(180gr) An incredible album from Lo Borges - one of the best singer/songwriters on the Brazilian scene of the 70s!
An incredible album from Lo Borges - one of the best singer/songwriters on the Brazilian scene of the 70s! Borges first burst into the spotlight for his work on the Club Da Esquina album by Milton Nascimento - and his work as part of Milton's "corner club" really helped shape the style of the more famous singer. Yet Borges is almost an equally great talent on his own - with a soaring, soulful approach that's every bit as great as the best Nascimento material from the period - and recorded in a wonderfully similar spirit! The sound here is completely sublime right from the start - music that moves us, even if we can't understand the language of the lyrics - like some of the best work by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. There's maybe a bit more guitar than on some of the Milton Nascimento work of the period - but used in a fuzzy way that slides in nicely with some of the jazzy phrasing of the instrumentation - which is delivered with help from key contemporaries who include Beto Guedes, Nelson Angelo, Toninho Horta, and Tenorio Jr. The songwriting is amazing - and titles include "Cancao Postal", "Voce Fica Melhor Assim", "Nao Foi Nada", "Calibre", "Faca Seu Jogo", "Toda Essa Agua", "Pensa Voce", "Como O Machando", and "Aos Baroes".
Les Disques du Crepuscule present an extended double disc reissue of Shiver, the acclaimed debut album by seminal Swedish artist Virna Lindt, originally released by The Compact Organization in 1983.
Written and produced by Virna Lindt and Tot Taylor, Shiver offers 12 slices of chic orchestrated pop informed by 'foreign film' soundtracks, movie composers John Barry and Ennio Morricone, Modernist musique concrete and Cold War spy thrillers. The album spawned three singles: Attention Stockholm, Intelligence and I Experienced Love. For the most part Lindt provides the voiceover for her own narratives, occasionally striking reflective poses amid orchestral swells and multi-layered atmospherics; a clear influence on later acts such as Pulp, St Etienne and Air.
This new edition of Shiver showcases acoustically-enhanced mixes prepared by Taylor and Lindt in 1997, augmented with non-album singles Model Agent and Young & Hip, and immaculate instrumental versions of key album tracks such as Underwater Boy and The Dossier on Virna Lindt. The extended tracklist also finds room for a leftfield cover of Windmills of Your Mind, originally written by Michel Legrand and Alan & Marilyn Bergman for The Thomas Crown Affair and recorded for the Crepuscule compilation album Moving Soundtracks.
Cover photography is by E.A. Janes. The 2xCD edition is housed in a 6 panel digipack with a 12 page booklet. The double vinyl set comes in a stylish gatefold sleeve and includes a free digital copy.
Praise for Shiver: 'Eurocentric Virna Lindt casts herself as a mysterious blonde in a loving pastiche of Continental movie music' (Sounds); 'I think of Shiver as Ingmar Bergman's All These Women cast as 50-odd minutes of musical dialogue. Tot Taylor's fantastic orchestrations cast a brilliant pale of modern love throughout' (Fond/Sound); 'Instead of mere cool styles, there's far more here than a restrictive stereotype' (All Music Guide);
* 2017 year marks TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL RECORDS and looking back upon the label's incredible back catalogue, what a decade it has been for drum & bass music that we hold so close.
* Initially set up as a passion project and a platform for showcasing future talent, the label has been consistently releasing cutting edge drum and bass since 2007. The ethos of the label has always been about quality control and finding those special vibes that no question capture heart and soul. Honing their unique musical language, selections are carefully handpicked by head honchos Artificial Intelligence and more recently in collaboration with label manager Emma G that fit with the forward thinking, original spirit we know as Integral.
* Now 40-odd releases deep and renowned for breaking some of the most exciting artists on the roster today, the label also boasts signature classics from some of the scenes most prolific residents. Names include the likes of Lenzman, Lomax (one half of Loadstar), Alix Perez, Calibre, System, Zero T, Technicolour & Komatic (Technimatic), LSB, Steo, Dawn Wall, Mohican Sun, Phil Tangent, Satl and just recently, A.I. themselves.
* Celebrating the seminal journey thus far, a double album will mark this very special occasion. Part One will showcase a selection of the finest from over the years in a chronological journey of the label's sound (for digitial release.) A second curation will simultaneously launch across all formats of entirely new and most exclusive material to date, reinforcing Integral's place at the round table of bass.
* A perfect teaser for what's to follow, the Album Sampler will drop this November featuring two stunning tracks. First up, '1000 Souls' comes courtesty of A.I. - tones of the deep, lush and soulful set the sultriest of grooves. Beautifully moody keys entice, chill and soothe. On the flip, 'Defiance' from Mohican Sun follows suit. With a gritty percussive edge, haunting melodies and a desperately emotional vocal to boot, this music will draw you all into the most mesmerising of dancefloor spells.
* Mark November 24 as the official release of the TEN YEARS OF INTEGRAL Album Sampler across all formats. Bag your limited vinyl copy now.
After nearly a decade in the making, Zomby finally dispatches Mercury's Rainbow, his astonishing and uniquely formulated dedication to Wiley's series of Eskibeat releases, a.k.a. the cornerstone of grime.
Originally recorded over an intense couple of weeks while suffering from circadian dysrhythmia,
Mercury's Rainbow documents Zomby riffing on intricately hand-programmed arpeggios, using theories of colour and its relation to the sonic chromatic spectrum - the circle of fifths - to place an expressively avant spin on the Wiley Kat's slyding Triton squares and frozen, post-garage drum patterns.
Rather than simply imitating Wiley's foundational unit of grime currency, Zomby innovates with a structure of bewildering, modal styles, refracting 16 diamond-cut permutations according to a colour-sound spectrum of tonalities. In the process he effectively loosens up and liquifies the Eski riddim, rendering its bones and sinew in varying states of reactive, physical deliquescence or GIF-like micro-organisms.
For dancers and DJs, the fluid contours and viscous, displaced rhythmic anticipation of Mercury's Rainbow suggests myriad geometries for movement in-the-mix, and serves to single-handedly put to sleep a whole genre of also-ran, prosaic 'future grime' thru its methodical, inventively ground-up construction.
While it's difficult to say with certainty, if Mercury's Rainbow was issued at the same time it was created, it may have arguably altered the course of UK grime instrumentals in much the same way
Wiley's original template coined a whole new genre, essentially making it the last word in grime futurism, proper.
Tr One return with 4 very different tracks recorded in one take at their studio in the Irish southeast. 'A Month Has Passed' uses a dubbed out aesthetic merging influences from UK bass and Detroit using shimmering melodic progression. 'The Boutique Of Never Ending Dreams' works towards a synth laden dreamlike peak. 'The Printer' duly merges playful Chicago drums with an organic chord structure to create a head nodding funk. Finishing the EP is 'Road To The Sea', a pensive sway of dubby sonics masked in a fog of reverb.
Tr One are an established name in the Irish electronic music community and are known for their energetic and engaging performances as DJs. They have received critical acclaim for the raw soulful productions from their studio in hometown Carlow, Ireland. They have gained respect for their ability to deftly move between the lines of genres with a strong sense of adventure and connection with Detroit/Chicago/Dublin machine soul. From this they have released music on Lunar Disko, Apartment and Fine Art recordings, with the strains of the US Midwest never far from sonic influence. They have worked in a range of styles from old movie soundtrack disco with New Jackson to punishing techno sharing wax space with the Phantom Planet Outlaws.
Alex took his first musical steps by studying piano and guitar at the young age of 6. His fascination for the more outlandish, experimental side of each instrument corrupted his lessons and sent him down a modular synths and tape loop composition wormhole. Years later Alex resurfaced, got himself clean and, through connections made while spending time as a vocal audience member (and sometimes uninvited participant) at Lyman Woodard, Phil Ranelin, and other Tribe- and Motown-linked gigs in Cass Corridor during the mid-1970s, spent time as a session musician for Earth Wind and Fire, Chic, and Prince. It was only toward the mid-90s he found himself enthralled by the techno and house sounds of Detroit and Chicago so he went into the woodshed and came out firing electronic salvos.
Bursting through the vapour trails of previous Solar Phenomena pilot Antonio Ruscito, London's Roberto is invited to the take the controls of the forward-thrusting new label's third adventure.
With turbine pads raising hairs at 20 paces, opening track 'Into The Blue' is an alluring statement. Adorned with breathing atmospherics and stately kicks, it builds perfectly on Roberto's previous work both on his own highly respected label Fossil Archives and other eminent imprints such as Emmanuel's Arts and Dehnert's Fachwerk as a fusion of contrasts and shades.
'DX Waves' takes us up a gear as it heads nose-first into a techno vortex. Relentless, driving and hypnotic, there's a pneumatic funk to the drums while the riff ripples and stimulates with a warmth and fluidity that instantly recalls the legacy of Motor City while remaining plotted to a path of its own.
This sense of unbridled drive and energy continues on Roberto's final original of the EP: 'Chord Recall'. Here the drums take more of a central position on the stage as the warped, melting tones and textures wrap themselves around the punctuated kicks and occasional deep-splash cymbals. Laced with a deep sense of space and a bewildering sensation of an unknown destination, it s another innovative voyage for Solar Phenomena that's brought home with an exciting revision conclusion from the one and only Peverelist.
A Bristol beat explorer who needs no introduction, Peverelist's take on 'Chord Recall' takes off where his recent album 'Tessellations' left us at the start of the summer. With his loose broken drum signature, Peverelist provides space for Roberto's original textured elements to take place at the centre of the stage and roam and evolve freely and hypnotically. A fitting end to another exceptional and innovative exploration, both Roberto's originals and Peverelist's remix set us up eagerly for the next Solar Phenomena chapter
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Rauch is a sonic interpretation of the work of photographer Friederike von Rauch, composed collaboratively by Berlin-based producers Felix K, Marcel Dettmann, Sa Pa and Simon Hoffmann. Arranged and mixed by Marcel Dettmann, the recording stands in dialogue with von Rauch's architectural images of post-World War II European monasteries, including La Tourette by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis near Lyon, Roosenberg Abbey near Ghent and Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin. The images were first exhibited together with the music on this LP as part
of an installation for von Rauch's solo show insgeheim ('in secret'), held at the Goethe-Institut Paris during the international Paris Photo art fair in November 2017.
While the complimentary relationship between the sounds of Rauch ('smoke') and the images exhibited in Paris invites interpretation, both can also be experienced as separate artistic entities. On the 42-minute-long LP, drones, modulating harmonic soundscapes and implied rhythms maintain an abstract emotional core while occasionally taking on vaporous, amorphous qualities. Similarly, von Rauch's images - often borderline abstract in composition - resist being identified by location or spatial context. Nevertheless, they also hint at their spiritual origin.
Rauch is part of an ongoing artistic collaboration between Marcel Dettmann and Friederike von Rauch, which includes 2011's Ash installation and three photographic works for Dettmann releases on Ostgut Ton.
(de) Rauch, geschrieben und produziert im Kollektiv von den Berliner Producern Felix K., Marcel Dettmann, Sa Pa und Simon Hoffmann, zusammengestellt und abgemischt von Marcel Dettmann, ist als ku¨nstlerische Anna¨herung und Dialog zu den Fotografien von Friederike von Rauch zu verstehen. In ihrer Ausstellung insgeheim im Goethe-Institut Paris, anla¨sslich der Paris Photo 2017, zeigt die Ku¨nstlerin Arbeiten, die in verschiedenen Klo¨stern der Nachkriegsmoderne - von La Tourette von Le Corbusier entworfen u¨ber Roosenberg Abbey nahe Gent zur Klosterkirche Maria Regina Martyrum in Berlin - entstanden sind und klanglich untermalt werden durch die Musik von Rauch.
Die Musik und die Bilder menschenleerer Ra¨ume stehen in unmittelbarem Bezug zueinander, suchen die Auseinandersetzung durch Begleitung und Interpretation. So entstand die 42-minu¨tige Komposition modulierender Klangschleifen und angedeuteter Rhythmik, den Namen von Rauchs beim Worte nehmend, musikalisch abstrahierend und doch im Detail ergreifend. Die Arbeiten Friederike von Rauchs lassen dabei kaum Ru¨ckschlu¨sse zu, welcher Ort sich dem Betrachter offenbart, der ra¨umliche Kontext bleibt verborgen und dennoch transportieren die konzentrierten und beinahe abstrakten Kompositionen, etwas von ihrem spirituellen Ursprung.
Rauch ist auch die Fortsetzung der ku¨nstlerischen
Kollaboration zwischen Marcel Dettmann und
Friederike von Rauch. Die beiden in Berlin
lebenden Ku¨nstler arbeiten hier nach Ash (2011)
zum zweiten Mal an der Schnittstelle Fotografie-Musik, daru¨berhinaus pra¨gten Friederike von Rauchs Fotografien drei Dettmann-Vero¨ffentlichungen auf Ostgut Ton.
First official reissue of Nigerian Boogie Disco Grail LP produced by Grotto for EMI Nigeria and originally released in 1978. Contains dance classic'Bad city Girl'. Liner notes by Nigerian Music expert Uchenna Ikkone, include previously unpublished photos and extensive interviews by Temitope Kogbe.
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Odion Iruoje was the A&R manager at EMI at the time,' Benson says, and he auditioned us, liked he material and signed us.' Odion Iruoje of course had groomed and produced Ofege. Now he was looking to repeat the formula with other high school groups such as Tirogo, Apples and Question Mark. Grotto's deep rock would be a welcome addition to this schoolboy rock' series.
Work on their album started immediately, with Iruoje in the producer's chair. Adapting to the tastes of the times—as well as their own maturing musical sensibilities—Grotto started transitioning from acid rock towards sleeker, more dance floor-friendly grooves. As I grew older I think I got a bit jazzier,' Benson says. I also listened to Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, Isley Brothers, Prince and a lot of funk groups from that era.'
Hard rock was the content of the first album,' Amenechi agrees, and funk/jazz/R&B the focus of album number two. Especially with the late Toma Mason Jr. joining as bassist.' The group's second album, Grotto II: Wait... No Hurry (released in 1979) reflected the growing sophistication of its members' musical outlook. Fat, funky bass grooves rubbed shoulders with jazzy flute lines, space-age synthesizer tones punctuated good, old-fashioned crunchy rock riffs.
Soul Jazz Records are releasing this new 10th anniversary 2017 edition of their classic album 'Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture'. This long-out-of-print collection is now available as a triple-vinyl edition and double CD pack.
The album is a lightning-flash collection of all-time classic and definitive dancehall classics as well as a stellar selection of more obscure tracks. Featuring Yellowman, Tenor Saw, Sister Nancy, Ini Kamoze, Chaka Demus & Pliers, Michigan & Smiley, Super Cat, Cutty Ranks, Eek-A-Mouse, Gregory Isaacs and more, this album features non-stop floor-filling party tune rockers throughout!
Dancehall is released to coincide with the new 2017 edition of the stunning 400+ photos deluxe coffee table book 'Dancehall - The Rise of Jamaican Dancehall Culture', featuring Beth Lesser's amazing Dancehall photography (also newly published by Soul Jazz Records). This book has become the definitive cultural reference book for Jamaican dancehall and features hundreds of killer photographs, extensive text and interviews with many of the artists.
'A vibrant anthology of all that mattered: the sound systems, studios, producers, singers and deejays.' The Guardian
The sound is short and dry, like a fist colliding with leather or other flesh, but the repetition and reverberation transcend such violence and lead the listener to a heightened state by the time the parade is cancelled. A point of consideration. Stick around because at least a few folks will still march and it could be a gorgeously lonely thing to witness...
This Make Noise Records release was Digitally Mastered by Shawn Hatfield at Audible Oddities
Analog Mastered and Cut by DC at PLUSH/
Pressed to 12" Clear (140gm) vinyl and inserted into a black inner dust sleeve and Matte Jacket w/ photography by Moe Espinosa and layout by Sean Curtis Patrick..
Written, performed and produced by Thomas Moen Hermansen @M57 Studios Asker Jan-Sept 2016
Published by Smalltown Supermusic/Sony ATV Scandinavia
Mastered by Schnittstelle , Photos by Ragnhild Fors, Design by Metric Design
After the slightly more conceptual "Principe del Norte"album, "5" takes two steps forward and one step back
collecting a batch of tracks that was recorded right after it's preceder and in tandem with the recent "Square One"album with Bjørn Torske.
A "freedom"album of sorts, beyond the slightly misleading album opener "Here comes the band" there's a variety in these tracks tracing inspiration from 35 years (unhealthy)obsession with all things "good music" played enthusiastically.
"5" also marks the launch of my new label "Prins Thomas Musikk".
A run through the tracks with a couple of hints to titles and inspiration:
"Here comes the band"
A planned album of a fake band consisiting of me only was ditched. This is their only entry...
Very loosely inspired by "Bandwagonesque"era Teenage Fanclub
"Villajoyosa"
Melodic ideas hummed into a handheld recorded and specific notes about instrumentation scribbled down while on holiday in Villajoyosa in Spain turned into this little ditty when back in slightly colder Norway.
"Bronchi Beat"
Made in bed during a rough patch of bronchitis. Heavily influenced by prescription cough medicine.
Orbe from Madrid made a dizzy techno version which comes out soon enough...
""
I find great inspiration in working on new ideas while travelling the skies. Partly inspired by a detour into the soundtrack of my early teens (Paul Hardcastle, Warp 9, Maze, Mtume...)this particular one was started on a bumpy flight home from Athens and later finished in my tiny M57 Studio(R.I.P.)
"Æ"
Another bronchitis-ridden idea. Slow and low is the tempo. Beat originally inspired by Brian Briggs "AEO", melodies beamed in from Wally Badarou.
"Æ"is the norwegian pronounciation of the A in Acid refering to the 303 screeches going through the "song"
"Ø"
By the title you might think I'm running out of ideas. Not sure what happened here and why...
"Lunga Strada"
The track that took me the longest to complete hence the "long road".
Personal favourites The Pilotwings from Lyon sent over 2 ridiculously good and fun remixes which will
be released on a separate 10"
"London til Lisboa"
Another idea made on a plane when I should have tried to catch some sleep.
Direction steered by Plaid and Pat Metheny. Thank you for the inspiration
"Å"
Initially the final track AND then: scrapped idea for the alphabet soup of "Principe del Norte".
Later evolved into what we have here. Comes with a really nice remix by Pional on a separate 12"
"Venter på Torske"
The final recorded addition to the album. Made while waiting for Bjørn Torske to reply on a text message...
"Aske Hermansen"
In all seriousness, this is probably as soppy as it gets with me.
Tears into my computer keyboard, made on the road missing my wife and kids.
Ten Years Behind the Scenes - An Anniversary Celebration Keeping anything alive for a decade is worthy of a kudos-but when it comes to club culture and dance music, 10 years is an admirable milestone indeed. For Indigo Raw, it represents another opportunity to bring in the left-field, high-grade dance inducers. And this time, the raison d'etre of the labels tenth anniversary release is a certain infamous duo known as Midnight Operator. Centered around the eponymous creation by Nathan and Mathew Jonson, Behind the Scenes EP is an ode to the kind of off-kilter, moody techno the pair have become infamous for. And on this particular occasion, we're taken for a journey in more than one sense. Equipped with a classic Jonson bass line and a scant little phrase that carries the track all the way through the end, Behind the Scenes is a lesson in transmutation. Sombre beginnings undergo a gradual shift into dancier, sunnier territory-until we are left with the impression that we've tuned into a channel that runs all the way through hills and past Martian wildlife. From dark to light, the brothers lift a veil to reveal a resolutely ecstatic piece of work. One that, in arriving at a very different place from where it sets out, earns all eight minutes of its wandering. In continuation of the jubilee excursion for this anniversary release, reworks of the flagship track have come in from across the globe. From south of the equator, AtomTM delivers an assertive piece that takes the darkest aspects of the Midnight Operator original and, with the help of a relentless stream of stabs and a sped-up beat, brings them into the spotlight. Meanwhile, Nerosky-as in Nerone(indigo Raw label partner) & Fosky-makes their debut with a piece collaborated in the confines of a smoky Catalan studio.
Third Man Records is proud to announce the release of "The Blackout," a limited edition U2 12" in conjunction with Island Records. The limited edition U2 12" will be available for Record Store Day Black Friday, November 24th."The Blackout" marks the first physical release from U2's eagerly awaited new album, SONGS OF EXPERIENCE, due later this year. The 12" includes both the original album version backed by an exclusive remix by the band's longtime collaborator, Jacknife Lee. Hailed by Rolling Stone as "a dynamic new track," "The Blackout" was revealed this summer via a surprise live video, filmed during U2's blockbuster Joshua Tree Tour 2017.Third Man co-founder Ben Blackwell said, "The sound quality of this incredibly special record is a perfect example of the caliber of product Third Man Pressing is capable of producing. We couldn't be more proud." TMR's "The Blackout" 12" will be extremely limited, with just one single pressing at Third Man Pressing, the label's state-of-the-art vinyl production facility in Detroit. Black vinyl editions will be available at all participating Record Store Day shops.
Moodoïd is a psychedelic rock band founded in 2013 by Pablo Padovani, the project's leader and mastermind. Early nicknamed the 'new prodigy of French pop music", Pablo wrote and conceived a first very peculiar, pop and psychedelic album. They notably toured with Phoenix and played with renowned musician and producer Damon Albarn. Soaked in psychedelic pop and world music, the songs written by Pablo Padovani evoke just as much Os Mutantes tropicalism, Connan Mockasin dreamy atmospheres and Gong progressive liberties. Supported by French lyrics, Moodoïd blasts genres, times and horizons. 'Reptile' EP is a natural evolution of the project towards a more modern sound, without losing its so peculiar synthetic and funky touch. The very composition of the tracks clearly indicated the need for studio musicians, in order to develop every disco/funk aspect of the record. The recording of the album happened in two times : first, Pablo set up the band and directed their recording (with experimented sound engineer Yann Arnaud), and then this 'live' matter was reworked and integrated to Pierre Rousseau more electronic production. The track 'Reptile' is a new proof of Moodoïd's sloughing. Only passion and lust have resisted the project's solitary soul Pablo Padovani's metamorphosis. Moodoïd changes skin, but skins keep on caressing. More erotic than toxic, Moodoïd's new venom progresses through funky guitar and synthetic arpeggios, with Pierre Rousseau and Pablo's producing, and David Wrench (The XX, Hot Chip, LA Priest) mixing.
With its sixth release NEW YORK TRAX continues the mission of highlighting the jewels of the New York underground. Liquid Asset is a Philadelphia-born Brooklyn-based hardware virtuoso who has made a name for herself by virtue of appearances on labels such as E-Saggila's Summer Isle Brooklyn's own Primitive Languages
Jacktone and Acid Etch where she has recently delivered a furious 7' split with Isabella. Liquid Asset built her own 808 and 303 clones by hand. The modified 303 is particularly audible in the opening track of the record Ephemeral Nights' where she did not waste time on an intro and went straight to creating a sonic pandemonium by blending an airhorn sound with frenzy acid basslines and a hardcore-leaning 909 kick. Contact' is a merciless creature of the night with its relentless dark groove building up throughout this composition cannot easily be classified as a representation of any particular genre. Controlperception' opens the B side. Here Liquid Asset plays with a cheerful acid line over a dreamy landscape often punctured with bleeping sounds. Finally in Forgetmenot' two opposite sounding basslines intertwine creating a minimal yet very capturing composition to close this one of a kind record.
* Cold Recordings is very proud to include Berlin based producer PHON.O as part of it's growing roster by means of this immaculate EP. Across the 3 tracks, PHON.O demonstrates his ability to combine UK- bass influences with techno sensibilities, ultimately crafting cutting edge music for the dancefloor.
* 'CLU5T3R' opens the EP with a swinging 132bpm rhythm that sits somewhere in between classic UK-Funky and a cracking Shed/Heads High techno anthem. The repeating riff that circles and cycles, sweeps through the frequency spectrum, energising and purposeful. Versatile and effective, this is a track to come back to time and time again.
* Flip the plate and there's another couple of gems. 'V3R5U5' continues on from where 'CLU5T3R' left off, progressing the mood into a more ethereal space, building layers of pads and texture as the track developes, rising and ramping up, before pulling back and dropping into a rolling rhythm. Closing up the EP is 'H4NDCUFF3D', which takes the mood into a more dramatic backdrop. Chilling pads swell up from the ground like mist in a graveyard, while the broken rhythm sets pace, creating a moody ambiance for those moments when you want to take a dancefloor into mystical, other-worldly territories. Dramatic and energising!
"For WS021 we head to Italy where we find a duo by the name of Concret aka Italo-Mexican musician Diego Angelico Escobar and producer Q-pha. Together, they submit a couple of ethereal, stripped-back and driving techno tracks that compliment each other so well they appear to be brother and sister from the same session. On remix duty we've got another Italian, Rodion, who ads his signature sound to Ritorno and flips it into a laid-back dark groover. Last but not least is UK's Heretic, aka Timothy Clerkin, who remixes Andata into a classy acid burner fit for a massive warehouse party or dark, sweaty basement. "
Finnish visual artist and filmmaker Hannu Karjalainen's music draws inspiration from ambient, drone, modern classical and dream pop. His first album Worms In My Piano was released in 2007 on Osaka Records and the second album, Hintergarten in 2009 on Simon Scott's Kesh Recordings. A Handful Of Dust Is A Desert, his third album - and the first under his full given name - arrives after a prolonged break.
Hannu Karjalainen's association with Karaoke Kalk started with his remix of Dakota Suite's The End Of Trying Part III on The Night Just Keeps Coming In in 2009 which also featured remixes by the likes of Hauschka, Deaf Center, Loscil and many more. Now, luckily for all concerned, Hannu is releasing a full length album on the label in the form of the exquisite record A Handful Of Dust Is A Desert.
The album opens with the track Angel which is a truly heavenly composition reminiscent of Boards of Canada's finest work. The Emigrant makes effective use of sinister synth-lines and delicate glockenspiel patterns to invoke a kind of science-fiction soundtrack atmosphere. Throughout the record, our ears are graced with truly sublime sound-scapes and transcendent textures.
The title track is actually the shortest tune on the album, but in no way less evocative. It's looped piano melodies are comparable with Susumo Yokota's later recordings in their minimalism and poise. A Year In a Day continues to walk the fine line between ambient and electronica - which is one of the albums great virtues: it shows how lively and eventful ambient music can be. Certainly ambient music benefits from having a strong pulse as Karjalainen demonstrates in various tracks on the album. The song Love Is A Black Lion features a sample from the afore mentioned Dakota Suite tune The End Of Trying Part III, and therefore somehow closes a circle.
This powerfully contemplative album comes to a controlled landing with the majestic Breaks My Heart She Aria, another in a long line of mesmerizing drifts, with a floating choral voice delicately enveloped in strings and pitched percussion.
A Handful of Dust Is A Desert is instantly captivating and for lovers of ambient music, dream listening. As an artist who trained in photography and is mostly active in the world of visual art, Hannu Karjalainen clearly enjoys a great deal of creative freedom in his music. This is the kind of desert you won't mind getting lost in and even take pleasure in roaming through the expansive sonic landscapes and horizons it embodies.
First outing for this collaborative effort from the prolific Posh Isolation mainstay Loke Rahbek and Frederik Valentin of KYO, also on the revered Danish label. As old friends circling around the same scene this is the first time they have combined their respective perspectives. The results are an ambitious aquatic infused audio environment. Recorded near water at Valentin's studio within the vicinity of the new aquarium in Copenhagen, Buy Corals Online channels the sensual floating aspects of such environments.
"During Japan's Edo period (1615-1868) the phrase "the floating world" (ukiyo) evoked an imagined universe of wit, stylishness, and extravagance—with overtones of naughtiness, hedonism, and transgression. Implicit was a contrast to the humdrum of everyday obligation. The concept of the floating world began in the Japanese heartland, migrated eastward, and came to full flower in Edo (present-day Tokyo), where its main venues were popular Kabuki theaters and red-light districts." - Wikipedia
Buy Corals Online arrives as a suite of works embracing the joy of being close to something you don't require interaction in order to experience. This enchanting aquatic infused audio hovers a sensual world rich in sensory experience. Loke Rahbek & Frederik Valentin's debut outing conjurer's a world both sensual and abstract as it moves casually alongside fantasy.
recorded and produced by christina nemec in vienna and horner wald 2016
mastered and cut at dubplates & mastering, berlin 2017
artwork by susi klocker
On her latest release, chra aka Christina Nemec is sketching out a psychogeographical map, that guides you to the border of the internal and external world - 'on a fateful morning' lets you enter a sphere where the imaginary and the subliminal cross. Evoking abstract images that transcend reality, chra installs an autarchic time-and-space-continuum of vague, nocturnal beauty. Pastose bass drones, airy ambient synths and processed audio-samples form a hypnotic stream that lets you enter an altered state of mind. By subtly intertwining musical and non musical sounds chra is weaving an intensely atmospheric, poetic tableau of emptied spaces left to our imagination. It's the pulse of arcane memories that is filling these sonic landscapes, operating deep within our subconscious.
'on a fateful morning' is haunting music to play in the dark - conspirative, uncanny, with a dystopian smack.
Side A:
Exclusive track by The Orb - Suspected Hippies in Transit. Written and produced by Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann at Lab, Berlin 2017.
Side B:
Exclusive mixed track - Fenin + Bus (w Dabrye) - Adeto + What is Paris - mixed together by Alex Paterson, at Lab, Berlin 2017
Single (12" vinyl, digital) will be released on the same day as the mix cd The Orb Chronicles (20 Years Shitkatapult) to celebrate the Berlin label that debuted artists like T.Raumschmiere, Apparat or Phon.o.
The single carries catalogue number 165 and features the kick off Mix-Track on B-Side and an exclusive Club track by the Orb on A Side.
This long awaited deluxe special edition, originally recorded and released on cassette in 1982, sees a timely release after the success of Cosey's recent autobiography 'Art Sex Music' (pub. by Faber & Faber). Available now for the first time on vinyl this deluxe special edition has been remastered and edited from the original audio tapes for this exclusive vinyl release. It is presented on super clear vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve incorporating a foil block title and is accompanied by a 16 page full colour 12' booklet containing the original cassette transcripts and photos plus many new and updated statements and colour photos.
Tom Ware is a Grammy nominated engineer, producer and musician from Omaha Nebraska. Throughout the 70s and 80s Tom was the drummer for many bands, including Norman & The Rockwells, Toy boat Toy boat Toy boat, and Hit N Run. Because of his love for electronics, mechanics, and machines of any kind, he was always the only one who truly knew how pa systems worked. Tom got an entry level job at a Rainbow Studios and would work at the recording studio during the day, play evening gigs till 2 in the morning, then go back to the studio and work on new ideas all night. During these teeth cutting sessions, Tom worked by himself, following his instincts and creating sounds he loved to listen to.
His reckless abandon approach and thrill to learn was a high octane fuel that resulted in his first solo self-titled album. The album's 10 songs were recorded and mixed between August & December of 1983 and self-released in early 1984. The album would be re-released in 1985 by independent Krautrock/Kosmische Musik label Sky Records in Germany and re-titled 'The Fourth Circle'. Some of the instruments used on the LP were a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, & Pro One, Simmons SDSV electronic drums, Roland TR-606 drum machine, & Hammond B3 organ. While recording this album Tom was influenced by new wave sounds of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Berlin and Düsseldorf schools of pulsing synth music and the celestial realms of Jean Michel Jarre. All songs have been mastered and lacquer cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica cover with computer graphics by Lars Erickson and photos by Ken Mayer and includes a postcard with liner notes by Tom Ware.
The visionary Turkish percussionist and the great South African bassist were introduced by Don Cherry in 1969, when Dyani moved to Sweden after the break-up of The Blue Notes. They worked together regularly over the next decade, starting out with Cherry in the Eternal Ethnic Music trio.'Another world,' recalls Temiz. 'At that time I was trying to learn as a big band jazz drummer, and when I met Don Cherry, I said, forget it. We played another kind of music. Indian music, Turkish music, Bulgarian, Chinese, you know... All kinds of music.' 'Every musician,' Dyani said later, 'should realize and acknowledge that folk music is the backbone of every music.'Recorded in Istanbul in 1976; originally released in an edition of one thousand copies only, on the Turkish label Yonca. The first side features Turkish material arranged by Temiz; the second, SA-oriented music put together by Dyani, opening with a stunning interpretation of Cherry's Marimba (Goddess Of Music).In a handsome gatefold sleeve, with excellent notes and previously unpublished photos.
includes 10 classic reworks remastered and spread across the 5 pieces of vinyl, an exclusive interview and download code to the full digital album containing a further 10 reworks. Box is covered in linen with a red foil print.
4 pumped up jams for djs to take control - don't hold back, just let go and feel the n·r·gee. Early support by Eduardo De La Calle, Jennifer Cardini, Andrew Claristidge, Gilb'r, Daniel Kyo, Photonz, Angel Molina... Points of interests - Only for the headstrong tripping on strictly undeground massive hits. - For fans of techno, warehouse, (old school) breaks and bleeps. - Pure reel-2-real analog recording and extra loud mastering by F.Stader at MMM. - Features 6 eternal loops and bonus samples for extended dj pleasure. - 121th release from renowned Swiss Mental Groove Records est. 1989 (Dj Rush, Eduardo De La Calle, Sun Araw, Miss Kittin, Luciano, Brodinski, Donato Dozzy,...), also home of Musique Pour La Danse (Olivier Abbeloos, Frankie Bones, Orlando Voorn, Nate Krafft, Dirk De Saever, Todd Sines...) and We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want (Midori Takada, Michel Legrand, Kenji Kawai, John Carpenter...).
Music for post-apocalyptic deserts. Experimental synth-sounds with hypnotic percussions - imagine Moondog performing with John Carpenter and Cabaret Voltaire.
Relating to their live appearances, Phantom Horse might be named a lazy combo since they are not to be found on stage all too often. Yet their withdrawn approach fits this album very well - Als Ob' is once more a journey through inwardness, a contemplative excursion to the electronic outback, still friendly asking for your attention. There's plenty of things to discover if you listen mindfully, the Phantom Horse rides out where you as a listener like to be lonely. Those ancient synths are still around, playing their melodies as if* there were no time thieves waiting around the corner (*That is what Als ob' means).
Altogether, the sound has become more electric yet not eclectic, the duo has dekrauted, describing their sound as more ritual but of course avoiding any kind of mysticism and fairy-tale dullness.
Since 2015's Different Forces' (also on Umor Rex), Phantom Horse have fleshed out their friendly stoicism that hauls their experimental synth sounds into the area of songs - maybe even pop songs that aren't tangible at least. Welcome to the insular state of Phantom Horse.
Grammy® Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Green Day will release Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band on 17th November. The playlist includes 20 hits spanning the band's prolific 21 years as a band, plus a brand new song called Back In The USA' and a new duet with award-winning Country Music superstar Miranda Lambert on Ordinary World.' Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong previously collaborated with Lambert at the 56th annual Grammy® Awards in 2014 for a live duet in tribute of the late Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers.
On 22nd March, God miraculously came down to the Ed Sullivan Theatre to introduce Green Day as God's Favorite Band' on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When God speaks people listen, and he granted Green Day the title: Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band. The collection chronicles the sonic journey of one of the most essential and dynamic rock bands in recent history. Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, Green Day achieved breakout success with 1994's Dookie which has sold over 10 million copies to date in the U.S. alone. Widely credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, Green Day would go on to release Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997), and Warning (2000). In 2004, Green Day released the rock opera American Idiot which captured the nation's attention and sold more than six million copies in the U.S. Mojo declared It's exhilarating stuff, the kind of record that sets new parameters as to what is possible from a punk rock'n'roll band in the 21st century.' In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The band went on to release the critically acclaimed 21st Century Breakdown (2009) and the album trilogy Green Day ¡Uno!, Green Day ¡Dos!, and Green Day ¡Tré (2012).
Green Day is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. The group has won five Grammy Awards. On April 18, 2015, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of the 2015 class in what was their first year of eligibility for induction. Green Day's 12th studio album Revolution Radio was released on 7th October, 2016 and debuted at No. 1 on the UK Official Album Chart. Upon its release, People proclaimed: The punk vets still have a tattooed finger on the national pulse.'
This the first time this title has been available on vinyl . At the risk of further labouring a rather obvious point, with Thank God for Mental Illness, their third collection of absolutely stunning music in 1996, the Brian Jonestown Massacre parallels the prolific and effortless brilliance of the Rolling Stones at their fevered late-1960s peak, the sheer scope of their achievements is stunning — rarely are bands quite so productive, or quite so consistently amazing. Thank God is the BJM's down-and-dirty country-blues outing, all 12-odd tracks supposedly recorded on a single July day at a cost of just $17.36 .The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a psychedelic rock band originally from San Francisco, California, led by guitarist/singer Anton Newcombe. Since 1995 The Brian Jonestown Massacre has released numerous albums, first for Bomp! Records, the label which gave them their start, and later for TVT and Tee Pee. BJM has been essential in the development of the modern U.S. garage scene, and many LA and SF musicians got their start playing with Newcombe, including Peter Hayes of The Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.Originally Newcombe was heavily influenced by The Rolling Stones' psychedelic phase - the name comes from Stones guitarist Brian Jones combined with a reference to cult leader Jim Jones, but his work in the 2000s has expanded into aesthetic dimensions approximating the UK Shoegazing genre of the 1990s and incorporating influences from world music, especially Middle Eastern and Brazilian music.
The Doors had one of the most extraordinary debut years in music history in 1967, releasing a string of hit singles and two platinum albums, beginning in January with the band's self-titled debut, followed by Strange Days in September. The latter peaked at #3 on the Billboard album chart and featured classics like Love Me Two Times,' When The Music's Over,' and the title track Strange Days.'
STRANGE DAYS (50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION) was produced by the album's original engineer Bruce Botnick. It includes the original stereo mix of the album on CD for the first time in a decade, with sound that's been remastered for the first time in 30 years. The second disc features the album's original mono mix, which has been remastered for this set and is making its CD debut. Accompanying the set are liner notes by music journalist David Fricke, as well as a selection of rare and previously unseen photographs.
Having a larger budget for Strange Days allowed the band to spend more time experimenting in the studio. They used an eight-track recorder for the first time, which resulted in some memorable overdubs like Krieger's double-tracked guitar on When The Music's Over.' Surprisingly, the trippy keyboard sound heard on the album's title track is actually one of the earliest appearances of a Moog synthesizer in a rock song.
Strange Days mixed new songs written on the road with some written before the band's 1967 debut. In fact, the band performed Strange Days' during its 1966 residency at the London Fog in L.A., while My Eyes Have Seen You' dates back to 1965. Another early track is Moonlight Drive,' which was one of the very first songs that the band practiced together, and where the band heard Krieger's haunting bottleneck guitar playing for the first time. It's also the song Morrison sang to Manzarek at Venice Beach in 1965 when the two former UCLA film students reconnected and decided to start the Doors.
Released by Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head who are also known for their offshoot Efficient Space (Sky Girl, etc) - All Exclusive Tracks! Scratching the surface of Australia's independent electronic massive, Butter Sessions and Noise In My Head finally compile the second volume of Domestic Documents. Featuring all exclusive tracks, Perth godfather Ewan Jansen joins new WA blood Phil Stroud and Senate, respectively making hectic percussion tracks and hell bent techno, as Newcastle transplant Roman Nails emerges with his squelching one take tape experiments. Meanwhile in Melbourne, Fia Fiell's ambient mind maze and Butter Sessions alumni Booshank target the cerebral cortex, Hotrod goes full turbo and live/DJ wingmen Miris and Norachi share the same side of their vinyl debuts (alongside the freakishly underrated Colours of Infinity - aka Kloke). Kangaroo Skull and Cale Sexton fly the flag for Temporal Cast, the latter on a calming club collab with Sleep D. - Liner notes from Ivan Smagghe and artwork from Misha Hollenbach (Perks and Mini) - Features many rarities reissued for the first time ever (Karen Marks' most wanted Australian cold wave single last sold for 290€ while Once traded for 170€) - All tracks officially licensed, sourcing original masters when available - Includes digital download
In 2017, the musical term electronic' is nearly obsolete given the ubiquity of computerized processes in producing music. Even so, the prevailing assumption is that musicians working under this broad umbrella must be inspired by concepts equally as electrified as their equipment. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has demonstrated in her still-blooming discography that this notion couldn't be further from the truth, and that more often than not, rich worlds of synthesized
sound are born from deep reverence of the natural world. Smith (who by no coincidence, cites naturalist David Attenborough as a contemporary muse) has embodied such an appreciation on
The Kid in as direct and sincere a way as possible by sonically charting the phases of life itself.
The album, which punctually follows up her 2016 breakthrough EARS, chronicles four defining cognitive and emotional stages of the human lifespan across four sides of a double LP.
The first side takes us through the confused astonishment of a newborn, unaware of itself, existing in an unwitting nirvana. Smith's music has always woven a youthful thread befitting of the
aforementioned subject. Here she articulates it in signature fashion on the track An Intention,' which serves not only as a soaring spire on The Kid, but on her entire output. There is playfulness here, but it's elevated by an undertone of gravity into something compelling and majestic that is fast becoming Smith's watermark. The emotional focus of side two is the vital but underreported moment in early youth when we cross the threshold into self awareness. The subject is profound enough to fill an entire album, but rarely makes its way into a single track, indicating Smith's ambition to broach subtler and deeper subjects than the average composer. This side offers up another highlight in the form of In The World But Not Of The World' which serves its subject well with epiphanic, climbing strings and decidedly noisy textures over a near-Bollywood low end pulse.
Side three emphasizes a feeling of being confirmed enough in one's own identity to begin giving back to the formative forces of one's upbringing, which is arguably the duty that all great artists
aim to fulfill. This side ends with the exploratory album cut Who I Am & Why I Am Where I Am' recorded in a single take without overdubs on the rare EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer. This humble
piece of sound design serves as a contrast to side four's verdant orchestral moments, all written and arranged for the EU-based Stargaze quartet by Smith herself. This final side represents a
return to pure being, the kind of wisdom and peace that eludes most of us until the autumn of life. On To Feel Your Best' this concept is voiced in the bittersweet refrain one day I'll wake up
and you won't be there' which Smith intended to be a grateful acknowledgement of life rather than a melancholy resentment of loss. The song has both effects depending on the mood of the
listener, and both interpretations are equally moving.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith belongs to an ilk of modern musicians who are defined by their commitment to creating experiential albums despite the singles-oriented habits of modern listeners,
and here she represents her kind proudly. The subjects on The Kid are not simple to convey, and yet through both emotional tone and lyrical content, Smith does just that. There is a similar
gravity to both birth and death, and rarely is that correlation as accurately and enthusiastically mapped as it is here.
Alan Watts, another logical inspiration of Smith's, once expounded that people record themselves to confirm their own existence, and as such, echoes and resonance are reminders that we are alive. You're not there unless you're recorded,' Watts muses, if you shout, and it doesn't come back and echo, it didn't happen.' The Kid speaks to this idea directly. As Kaitlyn Aurelia
Smith explores her existence through music, she guides us in gleefully contemplating our own.
It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!
SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION X 300 WITH BONUS 7 :
Limited special edition with the 7" containing the track "Lune noire", in 2 parts - one per side.
It's already been 5 years since the last Zombie Zombie album 'Rituels d'un Nouveau Monde', after which the group explored other territories by signing 2 film scores, namely 'Loubia Hamra' by Narimane Mari and 'Irréprochable' by Sébastien Marnier, as well as creating the music accompanying a contemporary circus show called 'Slow Futur' created by Martin Palisse and Elsa Guérin. Wouldn't these beautiful parentheses make you want to return to the sources After 10 years at Versatile Records, 2017 also marks the decade anniversary of the release of their first album 'A Land for Renegades' in 2007, at the time considered to be one of the 10 best albums of the year according to Rough Trade.
'Livity' - Zombie Zombie's latest opus seems to plunge us deep into science fiction, with a cover designed by the mythic cartoonist Philippe Druillet, who is also the founder of the cult Métal Hurlant comic series. The title of the album is somewhat misleading, as one could mistakenly think of a certain dub record made at
the famous Island Records Compass Point studio in the Bahamas. For the uninitiated 'Livity' or 'Life force' is actually a Rastafarian spiritual concept based on the idea that an energy exists within, and flows through, all people and all living things. The record was recorded last winter in Paris, in a very short time frame. 7 tracks played live in 7 days, by Etienne Jaumet (synthesizers / rhythm box / metallophone / sax), Cosmic Neman (drums / vocals / sound effects), and Dr. Schonberg (percussion / electronics / trumpet), recorded at the Red Bull Studios by Thibaut Javoy and Jerome Caron, 2 very competent engineers. To keep it in the family, the album was then mixed by another member of the Versatile stable, the mysterious and legendary DJ/producer I:Cube, done in the label's Victor Studio.
On this album the principles that are dear to the group rest being respected, still as far away as always from the standards of 'radio play', A living kind of music, composed of long instrumental moments recorded with analog synthesizers and drum machines, accompanied by drums and percussion. But I:Cube's touch may bring the unique energy that one may find at Zombie Zombie's concerts; on certain cuts like title track 'Livity' that the group recorded in Laos, a wild combination of 808 kick drums and bewitching jungle sounds that sound quite unlike anything else out there, and especially on 'Hippocampe', which gives the impression of hearing an old school hip hop rhythm with the power of a metal band who have replaced their guitars with an army of synthesizers: we recommend you listen to this particular track in a convertible while speeding down the highway.
As with all of Zombie Zombie's music the cinematic component is still strong, on titles like 'Ils existent..' 'Acera' which was originally composed for ciné-concerts accompanying the films of Jean Painlevé et Maurice Pialat. The energy of the beginning is still very present, as is - of course - the kraut inspiration. But it's also an album that takes new directions and sonic risks, like on 'Looose', which brings to mind the Art Ensemble of Chicago, or the groove of James Chance in New York in the early 1980's, featuring the free sax solos of Etienne Jaumet and Dr. Schonberg on the trumpet. The group also offers some slower and calmer titles, like 'Heavy Meditation' as well as exploring more experimental tracks in the line of French 70's groups such as Lard Free or Richard Pinhas, for example on the bonus track 'Black Moon'.
Please - Take your time, and enjoy listening!
Last year's On the Corner underground smash release, the 12' EP Santuri's Embaire Umeme, introduced Uganda's Mugwisa International Xylophone Group (M.I.X.G) to the world.
The recordings center on the Embaire, a giant xylophone native to Ugandan folk music, which is dug into a pit for a natural, earthy bass resonance as gargantuous as the instrument itself. The instrument performs a key role in village life, with ceremonial playing sessions lasting for hours on end.
These recordings may be esoteric in nature but they add important context to the Santuri's Embaire Umeme 12' and are a vital documentation of the Iganga village's culture, as well as that of Uganda. Jones has artfully chopped the epic session into a series of short evocative chapters to create a pioneering masterpiece. Remix duties are led by Griot House innovators, The Diabolcal Liberties, who have raved-up some Sun Ra frequencies for the cosmic junglist crew.
Last but never least, Victoria Topping has created beautiful artwork using the session photography taken by Jones during the recordings
For the fourth release on 6dimensions, Steve Bicknell has delved into the catalogue of the Lost Recordings series on his previous imprint; Cosmic.Steve Bicknell's Awakening The Past feature three tracks from Why And For Whom, the first of Bicknell's Lost Recordings releases. Originally released in 1996, Why And For Whom Has been named one of the best UK Techno records of all time with Bicknell being billed as a 'criminally underrated producer'.With the re-release of these tracks in 2017, it is clear to see that the tracks have stood the test of time. All four-tracks on Awakening The Past were previously untitled but have been renamed with a focus on the human condition. With the 6dimensions label being founded on the principles of the 'human mind's natural make-up' it seems a natural decision to rename the tracks to suite the label ethos. Although one quarter of Awakening The Past was released 20 years ago, Bicknell's focus on mood shows coherence between his work then and now. The era of production can be distinguished in the EP, however, this is only eminent through a difference in recording technique. More importantly, the mood of older and newer productions are indistinguishable from each other and display Bicknell's unrelenting dedication to his own focus on concept of aesthetic. Physical Life' opens the EP with a rawness that is carried through the EP. With tape hiss underpinning the track, Bicknell's signature bass grumbles hold together hi-hats which progressively filter in and out over the course of the track. Bicknell's use of filters carries through onto the second track of EP, 'Natural Vibrations' boasts an erratic and high-pitched 303 sequence that shows a bit of experimentalism before the EP steps back into Bicknell's more familiar techno odysseys. 'Fearing The Minds Fears' paints a tense atmosphere, lashings of motoric modular synth are added with little fuss as the track title confirms its significance. Finally, 'Conscious Awakening' drives the EP to a close with dizzying pace: it's here that Bicknell's ability to control the emotion of the listener is really evident.
Pittsburgh-born Phillip Ballou's earliest years were spent in the gospel field, after he moved to New York City in the '70s, he teamed up with Bennie Diggs and Arthur Freeman, founding members of The New York Community Choir and singer Arnold McCuller to form the group Revelation. The quartet recorded for RSO Records, scoring some R&B success in the US with tracks like Get Ready For This' and You To Me Are Everything,' touring the Bee Gees among others. Phillip also sang on albums by NYCC recorded for RCA Records and continued with Revelation until 1982.Frequently hired for sessions in and around New York, Phillip teamed up with UK soul music journalist David Nathan (who he'd met in 1974 during Nathan's first US visit) and John Simmons, formerly a member of The Reflections, another New York vocal group to write a series of songs for his own proposed solo record deal. Although a contract did not materialize, one of the songs - Ain't Nothing Like The Love' - got some interest from famed Philadelphia producer Thom Bell who presented it to The O'Jays. Ultimately, the tune was turned down by Kenny Gamble and John Simmons, by then musical director for Stephanie Mills, recorded his own version for a small independent label in 1981.Phillip continued his own musical journey, touring and recording with James Taylor and Todd Rundgren. In addition, Phillip's name graced recordings by George Benson, Billy Ocean, Kashif, Nona Hendryx, Jonathan Butler, Teddy Pendergrass and Melba Moore, in 1981, he began recording with Luther Vandross and became a part of Luther's touring band for many years, as well as singing on productions by Luther on Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and others, continuing his association with him until Luther's 2003 stroke. Phillip returned to his gospel roots in 2004 as Minister of Music at a Brooklyn church and passed away in March 2005, aged 55. Thanks to renewed interest in the John Simmons' 1981 recording on YouTube, David Nathan has uncovered several tracks from the 1978 and 1979 he did with Phillip and John including Phillip Ballou's original version of Ain't Nothing Like The Love,' gaining its first ever worldwide release as a 7' single on Nefer Records in association with Super Disco Edits
The extended mixes single of Phase Fatale's debut full-length album on Hospital Productions takes three of the most dancefloor-ready songs from Redeemer into abstracted, surreal and uncharted territory aimed for unlit, claustrophobic chambers. Aided by Silent Servant with additional production, together Hayden Payne and Juan Mendez transform "Order Of Severity," "Operate Within," and "Spoken Ashes" further down the machine. With more percussion and editing, they tear apart and lengthen the tracks through temporal space. The Redeemer (Extended Mixes) 12" will be released simultaneously alongside the full-length album, adding yet another dimension into Payne's own universe of the degenerated present.
