quête:peri

The Pheromoans are tenants of an unruly domain. Over the last 18 years the group have evolved from garage rock primitivists to auteurs of their own curious sound; a frothy brew of loose electronics, refractory rock and humdrum musing. Their songs are mutable, capricious, unreliable narrations, often withholding as much as they reveal. Russell Walker’s understated vocal has always been the band’s unifying focus, it is wry, unsparing and wilfully honest. Walker’s lyrics are an observational tour de force, sometimes droll, yet often tipping over into unlikely pathos. With previous releases on Upset The Rhythm, Convulsive and Alter, 2024 will witness The Pheromoans return with lucky album number 13, entitled ‘Wyrd Psearch’ (out March 1st on Upset The Rhythm).
‘Wyrd Psearch’ was recorded in Lewes throughout 2023. This was undertaken by founding member James Tranmer, his keen instinct for how the band should sound shaping many of the creative decisions. Joined by new guitarist Henry Holmes, the five piece doubled down on a decidedly breezy, melodic approach. Scott Reeve’s drumming is ever brisk, whilst Daniel Bolger explores AOR peripheries on keyboard and bass. “Wyrd Psearch finds us on relatively zestful form” affirms Walker “whether it be merrily recalling the Jason Williamson / Tim Lovejoy Covid summit, or mentally bathing in the pleasures of lunch hours spent strapped to a listening post in Borders.” With The Pheromoans there is always a familiarity at play, only broken and reassembled, like a bygone sitcom gone rogue in your memory. This contributes to the group’s peculiarly British outsider perspective, one that shouts from the sidelines, but never goes unnoticed.
Subjects covered lyrically on ‘Wyrd Psearch’ include “mid-life crises, male pattern baldness, and thwarted artistic and personal ambitions” according to Walker himself. “Nothing is off limits for scrutiny, even rural arts communities” he concludes. Lead single ‘Downtown’ swings with chiming guitars and finds Walker mid-breakdown trying to persuade a loved one to accompany him into the town centre to collect controlled medication and wind back the clock to happier times. “I want to keep you in cotton wool until pay day” he confides. ‘Cropped to Death’ and ‘Father Austin’ are ruminative and more relaxed in nature, whilst ‘Twibbon Wife’ is a more energetic effort, all jabbed synth chords, circuitous basslines and rampant drum fills. ‘Faith in the Future’ similarly bounds along with reverie.
Walker claims that the album’s title is an expression of his frustration at the ubiquity of people claiming things are eerie or weird / wyrd in the present cultural milieu. The artwork for the record is designed as an actual word search too, a knowing nod to how we all grapple for meaning amongst the absurdity of each day. Leaning into ‘weird’ as a coping mechanism is not on The Pheromoans’ agenda however. This album holds little sway with the supernatural, it’s not enough. The overriding impression given by ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is of a band renewed with ideas. There’s no trouble finding the right words, they’re hitting their mark, keeping up with the commentary. ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is a document of The Pheromoans mastering their unquiet moment.

Die Schweiz war schon immer ein fruchtbarer Nährboden für Extreme Metal. Messiah wurden 1984 gegründet und veröffentlichten zwei bahnbrechende Alben auf Chainsaw Murder Records, "Hymn To Abramelin" im Jahr 1986 und "Extreme Cold Weather" ein Jahr später. In den frühen 1990er Jahren unterschrieben Messiah bei Karl Walterbachs Label Noise Records und veröffentlichten drei weitere Alben in voller Länge: "Choir Of Horrors" (1991), "Rotten Perish" (1992) und "Underground" (1994), bevor sie getrennte Wege gingen.

Im Jahr 2018 beschlossen Messiah, sich in der Originalbesetzung ihrer Noise Records-Alben mit Andy Kaina am Gesang, Steve Karrer am Schlagzeug, Patrick Hersche am Bass und Bandgründer R.B. Brögi an der Gitarre zu reformieren. Aufwendige Re-Issues von "Hymn To Abramelin" und "Extreme Cold Weather" erschienen auf High Roller Records, bevor 2020 ein neues Studioalbum mit dem Titel "Fracmont" veröffentlicht wurde. 2024 folgt nun endlich "Christus Hypercubus", das Opus Magnus von Messiah.

Am 4. November 2022 ereilte das Schicksal den ehemaligen Messiah-Sänger Andy Kaina, der im Alter von nur 53 Jahren an einem Herzinfarkt starb. Es war ein großer Schock für alle Beteiligten. Andys letzter Live-Auftritt mit Messiah fand am 20. November 2021 im Alten Capitol in Langenthal, Schweiz, statt. Gegen Ende des Jahres verließ Andy Messiah, weil er nach eigenen Worten "die Motivation verloren hatte, in der Band zu sein und sich auf andere Dinge im Leben konzentrieren wollte". Messiah und Andy Kaina blieben jedoch Freunde.

Messiah hatte sich aber bereits nach Andys Ausstiegsankündigung entschieden, die Band weiterzuführen. Marcus Seebach aus Chur wurde Ende 2021 der neue Messiah-Sänger. Kurze Zeit später begannen die Arbeiten an einem neuen Studioalbum. "V.O. Pulver renommierter Schweizer Plattenproduzent und derzeit auch zweiter Gitarrist bei Messiah und ich haben im Januar 2022 die Grundlagen für neue Songs geschaffen", erklärt Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied Brögi. "Innerhalb von drei Wochen hatten V.O. und ich das gesamte neue Album geschrieben. Ich habe in dieser Zeit auch das ganze Konzept und die Texte entwickelt (bis auf einen Songtext, der von Marcus Seebach stammt). Es war wirklich eine sehr kreative Zeit."

"Wir haben es so gemacht, wie wir es immer machen", lacht Brögi, "wir haben die Songs für "Christus Hypercubus" einfach geschrieben und aufgenommen, ohne viel darüber nachzudenken, ganz spontan. Die Umstände waren dieses Mal allerdings etwas komplizierter, weil wir nicht alle zusammen im Proberaum waren, um das Material zu arrangieren. Das Schicksal schlug zu, da Steve Karrer aufgrund eines Skiunfalls sechs Monate lang nicht Schlagzeug spielen konnte. Insgesamt ist das neue Material härter und schneller als "Fracmont". Es gibt auch einen neuen Touch, der durch Marcus' Gesang entsteht, denn er ist in der Lage, diese hohen Schreie zu machen. Ich denke "Christus Hypercubus" repräsentiert unsere neue Situation sehr gut - es weht ein neuer Wind, aber wir haben nichts von den bewährten Messiah-Trademarks von früher verloren."

Hier und da tragen Songs wie das langsamere "Speedsucker Romance" oder "Christus Hypercubus" auch "progressive" Züge, was das Album interessant und frisch klingen lässt. "Das liegt wahrscheinlich daran, dass wir alle Regeln für das Arrangieren von Beats ignorieren", schmunzelt Brögi. "Wir fügen einfach verschiedene Ideen zueinander, meist angeführt von den Gitarren. Deshalb werden wir wohl auch nie einen Rockhit schreiben. Früher war es reines Chaos, heute ist es strukturierter und professioneller."

Die Schweiz war schon immer ein fruchtbarer Nährboden für Extreme Metal. Messiah wurden 1984 gegründet und veröffentlichten zwei bahnbrechende Alben auf Chainsaw Murder Records, "Hymn To Abramelin" im Jahr 1986 und "Extreme Cold Weather" ein Jahr später. In den frühen 1990er Jahren unterschrieben Messiah bei Karl Walterbachs Label Noise Records und veröffentlichten drei weitere Alben in voller Länge: "Choir Of Horrors" (1991), "Rotten Perish" (1992) und "Underground" (1994), bevor sie getrennte Wege gingen.

Im Jahr 2018 beschlossen Messiah, sich in der Originalbesetzung ihrer Noise Records-Alben mit Andy Kaina am Gesang, Steve Karrer am Schlagzeug, Patrick Hersche am Bass und Bandgründer R.B. Brögi an der Gitarre zu reformieren. Aufwendige Re-Issues von "Hymn To Abramelin" und "Extreme Cold Weather" erschienen auf High Roller Records, bevor 2020 ein neues Studioalbum mit dem Titel "Fracmont" veröffentlicht wurde. 2024 folgt nun endlich "Christus Hypercubus", das Opus Magnus von Messiah.

Am 4. November 2022 ereilte das Schicksal den ehemaligen Messiah-Sänger Andy Kaina, der im Alter von nur 53 Jahren an einem Herzinfarkt starb. Es war ein großer Schock für alle Beteiligten. Andys letzter Live-Auftritt mit Messiah fand am 20. November 2021 im Alten Capitol in Langenthal, Schweiz, statt. Gegen Ende des Jahres verließ Andy Messiah, weil er nach eigenen Worten "die Motivation verloren hatte, in der Band zu sein und sich auf andere Dinge im Leben konzentrieren wollte". Messiah und Andy Kaina blieben jedoch Freunde.

Messiah hatte sich aber bereits nach Andys Ausstiegsankündigung entschieden, die Band weiterzuführen. Marcus Seebach aus Chur wurde Ende 2021 der neue Messiah-Sänger. Kurze Zeit später begannen die Arbeiten an einem neuen Studioalbum. "V.O. Pulver renommierter Schweizer Plattenproduzent und derzeit auch zweiter Gitarrist bei Messiah und ich haben im Januar 2022 die Grundlagen für neue Songs geschaffen", erklärt Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied Brögi. "Innerhalb von drei Wochen hatten V.O. und ich das gesamte neue Album geschrieben. Ich habe in dieser Zeit auch das ganze Konzept und die Texte entwickelt (bis auf einen Songtext, der von Marcus Seebach stammt). Es war wirklich eine sehr kreative Zeit."

"Wir haben es so gemacht, wie wir es immer machen", lacht Brögi, "wir haben die Songs für "Christus Hypercubus" einfach geschrieben und aufgenommen, ohne viel darüber nachzudenken, ganz spontan. Die Umstände waren dieses Mal allerdings etwas komplizierter, weil wir nicht alle zusammen im Proberaum waren, um das Material zu arrangieren. Das Schicksal schlug zu, da Steve Karrer aufgrund eines Skiunfalls sechs Monate lang nicht Schlagzeug spielen konnte. Insgesamt ist das neue Material härter und schneller als "Fracmont". Es gibt auch einen neuen Touch, der durch Marcus' Gesang entsteht, denn er ist in der Lage, diese hohen Schreie zu machen. Ich denke "Christus Hypercubus" repräsentiert unsere neue Situation sehr gut - es weht ein neuer Wind, aber wir haben nichts von den bewährten Messiah-Trademarks von früher verloren."

Hier und da tragen Songs wie das langsamere "Speedsucker Romance" oder "Christus Hypercubus" auch "progressive" Züge, was das Album interessant und frisch klingen lässt. "Das liegt wahrscheinlich daran, dass wir alle Regeln für das Arrangieren von Beats ignorieren", schmunzelt Brögi. "Wir fügen einfach verschiedene Ideen zueinander, meist angeführt von den Gitarren. Deshalb werden wir wohl auch nie einen Rockhit schreiben. Früher war es reines Chaos, heute ist es strukturierter und professioneller."

"The Blinders make their return today with ‘Brakelights’, the first track to be taken from their forthcoming third album, Beholder, which is released on Friday 1st March 2024 via Funhouse Recordings/ EMI.
The perfect introduction to their new album ‘Brakelights’ drips with a dark atmospheric intensity which equally lurks across the albums other 9 tracks. The Blinders are an English alternative rock band originally from Doncaster, now based in Manchester, England. Beholder shares a frenetic energy with their previous albums but there’s a new depth both lyrically and musically to the album. With a visceral urgency live to more than match the likes of contemporaries IDLES or Fontaines DC, The Blinders take their brooding and intense live show, which recalls the dark atmospherics of The Bad Seeds or peak-period Bunnymen around the UK in March"

The composer, percussionist and instrument builder Limpe Fuchs has spent six decades exploring the outer limits of sound and its effects on the listener. Born in Munich in 1941, Fuchs is part of a generation of German artists who sought radical new approaches to art, music and social organisation in the period following the Second World War.

Alloa, Bavarian for alone. Limpe likes to be alone, because she is never lonely. When she is not on concert tours, she cultivates the garden in front of the door or playfully handles her instruments in the house. Among these has recently been a restored concert grand piano, which she found orphaned at a performance venue in Switzerland and rescued from being scrapped in Peterskirchen. Since then it has been the center of Limpe's attention, is played daily, and can be heard on the recordings of this LP.

The music alternates between free improvisation and impromptu compositions, played also around fragmented recited poems. Beyond the boundaries of jazz, art song and classical music lies the freedom Limpe takes at the piano, laughingly commenting on her unorthodox, even carefree way of making music with a quote from Friedrich Gulda: "From seventy on, all pianists are bad."

Well, so what, Limpe is not a pianist anyway, she is much more than that. She is the most vivid proof of a long-lasting, versatile and intrepid musical career, the next chapter of which will also consist of Limpe no longer exclusively traveling through Europe heavily laden with all her self-made instruments, but every now and then light-heartedly from grand piano to grand piano, to then make music for everyone, as always but not necessarily alone.

All-Analogue Vinyl LP for the First Time in Almost 50 Years!
Mastered by Bernie Grundman from a 1-to-1 Flat Transfer of the Original Analogue Master Tapes!

Pressed on RTI's HQ-180 for the First Time Ever!

Deluxe "reversed" tip-on jacket that faithfully reproduces the original with highest-grade materials
Exclusive full-colour insert with new historical and production notes by Charles L. Granata and photos from the Sony Music Archives



This next all-analogue, HQ-180 gram LP is an impeccably performed and stunningly recorded late-period gem from The Titan of modern violinists. The Lark revisits works that helped define Heifetz in various points of his illustrious career and which highlight his crisp attacks, imaginative phrasings, and mellifluous sustained notes.

The repertoire is intriguing, combining two iconic pieces (Tomaso Antonio Vitali's Chaconne in g minor for Violin and Continuo, written in the Baroque period; and Gabriel Fauré's Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major, Op. 13, written in the late-Romantic period) with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's The Lark: Poem for Violin and Piano (a 20th-century modern tone poem). Although nearly two-hundred years separate their composition, these pieces complement each other beautifully: a testament to the discerning judgment of Heifetz and producer John (Jack) Pfeiffer, who helped create his albums.*

The LP was cut by Bernie Grundman from a straight 1-to-1 copy of the original session masters, meticulously created by Andreas Meyer at Swan Studios NYC. No digital processing of any kind was used. The original reverse-tip-on-style jacket and a brand new 4-page insert split the difference between the authentic, nostalgic feel of a mint original and a reissue's value proposition you've come to expect from Impex Records.

By welcoming the beauty of imperfection and simplicity, Sven Wunder applies the timeless wisdom of wabi sabi on this musical journey. What you can hear is filtered through Ukiyo-e (which translates as “pictures of the floating world”), which illustrates everyday life, as well as through Japonism, the study of Japanese art, and more specifically its influence on European works. The result is a surface that creates an illusion by sound. The infusion of Min’yō with jazz rock, this hazy scene evokes the landscape of Monet’s ”The Water Lily Pond”, which depicts the painter’s Giverny garden, with a Japanese bridge, bamboo, ginkgo trees and the reflection of the sky in the pond. This illusion constructs both time and space.

The surface of the music, like the canvas of the painting, invents a journey between now and then by interpreting the idiom of folkloric and western art instruments. In this composition, the sound of the Western concert flute, which stretches back to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, evokes the sound of the bamboo-flute (”shakuchachi”), which reached its peak during the Edo period. The guzheng, also known as the Chinese zither, with a more than 2,500 year history, joins traditional Japanese folk melodies with modern pop percussion and 20th century electronic instruments such as the Moog synthesizer, Wurlitzer electric piano and electric bass.

This is the illusion that celebrates the fleeting nature of all things. A journey. A deep inhale and a slow exhale. It has a mix of jazz (both funky and progressive), East Asian and South Asian sounds. The idea of fusing these styles and reframing them with the aesthetic of wabi sabi is to reconnect with nature and concentrate on asymmetries and emphasize ornamentation to generate new ways of looking at the world, here and now.

Felix Machtelinckx is a singer, composer, producer and lyricist from Belgium. Featuring an array of film scores, dance soundtracks, pop, folk and electronic music, Felix's music resonates with a familiar, almost nostalgic patina, applied with a distinctly crooked touch. Through artistic collaboration, coaching and production, Felix has cut a dash in the pop and indie cult scenes of Belgium, especially with his band Tin Fingers, who are feted as one of the most promising indie acts of the moment. Night Scenes, Felix’s solo debut is, in contrast to his other work, more humble and less traditional, roughly hewn from a series of ambient soundscapes, earthy textures and playful structures. Felix’s voice, normally the flagship of his music, becomes more of a distant memory, an indistinct emotion feathered throughout the music. Many lyrics are improvised, sometimes unintelligible, conjuring haunted, uncertain undertones. Similarly, the album is innately peripatetic to the core, being created, written and recorded in Lithuania, Belgium, France, mastered in the US, and finally released in the UK. In the first instance, some of the tracks were created for the contemporary dance piece Doggy Rugburn by Brandon Lagaert of Kaiho and Peeping Tom; others were created enigmatically for a film that never surfaced; while the remainder are the product of more personal work and research. As Felix began to collect and review these disparate parts, the concept of a unified album began to evolve. With 'night' featuring as a suitably dark leitmotif, or backdrop to a series of emotionally fraught 'scenes', each track depicts a form of trauma, locked within the confines of the mind. Felix observes: "Imagine yourself in a dusty old room unable to sleep. Emotions, fears and other demons haunt your mind. This in-between state makes your mind reach for other worlds. This is Night Scenes." For the most part, Night Scenes was created using a variety of old, and rare, analogue equipment. With almost no digital editing, the record was primarily mixed through a vintage cassette desk, giving it a nostalgic character with a noisy undertone. Felix fully embraced the synergy of his emotional themes and retrograde gear, enthusing: "A lot of textures were created on an old Soviet synthesizer that causes a blackout when you hit the lowest note on the keyboard. The dysfunctionality of the synths was often used to create rhythm and texture." This unnerving ability Night Scenes has to comfort and confound the listener is summed up by Jordan Hudson, House Of Media producer, and music podcaster, when he concludes: "Some songs on the album have this sort of fleeting comfort and tonality, which dissolves into a subtle rhythmic/structural or modulated disarray the moment I settle into them - this really fits with my experience of the night .. This record is a winner, and will be something I'll listen to a lot from here on

For more than 30 years, singer-songwriter and guitar hero Mary Timony has cut a distinctive path through the world of independent music, most recently as vocalist and guitarist of acclaimed garage-pop power trio Ex Hex (Merge) but also as a member of seminal postpunk band Autoclave (Dischord), celebrated leader of the deeply influential Helium (Matador), multifaceted solo artist (Matador, Lookout!, Kill Rock Stars), and a co-founder of supergroup Wild Flag (Merge). Described by Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein as "Mary Shelley with a guitar" and dubbed "a trailblazer and an innovator" by Lindsey Jordan a.k.a. Snail Mail, Timony has distinguished herself as one of her generation's most influential. Although she has remained a cult hero and critical favorite since the early '90s, Timony's many triumphs have long been counterbalanced by crippling doubt and self-nullification. Her fifth solo album, Untame the Tiger, approaches these emotions head on. Her first solo release in 15 years is a startling document of an artist fully coming into her own power during the fourth decade of her career. It is the product of lessons learned during life-altering struggle. The mystical, acoustic-driven Untame the Tiger emerged after the dissolution of a long-term relationship and was bookended by the deaths of Timony's father and mother. The album was recorded during a two-year period during which she was the primary caregiver for her ailing parents. The tectonic psychic shift Mary experienced due to this loss informs many of her lyrics. Standout track "No Thirds" "is a song about losing everything and having to keep on going," says Timony. "I wanted the verses to sound like a wide-open barren space, like driving across a desert, because that is what the song is about - losing people and the feeling that your future is a giant, wide-open blank space." The stripped-back acoustic instrumentation of "The Guest" conjures Sweetheart-era Byrds. Timony describes it as a song sung directly to loneliness: "I was imagining loneliness as a house guest who keeps knocking on your door. I thought it would be funny to say loneliness is the only one who always comes back." Untame the Tiger does not eschew Timony's guitar hero reputation; in fact, "Summer" relishes in it, a straight-up banger that you'd be half tempted to call "no frills" until its initial garage rock stomp breaks into the unexpected bliss of a twin guitar solo conclusion. "I wanted the recording to have the energy of the Kinks, early Dio and Elf, or Rory Gallagher," she explains. "I was also listening to a lot of Gerry Rafferty's first solo album and was inspired to have two simultaneous guitar solos." Untame the Tiger picks up the thread woven through Timony's freak-folk-anticipating solo albums of the early '00s. Basic tracks were recorded at Studio 606 in Los Angeles, with Timony backed by Dave Mattacks, drummer of legendary British folk-rock band Fairport Convention. "Mattacks is a hero of mine and one of my favorite musicians of all time. He is a true legend. I never in a million years thought he'd agree to play on my record," says Timony. "Before the session, I had a panic attack and had to go sit alone in the parking lot_ Once we started playing together, it felt so great that the fear subsided and turned into excitement. His playing felt instantly familiar, which makes sense because it's the foundation of many of my favorite records." Untame the Tiger was produced by Mary Timony, Joe Wong, and Dennis Kane. The album was recorded over the course of two years at Studio 606, Magpie Cage, 38North, and in Mary's basement Additional engineering by J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines). Musicians include Chad Molter (Faraquet, Medications), David Christian (Karen O, Hospitality), and Brian Betancourt (Cass McCombs, Devendra Banhart, Hospitality). The album was mixed by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev), Dennis Kane, and John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee).

For more than 30 years, singer-songwriter and guitar hero Mary Timony has cut a distinctive path through the world of independent music, most recently as vocalist and guitarist of acclaimed garage-pop power trio Ex Hex (Merge) but also as a member of seminal postpunk band Autoclave (Dischord), celebrated leader of the deeply influential Helium (Matador), multifaceted solo artist (Matador, Lookout!, Kill Rock Stars), and a co-founder of supergroup Wild Flag (Merge). Described by Sleater-Kinney's Carrie Brownstein as "Mary Shelley with a guitar" and dubbed "a trailblazer and an innovator" by Lindsey Jordan a.k.a. Snail Mail, Timony has distinguished herself as one of her generation's most influential. Although she has remained a cult hero and critical favorite since the early '90s, Timony's many triumphs have long been counterbalanced by crippling doubt and self-nullification. Her fifth solo album, Untame the Tiger, approaches these emotions head on. Her first solo release in 15 years is a startling document of an artist fully coming into her own power during the fourth decade of her career. It is the product of lessons learned during life-altering struggle. The mystical, acoustic-driven Untame the Tiger emerged after the dissolution of a long-term relationship and was bookended by the deaths of Timony's father and mother. The album was recorded during a two-year period during which she was the primary caregiver for her ailing parents. The tectonic psychic shift Mary experienced due to this loss informs many of her lyrics. Standout track "No Thirds" "is a song about losing everything and having to keep on going," says Timony. "I wanted the verses to sound like a wide-open barren space, like driving across a desert, because that is what the song is about - losing people and the feeling that your future is a giant, wide-open blank space." The stripped-back acoustic instrumentation of "The Guest" conjures Sweetheart-era Byrds. Timony describes it as a song sung directly to loneliness: "I was imagining loneliness as a house guest who keeps knocking on your door. I thought it would be funny to say loneliness is the only one who always comes back." Untame the Tiger does not eschew Timony's guitar hero reputation; in fact, "Summer" relishes in it, a straight-up banger that you'd be half tempted to call "no frills" until its initial garage rock stomp breaks into the unexpected bliss of a twin guitar solo conclusion. "I wanted the recording to have the energy of the Kinks, early Dio and Elf, or Rory Gallagher," she explains. "I was also listening to a lot of Gerry Rafferty's first solo album and was inspired to have two simultaneous guitar solos." Untame the Tiger picks up the thread woven through Timony's freak-folk-anticipating solo albums of the early '00s. Basic tracks were recorded at Studio 606 in Los Angeles, with Timony backed by Dave Mattacks, drummer of legendary British folk-rock band Fairport Convention. "Mattacks is a hero of mine and one of my favorite musicians of all time. He is a true legend. I never in a million years thought he'd agree to play on my record," says Timony. "Before the session, I had a panic attack and had to go sit alone in the parking lot_ Once we started playing together, it felt so great that the fear subsided and turned into excitement. His playing felt instantly familiar, which makes sense because it's the foundation of many of my favorite records." Untame the Tiger was produced by Mary Timony, Joe Wong, and Dennis Kane. The album was recorded over the course of two years at Studio 606, Magpie Cage, 38North, and in Mary's basement Additional engineering by J. Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines). Musicians include Chad Molter (Faraquet, Medications), David Christian (Karen O, Hospitality), and Brian Betancourt (Cass McCombs, Devendra Banhart, Hospitality). The album was mixed by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, The Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev), Dennis Kane, and John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee).

Suburban Architecture are pleased to announce the third in their 'Architecture Dubs' series of limited edition 10" vinyl releases, which sees some of the most revered names active during the mid 90s golden era of Drum & Bass deliver remixes of Suburban Architecture material in homage to that most innovative of periods.

Following on from the now sold out release of Architecture Dub #001 (featuring remixes from Peshay and DJ Trax), and #002 (featuring Blame and DJ Trace), edition #003 features remixes from two further legends in the scene, Nookie and DJ Crystl.

Nookie needs little introduction. From early 90s Hardcore through to present day heavy hitters via a string of mid 90s classics, Nookie has had an enviable career in the genre. Having recorded for seminal labels that heavily influenced the Suburban Architecture sound: Reinforced, Moving Shadow and Good Looking, Nookie was an obvious choice for this remix package. On this release he takes 2021's 'Renegade Horns' to more dancefloor oriented territory with an energetic roller that marries classic drum breaks with a contemporary production feel.

DJ Crystl is also a name with a storied history in Drum & Bass. Also releasing music since the early 90s, Crystl has seen releases on influential labels, Lucky Spin, Dee Jay Recordings, Moving Shadow and iconic US Hip Hop imprint Payday. Crystl's remix of 2020 Suburban Architecture cut 'New Horizons' carries classic 1994 flavour, delivering an extended, Amen-laced rework of the original, full of classic Intelligent sonics.

Pressed on 10" vinyl and housed in brown Kraft paper sleeves, the series makes visual reference to the exclusive dubplate pressings which introduced so many classic cuts to the UK's dancefloors in the 90s.

Since 2015, Berlin’s Cuntroaches have defiled countless venues across Europe and the UK, playing festivals and touring relentlessly. The trio’s influences range widely from metal to punk to hardcore to experimental noise. They aim to create a hybrid sonic experience within a dense wall of sound (often combined with some form of performative mischief - if they’re in the mood). Audiences have been subjected to spewing beer bra harnesses, diaper outfits, empty pet food containers or witnessed band members performing from inside of a trash bag. They’ve thrown a lot of trash on a lot of people. "Cuntroaches - a name inexplicably unused throughout the history of bands, orchestras... any grouping of people really...

As it is, the mantle’s (finally) been taken up by two women and a bloke making ferociously warped hardcore-flecked no wave. Mutating waves of feedback intoxicate and induce hangovers all at once, while David Hantelius gets a frankly obscene sound out of his bass - and the vocals - reverbed to an absurd degree - approach black metal levels of demonic witchery. As with New York’s no wave OGs, what it is definitely not is inept pissing around, ‘noise for noise’s sake’ - no matter how blown-out and violent Cuntroaches get, their interplay is lithe, their arrangements measured." - The Quietus “I want to make something clear: at this very moment, I think that Germany’s CUNTROACHES are the most important and life-affirming band on the planet. Period. The first demo blew me away, but this one... FUCK ME. Somehow they have become more in control and more chaotic at the same time, and the intensity borders on bleak / black metal darknes. I simply do not understand how this music exists, and how it can be so good... eternal hails.” - Maximum Rocknroll

"7 Estrelas | quem arrancou o céu?" ("7 Stars | Who ripped the sky down?") is the fourth album of the Sao Paulo-based artist Luiza Lian, and her third collaboration with French/Brazilian music producer Charles Tixier. Nearly five years after the celebrated "Azul Moderno", the duo returns to the scene they materialized before a period of darkness that rewrote Brazil's history. And this new visit pushes the boundaries even further with resources that the singer-songwriter had only started exploring on the previous record. The tracks, "Tecnicolor" (featuring the only guest appearance on the album, as Luiza is joined by singer Céu) and "Homenagem" (Homage), continue to explore this new horizon, which becomes increasingly bizarre and deceptive. In addition to layering noises and electronic elements over her musicality, Luiza also explores the range of her vocals by digitally distorting them. The first tracks are just the initial steps in this new work: a profound reflection on how we distort our lives based on false reflections we see both digitally in our use of social media and materially in an increasingly consumerist society. The new album recreates this artificial context in an almost caricatured way, deliberately exaggerated distortions to generate the estrangement we should feel towards the values we cherish and reject based on this false reality we force ourselves to believe in.

Complete Album + 6 Bonus Tracks. Known as the "King of the Slide Guitar," Elmore James was the most influential slide guitarist of the postwar period. His music went far beyond his premature death in 1963 at the age of forty-five. He was credited with helping to invent blues rock and his style influenced a generation of blues-rock players like Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Duane Allman, and The Rolling Stones. Blues After Hourswas James' debut album, and one of the greatest blues albums of all-time. "Blues After Hours, originally released on LP by Crown in 1960, was Elmore James' first long- playing record. The crunchy garage sound of James' arrangements coupled with his passionate edgy vocals, quickly made him one of the most influential blues artists of his time." - AllMusic, 4.5 STARS

"Nadine Shah announce her fifth album Filthy Underneath will be released on 23 February as the inaugural release on EMI North. The follow up to 2020's critically acclaimed Kitchen Sink and 2017's Mercury Prize nominated Holiday Destination, the announcement comes alongside lead single 'Topless Mother' which was just premiered by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.


Filthy Underneath chronicles a period of unprecedented turbulence in Nadine Shah’s life. And yet, the experience of listening to it is oddly life-affirming – a parade of ghosts spanning the entirety of Nadine’s thirty-seven years, moving with balletic beauty to the music that Nadine and long-time co-writer and producer Ben Hillier have created around them, with renewed emphasis on placing melody and movement front and centre."

Perifaerye is a multi-part work of art comprising of 18 soundscapes, 36 digital drawings and 24 writings. Perifaerye is at once a record release, a book, a website; in the autumn of 2023 a series of playlists were published on billboards, linking the online soundscapes to the real-life physical realm. This publication is an artistic hybrid: a vinyl record / book combining sound, image and text.

The 18 audio works condense the sounds of the urban periphery into a sonic cartography. In Hamburg-Eidelstedt, people live in smaller detached houses and in larger apartment blocks. New housing estates have been developed recently in direct neighbourhood to the motorway, and currently in the district centre; a district where post-war housing estates and architectural remnants from a village past co-exist. Even meadows and fields, surrounded by the noise of motorways and other traffic, aeroplanes (the airport is close by) and railways (passenger and und freight trains, long distance, regional and local services). This collection of soundscapes – each a short composition on its own – presents a sonic portrait of a contemporary urban area.

In spring 2023, Jorn Ebner recorded the urban spaces of the Hamburg district of Eidelstedt. For each audio piece there is an image. The artist’s writings reflect and accompany the creative process.

For this book and record, Sebastian Kokus and Thomas Korf created a very haptic design. Each part of the whole can be experienced as a single piece: the A2-sized poster is part of the outer sleeve; the booklet presents image and text (German only); the record is visible through the holes in the inner and outer sleeves and forms part of the cover.

Causa Sui's three volumes of Summer Sessions are back in print! This time on the band's own label, on individual LPs for the first time since they were first released in 2008 and 2009. Re-packaged in El Paraiso's signature style. Originally the Summer Sessions were intended as a side project for the band - a chance to explore their love for other genres such as American free jazz, krautrock, 1970s soundtracks, as well as the psychedelia and detuned stoner-rock that characterized Causa Sui's first two albums. But these three albums came to define the band, and have become modern classics of psychedelia and progressive rock since their initial release ten years ago. In a scene often characterized by loyalty to a specific period, there's something refreshing about Causa Sui's eclectic approach. With several guest appearances by Coltrane-devotee Johan Riedenlow on sax and electronics wiz Rasmus Rasmussen, Causa Sui venture far beyond stoner-rock platitudes. Take the grandiose opening statement for example - the 24 minute "Visions of Summer" taking up the entire A-side: here new and old sounds dissolve in a mindbending excursion that recalls Future Days-era Can, breezy tropicalia or Herbie Hancocks Mwandishi group, as much as it sparks associations to Kyuss or Hendrix. Other tracks, such as the frenetic Rip Tide (vol. 2), heads into straight up free jazz territory with Riedenlow going absolutely bonkers on the sax. But this set also allows plenty of room for atmospheric pieces such as the sun-drenched "Venice by the Sea" (vol. 3) or the Morricone-esque "Cinecitta" (vol. 2).

Legendary German IDM trio drøn appear on Science Cult with a stunning 2x12 album full of previously never before heard of IDM gems spanning over 20 years.

2024 Repress

Get Up! Time to release this beast on 7".

Breakwater’s earth-shattering “Release The Beast” is unquestionably the standout song from their 1980 funk masterpiece LP Splashdown. It also came out as a now-hen’s-teeth-rare 7" in the same year and when it came to putting it out as a 7" again we just had to do it in a miniature version of the Splashdown sleeve. It’s one of the best album cover shoots of all time.

For the b-side, we’ve backed Breakwater’s biggest track with Be With’s favourite: the quietly majestic gem “Let Love In”, another winner from the same LP.

Possessing a sound and a feel that was lightyears ahead of its time, “Release The Beast” is a showcase for Breakwater’s phenomenal power-funk capabilities. The energy is astounding. It rips out of the grooves on a deep funk tip, with speaker-smashing, room-shaking drums competing with distorted funk-rock guitar, bumping bass and space-age synths. But it’s not without its compellingly haunting elements too. What else can we say? It’s a genius piece of music.

And, yes, of course this is the tune Daft Punk sampled for their 2005 track “Robot Rock”. Let’s be blunt, they lifted the Philly act’s funk-rock vamping pretty much wholesale. But to be fair to them we wouldn’t have messed with the perfection of the original either and those Parisians shone a much-needed spotlight on an innovative band from the halcyon period of post-disco funk.

On the flip, “Let Love In” is a smooth, easy glide that demonstrates Breakwater’s superb, sophisticated musicianship. The tight horn section and irresistible bass make for an undeniable groove. However, it also reveals a depth to their lyricism that’s often overlooked. In these dark days, the sentiment of the opening lines is truly one to we should all take to heart:

“It feels good to be friends with everyone, Walk around and the feeling’s in the air, No more hate can’t you see, This is really for me.”

A feel good hit for the summer if ever there was one.

Remastered for this vinyl reissue, we’re delighted to present this modern soul double-sider. Essential in every way.

The UK avant-garde’s rising star, Bristol-based multi-instrumentalist Bingo Fury is announcing his debut album ‘Bats Feet For A Widow’ due out 16 February via tastemaking label state51. Filled with noir elegance, ‘Bats Feet For A Widow’ is an album that revels in extremity. The album was recorded in a local church in Bristol, taking inspiration from the musician’s complex relationship with his strong religious upbringing. The influence of the church building resonates throughout the album.

‘Bats Feet For A Widow’ is full of strange experiments, obscure references, offbeat one-liners, heart-breaking sentimentality and surging creativity. At the heart of it all is Bingo Fury’s crooning bass vocal, lending a vivid and slyly humorous voice to universal themes of love and pain.

Alongside the album announcement, Bingo Fury is releasing new single ‘Leather Sky’, a tender piano ballad charged with real emotion and a heartbreaking cornet refrain played by band member Harry Furniss. In this cinematic track full of paralysing despair, the musician sings: “You know I’m trying to give you everything / It all gets in the way.”

Bingo Fury on the single: “Leather Sky is a difficult song to describe succinctly. It’s about being separated from someone against both of your will. Somebody close to me became very unwell and communication became restricted, almost non-existent. The song took shape during that period. A few of the surreal lines ended up becoming reality.”

Although very much a solo songwriter, Bingo Fury’s compositional process relies on contributions from his entire band - bassist Megan Jenkins and drummer Henry Terrett have been playing together since their teens. In one of their various incarnations, they recruited local avant-jazz legend, cornet player Harry ‘Iceman’ Furniss, with guitarist and percussionist Rafi Cohen later completing the line-up.


The album announcement follows the release of the cacophonous single ‘Power Drill’, which garnered praise from The Line Of Best Fit and DIY. This comes after Bingo Fury’s debut EP, ‘Mercy’s Cut’, that came out last year to an abundance of critical acclaim from the likes of BBC 6 Music, The Quietus, Loud & Quiet, Clash, as well as earning himself a spot on the NME Top 100. Filled with rich, cinematic allure, the EP is both beautiful and unsettling and underlines Bingo Fury’s complete abundance of compositional ideas.