,
Christ and Beethoven...’ and the sound poetry of Anton Bruhin.
 Flip the record and you have ‘Soixante Ooze’, a live-in-the-studio duo for
guitar and computer more recognizably St. Wernerian and Grubbs-like that
reconfigures elements of the title track before finally morphing into needlepinning monoliths of sound.
 David Grubbs has released fourteen solo albums and appeared on more
than 200 releases. He was a member of the groups Gastr del Sol, Bastro,
and Squirrel Bait and has performed with Tony Conrad, Pauline Oliveros,
Luc Ferrari, Will Oldham, Loren Connors, the Red Krayola, Royal Trux, and
many others. His newest book is ‘Good night the pleasure was ours’ (Duke
University Press, 2022).
 Jan St. Werner is an artist and electronic music composer best known as
one half of the group Mouse on Mars. He has collaborated with Oval’s
Markus Popp as Microstoria and written music for installations and films by
visual artist Rosa Barba. In 2013, St. Werner released ‘Blaze Colour Burn’,
the first of a series of experimental recordings called ‘the Fiepblatter
Catalogue’. Recently his work has prioritized installation and interventions
with spatialized sound, including a number of collaborations under the name
Dynamische Akustische Forschung (DAF).

Cocteau Twins, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Julia Holter, DIIV, Washed Out, Broadcast, Insides, Beach House, Drug Store Romeos. Introducing Beneather, a BAFTA-nominated composer from North London obsessively crafting sad, lo-fi, cinematic, ambient scandi-dreampop submerged in gently fuzzy tape loops. Much like the paintings of Gerhard Richter or a heavy mist rolling through a familiar landscape, the debut long player from Beneather obscures and blurs ten beautiful tracks beneath washes of cinematic, ambient scandi-dreampop – details emerge and fade, voices ooze and flow, tunes soothe and unnerve, metronomic beats click and swing. It would not be out of place on a David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. Inspired by the likes of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Hammock, Grouper, Low, GAS, Huerco S., Emeralds, Jenny Holzer, William Basinski & ABBA!! Beneather is the solo project of Lewis Young - composer and collaborator in The Leaf Library, drone pop from north London. As a composer, Lewis recently scored the British short ‘Lucky Break’ which found its way into the BAFTAs short list only to narrowly miss out on the gong. Lewis is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, designer and filmmaker currently living in Walthamstow, London. He started as a guitarist in noughties math-rockers Tea with the Queen, shifting to bass for multi-harmonied Naomi Hates Humans before returning to thumping roots as drummer for The Leaf Library. Objects Forever - the imprint label created by The Leaf Library - has provided Lewis with the vehicle to jump back into experimental song craft, inspiring the genesis of Beneather. “I just needed to make a project which spoke to all the aspects of music I’ve loved creating as a multi-instrumentalist. Plugging things into things to make satisfying little electronic loops, then layering extremely minimal bass and guitar lines with a lo-fi aesthetic. Melinda and I spent a few days in the studio - picking out objects, patterns… items that could inspire a thread of instinctive wordless melody. I took that expressionism and sliced it to pieces, rearranging it into ambient vocal hooks.” Beneather is an exercise in hypnotic simplicity. Experimental, dream-like music built on layers of scratchy electronic tape loops, chiming spacious guitars and abstract pulsing vocals. These cinematic songs combine Grouper's wistful deviations with the warm fuzz of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, the nocturnal hum of Emeralds, the crackling collapse of William Basinski and Low's glacial pop melancholy. Outside of compositions for film, TV and Podcasts - Lewis plays with the indie drone-pop band The Leaf Library, featuring Matt Ashton from John Peel faves Saloon (“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dream-pop” - UNCUT - 8/10). Lewis has supported the likes of Lali Puna, Joanna Newsom, Lætitia Sadier & Alexis Taylor.

Sofa Movements Records, a Slovak-Irish label, returns with its second Various Artists compilation named DVA (meaning "two"). Four countries, twelve producers. House, Deep House, LoFi House, Techno, Minimal. Filters, vocals, synths, raw beats and everything danceable from 115 to 127 bpm. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for this one!

Improvisation and experimentation are at the core of Robocobra
Quartet’s DNA, almost intentionally at odds with their roots as a
post punk band.
 Including members with no musical training alongside European
music conservatoire innovators, the result is a groove-driven but
cerebral blast, invoking the likes of Fugazi, Talking Heads and
contemporaries such as Squid and Black Country, New Road.
 The eclectic free nature of their live shows allows them to
channel hop from moments of joy and playfulness to periods of
intense fury, creating a unique sound that has earned them
invitations to Montreux Jazz Festival and Latitude.
 Robocobra Quartet have a rule: No Guitars Allowed. Their
unique sound, concocted and self-produced in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, sees that ‘middle’ space filled by other instruments such
as saxophones, samplers, keyboards and sound effects,
swirling around the melodic basslines and powerful drum
rhythms which prop up the core of each of their songs.
 On top of this music sits a single vocal from behind the drum kit
amid a fury of rhythm, sometimes marrying perfectly with the
pulse of the drums and occasionally at complete odds with it.
 Live dates / tour to be announced.
 “I genuinely don’t think there is another band like ‘em, anywhere
in these islands” - Tom Robinson
 “Free-floating musical explorers” - Hannah Peel
 “Fugazi meets Mingus.” - Drowned in Sound
 “Exploratory pioneers.” - BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
 “A cunning marriage of jazz, spoken word and punk” - The
Quietus

Edinburgh-based dance imprint Fresh Take Records launches their vinyl series Fresh Wax with a five-track VA including tracks from Easy Peelers, THEOS & Berzingue, Mr. Sosa, Aymeric and Bernado Mota.

Their first release of 2022 comes with the launch their new vinyl series with Fresh Wax 001: a varied and classic collection of tracks, many of which come from artists who have been involved with the label since day one.

Haze - released via Ki Records - is Greek producer and composer, Hior Chronik's latest creation. Aligning with his previous critically acclaimed album, Descent, Haze creates an electro-ambient world which accentuates modern classical minimalism. It is an album which deeply embodies tranquility, fulfilment and meaningful connection, aspirations born out of Hior Chronik's past in Athens, and realised by his relocation near to a forest in Berlin, where he can truly feel at-home, surrounded by the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. Through 15 tracks, Hior Chronik guides his listeners in an immersive journey which features magical soundscapes built using DX7 and Roland synthesizers, beats from the Lofi drum machine and Volca samples. Inspired by the best of his previous work in moody electro soundscapes, alongside his own history as a listener and lover of early 90's electronic music, artists like, Lali Puna, Solvent and Remote Viewer, this album demonstrates a new dimension to Hior Chronik's artistry which exudes light optimism.

Very limited new repress coming, note new price. It’s unusual for an act to hit its peak after four decades. Yet here it is. The band’s climb to become Britain’s most dazzling live band - shows are played at full energy without the breaks lesser combos need to breathe, drink or chatter – was unexpected, and public awakening to their humour, skill and brilliance demands revision of post-punk history. The Nightingales emerge as the industrious ant to their peers’ workshy grasshopper personae, appearing victoriously at the finish line to puzzled realisations that they’d ever even been in the race. The Nightingales have notoriously had a new label for each new album, a fact which might reasonably call for consumer caution, but they don’t fit in with anything like a scene, they speak their own musical language, and while they bust out slogans about being “slightly superior to others of their ilk” . . . the truth is, they have no ilk. Faust’s Hans-Joachim Irmler adds keyboards and The Lovely Eggs’ Holly Blackwell’s languid voice features on one song, but the album’s real shock is that the band has now gelled to an unspoken, nearly psychic interplay. Captain Beefheart, one of Robert Lloyd’s musical heroes, is best known for the difficult-but-classic Trout Mask Replica, and like that album, this one contains nary a ‘hit’, yet here every song sticks in the brain and grooves . . . outclassing Beefheart’s masterpiece with its effortless charm. John Peel noted, “Their performances will serve to confirm their excellence when we are far enough distanced from the 1980s to look at the period rationally and other, infinitely better known, bands stand revealed as charlatans". It’s doubtful he would have bothered with such a pre-emptive defence if he’d been able to witness the explosive growth of the band during their second incarnation. Perish The Thought will be promoted by a far-flung tour, from Scotland to Serbia, with some dates already sold out. Guest supports include Stewart Lee, The Wolfhounds and Near Jazz Experience. Several videos for songs from the album were made.

Limited edition vinyl re-press. Hand-numbered gatefold sleeve with updated liner notes. Pressed to blue vinyl. Limited to 500. 4**** The Times 4**** MOJO ”Songs as gloriously haunted as the land that spawned them” – Q 4**** The Magnetic North is made up of Erland Cooper, Hannah Peel and Simon Tong.

Tape

Quiet Rituals draws inspiration from the seemingly mundane tasks and habits in our daily lives which serve to keep us grounded in uncertain times.

Synthesizers, samplers, tape loops, and field recordings by Scott Campbell.
Recorded and mixed 2021 in New Orleans, LA.
Polaroid SX-70 photo by Scott Campbell.

It hasn't been long since The Wedding Present released their latest LP Going, Going... but there's already another LP in the pipeline, albeit a collection of old sessions. The Marc Riley Sessions Volume 1 collection comes out on 2nd December via Hatch Records and contains tracks from three memorable studio sessions with DJ Marc Riley from 2007, 2008 and 2010. The sessions feature songs that span the entirety of the cult indie band's career and the consistency of David Gedge's songwriting.
Marc Riley himself commented on the release of the new album: The release of The Wedding Present sessions done for our 6
Music programme over the years is something of an honour. In the great tradition of the Peel/Selwood releases on the Strange Fruit label this record proves that even without John the BBC can still be a place where great bands can continue to grow and be creative... amongst friends.' Riley also commented on John Peel's love of the cult band: There were many other bands who benefitted from the 'Peel Effect'. T oo numerous to mention. But one of those was — as if you can't see this coming — The Wedding Present. The constant support. Plays. Sessions. Encouragement. Friendship. John's love of the George Best LP (which was a heroic support considering John's affiliation to Liverpool — Manchester United's most hated rival) was well known... and until John passed away he remained a firm fan of all things 'Gedge'.'

'Memory Box' - the new album by Rodney Cromwell - fuses a European synthpop sensibility with a world of magical realism. It was inspired as much by the literature of Alice in Wonderland, Franz Kafka and Anna Kavan, as by its musical influences of artists such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, The Cure, Silver Apples, Oppenheimer Analysis and Polyrock. The sonic pallet of 'Memory Box' is rich, colourful, often surprising and utterly unique. Since the release of his debut 'Age of Anxiety' album in 2015, Rodney Cromwell has been featured by the likes of NME, Electronic Sound Magazine, Huffington Post, Paste, BBC6 Music and national RNE3 in Spain for whom he recorded a live session. 'Age of Anxiety' was included in a wealth of Best of Lists, not least that of Electronic Sound. He has appeared on compilations alongside Cavern of Anti-Matter, John Foxx, Devo, OMD, Katy Perry and many more. Rodney Cromwell is the project of Adam Cresswell. The first band he founded was SALOON, who were John Peel darlings, who recorded three Peel Sessions and the Festive 50 number 1 of 2002. They released three acclaimed albums on Track & Field (UK) and Darla Records (US) and played with a host of alternative acts including Stereolab, Electrelane, Quickspace, Laika, Of Montreal & Movietone. He followed Saloon with ARTHUR & MARTHA the acclaimed tweetronica duo that released the sole album 'Navigation' before vanishing. In addition to performing as Rodney Cromwell, he runs the Happy Robots record label. The Rodney Cromwell live set is a joyful mixed-media extravaganza, incorporating analogue synths, video visuals and live instrumentation, interjected by Rodney's 'offbeat wit'. His debut festival appearance at Indietracks in 2015 was described as 'like a spiritual experience". He has shared stages with acts including Pram, Marsheaux, Death & Vanilla, Rowetta and Steve Davis. His sole performance in 2020 was as part of Damo Suzuki's backing band. He will be promoting the album with a series of live-dates in 2022. Cromwell's recent singles 'Memory Box' and 'Get Me To Prague' received play on BBC 6 Music as well as national play in Spain, Finland and Japan. 'Memory Box' featured in the Official Festive 50 on Dandelion Radio. To coincide with the album we have early confirmed reviews with Electronic Sound Magazine and interviews with ElectricityClub, Pennyback Music and You haven't heard this music vodcast.

Hefner's second album 'The Fidelity Wars' was the album that won them their critical acclaim and their cult audience. 'Hymn for the Alcohol' and 'Hymn for the Cigarettes' made it to numbers 2 and 3 in John Peel's Festive 50 in 1999, and the album itself was number 1 in the indie charts on it first release. it has not been available on vinyl for close to two decades. "It's always about the sex isn't it with Hefner? You never hear them doing songs about drag racing or putting up shelves or anything like that " John Peel // "The Fidelity Wars’ is a treasure and comfort for anyone who’s set out on the bumpy road to love, and gotten distracted by the scenery along the way." NME // "On Hefner's second album, the aptly- titled Fidelity Wars, Hayman and Co. run down the list of romantic entanglements. From the sad- sack self- pitying of "A Hymn to the Alcohol" to the brazen lust of "May God Protect Your Home;" from the sincere "why'd she leave me" lament of "We Were Meant to Be" to the unrepentant tale of cheating detailed in "Fat Kelly's Teeth," pretty much every angle on relationships is explored, sometimes in excruciating detail" Pitchfork …

Having received critical acclaim for releases 1 and 2, ‘Marc Riley Sessions Volume 3’, features 9 tracks recorded for the award winning BBC Radio 6 Music show in 2015 and 2016. “The two sessions on this compilation feature many songs that appear on

‘Going, Going...’ the studio album that The Wedding Present released in 2016. ‘Going, Going...’ itself was an extensive audio-visual

project recorded over the space of eighteen months in Provence, Liverpool and Seattle. Track listing: A. Tracks 1-4 Recorded 04/11/15 1. Ten Sleep (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Broken Bow (Going, Going… 2016) 3. You Only Live Twice 4. 1000 Fahrenheit (Valentina 2012) B. Tracks 1-5 Recorded 08/09/16 1. Rachel (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Bear (Going, Going… 2016) 3. Jumper Clown 4. Kill Devil Hills (Going, Going… 2016) 5. Santa Monica (Going, Going… 2016)

Spaceship is Mark S. Williamson, a musician, sound artist and educator based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. His work is often made in response to his environment, working on location, combining field recordings with electronic and acoustic instrumentation, usually recorded outside, amid the landscape and weather. Mark has recorded for wiaiwya, Apollolaan, the Dark Outside and his own Forged River Recordings. His work has been reviewed by The Wire, Electronic Sound, Shindig and The Quietus and he was recently one of the fourteen artists featured in Electronic Sound Magazine’s ‘field recording special’. His collaboration with Luke Turner on series of readings from Luke’s book ‘Out of the Woods’ has seen performances at Cecil Sharp House, Port Eliot Festival, The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, Krankenhaus Festival and the Horse Hospital and he recently collaborated with the artist Michael Powell on his Calderfolk project. A direct sequel to 2019’s Outcrops (also on wiaiwya), Ravines moves its focus from the uplands above Todmorden to the narrow, steep sided ravines, known as cloughs, that contain the streams that flow down the valley sides to feed the River Calder. These valleys, formed over hundreds, if not thousands of years can be peaceful sanctuaries, their stepped pools and waterfalls a shelter from the windswept moors. In time of heavy rainfall though, they become the conduits for the rapidly descending overland flows which reach the Calder and, in extreme circumstances, cause the floods which remain a part of valley life. These cloughs also saw the beginnings of industry in the area. Colden Clough and Jumble Hole Clough contain the ruin of small water fed mills which would evolve into the much larger steam powered facilities in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. Mostly recorded in the field using portable equipment, these pieces are intended to reflect all three of these aspects; the peace, the violence and the beginnings of humankind’s ultimate separation from the landscape brought on by the industrial revolution. The sleeve is by Maxim Peter Griffin, an artist, illustrator and writer based in Lincolnshire. A fine art graduate and former stonemason, over the past few years he has been building a body of work that echo his experiences on foot between the North Sea and the hills. "...a luminous soundtrack to the passage of geological time." Shindig // "Williamson is building desire tunnels, churning through the layers of rock and soil to find his conclusions." The Wire // "These rumbling synth drifts and ominous drones transport you to entirely different places-like being cast adrift in a cosmic void" Electronic Sound // "...the droning synthesizer waves conjure up something spectral and eerie, stretching out like the wide horizon..." The Quietus // "Beautiful." Hannah Peel

Nearly 24 years ago, on 7th July 1998, the first Hefner LP was released, it garnered some great reviews, ensured the band were to become one of Peel’s favourites (they had 5 entries in 1999’s festive 50!), and cemented their reputation as Britain's largest small band. NME - “truly independent, unassuming and painfully honest: the sound of thin, white indie dukes in spectacles.” Melody Maker - “heart-skeweringly astute” combination of “grimly sweet lyrics and delicate, tentative tunes.” Time Out - “awe-inspiring in their naked honesty” More recently, the album was number 25 in Pitchfork’s 50 greatest Britpop albums, above A Northern Soul (Verve), Fuzzy Logic (Super Furry Animals), Vauxhall and I (Morrissey) and Tellin’ Stories (the Charlatans) Breaking God’s Heart now gets the essential 20th anniversary vinyl re-issue, accompanied by some shows where Hefner frontman, Darren Hayman, will play the album in full Here’s what Darren has to say about the record now: Breaking God's Heart is an awkward, over confident start to my career. I have yet to get to grips with it again properly in preparation for these anniversary shows. It's so far away in my past that I have some difficulty in relating to the person who made it. Mostly when I hear it I'm just amazed at the confidence, and possibly arrogance, I had then. I insisted on mostly first takes being used, vocals being recorded live in the room with the instruments, a ban on any reverbs or ambience being used. It was like I was trying to sabotage my career at the first hurdle. Many of those decisions were based on half understood, interviews with my idols from the American Lo-Fi scene but I really didn't know what I was doing. It does make a bizarre and caustic record though, and I know there are plenty of people who think this is my best work and I never got back to the blunt energy of these recordings. I do see their point. Quotes - Hefner's is a bedsit world of spindly guitar and towering passions; of skewwhiff ideals and surprisingly smooth melodic surges; of awkward outbursts and slow-burning lo-fi for lovers… 'Breaking God's Heart' is all about sparkling melodies, twinkly-eyed poetry, intimate confessions, a thrillion knowing references to sex, soul and sadness and the sort of chipper attitude that says: 'This is a record you will relish for years to come'. So save yourself time, start treasuring it now. 8/10 NME // Hefner are running on the same rock-not-rock fuel as early Violent Femmes or The Modern Lovers, and like those groups are expert at building emotionally charged arrangements by adding or subtracting at precisely the right time. 8/10 Drowned In Sound

Born from ten-hour jam sessions in peeling Brighton bedsits, the
technical parameters of a bootstrap recording process and the osmotic, multi-genre influence of internet music archives, quintet Ebi Soda have been steady-cultivating a unique sound amidst the exploding UK jazz scene.

Despite their steep rise – the Brighton outfit have preserved as much as possible of their unique recording process, originating from their very first sessions. With just a two- track recorder around, the band would lay down whole takes, one instrument at a time, then immediately transform the overdub, digitally reshaping the sound with the same mischievous, adderall energy as the musical performance.‘Honk If You’re Sad’, their sophomore full-length album, stays true to these foundations, while bringing more ambitious experimentation, technical mastery and a stellar lineup of guest players to the studio including Yazz Ahmed, Deji Ijishakin and Dan Gray.In typical Ebi style, while recalling jazz pioneers in playing style, ‘Honk If You’re Sad’ draws from a vast neural network of influences:
the Ebi Brain has been marinating in a digital soup of trap, drill, dub, post-punk and no wave to name but a few. The result is a mercurial record that beams in psychedelia, dissonance, serene ambient passages, tough, neck-snapping beats and lush textures, all underscored by the intersection of jazz, hip hop and electronic music.

Vier Broadcast BBC-Radiosessions, die zwischen 1996 und 2003 meist für John Peel aufgenommen wurden, werden zum ersten Mal kommerziell verfügbar gemacht, mastered von den Originalbändern, mit Artwork von Julian House. Neben alternativen Versionen vieler beliebter Broadcast-Songs enthält das Album auch Raritäten wie 'Forget Every Time' (das nur in der hier enthaltenen Session von 1996 für die Nachwelt festgehalten wurde) und das Nico-Cover 'Sixty Forty'.

A 'best-of' collection that focuses on the band's post-reformation catalogue from 2003-2007. All music digitally remastered. All music appearing on vinyl for the first time. All tracks completely remixed by acclaimed producer Paul Tipler

Possibly one of the greatest pop-rock bands of all time, Derry's The Undertones have roots that go back 45 years to the 1977 punk explosion when they were beloved and championed by BBC DJ John Peel. Their reputation as recording artists and a brilliant live act has carried them through the recent two decades since they reformed in 1999 with new singer Paul McLoone. Dig What You Need collects the best of their two reformation albums, 2003's Get What You Need and 2007's Dig Yourself Deep. Both albums have been digitally remastered and both are being released for the first time on vinyl. In addition, all tracks have been remixed by producer Paul Tipler (Stereolab, Elastica, Idlewild, Placebo, Julian Cope, The House Of Love).

Deutsche Grammophon veröffentlicht ”XII 2021” am 28. Januar 2022 als Vinyl-LP. Das neueste Album
der innovativen, künstlerübergreifenden Repertoire-Reihe des Labels präsentiert zwölf Originalwerke von
ABBOTT, Marie Awadis, Dobrawa Czocher, Büşra Kayıkçı, Niklas Paschburg, Margaret Hermant, Felsman
& Tiley, E.M.M.A., Hannah Peel, We Are KING, Hannah Epperson und Freya Arde. Im Rahmen des
2019 gestarteten Projekts ”XII” wird jeden Monat eine neue E-Single veröffentlicht, die den Hörern die
Möglichkeit bietet, eine speziell kuratierte Zusammenstellung von Stücken zu entdecken und die Arbeit
junger Künstler mit einer anderen Sichtweise auf klassische Musik zu präsentieren.

Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft.


Whereas many electronic producers aim at being the most prolific in their genre, or the most extreme, Lucy and Rrose have wisely chosen to be the most consistently curiosity-provoking representatives of their craft. Their decision to team up as a production duo for the newest Stroboscopic Artefacts EP may have seemed inevitable, given their shared responsibility for shifting techno's focus towards the facilitation of profound psycho-acoustic effects. And yet, even those who saw this coming will still be in for a wild ride.

Lucy's skill as a studio technician - displayed capably over his trilogy of full-length albums - has always been enhanced by his skill as a storyteller and as an artist with reverence towards myths and the pull of the unknown. This sonic personality is a perfect complement to the scientific severity of Rrose, for whom the electronic pulse beat and subsonic massage permit entry to a febrile psychic landscape whose contents are never entirely what the individual listener might expect or be prepared for.

As with both of the artists' solo offerings, these recordings feel as much like the branching off point for new creative acts rather than as objects to be passively enjoyed. As such, the opening "Chloroform" is a somewhat ironic title for a piece that is anything but anesthetic: at high volumes, its monstrous low-end surge and prickly, scintillating sonic ephemera are very likely to bring attention to otherwise imperceptible phenomena. "Peeling" continues in this style with a more urgent tempo, developing its own cascade of sensory impressions from seemingly unstable deep-bass loops, injections of intentional surface noise, and pitch-shifted / harmonizer-effected phantom phrases.

"Stained Glass," maybe the most straight-ahead piece on the record, is still a potent distortion of the mundane primed with shivering bell tones, tamed feedback and hints of speaker cones fraying. The climactic "Foil Gardens" is an elegant study in harmonics whose time-dissolving ability nods to the works of composers like Charlemagne Palestine or Eliane Radigue, without being a pure homage to either. The undertow of distortion beneath the glistening tone waves, in particular, provides a distinct update to the legacy of so-called
tonal 'minimalism'.

The end result here is a record that feels uncannily lifelike: an organism that always seems on the verge of a heuristic breakthrough, and whose full potential may not even be known by its creators.

Words by Thomas Bey William Bailey

“Thunderous, and yet somehow also reflective, this album offers a haunting dialogue between the musicians. Betamax drives the music with motoric rhythm, while Bell is seemingly searching for something more sophisticated.”

London’s avant-garde, attempted to master in his youth the delicate art of the Shakuhachi - the infamously difficult-to-play bamboo flute that whiffs of a certain Japanese Zen aroma. After many years of travelling south east Asia in the 70s, seeking out the teachings of many flute and reed traditions, Clive Bell eventually gave up his quest and returned to London exhausted and confused. Horrified by the omnipresent egos of popular music, he was drawn back towards the dark currents of London’s free-improv gutter, where upon he was encouraged by his peers to live in a squat, and participate in abrasive noise experiments typical of the London improvising epidemic that persisted throughout the 80s.

Whilst immersed by this subculture, Bell was to bear his only child that we know of to this day - Maxwell Hallett, later to be known as ‘Betamax’. Bell immediately refused to teach any music to Betamax, hoping greater things and opportunities might lead Max away to a more financially comfortable and spiritually rewarding occupation. Alas Clive was unable to protect his son from the strong seductive forces of London’s prevalent musical subcultures.

Originally released on cassette in 1993 and now for the first time on vinyl, this is an incredible document from a teenage Arrington de Dionyso. All the seeds of his 30+ career are engrained on these fully formed Tascam recordings. "Bobcatflamethroat" was originally released as "Pine Cone Alley Cassette #9" in August of 1993. The songs were recorded on a Tascam Porta-One 4 Track cassette studio inside a secret area in the basement of the College Activities Building at the Evergreen State College, known as "Happyland". This album has never before seen a digital release of any kind, however there is one song "Everything is Broken" which later became part of the original "canon" of Old Time Relijun after that band was formed in 1995. That song was re-recorded on the first Old Time Relijun album "Songbook Vol. I" released in 1997. I still dig most of the tunes on this one- these were all written and recorded while preparing to welcome a new young life into the world (my daughter Lucinda, born August 22, 1993). So while not specifically "Children's Music" per se, the tunes are wild, hopeful, optimistic yawps of playful abandon for all ages. There are a number of "inside jokes" that only would have made sense to the very tight knit inner circle hat I considered my "core" group of friends at that point in my life. I also think there are more than a few "hits" on here. I was 18 years old! Anyone who has followed the last thirty years of my musical career should find something of interest and delight on this album. For some reason I chose to record most of the guitar and bass parts "direct" without an amplifier- I'm not sure why I did that but it's a unique sound in retrospect. There's a decent dose of throatsinging and other odd vocal techniques, proving that I dove deep into this territory of vocal exploration at a very young age. Also plenty of mouth harps, flutes, kazoos, and clarinet, although this was just BEFORE I bought my first bass clarinet. The song "Kite Dragon Hypnosis" showcases the very first time I EVER recorded anything with a saxophone! The lyrics are reflective of my interests in the theories of "Ethnopoetics" as put forth by Jerome Rothenberg in many of his books such as "Shaking the Pumpkin" and "Technicians of the Sacred", as pathways to understanding the universality of myth and shamanism as connective threads through human poetic expression. And yes, if you know something about the Evergreen State College, I did indeed receive 16 credits for working on this album.

"Emotional Response celebrates its 50th release with a special limited-edition from label stalwart Roy Of The Ravers. Following 2019’s magnum opus White Sunrise II is the accompanying “Soliel”, where our nom dee plume delves further into his archives of recently rediscovered disks to present an 8-track double pack, cut loud for DJ play.

The music too is more expansive, with the ambient and techno signatures matched with touches of jazz keys, Balearic sampledelica and even acoustic outtakes, all with that Ravers humour included.

The opening cinematic symphonies of The Smell Of Orange Peel and Kliszewicz Klopcic Klim highlight again a side not seen on his more acid / club cuts found on various labels. However, it’s the B side that compounds expectations with the deep house meets techno melodics of City Limits, before the ever-expanding feel-good vibrations of center piece Feathers hooks all. Sometimes a simple groove and catchy vocal sample is all you need to create a classic.

The second half then glides with 14 minutes of house dramatics via Versace 101624, a master of arrangement and beats, preempting the interlude of Clock House’s return. To close, EL-9400’s intense scatter percussion melds with anthemic acid undertones before its 2nd half melts to a choral ambience, leading to the closing acoustic jam dub curiosity My Brother And His Mate and the curtain for another stage in the Roy sagas. "

Sharing his InBach album with the world in 2020 set events into motion that ultimately led to Arandel making second edition in the critically acclaimed, borderless project that unites rare instruments, musical reimanigation.

Arandel unites once again behind the musical phrases of the Leipzig composer specialists of ancient and modern instruments (Thomas Bloch), modern synthesizers and moogs, strings experts (Gaspar Claus), and the poetic spoken word of Myra Davies and Bridget St.John.

Textextext - (add your write up)

"There is a Bach for everyone" Arandel says, "and that discovery is what led me here, to InBach". Beneath the intricate history, the godlike adoration placed upon Bach, he was a playful musician, an eclectic one even. And so, a full year after the release of the first InBach record on InFiné, there is enough material to make a second one. "There is so much about Bach I didn't even know when making the first one - but after the release, people kept coming to me, telling me about certain pieces I should listen to or rework; songs that I had never even heard of."

The second InBach grew like a garden from the seeds of the first one - an eclectic journey through melodic fantasies, intricate sound design and a certain Pop silver lining. Some tracks were born out of Arandel's band performing on stage, experimenting with the songs live and composing them anew, like "Nos Contours", a new, French-lyrics version of Bodyline with Ornette, Arandel's stage partner.

InBach vol. 2 is a logical consequence then, of someone diving into a pool of music and history so large that it is being chronicled to this day. A substantial part of the instruments used on the lofty, eclectic album were recorded at the Musée de la Musique Paris: rare instruments like the *Erard square piano, ondioline, Zach's cello, Stroh violins*. They help shape the unique sound of Arandel's InBach project: sometimes _eerily familiar, always otherworldly and elusive.

In the vein of rare instruments, the first guest musician Arandel approached for InBach was Thomas Bloch, who lends his gift to four tracks over the two albums, playing the ondes Martenot, one of the first electronic musical instruments ever invented. Thomas has worked with many major artists in his career of ike of Radiohead, Gorillaz, Marianne Faithful, Tom Waits, Daft Punk.

The record travels *between styles, ideas and moods elegantly - it is a distinctly fun and personal album. Freeing himself from the weighty shackles of expectation surrounding the classical maestro, Arandel goes for the core of every Bach piece he tackles, making them his own. on "Octobre", based on Air On G-String, from Orchestral Suite No. 3 D-dur, BWV 1068, his nephew tells a dreamlike story of an ominous gang of children, literally blossoming in the mud. "Fabula" - featuring the French singer Scalde - based on the melancholic, Christian lament Meine Seele wartet auf den Herrn, becomes a grandiose, auto-tuned pop ballad on InBach vol. 2, featuring the virtuoso cello of fellow InFiné associate *Gaspar Claus*.

The use of spoken word is another new layer to InBach, and acts a lyrical thread carrying the listener through InBach vol.2: the closing track features Bridget St.John, John Peel-associated folk legend from the UK to offer to collaborate on a poem for this second volume, she replied to him with a line from André Gide : "You can't discover new land if you aren't willing to lose sight of every shore". A lovely way to sum up the InBach experience for both artist and listener.

BERTIE MARSHALL is a writer/ performer. He is also an acclaimed memoirist, most well known for his book ‘Berlin Bromley’ (2006) about his transformation from Bertie, an anxious, androgynous, depressed teenager, into Berlin, a teenager who would reject suburban values and become a founding member of punk’s ‘Bromley Contingent’, alongside Siouxsie Sioux, Steven Severin and Billy Idol.

October 29th sees Upset The Rhythm release ‘Exhibit’ by Bertie Marshall, collecting for the first time his songs and spoken word tracks from this fertile period of the 80s-90s.

He’s currently working on ‘Looking: Backwards To Go Forwards’, picking up from where ‘Berlin Bromley’ left off. His other books include the debut novel ‘Psychoboys’ (1997), ‘Nowhere Slow’ (2014), ‘From Sleepwalking to Sleepwalking’ (2016), ‘Wild - re write’ (2017), ‘The Peeler’ (2018) and ‘Pete’s Underpants’ (2019). In 2015 the British Library purchased his writing archive.

From 1980-83, Bertie was the frontman for post-punk boundary-pushers Behaviour Red - they released one single (favourably played by John Peel), did a mini-tour and broke up. At various times Behaviour Red featured Noel Blanden of Normil Hawaiians and fine artist Nicola Tyson. Their sound was characterised by looseness and freedom, boasting at times tribal drumming, streams of vocals, dazed guitars and feedback. Bertie continued sketching out atmospheric compositions afterwards too, walking a tightrope between bewildered pop and gothic folk. Central to everything is Bertie’s commanding voice; heartfelt, impassioned and masterfully leading you through the story.

Bertie became interested in spoken word and performance poetry in the 90s, which then led him into writing and performing in his own plays and devised theatre pieces. He did regular readings and performances in NYC and began writing books inspired by the visceral talents of Acker & Burroughs. Having lived in Berlin, San Francisco, and Brittany, Bertie now lives in London.

Over the course of the decade, Meatbodies’ Chad Ubovich has been
a perennial candidate for MVP of West Coast’s fertile rock scene. The
LA native could be seen peeling off guitar solos in Mikal Cronin’s
backing band, supplying the Sabbath-sized low end for Ty Segall and
Charlie Moothart as the bassist for Fuzz, and, of course, fronting his
own Meatbodies. Today the recently dormant experimental noise /
freak-rock outfit has announced their return with 333—a corrosive
stew of guitar scuzz, raw acoustic rave-ups, and primitive
electronics that charts Ubovich’s journey from drug-induced darkness
to clear-eyed sobriety. 333 simultaneously reflects on how the world
he re-entered was still pretty messed up—if not more so. “These lyrics
are dark, but I think these are things that a lot of people are feeling
and going through” he says. “Here in America, we’re watching the
fall of U.S. capitalism, and 333 is a cartoonish representation of that
decline.”
In mid to late 2019, the band—Ubovich and drummer Dylan
Fujioka—had a new album in the can, ready to be mixed. But
when COVID hit, like so many other artists, they put their release
on hold as they rode out the pandemic’s first wave. During that idle
time, Ubovich discovered a cache of demos that he and Fujioka had
recorded in a bedroom back in the summer of 2018, and he really liked
what he heard. In contrast to Meatbodies’ typical full-band attack, it
was deliriously disordered. “It sounded gross, like a scary Magical
Mystery Tour,” he recalls proudly. After subjecting them to some
mixing-board freakery, Ubovich fast-tracked the songs into becoming
this third release of theirs, 333. It proves Meatbodies have greatly
expanded their palette, opening new portals to explore. And for an
album that wasn’t supposed to exist, 333 is the ultimate testament to
Meatbodies’ renewed vitality.

Purple Vinyl

"In this album I was trying to explore the idea of pop music on PCP. PCP has fantastic lore around it and I think the most fascinating thing about it is that it seems as if many people have had these experiences where they took PCP, it presented them with an alternative reality, and they accepted it without question. It's as if that umbilical cord of knowing that you're high is cut, and the person taking it is fully immersed in the trip. Not only that but from some of the accounts, the alternate reality seems quite twisted and perverse. There are reports of people disemboweling and eating each other, or deciding that the best course of action is self-mutilation or castration, and then emerging from the trip still convinced it was the right choice. Or even the accounts of people gaining superhuman strength and fighting off 5 or 6 cops at once. It seems like there's something quite dark on the other side of that door. So for this album I tried to write what I imagine the pop music of that alternate reality might sound like. What would happen to the sugary sweet, wet dream, corporate sponsored top 40 hits, if we dipped 'em in angel dust and got "wet". What would happen if we slopped all of those fun summer hits into the meat grinder of the PCP reality tunnel, and just pushed them through. I like to imagine an intersection under an overpass in a cyberpunk dystopian future. It's midnight and you can see the neon's from the storefronts on the other side through the thick smog. A modded AE86 Corolla pulls a left turn and you can hear the music pounding from the sound system as the rubber peels underneath it. As it's drifting through the intersection, smoke pouring out of the tiny gap at the top of the tinted windows, the music pours out of the car like a thick syrup, engulfing us as we stand frozen for a moment as they pass. This is what they were playing."

Nyami Nyami Records are pleased to announce the first ever reissue 100% analog from the original
master tapes of the classic Zimbabwean album Soweto from 1986, with the same tracklist and original
artwork, produced at the peak of jit’s popularity in the mid-1980s. While staying within the chimurenga music
framework pioneered by Thomas Mapfumo and Jonah Sithole, Robson Banda and the New Black Eagles
produced a crisp, precise and exciting sound, emphasising the upbeat dance music favoured on the
dancefloors of independent Zimbabwe’s nightspots and beerhalls. Mbira-based guitar licks bring a nostalgic
feeling to these dance-floor gems championed at the time by legendary English DJ John Peel.

The War On Drugs first studio album in four years, ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’. Over the last 15 years, The War on Drugs have steadily emerged as one of this century’s great rock and roll synthesists, removing the gaps between the underground and the mainstream, between the obtuse and the anthemic, making records that wrestle a fractured past into a unified and engrossing present. The War On Drugs have never done that as well as they do with their fifth studio album, ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’, an uncommon rock album about one of our most common but daunting processes—resilience in the face of despair.



Just a month after The War On Drugs’ ‘A Deeper Understanding’ received the 2018 Grammy for Best Rock Album, the core of Granduciel, bassist Dave Hartley, and multi-instrumentalist Anthony LaMarca retreated to upstate New York to jam and cut new demos, working outside of the predetermined roles each member plays in the live setting. These sessions proved highly productive, turning out early versions of some of the most immediate songs on ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’. It was the start of a dozen-plus session odyssey that spanned three years and seven studios, including some of rock’s greatest sonic workshops like Electric Lady in New York and Los Angeles’ Sound City. Band leader Adam Granduciel and trusted co-producer/engineer Shawn Everett spent untold hours peeling back every piece of these songs and rebuilding them.



One of the most memorable sessions occurred in May 2019 at Electro-Vox, in which the band’s entire line-up — rounded out by keyboardist Robbie Bennett, drummer Charlie Hall, and saxophonist Jon Natchez — convened to record the affecting album opener “Living Proof.” Typically, Granduciel assembles The War On Drugs records from reams of overdubs, like a kind of rock ‘n’ roll jigsaw puzzle. But for “Living Proof,” the track came together in real time, as the musicians drew on their chemistry as a live unit to summon some extemporaneous magic. The immediacy of the performance was appropriate for one of the most personal songs Granduciel has ever written.



The War On Drugs’ particular combination of intricacy and imagination animates the 10 songs of ‘I Don’t Live Here Anymore’, buttressing the feelings of Granduciel’s personal odyssey. It’s an expression of rock ’n’ roll’s power to translate our own experience into songs we can share and words that direct our gaze toward the possibility of what is to come.

First new release from Lizard Music in over two decades Since their hiatus, band members have joined Wilco, become the musical director for Cat Power, been a featured guest on RuPaul’s Drag Race, and worked with artists including Lana Del Rey, Brian Wilson, The Monkees, and more! Available on CD, Digital, and double-LP What Lizard Music says about Arizone! This collection of buzzy, whirly pop songs from a parallel dimension is a testament to Martin Short, Martin Sheen, Sheena Easton, Tina Turner, and Tiny Tim. Arizone! is better than discovering never-before seen discs for a View-Master. Arizone! is the sound of four old friends who spent their formative years playing music, traveling, and learning about the world, reuniting after a 25 year hiatus to compare notes and wound up with a one-way ticket to Arizone! Lizard Music began in Atlantic Highlands, NJ in 1989 when high school friends Mikael Jorgensen and Erik Paparozzi started learning and writing songs with a four-track. They pillaged their parents' record collections and discovered the musical universes of The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, XTC, James Brown and The Meters. In the fall of 1990, Lizard Music (named after the book by Daniel Pinkwater) was hired to be the backing band for David Peel and The Lower East Side at the recently-closed Brighton Bar in Long Branch, NJ, which would serve as the unofficial home base for the band for the next five years.

Part of the Optic Sevens 3.0 Reissue Series.
“Take the Skinheads Bowling” The signature song of Camper Van Beethoven. Taken from their 1985 album Telephone Free Landslide Victory.
Their classic debut single became an indie top 10 hit and featured in John Peel's festive 50. On it’s release it picked up substantial airplay and is still played frequently on radio shows across the globe.
Later covered by Teenage Fanclub & Manic Street Preachers and featured in the Michael Moore film ‘Bowling For Columbine’

Here’s a definitive compilation of their first period career, Glaxo Babies was one of the most exciting british post-punk band of the era. Raised in Bristol – altogether with such local influential acts like Maximum Joy, The Transmitters and obviously The Pop Group – Glaxo Babies formed in late 1977. The band signed to local label Heartbeat Records (marketed by Cherry Red), with their first release being the This Is Your Life EP in February 1979; in the same year they released the single “Christine Keeler” . This led to them recording their first session for BBC radio’s John Peel the following April, and the track “It’s Irrational”, from this session, opened the seminal 1979 Bristol Compilation album “Avon Calling”. Their aggro mix of in your face lyrics and groovy bassline led to a unique formula, with both their feet in the post-punk scene and the uprising black jazz crossover. The so-called white funk was the plat du jour, even if the band soon achieved a straight and original personality. Fully remastered and licensed, ltd to 500 copies.

Impressions cast from lyric and rhythm – desire in movement, now articulated and set forth. Meaning arises between attention and action. In darkness what is it?

Air is breath, like light through crystal; it’s truth and sacred geometry. A version like ancient stone - the sample shows in layers, solid time. Compressed life. Pages packed together and seen from the edge, razor sharp and two dimensional. We are the salt we become, our children and ancestors. All at once, being forever; a verse, then volume and tome.

But we slow, dragging like ploughs tilling clay. The physical is a language like memory – translated into real. Turn from backwards to parallel, watch it reduce; remember downstream. The rock, earth and salt, our real reconfigured.

Type peels away, turning to sand in the wash. Disordering disorder - now still. Translation becomes everything, set sequence and entropy. Whole, to node, to nothing, and all. Not new, just another.

Vector Trancer’s journey continues; re-emerging into the central stream, deep dub glows and woven polyrhythm conjure vital knowledge for protection and expression. Viridis Mantra and outer canopy steam, we’re brought tense rhythm experiments and biospheric reverb – see further excursions in atmos and shades from Touch, Fax, Geometrik, or Ed Handley on a dark one.

THE PALE FOUNTAINS - LONGSHOT FOR YOUR LOVE (Marina Records) New enhanced, remastered vinyl edition of the long-deleted, much sought-after Pale Fountains compilation "Longshot For Your Love" - originally released in 1998 - covering the band's early years from 1982 to 1984. "Longshot For Your Love" is a collection of rarities, radio sessions and previously unreleased tracks by Liverpool's second best band ever - fronted by Michael Head ("Our greatest living songwriter" - NME). Seven cuts are released here for the first time ever - incl. the superb John Peel and Old Grey Whistle Test BBC Sessions ('82/'83). The album comes with enhanced artwork - in a beautiful gatefold cover plus inner sleeve feat. lots of unseen band photos and extensive linernotes by former Pale Fountains manager Patrick Moore. On Marina Records.

‘K Bay’, out on Domino Recordings, is the first new solo
material from Matthew E. White in six years.
Matthew E. White describes the album as a “love affair
with music.” It’s a record thrillingly engaged with an
eclectic range of contemporary and 20th Century popular
music. The daring production mines and foregrounds longsimmering but previously veiled influences from the realms
of hip-hop, electronic pop and dancehall but all filtered
through White’s self-described outsider perspective.
‘K Bay’ is an homage to Kensington Bay, his home studio
where he records his personal projects and is his
sanctuary of creativity (White’s second studio,
Spacebomb, is where he works on collaborative projects
and has recorded and produced records by Foxygen,
Natalie Prass and Flo Morrissey).
More than love, romance, or self-reliance, this is the
animating ideal of ‘K Bay’ - that we can forever strive for
something better, no matter how flawed or blessed we
have already been. A decade ago, Matthew E. White made
a classic beauty no one expected; on ‘K Bay’, he has
made a masterpiece by harnessing what he’s learned from
that community and life itself in entirely unexpected,
electrifying, and reaffirming ways.

Priya Ragu’s story is just as fascinating as her music. She was born and raised in Switzerland following her parents' escape from the Sri Lankan civil war in the early eighties. As she grew older, the Swiss and Sri Lankan cultures began to clash. Although they are now fully supportive of their daughter, Priya’s parents were initially strict, she wasn’t encouraged to listen to Western music or hang out at the mall after school. However, her musical ambitions soon began to take root.

At the age of 16, she performed Alicia Keys’ ‘Fallin’’ to her brother, who insisted she perform at a show he was doing with his rap group. Her father discovered their plans and stopped her from performing, but Priya wasn’t deterred. She instead made her ambitions more covert, sneaking out to jam sessions and open mic nights, before decided to fully pursue her ambitions by moving to America with the help of her friend, the rapper Oddisee. Working remotely with Japhna, the pair created several tracks which would provide the launchpad for where she is today.
‘damnshestamil’ Priya Ragu’s debut mixtape is a result of her highly productive creative partnership with her producer and brother Japhna Gold, featuring all Priya’s singles to date, including the international sensation ‘Chicken Lemon Rice’, ‘Good Love 2.0’, ‘Forgot About’ as well as her most recent single ‘Kamali’ which launched with a BBC Radio 1 ‘first play’ – with Annie Mac, and most recently A-Listed with the BBC Asian Network – showing no signs of slowing down.
Priya has coined the term ‘Raguwavy’ for her vibrant sound which defies standard genre definitions. It signposts the next era of forward-thinking R&B and electro-pop by tapping into the sonic accents of her Sri Lankan roots.
The current single ‘Kamali’ was inspired by a short BAFTA nominated film of the same name. It explores the story of Suganthi a single mother living in a small village in India, who was raised in a culture in which gender roles are clearly structured and as a result she stayed at home until she was old enough to marry. Suffering through abuse– she escaped to create a better future for herself and her daughter – Kamali. Musically and visually Priya connected to the story of Kamali and brought her world to life through song, placing emphasis on the important of motherhood and the circle of life.
As the road to the mixtape approaches - Priya fulfilled a lifetime ambition when she played a sold-out show as part of the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Later Latitude Festival in July, and scheduled to perform at All Points East in August, where she begins to peel back the layers of her first body of work, to a live audience.
She will end the year on a high by embarking upon her long awaited debut UK & European headline tour. Consisting of nine shows spanning six countries, the tour includes a London show at the Jazz Café which is now sold out and will culminate with a homecoming show in Zurich a week later.

Porcupine is Echo & The Bunnymen’s most profound and personal album from their early period. Weathering band turmoil, rejections from their record company and spans of songwriting drought, the group emerged with a passionate and compelling set of songs described by vocalist Ian McCulloch as “coming to terms with the opposites in me.” Following their fourth Peel session in early 1982, the band chose Ian Broudie, leader of The Lightning Seeds and co-producer of Echo’s 1980 album Crocodiles, to produce Porcupine. While the album includes both “The Back of Love” and “The Cutter” (two of their most upbeat and successful singles), most of the material was fairly introverted and autobiographical.

Unfortunately suffering negative reviews upon release (including a misguided hate-piece in the NME), Porcupine has since become a gold standard for both the band and British underground rock from the ’80s. It’s also simultaneously their most retro album and their most forward-looking. The production is full of guitar effects that must have set the mind of Kevin Shields onto the path to My Bloody Valentine’s own masterpiece, Loveless.

In addition to the “The Cutter” and “The Back of Love”, Porcupine includes songs such as “My White Devil,” “Heads Will Roll,” and “Porcupine” that transcend and enlighten to this day. It’s an essential album from one of the most influential bands of the post-punk movement.

First-ever vinyl issue of this killer comp from 94 (Cherry Red)

Side A/B oxblood, Side C/D milky clear. Comes with 18x24 folded poster. Spanning 4 sides of vinyl you'll hear one of the finest deathrock/goth/new wave bands of all time with songs from EPs/12"s/demos from 1983-1985. It's a release not to miss.

Formed in Keighley, West Yorkshire, during the Post Punk of early 1980’s out of the band ‘The Elements”, took their name from the title of the song “Chant of the Ever Circling Skeletal Family” from the 1974 David Bowie album, Diamond Dogs.
Something unique was brewing up a dark and broody storm in West Yorkshire at the time with bands like The Sisters Of Mercy, The March Violets, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, Southern Death Cult (later became The Cult) forming the basis of what became the soundtracks to the Goth Subculture.
Skeletal Family soon gained popularity in the UK Independent Charts and furiously gigged the length and breadth of the UK and Europe, recorded tracks for the John Peels Sessions, supported The Sisters of Mercy during their 1984 Black October tour, released 2 studio albums ‘Burning Oil’ (1984) and ‘Futile Combat’ (1985) of which saw the release of Skeletal Family’s most successful single ‘Promised Land’ on Red Rhino record label.
Anne-Marie left Skeletal Family in 1985 to form Ghost Dance with Gary Marx, former guitarist of The Sisters Of Mercy.

Limited Coke Bottle Green vinyl, 250 copies only for the UK. Any future pressing will be on black vinyl. Massage feature Alex Naidus from Pains At Being Pure At Heart. Recorded by Lewis Pesacov (Fool’s Gold, Foreign Born, Peel’d). Massage was supposed to be low-stakes, no big deal "anti-ambition," as Andrew Romano, guitarist and vocalist, put it. The L.A.based jangle-pop group's first album, 2018's Oh Boy, was a sweet and simple weekend warrior's affair, or more specifically, an every-other-Monday one, as the band members gathered to bash out songs that offered messy but heartfelt tribute to their chosen heroes: The Feelies, the Go-Betweens, Twerps, Flying Nun. For Romano, not taking things too seriously is a dead-serious affair: “Nothing kills the kind of music we want to make faster than the sense that a band is trying too hard,” he says. The kind of music Massage makes sunny, bittersweet, tender is less a proper genre than a minor zip code nested within guitar pop. Take a little "There She Goes" by the La's, some "If You Need Someone" by the Field Mice; the honey-drizzled guitars from The Cure's "Friday I'm In Love," a Jesus & Mary Chain backbeat, and you're almost all the way there. Indie pop, jangle pop, power pop whatever you call it, pushing too hard scares the spirit right out of this sweet, diffident music, and Massage have a touch so light the songs seem to form spontaneously, like wry smiles. Still, on their sophomore effort, Still Life, they manage to take a quantum leap forward in songwriting, production, and depth, all somehow without seeming to try. These 12 deft songs are full of late-summer sunlight and deep shadows, pained grins and shared jokes, shy declarations of love and quietly nursed heartbreak. Still Life resurrects a brief, romantic moment in the late-'80s, right after post-punk and immediately before alt-rock, when it seemed like any scrappy indie band might stumble across a hit. When Andrew Romano and Alex Naidus first met in 2007, Naidus had just joined a band with his friends Kip Berman and Peggy Wang that was about to stumble into many of them. When Naidus finally left Pains for L.A. in 2013, two hit albums and a few world tours later, he started playing with Romano to recapture the no-stakes, suburban-garage joy of making music for its own sake. It was "friendship incarnate," Naidus remembers. The other members came from within the friend circle Gabrielle Ferrer (keyboard/vocals) is Romano's sister-in-law, Michael Felix (drums) is one of Naidus’ best friends, and David Rager (bass) is a childhood friend of Felix’s. When Felix moved to Mexico City in early 2020, Naidus’ wife, Natalie de Almeida, stepped in. The result is the finest batch of songs they've ever produced. From Naidus' velvet-lined JAMC tribute "Half A Feeling" to Ferrer's Let It Be-era Replacements-tinged lament "The Double" to Romano's "In Gray & Blue," these are gold-standard indie-pop gems from emerging masters of the form. Still Life glows with the sincerity and unfakeable warmth of the era they so lovingly channel. Like the best Gin Blossoms chorus you still remember, the songs on Still Life stir big, pure emotions, but beneath them, uneasy truths about adulthood linger, just below the surface. Maybe the exact mix of ringing guitars and two-part harmonies can chase those feelings away, or redeem them, for at least a minute or three. Massage won't stop trying.