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Cutting their teeth as teens in a West Bromwich bedroom, The Sea Urchins were nothing like the heavy metal that seemed to fill every bar in the UK Black Country. Fringe haircuts, perfect trousers, suede jackets and infectious tambourines gave plenty of hints as to their youthful ambition, but nothing could fully prepare you for just how utterly spellbinding these songs would be. Compiling their fanzine-only flexi material with the full complement of singles for Sarah Records, Stardust runs chronologically from late 1986 to the middle of 1989, beginning with the singles split for Clare Wadd’s Kvatch and Matt Haynes’ Sha La La, before hitting the first of what would be an even hundred releases from the new label Wadd and Haynes would form - Sarah.

The song that launched a legendary label and defined a sound, a scene, a place and time; “Pristine Christine” still rings out as immediate and magical today as it did on first listen. What a glorious jangly rush racing around the corners of pop’s history! The band would reach such heights time and again over the course of this three year burst. The melancholy swinging folk of “Everglade” and it’s wonderfully yearning vocal; the organ-fueled british invasion garage rock sing-a-long of “Solace”; the playful psych pop of “A Morning Odyssey”; the acoustic sweep of “Wild Grass Pictures”; the perfectly named “Summershine” leaving you with a ramshackle smile out on the dancefloor. All of it is just so filled with delicate humanity, yet somehow absolutely perfect.

As Bob Stanley said about the shimmering ballad “Please Rain Fall” while bestowing it with NME Single Of The Week (an honor also bestowed upon “Pristine Christine”), “think of some variations on the word marvelous and you’re most of the way there.”

In their time, they might have seemed wildly out of step, but it’s not crazy to say that things could have been very different for the likes of Radiohead, The La’s, and Oasis without The Sea Urchins. Liner notes by Television Personalities legend Dan Treacy.

Orange Vinyl

Cutting their teeth as teens in a West Bromwich bedroom, The Sea Urchins were nothing like the heavy metal that seemed to fill every bar in the UK Black Country. Fringe haircuts, perfect trousers, suede jackets and infectious tambourines gave plenty of hints as to their youthful ambition, but nothing could fully prepare you for just how utterly spellbinding these songs would be. Compiling their fanzine-only flexi material with the full complement of singles for Sarah Records, Stardust runs chronologically from late 1986 to the middle of 1989, beginning with the singles split for Clare Wadd’s Kvatch and Matt Haynes’ Sha La La, before hitting the first of what would be an even hundred releases from the new label Wadd and Haynes would form - Sarah.

The song that launched a legendary label and defined a sound, a scene, a place and time; “Pristine Christine” still rings out as immediate and magical today as it did on first listen. What a glorious jangly rush racing around the corners of pop’s history! The band would reach such heights time and again over the course of this three year burst. The melancholy swinging folk of “Everglade” and it’s wonderfully yearning vocal; the organ-fueled british invasion garage rock sing-a-long of “Solace”; the playful psych pop of “A Morning Odyssey”; the acoustic sweep of “Wild Grass Pictures”; the perfectly named “Summershine” leaving you with a ramshackle smile out on the dancefloor. All of it is just so filled with delicate humanity, yet somehow absolutely perfect.

As Bob Stanley said about the shimmering ballad “Please Rain Fall” while bestowing it with NME Single Of The Week (an honor also bestowed upon “Pristine Christine”), “think of some variations on the word marvelous and you’re most of the way there.”

In their time, they might have seemed wildly out of step, but it’s not crazy to say that things could have been very different for the likes of Radiohead, The La’s, and Oasis without The Sea Urchins. Liner notes by Television Personalities legend Dan Treacy.

Espen Friberg’s solo album debut. Sun Soon is Espen Friberg´s solo album debut, consisting of eleven compositions made up of synthesizer and field recordings. The album is formed as a collage, with compositions patched on a Serge modular synth and field recordings. The patches portray the mood and wandering in mountains and forests – while at the same time meditating on the area of the Norwegian valley Hallingdal´s local history. The collage technique is something Friberg uses in both his musical and visual art. The album is meditative and exploratory, and at the same time playful and immediate. Trucks, trash cans, flowing streams, lemon soda, horses and wandering mountains, find its place between slow melodies, scratching, sinus tones and bass lines. Dissonances and harmonies come together in gliding transitions and abrupt stops, while an electronic willow flute sings and the sun is rising. The recording is done at Leveld Kunstnartun in Ål in Hallingdal, later mixed and produced in collaboration with Jenny Berger Myhre. The project captures the ambiance in the valley around Leveld, through Espen´s experiences in nature, but also from the paintings of Marianne Røthe Arnesen and Gøsta Munsterhjelm. Espen Friberg is known as an artist, designer, illustrator, cartoon creator and musician, and has received numerous awards and stipends for his work. In the beginning of 2000 he was a part of establishing the design studio Yokoland, but later started his own studio. In addition to his visual practice he has built a sound studio consisting of complex synthesizer systems and a variety of obscure electronical instruments and effect processors. He has been a central person in experimental and electronic music in Norway. He started and runs the record company Take It Easy Policy in collaboration with Emil Høgset, and has been a curator for the concert series Rett Ned. Since 2005 he has participated in a long line of sample albums under different artist names, before releasing his first EP under his own name in 2015. After this he has released six different albums with Øivind Olsen, André Borgen and Marianne Røthe Arnesen. Friberg has been active on the concert stage, both as a solo artist and in different collaborations. 1.Lazy cobweb 2.Wandering mountain 3.Gøsta Munsterhjelm 4.Foggy glow 5.Pasture patch 6.Motor sunup 7.Thirteen paintings 8.Marianne Røthe Arnesen 9.Sinuous river (part one) 10.Sinuous river (part two) 11.Orange moss bridge

Mystery Circles is busy at the moment with a great series of tapes, albums and 7"s all dropping in relatively quick succession. This one is a nice heavy 180-gram vinyl long player with only 100 copies pressed. It's Brooklyn's Tyler Gilmore, aka BlankFor.ms, at his best, if you ask us. His highly textured ambient uses gorgeous spinet piano, dusty and degraded tapes and analog synthesisers to make for something that evokes deep memories and transports you to places you had long forgotten. It is a touching record that leaves an indelible mark.

Berlin’s Pure Hate releases the first record in their new Various Artist series ‘Noise Bleed’ featuring tracks by Ryuji Takeuchi, Gaja, Swarm Intelligence & STRISC. Ryuji Takeuchi: Making a return to Pure Hate after his infamous ‘Essentials EP’ on PH002, Ryuji Takeuchi is renowned for his driving, hypnotic, atmospheric, raw, emotional interpretation of Techno. he has released on some key labels over the years including Inner Surface Music, LK Rec, Arms, Clan Destine Records, Infidel Bodies, Instruments Of Discipline, Depth. Request, his own LSN & Hue Helix imprints and more recently Mord and Dax J’s Monnom Black. Gaja: Once locked into the throes of Berlin’s ceaseless techno throb and now back home in Albenga, Italy, Gaja represents the gnarly, noisy extremity of modern dance music. It’s a desolate, distorted place where blasts of noise spit in the empty footprints once shaped by snares and hi-hats, and the bass bleeds out over everything. Having recently released his debut album ‘Morning Fist’ on his own Ophism imprint, Gaja makes his Pure Hate debut in style with track ‘Hangman’. Swarm Intelligence: From rhythmic noise to the brutal and bleak constitute a distinctive sound that Simon Hayes has been honing for more than a decade under his Swarm Intelligence guise. Having remixed MDD on PH003 The Dublin-born artist has cemented his place in the Techno underground with critically acclaimed LPs and EPs on labels like 47, Instruments of Discipline and Voitax plus standout sets at clubs like Berghain and Basement NY. Simon also recently launched his own self titled vinyl imprint Swarm Intelligence as a platform to explore his own imaginings of futuristic industrial music. STRISC.: Last but not least and rounding the record off in his trademark brutal style, label head STRISC. finally makes his anticipated debut on Pure Hate with track ‘Melt Pit’. VHXX1 is available in stores from 16th January 2023, distributed by Ready Made Distribution, Berlin. Mastered by Joe Farr. Artwork by Slave To Society. Tracklist: A1. Ryuji Takeuchi – Spur A2. Gaja – Hangman B1. Swarm Intelligence – Deviant B2. STRISC. – Melt Pit

Another Terra Magica release is coming! The new ‚Axisdance‘ - Various Artists (TERRAM003) double-vinyl 12″ compilation coming out this summer August/September on Terra Magica Rec.

With artists from all over the world such as Poly Chain, Mogwaa, Jacques Satre, Jai, DJ Normal 4, Imogen Soundsystem – Ilija Rudman and Antonio Zuza, Gee Dee, Rambal Cochet, Listensport, Johnmon and Hektisch Sprengen DJs.

Every track has its own spirit, in a kind of a 90s journey way. The compilation is a fascinating mixture of weird cosmic and slow goa vibes to more emotional places with powerful bassdriven downtempo techno and slightly trance influenced anthems as well as distinctive tribal acid easiness with epic melodies. Furthermore it involves faster loaded minimal hypnotic synth sounds and dark UK-House with a big-beat touch to it. Raw liquid floating old skool breaks melts into rave stompers which are inhabited by sensitive living microbes vibrating jungle atmospheres.

One of These Nights occupies an important, unique place in the Eagles' discography given it represents the final album the group made before releasing the bajillion-selling Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) compilation. The timing is telling. A coming-out party for Glenn Frey and Don Henley's songwriting skills, the studio record – the band's fourth, and its first to hit #1 on the charts – signifies the group's ascent to superstar status. Home to three massive singles (the title track, "Lyin' Eyes," and "Take It to the Limit") and nominated for four Grammy Awards, the quadruple-platinum 1975 effort solidified the Eagles' Southern California-reared sound and made the band a household name.

Mastered from the original analog tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and limited to 10,000 copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP vinyl box set takes One of These Nights to the limit. And then some. Playing with reference sonics and a practically indiscernible noise floor thanks to MoFi SuperVinyl's special formula, it provides a rich, dynamic, transparent, and three-dimensional view into a release that moved country-rock ahead by leaps and bounds – and paved the way for the Eagles' ascendancy to global superstardom. The opportunity to zero in on the particulars of the Eagles' golden harmonies, distinct vocal timbres, and cohesive interplay has never been better.

Visually, the premium packaging and presentation of the UD1S One of These Nights pressing befit its esteemed status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features beautiful foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording. From every angle, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the renowned cover art to the meticulous finishes. As much as any Eagles LP, the connection between the imagery and the music and the band on One of These Nights runs deep. No wonder it led to a Grammy Nomination for Best Album Package.

Devised by West Texas artist Boyd Elder, the striking skull-and-feathers themed piece gracing the front of One of These Nights represents where the Eagles have been and where they were headed. Album art director Gary Burden explained: "The cow skull is pure cowboy, folk, the decorations are American Indian-inspired, and the future is represented by the more polished reflective glass beaded surfaces covering the skull." Moreover, Elder had met the group years earlier when Henley and company performed at one of his gallery openings in California. MoFi's UD1S box set allows Elder's vision (and Burden's debossed treatment of the image) to pop and appear as if it was a stand-alone object.

Of course, what's inside the sleeves, and in the grooves, proves equally compelling. Though One of These Nights marks the final appearance of band co-founder Bernie Leadon on an Eagles LP and contains three of his tunes, the record's tremendous success owes to Frey and Henley's timeless contributions. Taking the next step in their maturation and evolution, the pair crafted several songs while living together as roommates in a rented house in which they converted a music room into a recording studio.

The duo's bond and chemistry pulse throughout the record – particularly in the tight arrangements, tasteful instrumental flourishes, and seamless blending of the folk, country, and rock elements. The musical combinations and partnership not only produced the Eagles' first million-selling single (the slow-dancing "Take It to the Limit," co-written with bassist-vocalist Randy Meisner) and the Frey-led cheating classic "Lyin' Eyes," but the famed title track, which nods to the era's nascent disco scene as well as Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philly soul platters.

Frey named "One of These Nights" as his favorite Eagles composition of all-time; Meisner's high harmonies alone send the track into a galaxy of its own. Speaking of the latter, Leadon's instrumental "Journey of the Sorcerer" ventures into another universe and was soon used by Douglas Adams as the theme to his "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" radio series. Inspiration and creative experimentation also dragged the Eagles into the blues. Another Frey-Henley gem, the self-probing "After the Thrill Is Gone" serves as a response song to B.B. King's signature track and more evidence the band was turning the lens inward for lyrical narratives. Like everything on One of These Nights, the song confirms the Eagles were breathing rare musical air.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master recordings, painstakingly transfer them to DSD 256, and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

Clear Vinyl

Erased Tapes are immensely proud to announce the reissue of the debut album Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light by Bell Orchestre. To honour the album"s original recordings the album is also seeing its first vinyl repress since it was released in 2005. Originally formed in 1999 whilst studying at university, the first music Bell Orchestre made was live scores for contemporary dance performances. A few years later, the studio sessions for Recording A Tape.. took place simultaneously in the same studio as when Arcade Fire were recording their eponymous debut album Funeral. The two Montreal-based bands took turns to record their albums but due to the growing interest in Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre was put on hold as band members Parry and Sarah Neufeld quickly became occupied with Arcade Fire"s busy touring schedule. "The Bell Orchestre album was almost done, but it kind of sat there. We were just sitting on this album that we were really proud of, but we didn"t have anyone to pay attention to it" Parry told Pitchfork in 2005. The album was released to critical acclaim and has since received cult status among fans. Bell Orchestre is a collaborative instrumental group based in Montreal. Its six members come from wildly divergent musical backgrounds, and the unlikely chemistry that results from their collaboration is the very thing that sustains their connection. It"s as if the group as a whole has tapped into a very particular, very distinct energy: like that of an approaching storm. In many ways, Bell Orchestre is the sum of not only its parts, but the sum of its influences and inspirations. Among those influences can be listed such diverse artists as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Arvo Pärt, Charles Mingus, and Talk Talk. But ultimately they work together to create something that none of them has quite heard before. Bell Orchestre has been known to retreat into the woods to make and write music: from a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, to the forests of Quebec and Vermont, and back to their hometown of Montreal. The specifics of time and place, the elemental forces at work outside, and those forces that exist inside, all come into play within Bell Orchestre"s musical process. This particular music could be made by no one else at no other time in history. The experience of listening to Bell Orchestre, whether live or recorded, is almost that of experiencing a form of synaesthesia: the result is a collage-like construction of not just sound, but visual elements as well. From a herd of elephants to that approaching storm on the horizon, from a quiet forest in the country to ice forming on a city street, from watching vapour trails disappear in the sky to watching the changing light of dusk through a window. The result then is not so much cinematic as it is evocative: Bell Orchestre have not just written the music to the film - they have created an invisible film that only comes to life in the listening

Black Vinyl

Erased Tapes are immensely proud to announce the reissue of the debut album Recording a Tape the Colour of the Light by Bell Orchestre. To honour the album"s original recordings the album is also seeing its first vinyl repress since it was released in 2005. Originally formed in 1999 whilst studying at university, the first music Bell Orchestre made was live scores for contemporary dance performances. A few years later, the studio sessions for Recording A Tape.. took place simultaneously in the same studio as when Arcade Fire were recording their eponymous debut album Funeral. The two Montreal-based bands took turns to record their albums but due to the growing interest in Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre was put on hold as band members Parry and Sarah Neufeld quickly became occupied with Arcade Fire"s busy touring schedule. "The Bell Orchestre album was almost done, but it kind of sat there. We were just sitting on this album that we were really proud of, but we didn"t have anyone to pay attention to it" Parry told Pitchfork in 2005. The album was released to critical acclaim and has since received cult status among fans. Bell Orchestre is a collaborative instrumental group based in Montreal. Its six members come from wildly divergent musical backgrounds, and the unlikely chemistry that results from their collaboration is the very thing that sustains their connection. It"s as if the group as a whole has tapped into a very particular, very distinct energy: like that of an approaching storm. In many ways, Bell Orchestre is the sum of not only its parts, but the sum of its influences and inspirations. Among those influences can be listed such diverse artists as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Arvo Pärt, Charles Mingus, and Talk Talk. But ultimately they work together to create something that none of them has quite heard before. Bell Orchestre has been known to retreat into the woods to make and write music: from a residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, to the forests of Quebec and Vermont, and back to their hometown of Montreal. The specifics of time and place, the elemental forces at work outside, and those forces that exist inside, all come into play within Bell Orchestre"s musical process. This particular music could be made by no one else at no other time in history. The experience of listening to Bell Orchestre, whether live or recorded, is almost that of experiencing a form of synaesthesia: the result is a collage-like construction of not just sound, but visual elements as well. From a herd of elephants to that approaching storm on the horizon, from a quiet forest in the country to ice forming on a city street, from watching vapour trails disappear in the sky to watching the changing light of dusk through a window. The result then is not so much cinematic as it is evocative: Bell Orchestre have not just written the music to the film - they have created an invisible film that only comes to life in the listening

Ellen Allien and the We Are Not Alone collective are back with a second edition of the We Are Not Alone series. A 36-track compilation split into 3 parts, each consisting of 12 cuts, dedicated to the infamous We Are Not Alone event series and the best of Berlin’s underground techno talent.

Ellen Allien's innovative party series We Are Not Alone was launched in 2016 and remains committed to inviting an exciting crew of artists to perform at the 36 hour events, now in a new home at RSO.BERLIN, where they returned with bang over 36 hours and 3 floors in May.

The We Are Not Alone compilation features artists that have played at the parties, as well as those who will join the line-up for future events. The 4th, 5th and 6th parts include music by Ellen and established names names such as Thomas P. Heckmann, Dollkraut & DJ Europarking, Francois X, Phase Fatale and Etapp Kyle. Rising stars Nene H, Nur Jaber, Stephanie Sykes, Wallis and Métaraph. BPitch signings including Rosa Anschütz, Shaleen, Matasism and Uncrat.
For this installment of the series, Ellen Allien collaborates with esteemed director and photographer Stini Roehrs for the multidisciplinary project ‘’AFTER DARK – Emotional States of Techno’’, consisting of a virtual rave film, book and exhibition produced by AKKURAT Studios, and the We Are Not Alone VA, which is to be released physically and digitally via BPitch.

The next We Are Not Alone parties take place at RSO, Berlin in July, August and October of this year. 22nd July, CSD weekend, is set to be a single night event on two floors. 20th August a We Are Not Alone floor during the RSO Club Festival and then we’ll be back for over 30 hours on 15th & 16th October. Watch this space.

With this release the label celebrates the return to the ranks of the founder Worg. A triumphant homecoming comparable to that of Jason, the main character of the Argonautica, who travelled in search of the Golden Fleece (Il Vello d'Oro) aboard the ship Argo. After many vicissitudes, the hero returned to Iolco, his homeland, to reclaim the throne usurped by his half-brother Pelias.

This new chapter in the Lykos saga focuses on the deeds of Jason and the Argonauts, but also on a key figure who was indispensable to the success of this quest, Medea. Thanks to her and her magical skills, the fellowship of heroes succeeded in grabbing the Golden Fleece. Through careful sound design, hinted melodic cells and complex rhythms, Il Piano di Medea by Worg, sums up details and facts related to this extraordinary legend. Starting from the prophecies of the Oracles, to the tragic and bloody ending of the epic poem, which took place with the death of King Pelias by his own daughters, hypnotized and manipulated by Medea's magic.

The narrative begins with the track Oracolo, characterized by a syncopated groove, nebulous atmospheres and the presence of a dark anthropomorphic synth, which alludes to the solemn, grave and authoritative voice of an entity. A prophetic spirit that warns the listener of the dangers that lurk for those who dare to enter this new sonic adventure. In order to foretell the future and to spread their word, the gods took possession of the bodies of priests who had fallen into ecstasy, using them as intermediaries. In his reinterpretation of Oracolo Neel, the grand Maestro of techno, in a similar way uses musical elements such as a harsh and acid bass line or a tight rhythm to lead the listener into a psychic state of suspension and mystical elevation.

In the music piece Il Vello d'Oro, Worg draws attention to the rare preciousness of this magical relic, rumored to have the power to heal all wounds and for this reason longed by Jason. To evoke the purity of the golden mantle, the artist uses shimmering percussion, radiant textures and the omnipresence of an FM synth bass, full of brilliant harmonics. All enhanced by sound details scattered throughout the arrangement.

Eryx, the record's final track, has a fluid and sinuous flow, with sound elements that recall water, a natural element, protagonist of the Argonauts' journey to the remote Colchis. A melody echoes in the distance, disappears and resurfaces to then collide, like waves on the rocks, with the complex and jagged rhythms that mark the gradual evolution of the
track.

LP 180G HEAVY BLACK VINYL, INCL. 12 TRACK MP3 ALBUM

For the better part of two decades, the acclaimed band Calexico has crossed musical barriers, embracing a multitude of styles, variety in instrumentation, and well-cultivated signature sounds. With their forthcoming record Edge of the Sun, out April 13th via City Slang, they take inspiration from a trip to a place surprisingly unexplored by the band before in Mexico City, and with the benefit of many friends and comrades to help guide the way.

Encouraged by the experience, the guest list grew to include Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses), Nick Urata (Devotchka), Carla Morrison, Gaby Moreno, Amparo Sanchez, multi-instrumentalists from the Greek band Takim, and Neko Case. Burns' brother John Burns lent a hand to some lyrics and songwriting, and the band's keyboardist, Sergio Mendoza, stepped up to co-write and arrange certain songs, ultimately co-producing the album along with Burns, John Convertino, and longtime associate Craig Schumacher.

If you decide to look up the strict definition of outsider in any dictionary, you'll find that the term is understood as "a person who is not involved with a particular group of people or organization or who does not live in a particular place".

Perhaps this is the most accurate description of Santiago Merino. For a long decade and from his native Medellín, this DJ and producer has always tried to keep his sonic spectrum open. An interdisciplinary artist capable of freely navigating through a myriad of genres is rarely encountered, and that may be the reason why Santiago enjoys a non-negotiable respect in the different scenes that make up the music circuit of his city. On this occasion, Back Door Records is pleased to serve as host to receive one of the most anticipated facets within the range of music produced by this Colombian artist.

The Outsider marks the debut of a new project signed by Merino, a new hunch in which house takes the helm of an EP entitled 4 Club Use. Composed of five tracks, 4 Club Use seems to show us the true essence behind a genre that has almost been trivialized over the years. In this case, El Outsider decided to take the basic ingredients of tech house to produce a recipe much richer in flavors, textures and melodies. "Fire People", for example, leaves the window open for the airs of Detroit techno to come in and cool off any sunny afternoon. "Outsider" and "The Heat", on the other hand, are seasoned by the purest amen breaks, as if it were a blessing intended solely for the dance floor.

But the real deal across 4 Club Use is definitely El Outsider's own edit of Merino's track "Those Days". Raw and forceful kicks, meticulously sampled vocals and pads that seem to wrap them magically, make this bomb one of the candidate tracks to take the absolute podium of 2023.

With this new solar album, Brazilian singer-songwriter Lucas Santtana wishes to re-enchant our life on earth. For his ninth album "O Paraíso" (Paradise), the free heir of the Brazilian tropicália intends to redefine our idea of Paradise. "It is in front of us, we must open our eyes and learn to contemplate it in depth," he explains. The Earth is a living organism also called "biosphere", a unique planet in the solar system where all the conditions are gathered to welcome life. Lucas places life at the heart of his songs and celebrates the collective forces that resist to preserve it. His guitar-vocal songs with bossa nova sounds are mixed with organic sounding percussions, enriched with electronic orchestrations and textures. The Brazilian composer gets closer to his French audience by collaborating with Flavia Coelho, Flore Benguigui (from the band L"Impératrice) or the saxophonist Laurent Bardaine, and by even trying his hand at French on one of his tracks. It"s a festive new album, which helps us better understand where we live and with whom we share this heavenly home.

Billy Nomates, the project of the Bristol-based songwriter, producer
and multi-instrumentalist Tor Maries, announces the release of her
much anticipated second studio album, ‘CACTI’, via Invada Records.
 Recorded at her flat and Invada Studios, ‘CACTI’ is a huge step up
for the artist, who received widespread critical acclaim for her
eponymous 2020 debut album, with heavy airplay across BBC Radio
6 Music and support from luminaries such as Iggy Pop, Florence
Welsh and Steve Albini.
 Though every bit as unrepentant as Billy Nomates’ debut, ‘CACTI’
comes from a much more exposed place and sees Tor further
develop her instinctive, inventive songwriting and production.
Unafraid to wade into the traumas of the past two years and the eerie
sense of apathy that lingers, alongside heartache and more political
themes, the 12-track collection openly confronts uncomfortable truths,
as Tor puts it, “70-80% of being bold is about being vulnerable as
hell.”
 Maries said: “Writing ‘CACTI’ took just over a year. I wrote very
intensely and then none at all. (This seems to be the way I work
best). I picked up old drum machines, mapped out things in my
kitchen with the same small micro keyboard I always use and then
raided the cupboards and rooms at Invada Studios, to play and
experiment with old synths, an upright piano, this weird organ thing. I
hope everyone finds their own narrative in ‘CACTI’. I think it’s about
surviving it all.”
 ‘CACTI’ features ‘blue bones’ and ‘balance is gone’, both of which
have been playlisted at BBC 6 Music.

Red Transparent Vinyl

This Geneva-based band have finely honed their instrumental "post-internet groove", creating the perfect blend of old-school funk, afro-beat, 70s soundtrack fusion, always adding a pinch of futuristic production and a touch of modernity aimed at bring the groove genre to new generations.

Side A, 'Funky Splash' is an original composition, understated in its groove but with the punch and crunch falling in all the right places, hence can be enjoyed either stewing in the background or as a dancefloor filler. The wah-wah and off-the-wall synths are both used to great rhythmic effect.

Side B, 'O Caminho do Bem', is a cover version of the Brazilian musical heavyweight Tim Maia. Always hard to revisit a classic, but L'Eclair's tight musicianship, perfect pacing and futuristic twist all add an extra layer of groove onto the mellow funk of the original.

Another slice of immaculate sounds for the ears and feet from Switzerland's finest export, Rocafort Records.

Before Mahjun (of which Souffle Continu reissued, in 2016, the two albums released on Saravah), there was... Maajun. Five musicians (Jean-Pierre Arnoux, Cyril and Jean-Louis Lefebvre, Alain Roux and Roger Scaglia) and three times as many instruments at the service of an electric-poetic guerrilla group moulded from folk and blues. The group’s unique album, “Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde” evokes an (imaginary) association of Frank Zappa and Jacques Higelin, of Sonny Sharrock and the Art Ensemble Of Chicago. Under these conditions, Long Live Death!

“The most French of all the French groups, determined to take Maurice Chevalier’s place in American hearts.” This was how Rock&Folk presented Mahjun in 1977. So be it. But when “Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde”, was issued, it was 1971, and the name, though the same group, was still spelled Maajun. So, let’s look back at the story.

At the end of the sixties, five blues fans decided to form a French group ready to break down the barriers: Jean-Pierre Arnoux (drums, vibraphone, saxophone), Cyril Lefebvre (guitar, organ), Jean-Louis Lefebvre (bass, violin, guitar, vocals), Alain Roux (saxophone, flute, harmonica, vocals) and Roger Scaglia (guitar, vocals). This was Maajun, and Vivre la mort du vieux monde would be their only album, but which would (nevertheless) be followed by those of Mahjun created later by Lefebvre (Jean-Louis) and Arnoux.

Recorded for the Vogue label, “Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde” would disturb a number of people. This is mostly due to the lyrics, many of which were written by Gérald Escot-Bocanegra, who, while summoning the spirit of Lautréamont and Rimbaud, turned the Maajun musicians on to rock and free jazz. Add a bit of politics into the mix, and the release of the album was delayed for several months. But then, wasn’t it worth waiting for?

Because “Vivre la Mort du Vieux Monde”, a real concept-album, is an important and iconoclastic statement made directly in the face of (francophone) dreamers of all countries. Over heavy guitar riffs, psychedelic interludes or fantasy-fuelled digressions, Maajun built mazes on the advice of alchemists known only to themselves before heading off on a long march on the “cracking walls”. It was an ambitious project, but Maajun could handle it, going so far as to proclaim: “Tomorrow will be a huge party!” But as we can see “tomorrow”, is now!

'What if Blitz hailed from Los Angeles and sang in Spanish’ isn’t a question you hear all that often. Fortunately, we don’t need to ask - the answer is provided by Generacion Suicida’s latest album, which rages and rattles in all the right places, drenched in the memorable brilliance that powered the Killed By Death compilations (ask yer dad - and if he doesn’t know or care, burn his terrible records and make some space to track down the KBD LPs). The band’s slogan is ‘musica del barrio, para el barrio’ - music from the neighbourhood, for the neighbourhood - but it sounds like they could use these hooks to take on the world. That’s a pretty accurate sentiment as well, because this album was written during the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020, while the world bubbled over with carefully managed misinformation, police violence and the sickening overspill of white supremacy’s foul brew. If Regeneracion sounds potent, it’s because there was a lot to be angry about, and the result is arguably their best album yet. Those chorused-out guitar lines carry shades of deathrock, hints of Manchester circa 1980, elements of something you might call goth if it was several degrees less furious. But there’s no doomed romance to this music; it’s an all-out attack. Street punk with the smarts turned up and an ear turned to the lessons learned from post-punk (but crucially, not the ‘post-punk revival’ that is essentially shirtless beardy lads chanting non-sequiturs over landfill indie). Chiefly, it’ll make you wanna get out of your chair, unite your local community and march on down towards your government’s centre of operations with a simple-to-use molotov cocktail kit. Its rage is infectious. It’s inspired by bleak moments in our recent shared history, but it revels in humans’ capacity to find strength in each other. And the tunes? Oh damn, they’re good.' Will Fitzpatrick.

Britta Virves is a pianist and composer born in Saaremaa, Estonia - Her
piano compositions are narratively clear and harmonically modern
meditations on the wonder of nature, ecological webs of interconnectedness, and the people and places she calls home

Bassist/composer Christian McBride's 'The Movement Revisited: A
Musical Portrait of Four Icons' is the culminating documentation of a
richly inspired piece lauding four key figures of the Civil Rights
Movement: Rev
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali.
Marshalling his ever- sharpening skills as a composer, arranger, conductor,
musician and lyricist, McBride has created a historically and culturally
illuminating five- part suite for an 18- piece big band, chorus and narrators that
places the motivating forces as well as the goals of the Civil Rights Movement
within a powerfully relevant artistic context. It is a one- from- the- heart project
McBride was, apparently, destined to undertake.
This recording of The Movement Revisited marks the addition of a fifth
movement, Apotheosis, which acknowledges the election of Barack Obama as
the first African American President of the United States.
2-LP regular weight black vinyl gatefold jacket.

Originally released in 2001, Nigeria 70 was the first compilation of its kind to explore in depth the fertile music scene in Lagos as domestic artists mixed highlife and traditional rhythms with soul, funk, rock and jazz. While Western audiences were already familiar with Fela Kuti and his life story, the album placed the spotlight on some of the other great musicians and bandleaders in Nigeria during the "70s period: Joni Haastrup, Peter King, Segun Bucknor, Bala Miller, Blo, King Sunny Ade, Tunji Oyelana and many more.Three further volumes followed, exploring the far corners of original Afrobeat, juju, funk and soul.

We have a very limited amount of these available now for stores. 4LP boxset - white vinyl - edition of 300 - includes: The Dream Derealised LP, Lightnesses I & II LPs, Near Future Residence LP. It’s nearing a decade since William Doyle released his Mercury Music Prize nominated debut album, Total Strife Forever, as East India Youth in 2014. A year later, he had toured the world and was releasing his second album, Culture of Volume, but it would be another four years before Doyle returned with his third full album, and the first official release under his own name. The dizzyingly ambitious Your Wilderness Revisited arrived in 2019 and was followed last year by the artpop masterpiece, Great Spans of Muddy Time. In the years between leaving the old project behind and re-emerging under his own name, Doyle self-released a string of ambient-leaning albums, The Dream Derealised, Lightnesses Vol I & II and Near Future Residence, which are now to receive a first vinyl pressing via Tough Love as both a highly limited four LP box set, titled ‘Slowly Arranged: 2016-19’, and as separate albums. The Dream Derealised is a collection of nine abstract, lo-fi pieces that were recorded during the summer of 2016, when focusing on creating them helped guide Doyle through a “difficult period of anxiety, panic and a regular dissociative feeling called derealisation.” At the time, doing something creative in a quick and immediate fashion felt vital to Doyle, carrying him to a new place: “I’m releasing them now as a cathartic measure, and as a message for others who may be going through difficult times themselves. What I told myself at the time, what I can tell you now: You are not in danger. You are not going insane. You are not alone.” Lightnesses Vol. I & II sees Doyle create what we might understand as true ambient music – that is, music intended for the background that wasn’t composed as such, but allowed to blossom out of the setting of some rules and parameters, played by sounds he created and then resampled. The deceptively simple, droning pieces are unlike anything Doyle has made before or since. “During their creation I’d often take photographs of the light coming in through the windows of the two houses I lived in during their creation. I’d post these on social media and they became quite popular parts of my output. This music was intended to accompany those visuals. The first volume’s photo is a double exposure of the sun shining in on my notebook and my hand, whereas the photo for the second volume was taken in Joshua Tree Park, California as I saw our tail lights illuminate one of the trees.” Near Future Residence is music for an imagined place based on real ideas; the soundtrack for an ecologically sustainable housing development somewhere in a not-too-distant future Britain. The eleven instrumental pieces here come from a place of optimism, imagining a future that is based on cooperation, community and ecological urbanism. It's music intended to sit in this imagined environment rather than impose upon it, similar in principle to the function of Kankyō Ongaku (Japanese environmental music). The ideas contained on Near Future Residence laid the groundwork for - and can be seen as a companion piece to - the album Your Wilderness Revisited, released to critical acclaim in 2019. Doyle explains how the pieces “were composed in entirely generative ways using samples of instruments, synthesisers and field recordings I've collected and developed throughout 2018. In generative composition, rules are set and parameters are chosen and then put into motion, the results constantly changing and surprising.”

Mallorcan mastermind Joan Bibiloni gets two key works from his esteemed catalogue officially licensed via Gouranga Music and edited by the remix maestro Ray Mang.

On the A side the boogie brilliance of the aptly named ‘The Boogie’, extended and echoed in all the right places to form a true dancefloor winner. On the flip, Mang turns this classic Balearic Bibiloni gem ‘Val, I Vuw Ya’ that has an acoustic guitar and chromonica spinning around each other from the three and a half minute original into a hypnotic six minute wonder.
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7" Black Vinyl in Fold-out Concertina Sleeve, 500 copies only. An anachronism in current times where individualism reigns supreme, Teeth Machine are a rare band knitted together through close camaraderie: a collective in the truest sense of the word, whose intricate, improvisational style resolutely resists being reduced to one single contributor. Teeth Machine found its beginnings in the close friendship and musical collaborations of Arthur Bently (saxophonist/lead guitarist) and Gray Rimmer (lead vocals/guitar). Having played together in various other projects since the age of 17 and disaffected with the music industry, the pair’s first furtive experimentations with the music that would later become Teeth Machine took place at a deliberate distance from the Outside world. This early incubation period, and the music made through endless bedroom sessions and demos recorded on laptops and tapes, became the spine of the project, fostering a sound that still retains both a precious intimacy and a large, expansive sonic scope. The band’s lineup as it stands today features long term friends and collaborators Anthony Boatright (Bass), Jamie Staples (Drums), and Ciara Reddy (Vocals/Synth). On their first self-assured, recorded offering to the wider world, Teeth Machine still bear the imprint of their origins, the band’s sound firmly grounded in the ethos of mutually weighted contribution, as well as the closeness cultivated in their early experiences, always retaining an air of uninhibited creativity and adolescent intimacy. ‘Gumball’, their first release on RaRaRok (Wulu, The Goa Express) was self-produced, mixed by Dilip Harris (King Krule, Mount Kimbie). It’s a song that conveys the tension and impossibility of communication and language, even when attempting to connect with those closest to us. Despite this, and however much the track itself bristles with an unmistakable air of friction, the listener gets the strong sense that there has not been a love lost, but rather one renegotiated, even expanded. Speaking about ‘Gumball’, Teeth Machine said: “‘Gumball’ is about the impossibility of talking. It was written during quite a chaotic period, and the lyrics came about after we had a big argument in the kitchen while trying to record a demo at the time - it tracks the madness and intensity of trying to make sense to someone you care about, or to yourself in your head. There’s a kind of antagonistic self help mantra that resonates throughout; it’s about internal and external conflict. It’s angry, but it’s also full of love too

Welcome to the Parish. Come, gather round dear lambs, as today’s sermon is about to begin. Crypt of the Wizard proudly presents the highly anticipated debut LP from pastoral proto-metal power trio Parish, available to pre-order on vinyl now. The two years since the release of their EP God's Right Hand have proved to be no fallow period for the band, who used the time to write and hone the 10 songs laid out on their self-titled debut. They returned to the majestic Holy Mountain to record the album. Making use of the studio's bumper crop of vintage equipment, Parish were able to unearth a sound that draws on the roots of heavy metal. The band's lyrics continue to revel in notions of the pastoral. Themes concerning the works of witches and the changing of the seasons are explored with economic and elegant storytelling. Songs of villagers besieged by strange travellers and poor wretches locked away in gaol conjure up a feeling of uncanny dread. Elsewhere, other songs suggest a sacerdotal attitude towards the earth and those who walk it. Parish stir up sweet memories of those subtle moments of perfection found deep in the discographies of heavy metal’s historic luminaries. Their sound reaches into places previously ventured by the likes of Wishbone Ash, Pagan Altar and Budgie, as well as folk revivalists Fairport Convention - a less obvious resource for heaviness, but a fine repository for musical depth. With any luck, Parish will in time join the aforementioned bands whose records will be played on repeat, locked in the unchangeable hearts of those unbothered by novelty and changes in musical fashions. Now our sermon has come to a close, peace be with you, and go forth in glory.

Finally available on vinyl for the first time, with extra tracks - Limited edition numbered red vinyl. 500 copies worldwide A supergroup with twenty lead singers from twenty different bands, featuring members of: Killing Joke, Carcass, Funeral For a Friend, Therapy, Hundred Reasons, Napalm Death, Sikth, Pitchshifter, Fightstar, Earthtone 9, Amen, New Model Army, Send More Paramedics, Hiding Place, Romeo Must Die, Murder One, Hondo Maclean. Architect and founding This is Menace member MD Clayden (Pitchshifter) has curated ‘Ism’ adding previously unreleased material. Reviews: “A living, breathing, subversive collective.” Kerrang Magazine / “Furious. Like a juggernaut. F*ck yeah!” Metal Hammer Magazine / “Brash...and brilliant to break stuff to.” NME

Projected into unexplored places, where time has vanished its power,
space has broken the limits, allowing infinite areas, uniform, soft surfaces, incomprehensible voices seem to suggest solutions to permanent reflections, flashes of light indicate a path, rhythmic structures trace the way, hypnotic percussions stimulate the matter, protected by incessant silences.

'Going downstairs' is a electronic blues song with 'Lazy' sort of synths and a repetitive vocal hook placed on top of a midtempo rhythm with kicks, hi hats etc entering and leaving the mix continiously. This was a CD only track from the Sound Sculptures CD release and now gets a 12" release. Tip!

feat. Maurissa Rose

The new Parrish single appears on vinyl in the form of two mixes differing in vibe but consistent in quality and suitability for DJ use. The original rides along on a shuffling, almost Afrobeat version of house, with Maurissa Rose's gorgeous vocal floating above the gloopy, hypnotic bassline which gets the full filter treatment. The instrumental dub places that b-line very much at the centre of the mix, starting from a single kickdrum before building up to a more techno-edged, vocal free climax. all throbbing bass, solid bears and minimal, glitchy keyboard interjections.

Cardinal Fuzz and Centripetal Force (North America) announce First Welcome, the eighth full length album from the ever evolving, veteran psychonauts White Manna. The album is being presented in a 500 copy vinyl pressing and will be made available for preorder on November 12th. The official release date is December 10th. White Manna's longevity as one of the leaders of the modern psychedelic movement is attributed to their willingness to introduce new elements to their sonic repertoire. Initially, these moves were subtle, but as the band has moved on through the years, these moves have become much more pronounced, always leaving listeners wondering what is in store for them as new releases are announced. So, here we are with First Welcome, an album that features warbled country leanings, airy blooms of ambience, and occasional hints of a German yesteryear, all implemented into the band's signature hazy and spacey mosaic of sound. None of these developments are unexpected, as they do build off of their previous album ARC, but here we see the band expand these elements and really make them their own. It should be noted that First Welcome is a product of the COVID era, with much of the recording happening in quarantine or while socially distanced. The band's process relied on communicating via email and sending music files back and forth. For White Manna this made the world of COVID both more fun and challenging, and they used the opportunity to get friends in different places to overdub tracks. Backing vocals and slide guitar were recorded while camping in the Mojave Desert. The saxophone was recorded in Liverpool. England. The trumpet sounds and some of the passages on the Rhodes were laid down in Northern California, and much of the vocals, piano, and synthesizer tracks were recorded in Costa Rica. As a result, the sound of First Welcome is reflective of the circumstances of these contemplative times. White Manna is recommended for listeners of everything from Hawkwind to Harmonia - and everything in between.

'It sounds like Roedelius remixing a Spacemen 3 track'

Glasgow's First Lady of Jazz Carol Kidd, whose string of successful Linn recordings in the 1980's have made her a staple of international audiophile artists, returns with an all-new collection of delectable jazz and pop standards delivered in her inimitably smooth and heartfelt style.

Kidd has always been an artist celebrated for her cool, controlled phrasing and easy-going balladry, and her lovely new recording, BOTH SIDES NOW, is replete with her trademark inflection and warmth spread over classic songs by everyone from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, and Richard Thompson. A songwriter of note, Kidd herself contributes two new tracks co-authored with Chris Anthony.

Impex's exclusive 180-gram 33 rpm LP, mastered by the superlative Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, features brilliantly detailed mid-tones, effortlessly stable bottom end, and crisp overtones. RTI's peerless pressing brings it all together for your listening pleasure.

Carol Kidd is an international award winning singer. She has been named 'Best Vocalist' at the British Jazz Awards on four occasions and was appointed MBE for Services to Jazz. In 2006, Carol was a winner of the prestigious Nordoff-Robbins Tartan Clef Music Award and in 2017 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Jazz Awards. Renowned for her impeccable phrasing and delivery along with an unforgettable ability to breathe fresh life into any jazz standard, Carol has cut a distinctive path through the Great American Songbook throughout her career with orchestral and trio backing, as well as performing as a unique and intimate duo with guitarist Nigel Clark.

A long line of admirers has included Tony Bennett, Vic Damone and Frank Sinatra, who invited her to open for him at a stadium concert where he remarked that, "Carol Kidd is the best kept secret of British jazz." After a sensational performance at the Tribute to Johnny Mercer show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Sir Michael Parkinson observed from the stage that "If there is a better jazz singer out there I have yet to hear them!" Luminaries who have performed alongside Carol as her guests include George Shearing, Georgie Fame, Annie Ross, Benny Carter, Joe Temperley, Bobby Watson and Martin Taylor.

Following a battle with cancer, Carol returned to the stage triumphant in the summer of 2013 to give a powerful, emotional performance at the Glasgow Jazz Festival. In the wake of this homecoming, it is impossible to deny that Kidd is one of the most remarkable artists and performers of our time.

The trashed hotel room and communal living depicted on the cover of the J. Geils Band's sophomore album tell you all you need know about the music, spirit, and energy spilling from within The Morning After. Shot through with raw, lean rock n' roll sparked by juke-joint blues and loose rhythms, the 1971 set comes on like the most fun, party-still-raging hangover any group in the 70s enjoyed. And now it rolls with an abandon that takes you inside the sweaty, smoky roadhouses and wall-to-wall-packed clubs the group dominated in its heyday.

Mastered from the original master tapes, pressed at RTI, and limited to 3,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's 180g vinyl LP achieves a sonic acumen that brings you face-to-face with the sextet's white-hot instrumental prowess and magnetic personalities. It's always been difficult to single out just one member of the band given the cohesive bluster the ensemble achieves as a whole, but this collectible audiophile edition allows you to do just that if you so choose, by way of superb imaging and separation. As for the band's trademark dynamics? Here, they feel like they're on the verge of exploding.

So go ahead. Twist the volume knob to the right as much as you want. You'll lose none of the focus, detail, placement, or presence no matter how high the decibels climb. The Morning After spills forth with previously unheard tonalities, ranging from the distinctive swells of Seth Justman's slow-burn organ to the live-wire spark of Geils' own downed-power-line-jumpy guitar work to the mooring hi-hat/cymbal/snare combinations of arrangement-steadying drummer Steven Bladd. Friends, this is raw rhythm n' blues, this is how it should feel, and, man, this is how it should sound.

Not for nothing did the Massachusetts-based collective name the album The Morning After. The music within doesn't abide by rules, ignores speed limits, flips the bird at curfews, and digs deep down into America's blues roots to yield organic material at once fresh, exciting, traditional, and original. The back-porch punch provided by the combination of "Magic Dick" Salwitz's searing, melodic, snake-like harmonica and vocalist Peter Wolf's animated, barely controlled deliveries is alone enough to make anyone with a faint pulse to stomp their feet, climb atop a kitchen table, and kick their boot heels until the neighbors call the cops.

Just witness the deceptive smoothness of the snake-like "So Sharp" or Maxwell Street zest of the aptly titled Magic Dick showcase "Whammer Jammer," which will leave you gasping for breath before it even ends. J. Geils Band also knew its way around deep-cut soul. The ensemble's Top 40, howling, adrenaline-to-the-heart rendition of the Valentinos' "Looking for a Love" and swirling, romantic take on Don Covay's "The Usual Place" seamlessly balance drive and emotion. Coupled with rafter-shaking originals such as "Floyd's Hotel" and the riff-propelled "I Don't Need You No More," sent up with typical Wolf vocal flair, and the record parks the band's all-night festivities and go-for-broke attitudes right on your front lawn.

One last word of warning to the uninitiated: The Morning After is not the slick-pop J. Geils Band of "Centerfold." And that is a very good thing.

Few musical discoveries in recent years - perhaps ever - have been as staggering as that of Soap&Skin aka Anja Plaschg. The sheer force this young artist (she is only eighteen) injects into her compositions almost beggars belief, her songs consuming every last drop of her with no regard for grace or beauty. They say I'm different – and they have been saying it about Plaschg since she was a little girl in the small South Steiermark village of Gnas, where her parents had a pigfarm. With her punkish looks, ripped clothes and nihilistic attitude to match, she felt like the archetypal outsider, hating piano lessons until hitting her teens when, all of a sudden, piano playing became her elixir. Anja began practising for 12 hours a day, took up the violin as well and composed her first classical pieces for the village music school. Her older brother installed a sound programme on the computer for her to play around with, and having figured it out for herself, she experimented with productions.Soap&Skin's first album “Lovetune for Vacuum” is a logical progression from her previously released pieces, an unwavering line of drama, inner conflict and melancholy. The impact of this debut lies in its paradoxicality: remarkably mature on the one hand, yet feeding on unbridled youthful exuberance on the other. The songs you find on the album have been written between 2005 – 2008 and have been recorded back at Anja’s place - mostly just by herself.

Brixton in South London has to be the place whee legends in Reggae & Dub meet up for a collaboration. The result is this 8 track all-analogue mixed Dubwise adventure that features the UK’s hardest Roots Reggae bass player & drummer (Mafia & Fluxy) playing the UK’s deepest dubs (Vibronics).
This fascinating and intricate LP merges old stool Jamaican reggae musicianship with the swirling euphoria found in contemporary dub music.

Vibronics is one of the most established names in UK Dub/Reggae music. From their base, in the Dub Cupboard Studio in Leicester, their music has achieved millions of views on YouTube, millions of Spotify streams and many tens of thousands of vinyl record sales. Vibronics have collaborated with reggae legends Michael prophet, Macka B, Iration Steppas, Soom T, Aba-Shanti and so many more.

Mafia & Fluxy are the UK’s foremost Reggae rhythm section and were initially inspired by Sly And Robbie, consisting of brothers Mafia (Bass) and Fluxy (drums). Legends of the stage and the studio, they record regularly in the UK & Jamaica, building rhythm tracks for Bunny Lee, Blacker Dread, King Jammy, Exterminator and Jah Shaka. They continue to work with the cream of the crop in terms of Reggae, having recently backed Luciano & Eek-A-Mouse on their world tours.

Prolific Japanese producer T5UMUT5UMU has built up a reputation in the last few years for his ability not just to recreate club styles but to flip them into almost unrecognizable dancefloor hybrids. "Asyl" follows a blistering run of Bandcamp releases where T5UMUT5UMU has melted together gqom and techno, deconstructed grime and welded dubstep to traditional music from Japan and India. Here, he's operating completely off the grid, pulling raw materials from across the globe and hammering them into confounding shapes and patterns. On its surface, 'Fireball' sounds like a liquid metal approximation of South African gqom, but move in closer and you can make out dubstep bass squelches, trap hats, and industrial techno jet propulsion filling in the gaps with rubberized mortar. 'Desert' is the EP's most lightheaded cut, a psychedelic percussive spiral that curves micro-tuned mbira clangs around bee sting bass, aerated noise blasts and sub-aqueous kicks. It's a hard track to place, but fits in somewhere between Donato Dozzy, Menzi and 33EMYBW, all shifting rhythms and precision-edited sound design. 'Sea of Trees' retains this momentum, pushing the tempo and interspersing woodblock vibrations with syncopated bass drums and goosebump-inducing synths, while closer 'Bottomless Valley' shifts back into a gqom framework, shuffling the expected pulse with a powerful dembow swing, half step subs and Indian-inspired rattles. "Asyl" is a varied but shockingly coherent statement from an enigmatic producer who refuses to confine himself to a single path, and at a time when "cross-genre" is the norm rather than the exception, it's refreshing to witness a producer who's unafraid to truly make stylistic left-turns, rather than simply mash together top-level aesthetics.

Violence is the self-titled third album from Baltimore born/ New York based artist, multi-instrumentalist, and cult figure Olin Caprison.. Their compositions are known for vivisecting and seamlessly merging the idiosyncratic features of hip hop, metla, RnB, and electronica, creating a language all their own. A dense multilayered opus, the album takes us on a journey through religious ceremony, nightmarish visions, and the forgotten corners of a decaying cityscape, leading us to the celebratory catharsis of the club. Entirely written, produced and performed by Violence, the project is an ambitious and singular vision that takes their unique sound to transcendent new places. The album initiates with Small Body, a solemn hymn inspired by the procession of nurses encircling a congregation in black pentecostal tradition. It's freeform chanting and syncopated body percussion invoke the trancelike rhythms of call and response music. A hollowed chamber of reverence that pulls us deep into the vision of the album. It's followed by Reptile, a horrifying slab of industrial intensity that merges multiple narratives seen throughout history to interrogate a side of victimhood not usually explored. A baroque masterpiece of intricate instrumentation and celestial theatre, guitar melodies blast across a delicately woven tapestry, reflecting the manic, distorted, and unstable mindset of the central figure.

Following up on the worldwide success of their new album Education & Recreation, Surprise Chef drops a must have two-sider for those of us who can't get enough 45s. The A side, "Money Music" is a bassline driven mid tempo tune that catches you from the first note and carries you through all the gorgeous changes. Piano, vibraphone, and guitar trade places over a watertight drum track that builds up, drops down, builds up again, and changes to half time to take it all home. The B side "Suburban Breeze" kicks in the door with an intro that is bound to be sampled and will get your blood racing and your head nodding. They lure you in with the neck snapping intro that is bound to be sampled and bring you from mood to mood as they change the energy from tough as nails to floaty and groovy, and back to tough as nails.

Ayahuasca: Music for Film, by Luis David Aguilar (1978-1983) compiles works by Luis David Aguilar, one of the most prolific composers of film scores in Peru. It shows the great versatility and avant-garde style that has distinguished his work. Luis David Aguilar (Arequipa, 1950) occupies a fundamental place in the history of film music in Peru, not only because of the prolific nature of his work (which also includes music for television and advertising), but because of the singular, experimental style found in many of his scores. Aguilar's music blends modern academic composition with the use of native instruments, synthesizers, sound collages and a diversity of resources, which identify him as a key figure to understand a period of Peruvian music marked by the imprint of the avant-garde and the use of native sounds, which developed during the late 70's and the early 80's. Aguilar belongs to the so called "Generation of the 70's", along with Peruvian composers such as Walter Casas, Seiji Asato and Aurelio Tello, who were then immersed in the languages of contemporary classical music. But he also shares the spirit of renewal of a generation of musicians who came from the world of jazz and electronic experimentation such as Manongo Mujica and Arturo Ruiz del Pozo. Ayahuasca is an album that collects pieces from 1978 to 1983 and offers an overview of the different musical paths that Aguilar followed during his career as a soundtrack composer. The album opens with music from the film El viento del ayahuasca The Wind of Ayahuasca (1983), by director Nora de Izcue, performed by the National Symphony Orchestra and Choir of Cuba under the baton of Luis David Aguilar, with Chucho Valdés on piano. Recorded at the ICAIC studios (Cuba), it is an ambitious orchestral and vocal composition, in which you can hear the beginning of the famous melody of "Mujer Hilandera" [Female Weaver], popularized by the Amazonian cumbia group Juaneco y su Combo, which serves as an introduction to the sound world of the jungle, a dense and hypnotic atmosphere that, without a doubt, places this work as one of the most important compositions of the author's repertoire. The next track is the music for the documentary Anónimo cotidiano [Anonymous Everyday] (1979), by director Jorge Rey, a unique experimental piece for synthesizers (played by Aguilar), drums and percussion (played by Manongo Mujica), with the addition of various Andean instruments (panpipes, charango, among others). It is a clear example of fusion of sound experimentation and timbres from the Andean world. And finally Los constructores [The Builders] (1978), by director José Carlos Huayhuaca, a salsa which incorporates unusual sounds of tubular bells and prepared pianos. Ayahuasca: Music for Film by Luis David Aguilar (1978-1983) is the second album by Aguilar released by Buh Records, following the celebrated Hombres de Viento/Venas de la Tierra (1978-1982), appeared in 2015. The album is published in vinyl format, in a limited edition of 300 copies, as part of the Essentials Sounds collection. It includes a booklet with notes by Luis David Aguilar. The audio has been remastered from the original reel tapes by Aldo Montalvo. The artwork and design is by About Studio.

World-renowned Irish American group The Gloaming return with their highly anticipated third studio album.

The Gloaming is four master musicians and one singer, seemingly suspended in time as their music unfurls around them, its tendrils reaching out into every nook and cranny of the room.

It's undoubtedly Irish music - with violinists Martin Hayes and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, guitarist Dennis Cahill and Iarla Ó Lionáird, one of the greatest contemporary Sean-nós singers. However, it's also more than that: pianist and producer Thomas Bartlett steers the music towards a place where modernity and the old world become one. The heart of The Gloaming remains but there are touches throughout that signal its points of difference.

Semi Delicious is wrapping up the 2022 with a set of collaborative remixes of bossman Demi Riquísimo’s personal SD stash.

Following on from 2019’s ‘Reconfigured’, 'Reconfigured 2’ see’s Manami, Gallegos, Gina Breeze & Asa Tate put their own imitable stamps on the back catalog of label head’s own Semi Delicious back catalog.

First up with have Japan born, Peckham based Manami’s interpretation of ‘Mirage Over’. Originally released on SEMID008, Manami’s fingerprints are all over this revised iteration. High energy, twisted prog with balearic touches make for a considered & unique reimagining. Fresh from tearing apart Panorama Bar, Gallegos puts his spin on disco tinged roller ‘Point One’. Vintage percussion characterise a remix that wouldn’t sound of out of place in the bag of Larry Levan or Ron Hardy. The b-side kicks off with HomoBloc & Warehouse Project resident Gina Breeze beefing up the low end and levels of psychedelia on ’Sanitise’ making for some serious peak time gear. To wrap up the package we have Asa Tate’s revision of ‘Anxious Elephants’. Breezy piano and panpipes contrast the records chugging low end and acid inflections creating a truly versatile track suitable for shifting the mood up or down in a given context.

The Belgian minimal synth band's three releases – a cassette and two vinyl EPs – were all titled »Against The Dark Trees Beyond«. This compilation collects the songs from these records.

"They were interesting times, the early eighties. Against a backdrop of cold war and economic crises, the DIY attitude of the earlier punk movement had spawned near countless new genres where artists and bands broke the three-chord guitar mould and experimented with new content matter, singular song structures and – in many cases – new instruments. Synthesizers became affordable and were no longer the sole privilege of rock millionaires. All around the globe, musical creativity boomed as never before, and Belgium was no exception: Digital Dance, Snowy Red, The Names, Pseudocode, Marine, 1000 Ohm, De Kommeniste, M.Bryo & D.M.T., De Brassers, Struggler, Siglo XX are but a few legendary names of bands and artists who started making a name for themselves.

In Leuven, things were happening as well. Until then, the music scene in this rather provincial town had been dominated by straightforward rock and blues acts. Not for much longer, though: in places like Arno'z and (later) The Gladhouse, where young budding artists met with kindred spirits, bands were often formed on the spot and, more importantly, started to make ripples.

Ludo Camberlin and Karel 'Bam' Saelemaekers already had a certain track record in Leuven's burgeoning music microcosm. But what they shared would become the cornerstone of A Blaze Colour (Against The Dark Trees Beyond): a fascination for new forms and instruments, a penchant for sonic adventure and a profound love for gripping songs. The full band name, by the way, was inspired by a phrase from the Irish-American novelist J.P. Donleavy, a writer who belongs in the definitely-worth-checking-out section.

After appearing on the first No Big Business LP (1981) with the instrumental 'Fisk', A Blaze Colour's first proper release, as was so often the case in those days, was a self-produced cassette. The music – which would later be dubbed 'minimal' – was characterized by the use of basic rhythm machines (Boss Dr. 55, mainly) and analog synthesizers (for the synth geeks: Korg Delta and MS20, Roland SH-2 and Jupiter IV, and the infamous Casio VL-1). Camberlin’s vocals, meanwhile, displayed an aloofness totally in sync with the zeitgeist. Equally important, though: all five tracks on this cassette were bona fide songs with a clear sense of structure, aided by a sonic mastery that demonstrated a high level of experience: 'Means To An End' started out as a proto-industrial track before bursting out into a moroderesque finale. The remix of 'Fisk' was as sprightly as the next river salmon, while 'Or Lie Again' proved the perfect soundtrack to a nightly walk through wet deserted streets. On the other hand, 'Through With Life', rife with disturbing sound effects countered by a slow portamento, could have been a prize track on a post punk 'Lamb Lies Down On Broadway'. And in true dramatic fashion, 'Follow The Signs' was the perfect ending of this five-song cycle: a driving sequencer and gripping chord progression coupled with a simple but powerful vocal line. Considering the limited technical means the duo was working with, this was no less than a triumph.

A few months later, the band released a seven-inch single on its own ABLACO label. 'Dark Trees Beyond', a quirky pop song, was coupled with 'Addict Of Time', a dark and brooding spoken word piece. Not the kind of single to storm hit parades, but it didn't go unnoticed. The Minny Pops' Wally van Middendorp, who had founded the Plurex label in 1978, invited A Blaze Colour to his studio in the Netherlands, to record an EP. It would prove to be a massive step forward: recording in a semi-professional studio offered great possibilities, the recently acquired TR-808 drum machine allowed for a broader rhythm palette, and the three new tracks (next to the re-recording of 'Through With Life') showed a band on the top of their game: 'The New Ones' was a wry and haunting song built around a live drum loop and an ominous bass pattern, while 'Nowhere Else' was a near-pop track with very un-minimal vocal harmonies. And it's a mystery why 'Altitude' – another instrumental – was never used in a stylized, high-profile detective soundtrack.

Another song from these sessions, the revved-up 'Cold As Ever' turned up on the high-profile Plurex "Hours" compilation, where it shone brightly, next to songs of a.o. X-Mal Deutschland, Nasmak, Minny Pops and Section XXV.

Meanwhile, Camberlin had already carved out a bit of a reputation for himself as a producer, while Saelemaekers was a respected graphic designer. It remains uncertain if this played a big part in the end of A Blaze Colour, but the fact remains: as studio recordings go, 'The Ultimate Fight' on the "No Big Business 2" compilation, was to be their swan song. What a way to go, though: maybe their best song ever, this was a synthetic bastard funk groove, complete with shout-out chorus and punch-drunk middle-eight. It shut a door, for sure, but it did so with a resounding bang.

So there it is and there it was. Short, sweet, visionary, pioneering and highly influential. And as anybody listening to this first ever compilation will be able to assess probably one of the most colourful electronic acts of its time.

On a more a personal note, A Blaze Colour proved to be instrumental in my own coming of age as a lyric writer, when Ludo and Bam graciously adopted some of my earlier writings, warts and all. To hear them translated into songs was no less than magic, and it certainly gave me the confidence to start our own band a bit later. And the magic continued when Ludo became our producer and Bam designed our record sleeves. But that’s another story, obviously. Because this is the place and the time to dive back into the wondrous world of A Blaze Colour!"

Bart Azijn (Aimless Device)

Strut present a new repress of the influential first volume of 'Disco Not Disco' compiled by Joey Negro and Sean P as part of the label's 20th Anniversary.

'Disco Not Disco' was a perfectly timed compilation back in 2000. Released when interest in the myths, history and playlists of original New York clubs like Paradise Garage and The Loft was at its peak, the album drew on the outer limits of leftfield disco championed by Levan and Mancuso, bringing together unlikely dancefloor anthems by rock acts like Yoko Ono and Ian Dury, obscurities from cottage labels like BC and Splash and selected oddities from the unique mind of avant-garde hero, Arthur Russell.

It was essentially a celebration of the sonic melting pot in New York during the early '80s, an era when punk had burnt itself out and disco had become commercial and saccharine; in its place, the post-punk movement threw up brilliant oddities which tore up the accepted rulebook.

The album features full original artwork and Kris Needs' sleeve notes and is remastered and cut by The Carvery.

Dopeness Galore / Records We Release
"A newfound father's attempt to pass wisdom on to his children."

- Spring 2019 -

"As my girlfriend’s pregnancy was steadily treading along, I settled into my home studio in the attic of our new house. In our previous apartment I had a tiny room which could hardly fit my recording gear, let alone my drums which were still sitting at my parents’ house eating dust. Now that we’d moved into a bigger place, I had confiscated a part of the top floor to build my studio. This time I had just enough space to fit my drum set together with other percussion instruments, Fender Rhodes and synths. This sparked a whole new world of creative opportunities.

At the same time I also started to think about what kind of wisdom I would want to pass on to my children. I started writing down my thoughts. Little anecdotes, ponderings and things to think about as a human being.

These two events took place in parallel and once I actually started jotting down my first compositional ideas I saw the concept right there in front of me bright as day.

This LP has been written and recorded as inspiration to think about things and to keep re-thinking again and again to strengthen the knowledge of self.

Fruit Distro Collective is heavily inspired by Jazz composition, Hiphop drum sounds and the percussive elements of Afrobeat and Afro latin styles. "

James Taylor's best-selling record since 1970's hallmark Sweet Baby James, the triple-platinum JT takes its permanent place as one of the singer's most enduring albums — an affair that gorges on country, blues, and rock styles as well as incisive songwriting. As the pre-eminent singer-songwriter's Columbia debut, it catapulted Taylor back into the limelight and re-established his place as the era's leading-edge folk-rock troubadour.

Sourced from the original analog master tapes and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP possesses a warmth, immediacy, and intimacy absent from other pressings. The singer's comforting voice, breath control, and enchanting guitar lines sound as if they pour right out of the studio control room. Similarly, the splendid array of backing instrumentation is balanced, vivid, and dynamic. Taylor should always sound this realistic, warm, and lively.

More than any other of his records, JT features all sides of Taylor's lyrical persona. Optimistic, content material fills half of the 1977 set while Taylor reveals a darker, moodier identity on a number of songs that keep the 12-track set alternating between shade and light, shadow and sun. He turns romantic and blissful on the touching ballad "There We Are," praises the power of love on "Your Smiling Face," and enchants with the graceful "Secret O'Life."

In addition to channeling domestic bliss, Taylor expresses surprise and cynicism on "Honey Don't Leave L.A.," delves into despair on "Another Grey Morning," and invites sardonic tones on "Bartender's Blues." The result is a complete picture of an extraordinary songwriter and an accurate sketch of the mixed emotions many of us feel when it comes to romance. Taylor's ability to capture deep-seated feelings and set them to lyrical and musical poetry explains why we relate to him on such a meta-level. It's also why his music, including JT, remains timeless.

Taylor doesn't do it all alone. JT benefits from an all-star support cast. Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt supply background vocals, saxophone great David Sanborn plays the horn, Russ Kunkel mans the percussion, and arranger David Campbell oversees the strings and woodwinds. It's no wonder why many fans consider this gorgeous collection of Laurel Canyon pop-rock Taylor's finest.

Whether you've never heard this record or know it inside and out, this reissue will open your ears to previously hidden details ranging from pedal-steel guitar accents to honky-tonk tonalities. Taylor's funky rhythms, too, gain in stature, as does his command of pace and tempo.

Vector Lovers has remained a firm favourite of the underground electronic music scene cognoscenti and holds a coveted place among the most hallowed of record shelves, and with good reason. Since the early 2000s Martin Wheeler has explored a sparse audio wasteland in order to develop a new sonic palette that looks outward to electro, IDM and ambient.

After self-releasing a handful of his own productions on the Iwari label, Wheeler’s career defining album was signed by British label Soma in 2005, leading to the first great revival of 90s IDM. Capsule for One' was an unrivalled masterpiece that perfectly synthesised the heritage of the Hardcore Continuum with renewed airs and degree of clarity that ushered in a new millennia and sound. It arrived as a worthy successor to the venerated Warp artists of the time, while embracing new panoramas and technologies.

Capsule for One' is a melancholic album, with an almost cosmic spirituality that provokes daydreaming. From its opening track 'City Lights From a Train' it welcomes the listener onto an infinite journey at the speed of light, connecting the past, present and future, folding time and space and painting neon cities populated by cyborgs. The album reaches its zenith with 'Melodies and Memory', featuring Wheeler’s very own voice, which has arguably become one of this century’s greatest electronic ballads to date. In fact, the impact of 'Capsule for One' was such that Tracey Thorn commissioned him to produce her song 'Easy', from the album 'Out of the Woods' Virgin, 2007.

For its forthcoming release on Lapsus Records, Martin Wheeler has remixed each and every song on 'Capsule for One', as well as adding two previously unreleased tracks 'A Simulation' and 'Perfect Score', both produced around the same epoch. This extra special release, with artwork redesigned by Josep Basora, features a double marbled vinyl and a limited edition insert print.

"Now comes Analogue Productions' 180-gram double 45 RPM reissue sourced from the original Island master tapes sent over from the U.K., cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, pressed at RTI and housed in a laminated gatefold "Tip on" jacket complete with "pop up" band. The packaging is exquisite! Only word for it. AP couldn't get permission to use the pink label so it uses the green Chrysalis one. ... if the goal was to duplicate the original pink label Island sound, this reissue misses that, which is good because this new double 45 reissue is far superior to the original in every possible way. The tape was in great shape, that's for sure. Clarity, transparency, high frequency extension and especially transient precision are all far superior to the original. Bass is honest, not hyped up and the mastering delivers full dynamics that are somewhat (but only slightly), compressed on the original. Ian Anderson's vocals are naturally present as if you are on the other side of the microphone. Most importantly, the overall timbral balance sounds honest and correct. But especially great is the transient clarity on top and bottom. ... Best of all, as the title suggests this album "stands up" to time. It hasn't lost a thing musically, lyrically or sonically. Highly recommended!" — Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 — Michael Fremer.

Jethro Tull's second album, Stand Up, marked an early turning point for the band with the addition of guitarist Martin Barre along with Ian Anderson's introduction of folk-rock influences to the group's blues-based sound.

Released in the summer of 1969, Stand Up rose quickly to the top of the U.K. Albums Chart, and eventually earned gold certification in the U.S.

Stand Up was the first album where Anderson controlled the music and lyrics, resulting in a group of diverse songs that ranged from the swirling blues of "A New Day Yesterday" and the mandolin-fueled rave-up of "Fat Man," to the group's spirited re-working of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Bouree in E Minor." In a recent interview, Anderson picked Stand Up as his favorite Jethro Tull album, "because that was my first album of first really original music. It has a special place in my heart."

Now with our 45 RPM release, plated at QRP and pressed at RTI, the best-sounding version of this historic album gives listeners an even richer sonic experience. The dead-quiet double-LP, with the music spread over four sides of vinyl, reduces distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately.

Clean, balanced, richly detailed. Just the way an Analogue Productions reissue should sound. You'll experience Jethro Tull classics such as "Bouree," "A New Day Yesterday," "Look Into The Sun," "We Used To Know," "Fat Man" and the rest with a new appreciation for the Grammy-winning progressive act's musical skill and innovation.

180g double LP, black vinyl, 45 RPM. Berlin-based psychedelic post-punk group The Third Sound (led by Brian Jonestown Massacre guitarist Hákon Adalsteinsson) are set to release a new Fuzz Club Session LP on December 9th. Recorded live at Berlin's Marie Antoinette club, the 10-track double album sees The Third Sound perform a discography-spanning set with tracks from last year's highly-praised 'First Light' LP (2021), 'All Tomorrow's Shadows' (2018), 'Gospels of Degeneration' (2016), 'The Third Sound of Destruction and Creation' (2013) and 'The Third Sound' (2011). The session is released on vinyl, digitally and as a series of videos by Fuzz Club Records. It's number 19 in the London label's ongoing Fuzz Club Session series which has also seen the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, Night Beats, Holy Wave, Heaters, The Entrance Band, The Myrrors, Lumerians, The Underground Youth, 10000 Russos and more.

With her skill in carving melodies and shreddable moments from rock foundations, songwriter Skye Wallace is an expert at proving herself in every room, at every turn. Wallace knows the way is paved with second-guessers, and encounters with unsolicited advisors are plentiful in this world. In truth, the harshest critic is usually within. Shaped by an upbringing of constant motion, with collapse and rebuilding at the core, Wallace is at home with the idea that change, especially in oneself, is a constant. This truism has shaped her new songs, finished during lockdown but dealing with a time when staying in one place was wishful thinking. For Wallace, there's both comfort and conflict in remembering and reconciling the versions of herself formed at the many stops along the way.

I'm talkin' about Beatmasters, but not the late 80s crew that saw collaborations with the Cookie Crew etc, I'm talking about the legendary Bristol beatmaster Boca 45 who has mastered, honed and polished his creative techniques and his distillation of beat making over the last 25+ years. Born out of hip hop and rooted firmly in the Bristol scene of Massive, Wild Bunch, and Portishead, Boca 45 aka Scott Hendy has successfully navigated an ever changing musical landscape with an unwavering connection and honest adherence to those very roots and ethics. It's what makes Bristol such a special place for art of all forms in the city, a DIY, earthy and passionate sound and vision that runs through all the artists that call Bristol home.
And so it continues with Boca's only 45 release this year in ‘22. It’s strictly Limited to 300 copies on High Quality Yellow wax with each copy stamped & numbered.
On this Bomb Donut he teams up with NYC Native Tongue OG Bam of The Jungle Brothers on hype vocals duties for 2 dancefloor burners.
The A side '(Do It) Fluid' goes straight for the jugular with an immediate phat rubbery bassline that precedes a beat that charges and swings between 4 to the floor and wild breaks. Everything else within the track is supporting that drum & bass, heaping bucket loads of flavour into the mix. And to make it even more tasty, the arrangement is a clear 'DJs Choice', eminently cut-able, mixable, and double up-able! The intention of this (and the flip) is most definitely to stick 'nasty faces' on everyone on the dancefloor.
So if you weren't already bleeding from a torn jugular from the A side, then the B side is going to do some serious damage to what is left of your vascular system. Picking up the tempo with a heavy-duty breakbeat that drives ever forward, 'Another Dimension' is peppered with fuzzed up riffs, Bam's hype vocals, and spacy flourishes. The result is a blistering dancefloor nugget heavily laden with urgency and vigour that DJs, dancers and breakdancers alike will be seriously wigging and poppin' out to. Ultimately these are classic Boca productions, full of the energy and verve we all know and love, honest, funky, raw, they have it all.
Both tracks are a step up from cut-and-paste, yet that ethic is loud and proud throughout (and has been a trademark of Boca's beats over the years).
It's perfectly reasonable to predict that this 45 will be going straight into the play crates of DJs across the world. And you can quote me on that.

During his long and fruitful career, multifaceted singer-songwriter Don Covay recorded in a variety of styles, including gospel, doo-wop, soul, rock, and blues, and his enviable skills as a songwriter were responsible for the likes of Chubby Checker’s ‘Pony Time,’ as well as Aretha Franklin’s ‘See Saw’ and ‘Chain Of Fools.’ Following his departure from Atlantic, Different Strokes For Different Folks was cut for the small Janus label at the esteemed Swampers HQ in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, the resultant groove irresistibly mixing funk, soul, gospel, and rock, all the while working in plenty of Covay’s individual humour.

Monophonics cordially invite you to attend the grand re-opening of the once thriving, once vibrant establishment, the legendary Sage Motel. A place where folks experience the highs and lows of human existence. A place where big dreams and broken hearts live, where people arrive at without ever knowing how they got there. It's where folks find themselves at a crossroads in life. So join us as we examine where the stories are told and experiences unfold.....and sink into a soft pillow of soulful psychedelia.....down at the Sage Motel.

10 year anniversary edition on orange & red marble vinyl. While his formative years were spent listening to everything from Yes to Photek, Scott Hansen didn't get his hands on an actual guitar or drum machine until he left his native Sacramento for San Francisco in 1995. "Encountering this whole new world at 20 years old was a profound experience," says Hansen, better known by his musical pseudonym Tycho and as the graphic artist ISO50. "At the time, I was just learning the processes of design and music; both felt very similar, and have flowed back and forth for me ever since."As seamless as his two creative outlets have been, nearly a decade passed before the release of Hansen's first proper Tycho LP, Sunrise Projector (later expanded and reissued under the title Past Is Prologue). And while three striking singles have emerged since then, the sum of all those sepia-toned parts is nowhere near the double-exposed soundscapes of Dive. The product of a prolonged break from IS050's design work and blog, it pays tribute to Tycho's prismatic past (the dense, guitar-guided turning points of "Daydream" and "Adrift") but spends most of its time pointing to the project's not-so-distant future.That can mean any number of things, really, from the halcyon hooks and hopeful horizons of "A Walk" to the expansive, wildly expressive tone poetry of the title track, an eight-minute epic that unfolds like a compressed concept album. Or at the very least, a restless vision of prog-rock - one that's been coated in neon colors and filtered through a thick piece of blotter paper. And then there's "Elegy," a spare curtain closer that pairs a vulnerable crescendo with a fitting bridge to future works.And with that, Dive establishes its position as the most diverse musical statement of Hansen's multi-medium career; the point where his skills as a performer finally catch up with his vaporized vision of a world that doesn't belong to any particular time or place."Nostalgia is a common thread in my work," says Hansen, "but this album wasn't driven by that idea. I see these songs as artifacts from a future which might have more in common with our past than our present."

'Acabou Chorare' is the second album from Novos Baianos, a legendary band who formed in Bahia, Brazil in the 1960’s. They are considered to be one of the most important and revolutionary groups in Brazilian music.

'Acabou Chorare’ was originally released in 1972 by Som Livre after the success of their first LP 'É Ferro na Boneca’ in 1970. It was both a hit and a cultural milestone and rightly considered to be one of the most important and influential albums of all time, charting at number one in a Rolling Stone Brazil's 'Top 100 Brazilian Albums Ever’ chart.

'Preta, Pretinha’ placed 20th in the same publications list of the greatest Brazilian songs of all time. Upon release, 'Acabou Chorare' stayed near the top of the album charts for more than thirty weeks and received huge radio support across the country. It also became very popular in Europe shortly afterwards.

The unique sound of this record is a result of the fusion of samba, MPB, rock and bossa nova, and strong influences from Gilberto Gil (who frequently played with the group), as well as bossa nova legend, Joao Gilberto.

Our 50 Years Anniversary edition is a celebration of this wonderful record and features a neon yellow and transparent curaçao split vinyl, gatefold sleeve, A2 colour poster and OBI Strip.

After a summer of touring and working on remixes, Big Miz readies this new self-released 5 track EP. The first outing on Miz Records since February, three solo cuts and two collaborations
bring us yet another versatile spin on the modern house sound.

With aquatic sound design and tight kicks introducing ‘Causal Loop’, an opener that quickly morphs into a Legowelt / Alden Tyrell type synth-led jacking house jam, the EP wastes no time in getting going. There’s a sharp vocal sample of the narcotic persuasion that brings to mind Paul Johnson’s classic ‘Give Me Ecstasy’, whilst the clubbier vibe of those early LIES 12”s is also present. The title track is a drum machine workout that gradually ends up in a loopy 90s style minimal techno groove, whereas ‘An Facile’ pushes and pulls at the dancefloor with a mean acid line and makes reference to a gig that may or may not have taken place at a now shut-down Glasgow club many moons ago. You’ll need to ask Miz.

Over to Side B and ‘Sleep Well’ brings in production help from fellow Scottish stalwart Ewan McVicar, the pair working on the tune in a hotel room after a show. Evidently no sleep was had as the swirling acid lines, modulated rimshots and tempo trickery combine to make one of the trippiest jams on the record. Things draw to an end with an Underground Resistance sampling colab with Good Thing resident DD Watermelon.

Limited edition reissue of this legendary, rare and dreamy electronic ambient new age album.

Originally created and released in a small edition in Japan back in 1987 by the mysterious musician/ magician Shiho. The album features floating shimmering synthesizer textures. It's unique and extra ordinarily serene with shifting tone colors and spatial textures bringing the listener to a special magic place. It's as beautiful as it captivating. There's also a haunting edge to parts of the album sounding like what could originally have influenced David Lynch and Angelo Badalamenti when they composed the soundtrack to the original Twin Peaks series. Shiho who loves to make improvisational music began studying classic piano at the age of five. She says she gets inspiration from the celestial realms but she never considers melody. She draws a musical picture. Creativity is the unfolding of the unknown realms within the self. Through our chosen ways of expression, each of us is daily creating a unique universe, a unique environment.

The universe created by each and every being in endless repetition are messages of the universe. The breath of this music, expressed from my present environment, flowing through a myriad of places as environmental music is my expression of The Body Is A Message Of The Universe. Part of the album also saw a limited US CD release in the late 1980s which is hard to come by today.

Although Shiho Yabuki continued her career in Japan, both as a musician and magician and became a pioneer of healing music in Asia, for most western listeners it was like Shiho was one of those mysterious artists who puts out an album and then is never heard from again.



Tracks: Tomoshibi / Samadhi / Winterland / Tenshingoso (Earth, Wind, Fire, Water and Spirit) / Forestland / Tawamure/Cosmic Dance / Energy Flow/Ki No Nagare (The Way Of The Energy Flow)

Baiser Mortel is the soundtrack of a performance commissioned by the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, performed in Paris in October 2021. PAN presents Baiser Mortel, the original soundtrack to the acclaimed theatrical performance of the same name. Staged at the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection over four days last October, the original production - collaboratively realized by composer and director Low Jack, composer and rapper Lala &ce, choreographer Cecilia Bengolea with costumes designed by Marine Serre and Oriana Bekka as creative director and co- director of the performance - merged ballet and urban folklore; sound art and soap opera. A modern-day danse macabre, Baiser Mortel (trans. "The Kiss of Death") cast Lala &ce in the title role. Unfolding over thirteen songs, the musical narrative follows Death as she navigates the realm of the living, and the encounters - desire, romance, spiritual awakening, and adventure - which validate the human experience. "I brought in people who are close to me personally and musically in order to tell a story that speaks to humanity," Lala &ce says in a video uploaded to Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection's YouTube channel. Performers Jäde, Rad Cartier, BabySolo33, and Le Diouck joined Lala &ce on stage and in the booth at La Place - Centre Culturel Hip Hop in Paris, where the official soundtrack was recorded. A sonic representation of the musical's themes, Baiser Mortel the album - produced by Low Jack and written by Lala &ce with artwork by Pierre Debusschere - moves through the distorted strings of its opening track, "Goûter" and gathers sonic and lyrical intensity on each successive song. "Lune," the melancholically autotuned midpoint of the album, marks the beginning of the musical's second act and sets the tone for its tragic resolution. Mechanical sounds mix with sonic influences spanning the Global South throughout the album, honoring both Low Jack and Lala &ce's musical heritage and influences, while developing a new musical lexicon that defies comparison. As a theatrical production, Baiser Mortel represents a departure for both artists. A veteran of Parisian subculture, Low Jack's collaboration with Lala &ce represents a new model of artistic mentorship based not on age but on experience, with each artist leaving a distinct signature on the work.

United States at the beginning of the 1960s, the vibrant speeches of the great defenders of the black cause were soon relayed by the artists of the time.... The groove revolution is underway! Dive into the heart of this era with the proud voices of the Artists who made the Protest Song! A fine selection with : GIL SCOTT-HERON - Angela Davis- Doris Duke- Seven Seas- Shirley Caesar- Skull Snaps- T-Connection- The Whatnauts...

Volker Bertelmann and Hildur Guðnadóttir hardly need an introduction - their distinct styles have graced the speakers of pretty much anyone enamored with experimental music in the last decade, and between them the two have chalked up an enviable canon of successes. Bertelmann, under the Hauschka moniker has explored the extremities of prepared piano improvisation, and Guðnadóttir has taken cinematic, explorative cello music into a new era of depth and passion, so to hear them both together is a rare and unexpected treat. Rare is putting it lightly even - „Pan Tone“ is a recording of a single concert which the duo performed on the 26th of February 2010 as part of Arctic Circle - Bubbly Blue and Green festival at Kings Place in London, and documents an event that would truly never be repeated. Sure, they could attempt to re-create the event, but the spontaneity and glorious serendipity in this particular recording is a pleasure to behold.

Bertelmann and Guðnadóttir decided to create a set of compositions which based on the idea of the ocean, and took a book of Pantones to extract exact references to the specific colors of the sea. These watery tones form the backbone of the performance and inform the direction of the collaboration, guiding us through rich blues, glassy greens and frothy whites. In listening to the music it seems incredibly appropriate that the artists should choose blue as the middle ground in their work; the ineffable lightness that Bertelmann brings to the table is a stark contrast to Guðnadóttir's sinking darkness, and as the two styles collide we witness a plethora of tones, shades and hues. It sounds as if the two artists have been playing together for decades, and their sound is so perfectly matched you might wonder why it's taken them this long to collaborate. All that's left for us to do is to soak in the tidal beauty of this very exclusive body of music, to listen to it sing, bubble and crash through its duration before settling in total silence. When the record reaches its conclusion there is an unsettling calm, a sense that you have witnessed something very special indeed, and that is a feeling to prize amongst all else.

Tape

»No Date Tapes 2« is the second official cassette release from Harry Bertoia's tape archive and, like the first cassette, these recordings were chosen from a small collection of tapes in Bertoia's archive missing recording dates.

This cassette is packaged in a metallic shell and produced on super-ferro tape for incredible analog sound.

Bio:

Harry Bertoia first gained some artistic visibility in the early 1940s, then came into prominence with his sculptural, ergonomic chairs, produced by Knoll Furniture beginning in 1952, which quickly became classics of modernist furniture. Inspired by the resonant sounds emanating from metals as he worked them and encouraged by his brother Oreste, whose passion was music, Harry restored a fieldstone "Pennsylvania Dutch" barn as the home for this experiment in sounding sculptures which he had begun in the late 1950s. Bertoia was an obsessive composer and relentless experimenter, often working late into the night and accumulating hundreds of tapes of his best performances; Oreste, too, would explore and record the sculptures' sounds during his annual visits to his brother's home in rural Pennsylvania.

Harry Bertoia's recently dismantled Sonambient barn collection was an attentive listener's paradise full of warm, expressive instruments that were gorgeous visually and audibly. Nothing could prepare you, even on return visits, for the overwhelming experience of entering the spacious wood and plaster interior where gongs, some of them giant, hung among the ranks of standing sculptures of various metals. Over nearly twenty years of adding, culling and rearranging, Bertoia carefully selected nearly 100 harmonious pieces ranging in height from under a foot to more than fifteen feet. He considered this barn a full experience, sights and sounds comprising not a collection of works, but one piece unto itself. It was here, deep in the woods, that his Sonambient recording work took place.

Learning by experimentation was common for Bertoia and he mastered the art of tape recording, turning the Sonambient barn into a sound studio with four overhead microphones hanging from the rafters in a square formation. He would experiment with overdubbing by performing along to previous recordings, sometimes backwards, constantly improving his methods while also honing his performance skills. Bertoia was a careful editor of his own work and only chosen recordings remained, each with a date and carefully considered observations written on a note included with each tape. Through these pieces of paper a the artist's logic can be uncovered, a careful approach to composition, ideas, feelings and forms. The story of Sonambient barn collection will slowly be told through the release of recordings from the archive as well as installations and performances built from Bertoia's own recordings, lectures and a book.

After 15 years of active dj-ing and general love for music. Antonio Zuza, head owner of Imogen Recordings, home of many worldwide acclaimed producers, decided to present his own vision of original music that was brewing for many years inside of him.
As in his eclectic sets his house sound is widely connected with origins of dance music. There is no surprise that giants like Ian Pooley and Don Carlos jumped in on this material to make mixes of their perception witch perfectly blends with Antonio's vision of Jupiter Deep EP. There is no better place than releasing Antonio's first outing than on Imogen Recordings.
Jupiter Deep is just a first release of many more Antonio has prepared in near future.

Rising from the berliner underground, Longhair have earned with the years a notorious reputation on the scene supported by some of our favourite imprints. Amsterdam's Italo-tastemakers "Bordello a Parigi", "Permanent Vacation" and Paramida's "Love on the Rocks" have found a place for the trance-spacey sound of the berliner based duo.

"Axis Mundi" is a space oddity that rises from our living room all the way to the solar system, Earth, Saturn and Pluto until the end of the Galaxy, no borders, the limit is set by yourself. Hammering and corrosive basslines, full of small little details and shining hidden stars in form of brilliant melodies that will make an exciting journey thru the Milky way.

Longhair show here their great versatility blending different subgenres that vary from Indie dance, leftfield house, Nu-Disco and everything in between and adding their particular cosmic touch and some trancy elements. A record that will work great either at the club wearing our favourite dancing shoes or chilling at home at our sofa.

Get ready for a cosmic trip, to the infinity and beyond..

On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the joint compilation from Facil and Prototype 909 called 'Excerpts from 1993-1995.

As most know, Prototype 909 was a legendary acid techno act from New York that toured the circuit as one of the premier rave acts from America during the 1990s.

Facil was a side small duo project that only made one album and a few appearances on a handful of compilations. The A-side features two Facil tracks. 'Tree Frog' has an amazingly robotic ambient dub electro sound. A killer track that will have dancefloor patrons staring at each other with blank wtf faces. '700x7' completes the A-side with ambient dub gem. Floaty and airy melodics balance out a devastating 808 drum beat.

This is ambient dub in the truest example. The b-side then offers two spacey trance beauties with 'Transit' & 'Planet S' from Prototype 909. The EP finishes with more space junk ambient dub with 'Same Place' by Facil.

Overall, a great look into the window of early to mid-1990s New York ambient dub.

An ode to Nature or the nostalgia of a fantasized city, it’s the character of Zaka, the Voodoo Loa (spirit), who gives its protection to this collection inspired by the wonderfully free world of Library Music.

This second volume shows Blundetto’s passion for nature and the mystic of the eco-systems. You’ll hear the realm of a studio placed in the center of a French forest, the chicken ballroom, the daily walks at the rhythm of seasonal transformations of oaks and chestnut trees, the summer wind in the jungle of the vegetable garden responding to vintage keyboards, folk guitars and the silky sound of Mellotron.

100% GALCHER was by all accounts a game-changer when it landed in 2013 as an hour of original music from a relatively unknown producer ushered in by the beloved mix series Blowing Up The Workshop. Galcher Lustwerk's signature sound — a smoky stream-of-consciousness baritone shadow-boxing with beats, informed by funk, rap, rhythm, and blues — felt like an epiphany, impossibly hypnotic and complete. Resident Advisor writes, "100% GALCHER laid out a louche, lysergic and resolutely black take on deep house." Pitchfork remembers the music's immediate impact: "It's the sort of gem you felt inclined to pass around” — and by year-end list time, word-of-mouth intensified. It was Resident Advisor and Juno's mix of the year, and earned a top-ten placement in FACT Magazine's albums list, as well as Philip Sherburne's personal rundown for Spin." Since then, select songs from 100% GALCHER have seen small-run pressings, while the album has lived primarily on SoundCloud and YouTube as a low-key cult legend. The gateway into Lustwerk's now well-established catalog, known for its reliability as a late-night listen and its prophetic vision for the near future of underground dance music. RA would later name it a mix of the decade, citing its influence and imagination: “Original in every sense — unknown, unheard and unbelievably good.” In late 2022, marking ten years since he first recorded the material, Lustwerk returns to Ghostly International to release 100% GALCHER as a remastered limited-edition double LP.

Lustwerk is a product of the Midwest. Growing up in Cleveland, he'd tape over his parents’ cassettes and spend hours at his family computer recording loops and designing artwork for the jewel cases of burned CDs. In high school, he turned to Ableton Live and absorbed every electronic music magazine he could find at the local Borders Books store. In excerpts from the 100% GALCHER liner notes, Lustwerk looks back: "My dad drove me to this shop on the westside Bent Crayon, where I would get anything the blogs told you to get + whatever the clerk recommended. CDs stayed in their packaging, there was always an overflow of vinyl stacked on the floor. I was too shy to listen to anything before buying."

As a college student at RISD, he played in noise bands, plugged into Providence's DIY scene via Myspace, and started DJing weeknights at bars downtown. There he connected with Young Male and DJ Richard, who would go on to found White Material Records and offer their third release to Galcher Lustwerk, an alias realized via CAPTCHA test, a perfect artifact of its internet age. By 2012, Lustwerk had drifted to New York City and settled into a graphic design job, quickly growing disenfranchised by office culture. "Some days I felt like a token, other days I felt invisible." At night, he and his friends were carving out their own space

With both sides as vibrant and colourful as a hot and sweaty street party, this latest 45 is the perfect afrobeat soundtrack to end your summer.

A side, Blue G. opens explosively and delivers all that it promises in the opening bars: beautifully orchestrated twists and turn that chug along instrumentally for half the track. South African singer Nongoma unexpectedly adds a vocal spin in English and Xhosa, and with the catchy lyrics of "all the children need love, peace and harmony", it's a delight to be swept up in this swirling, festive, solar energy.

The B side, That Good Thing, follows on at exactly the same tempo, weaving horns, guitars, keys and numerous percussions in and out of an equally infectious groove. A highly polished track, full of rises and falls in all the right places.

The Konkolo Orchestra is, for now, a Zürich studio project led by multi-instrumentalist Alexis Malefakis, but let's hope that changes soon because it feels rather criminal not to have these rich sounds live and in your face. Dexterous musicianship meets fine production and execution.

Welcome in!

WEȽ∝KER's 'ENHANCER' offers a high dive into the soggy hands and lands of Dujat & Beedles.

Having planted their flag firmly at the forefront of modern computer music, WEȽ∝KER return with 'ENHANCER', an astonishingly dynamic display of technique and form. This isn't sound for sound's sake; the duo's playful approach to composition ties many discrete events together to weave a warm-bath narrative. A tug at the skittering top layer reveals something so rare: there's real musicality under there, aching chords snaking through the crunchy boot-up sequence of "Gator" and underpinning the pneumatic drift of "Ohmbase".

ENHANCER's tracks unfurl with an instinctive flow, pulling/pushing in all the right places and guiding the listener through aural aqueducts. WEȽ∝KER are just truly properly at it again. Dive in, isn't it?

ENHANCER's artwork is the result of an all-Mancunian collaboration with sculptural artist and dead-powder virtuoso Nicola Ellis. Photographed by Glen Cutwerk and Bazz Patel, shot in the spleen of Salford's The White Hotel. Drippy, oily notes with a hint of flesh.

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Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi.

Available on pad-printed solid white cassette housed in a clear double case w/ exclusive gloss laminated cover-art. Pro dubbed by Headlesstapes Includes free download code Limited Edition of 50.

Heavenly Recording’s final long player release of 2022 is set to close the year on the dancefloor at home or in the clubs. More classic Heavenly remixes on wax and CD formats for your collection. Artwork by Luke Insect.

Released on Friday November 25th, these compilations follow Heavenly Remixes Volume 1 & 2 and Heavenly Remixes Volumes 3 & 4 (Andrew Weatherall Remixes).

Since the first Heavenly recording, there have been striking remixes that reframe the original track. These remakes offer a parallel reading of the last four decades of releases; they take the music to places where genres can be pulled inside out before being reassembled for different dancefloors, or for a different state of mind.

It’s a selection of those secret sounds that make up the latest in this series of flawless compilations. Each presents a parallel reading of the Heavenly Recordings story, a version that’s best heard as the light fades and the furniture gets shoved to one side of the room in decent work places the world over.

Afro-Finnish band Maajo return with their third album, "Water of Life," a fluid celebration of various influences. Supported by two preceding singles, "Better Days" and "Unelmissani," the album is the group's first release with the Brooklyn, NY-based tastemaker label Wonderwheel Recordings. Maajo's signature Afro-Balearic sound meets late eighties new age and fusion, with touches of modern soul. The addition of two band members, Waina and Gilbert K, as well as featuring artists Issiaka Dembele and Ismaila Sané, has rooted the album's stories in a diverse range of backgrounds, featuring vocals in no less than six different languages.

Gilbert K's drum grooves pay tribute to the late Tony Allen's legendary heritage and the percussion experiments on a more melodic and atmospheric tip. Cold synth pads and 303 squeaks blend with warm guitars, fretless bass, and Issiaka Dembele's sublime kora harps and balafon mallets. "Water of Life" shows a band at its maturation point, reaching the cross-cultural coalescence of Finnish-African sound that's ready for the dancefloor or home-listening.

The three vocalists take centre-stage on the album: Waina hails from Zambia and sings in Nyanja, English and Finnish; a renowned musician in Zambia for over two decades who now calls Finland home, Waina wrote a song that reached the finals of the 2020 Afrimusic contest. Gilbert K primarily sings in his native Mauritian Creole while comprising part of the percussion line. He made his way to Finland by way of South Africa and China, eventually winning the Voice of Finland show. Gilbert K has played with such legends as Tony Allen, Andy Summers, Diana King, and Suzanne Vega. Ismaila Sané is from the Casamance region of Southern Senegal and sings in Wolof (a widely-spoken language in West Africa) on "Ndekete," and in Jola (a smaller language in Casamance) on "Èwàn".

Maajo is a sonic, linguistic, and cultural melting pot that has come together in Tampere, Finland, like a tropical breeze from the cold north. Their musical explorations lead from equatorial soundscapes to the woods and moods of their native Scandinavia. African influences, electronic beats and organic rhythms, ethereality and the sounds of nature all make up the patchwork sound of Maajo.

Not only is Maajo's music a way of travelling to faraway places, the songs themselves have travelled all over the globe. Maajo has evolved from a sample-based electronic music project to a full-sized band, including African vocalists and musicians. The group has put out two full-length albums and three EP's on Queen Nanny records, in addition to a release on German label Permanent Vacation. Maajo has received the remix treatment from artists such as Luke Vibert and Call Super, and has toured festivals and clubs internationally. The band has built a dedicated international following having been championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM), Tom Ravenscroft (BBC Radio 6), and Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space), while they've been featured by KEXP (Song of the Day), Resident Advisor, Ransom Note, and Pan-African Music.

"Water of Life" is out on Wonderwheel Recordings October 14th, 2022, both digitally and as an exclusive, limited-run 2xLP.




d 04: Better Days (Kumba) feat. Waina & Gilbert K

In hugo, there’s a central question that Loyle Carner keeps coming back to: “I’m young, Black, successful and have a platform - but where do I go next?” The answer is explored in this epic scream of a third album. With urgent delivery and gloriously widescreen production, Carner confronts both the deeply personal (“You can’t hate the roots of a tree, and not hate the tree. So how can I hate my father without hating me?) and the highly political (“I told the black man he didn’t understand I reached the white man he wouldn’t take my hand”). Cinematic in scale and scope, hugo is both a rallying war cry for a generation forged in fire and a study of the personal internal conflict that drives the rest of the album - as a mixed-race Black man, as an artist, as a father and as a son. With Mercury and Brits nominations, NME Awards and appearances in global brand campaigns (Nike, YSL, Timberland), Carner has undoubtedly had a meteoric rise to the top, culminating with his second album Not Waving, But Drowning charting at number 3 in the UK albums chart in 2019. However, hugo sees Carner taking a sharp detour from his previous work, putting it down to lockdown and the “hedonistic side of career being stripped away. There were no shows, no backstage, no festivals, no photoshoots”. By continuing to write in these tumultuous times with a renewed clarity and sense of artistic freedom, Carner reached deeper beneath the surface than he ever had before. The result is his most cathartic and ambitious record yet, a coruscating journey into the heart of what it means to be alive in these tumultuous times, and one which looks set to neatly cement his position as one of the most potent and vital young talents around today. Working alongside renowned producer kwes. (Solange, Kelela, Nao), Carner leaves no stone unturned on this album, in both its sound and its stories. In a 10-track album that moves from gorgeous neo-soul moments to thundering hip hop, with immediate, infectious bangers and sampled interludes from non musicians (mixed-race Guyanese poet John Agard and youth activist and politician Athian Akec) Carner shifts seamlessly from micro to macro, confronting everything from strained relationships with family to the societal tears caused by class stratification. It also lays bare bruises in his personal life that he has never revealed before – often in painful, deeply uncomfortable ways, focusing on Carner's experience of becoming a father in the context of growing up without contact with his biological father. With the song “Polyfilla”, against the backdrop of a warm melodic beat, Carner explores his desire to “break the chains in the cycle” of dysfunctional Black fatherhood, commenting on the narrative of fatherhood in the genre, and saying a key part of the process was realising that his father “grew up in a world where nobody showed him how to love or nurture”. The follow up track “A Lasting Place” is an exploration of the MC’s failure and inability to be perfect in this mission. The album closer is a powerful statement of love and forgiveness; with his signature lyrical dexterity, Carner declares his relentless commitment to his son and sees forgiving his father as a key part of this. The song closes with an emotional ending of Carner telling his dad “still I’m lucky yo that we talk”. There’s a striking duality of hugo’s bold, multilayered tracks and its often starkly intimate and tender lyricism, and that dichotomy is deliberate - it is a message for young Black men, but really, anyone, who is listening. Cognizant of the immense pain and fear and confusion that we are faced with everyday, Carner has thrown down the gauntlet, defying us not to rise above the fray, wake up each day and be ambitious. Ambitious in building strong personal relationships. Ambitious in our pursuit of our goals. Ambitious in never refusing to back down against injustice. Rejecting the title of leader, Loyle Carner sees himself “as holding up a mirror”, and that clearly translates into the album's universal messages.

“A rather gorgeous and engrossing collection, that borrows stealthily from a rich history of sound effect and soundtrack to build a tender poem to the night time.” - CLASH
“The plan was to make twenty 90-second tracks designed as TV themes,” says Arab Strap’s Aidan Moffat, of the initial thought behind his new instrumental album as Nyx Nótt “But it wasn't a satisfying listen, it was too gimmicky and silly.”
So instead, Moffat decided to stretch the idea out, plunge deeper, and expand the music into full tracks, “making some of them quite long and dramatic, with the odd swift turn here and there.” In fleshing these tracks out into more fully realised songs he began sourcing samples from professional TV and film music libraries. “The focus then turned to making a proper album out of these modern library sounds,” he says. “I decided to stick with the Themes From title and named the tracks after the sorts of shows they made me think of when I listened back.”
The result is a record that explores genre themes such as: ‘Thriller, ‘Porno’, ‘Caper’ and Swashbuckler’, and acts as an audio equivalent of channel hopping through a unique TV station programmed by Moffat. “I still wasn't sure about all this until I did the album cover, which brought it all together,” he says, of the artwork that places an old smashed TV unit front and centre with a woman perched on top. “It has echoes of old TV compilations but is pretty cheeky and slightly sexy in that old 70s compilation style. I wanted this one to look a bit more fun than the last one, as well as hopefully sound a bit more fun too.”
Aside from being a fun experience, it is also a stirring and immersive listen, one that allows the listener to imagine their own accompanying visual scenarios to each musical theme. The opening ‘Docudrama’ marries a gently creeping beat with strings that glide from tense to sweeping, while ‘Porno’ is all seedy smoky jazz that feels plucked right out of Travis Bickle’s late night trips to porn cinemas in Taxi Driver.
Touches of jazz pop up in other places too, on ‘Hardboiled’ this merges with subtle pulses and gargles of electronics that build to a rousing crescendo of horns and bleeps, and on ‘Caper’ there’s a vivacious full jazz band skip to the lively swinging rhythms. “There's a few more jazzy elements here,” Moffat says. “Although I'm not quite sure where that came from. Although, like everyone else, I've had plenty of time to be introspective recently, so I decided the next Nyx Nótt album should be more upbeat and encourage some occasional foot-tapping.”
However, what becomes apparent, the longer you spend in the world of Themes From, is how singular and unique the tone of each composition is. “Each track has its own individual feel,” says Moffat. “The idea was to sound like a different composer and band throughout.” It’s a stylistic leap that continues Nyx Nótt’s trajectory as one that shares no direct link to Moffat’s other projects. “I approach them in completely different ways and with a different purpose in mind,” says Moffat. “I don't think Nyx has ever heard of Arab Strap, and certainly doesn't own any of their albums.” It’s also a notable shift from the debut album under this moniker, and suitably given the theme, Moffat has created a visual comparison between these two sonic worlds. “If the first Nyx Nótt album was like looking out on dark prairies before dawn, this is more like a walk through a neon Soho after a few cocktails.”

Repress of the 2010 classic “The Jazz Files” by Dexter from the legendary Hi-Hat Club series. Jazz is the subject!

Dexter is taking an new look at the long going love affair between hip-hop and jazz. From Stetsasonic to Gang Starr to Madlib, it is not an easy path to follow, but the 26 year old producer is adding a new and fresh style to it. The sound design of Dexter's "Jazz Files" is dusty but with an unmistakable 2010 twist. As much inspired by Wes Montgomery and Ramsey Lewis as by Sun Ra and Dave Pike, Dexter's tracks are never just "jazzy". They live and breathe jazz by combining the freedom and artisty of jazz with the craft of a free-thinking beatsmith.

And the "Jazz Files" are fun too. By implanting quotes an samples from interviews and tv shows such as the classic NBC program "The Subject Is Jazz", Dexter is telling his own little story of jazz. One that had it's starting point in the massive record collection of his father and grew into shape during a long hot summer blasting nothing but Ahmad Jamal and Sun Ra.

About Dexter: The 26 year old producer, DJ and MC is part of the Wortsport collective from Heilbronn. He has made beats for Morlock Dilemma, Damion Davis, Jaques Shure, Audio 88 & Yassin and Retrogott. He likes Flylo, Madlib and Oh-No as much as libary music, psych rock and Amiga Schlager. Dexter is one of the founding member of the Generation Tapedeck blog and has just started a new project with Suff Daddy.

About the Hi-Hat Club: MPM have teamed up with photographer Robert Winter to take a look behind the beat, into the bedrooms and makeshift studios of today's beat generation. Every Hi-Hat Club volume consits of an LP packaged with Rob's photos and accompanied by more pics on the Hi-Hat Club blog plus additional infos, free beats and drinks. Exhibitions in records stores and galleries are in the making too. Hi-Hat Club parties have been taken place in Cologne and Berlin so far. Watch out for more nights in 2010.

Musically the Hi-Hat Club promotes total artistic freedom. We are not bound to any sound or school. A Hi-Hat Club record can be anything from boom-bap to aqua crunk or whatever is fresh and dope.

Ernest Hood’s Neighborhoods was released some two decades after the Portland, Oregon born and raised musician’s first forays into field recordings. These very recordings, and those captured over intervening years, define the universal sound and aural images of childhood, a theme memorialized by Hood’s privatelypressed opus of 1975.

Sprawling through a haze of zither, synthesizer melodies, and foraged pedestrian sound, Neighborhoods is both a score and documentary composed and directed by Hood to offer, in his words, joy in reminiscence. Hood’s nostalgic impulse ran parallel to the developments of other artists, writers, and filmmakers of the 1970s who were looking back to the 1950s to convey a collective memory of childhood. Unlike some of the widely embraced work of this nature, the music of Neighborhoods eschews irony or detachment for lucidity, striving above all for a dream-like return to the details of sensory memory.

Born into a musical lineage, Hood’s early, promising career as a guitarist in a globetrotting jazz outfit was cut short when he contracted polio in his late twenties. Moving from guitar to less physically-demanding stringed instruments in the late 1940s, Hood first began implementing field recordings in his jazz ensemble collaborations as early as 1956. In 1961, Hood and trumpeter Jim Smith collaborated on a local Portland television program, with their large, tight ensemble providing breakneck contemporary jazz for an action painting by famed West Coast modernist painter Louis Bunce. Hood incorporated his own field-recorded sounds of birds in the performance – an element that would resurface in Neighborhoods with great abundance among other found sounds.

Back in stock !

Dope oldschool house goodness by Chicago legend Roy Davis Jr!

Friendsome Records is a fresh imprint born out of the historic parisian dance music scene. A label whose aim is to create a balanced platform across gender, race, age and background. Launching a label in 2022 isn’t easy but what a way to kick things off, with this beautiful three track E.P with the legendary ROY DAVIS JR....

"I'm really excited to be putting out some of my raw electronic house tracks with my Friendsome buddy's in Paris, These tracks I have been vibing to, finally have a goodhome..The EP is a reflection of my more analog vision that got me into house music in the first place so I brought out my classic MPC 60 with my Roland Tr 808,TB 303 & Moog to transcend what house feels like to me."

180gr limited eco-responsable yellow record (500 copies)

Some are looking for gold or oil and others are passionately looking for forgotten music treasures! Those who can be described as "sound gold diggers" criss cross record shops or confidential places to unearth musical nuggets previously kept in the dark. This practice began with sampling in the 80s and has now become a way of safeguarding the world's musical heritage. With our new "Diggin' Collection", we invite you to discover soul, funk or disco gems from the 70s and the 80s available on three nice vinyls for your pleasure.

1200 x Signed Prints

“Mrs Wibbsey, you may have done something absolutely catastrophic!”

For the first time on limited edition vinyl, Demon Records presents a second series of unique audio adventures
starring Tom Baker as the Doctor, following the success of Doctor Who - Hornet’s Nest.
Once again every copy includes an exclusive, frameable portrait of the Fourth Doctor, hand signed by Tom Baker
himself - just one of the treats inside this stunningly designed package.
An intricately die-cut, removable outer sleeve reveals a Demonic lidded box, inside which are 10 individual, beautifully
illustrated LP sleeves featuring full cast and credits for each of the five stories.
The Time Lord’s encounters with the mysterious Demon are detailed in The Doctor’s Journal, a large 16-page full
colour booklet featuring notes and illustrations from this epic pursuit through Time.
Presented across 10 x 140g alternating Red and Black vinyl discs, this full-cast audio adventure by Paul Magrs stars
Tom Baker as the Doctor, with Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey and Richard Franklin as Mike Yates.
The supporting cast includes Nigel Anthony, Samuel West, Jan Francis, Trevor White, Lorelei King and Finty Williams,
and original sound design accompanies the familiar Doctor Who theme from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
LP 1&2: The Relics of Time
LP 3&4: The Demon of Paris
LP 5&6: A Shard of Ice
LP 7&8: Starfall
LP 9&10: Sepulchre
When key components from the TARDIS are stolen in exchange for a bag of strange curios, the Doctor and his
housekeeper Mrs Wibbsey are reunited in adventure. Each object leads the unlikely friends, along with the trusty
Mike Yates, to a place and time where danger awaits them. As their pursuer’s net closes around the Doctor, he
realises that the mysterious Demon is in thrall to a much higher power…

Copenhagen-based HVAD releases a new solo album entitled YUG, an electro-acoustic shrine. The double LP also serves as the second release on HVAD's newly founded, self-owned label ULLLU. The album YUG consists of nine separate tracks but breathes as one unified piece, presenting something for the brain, something for the body and something for the soul in alternating measures throughout the one hour long release. YUG is Hindi for era or an age of time, framing the musical material by HVAD made over the last few years. The album reflects a continuum of creating a personal, musical language; building a new home by drawing upon classical Indian instrumentation as well as electronics, in total making for an expression that has been the foundation of HVAD's practice for more than a decade. The cover of YUG portrays HVAD's grandmother and her two sisters, bringing to the foreground family roots as a cornerstone of the album, ancestral ghosts running through the music. As a prerequisite of eerie emotion, this weaves together material across a broad musical spectrum with both determination and sensibility. Some tracks are in steadfast 4/4 while others are stretched out in free form with each their pulse or ambience, always seeking ahead towards some place that is even more free than the last.

Personal Passage is an imaginary journey that starts from a station and goes to a place that is not well defined, but is elsewhere.

The sounds of the record pass through calm and timeless places at frantic and often anxious moments. It crosses the moods of which it seeks to change, and often has to face light and dark.

Enthusiasm and fears mix and merge in a long time space, like a train journey, which sooner or later arrives at its destination.

Creative offspring of Tushen Rai and Cornelius Doctor’s musical fantasies, Hard Fist has been a non-profit project encompassing producers, graphic designers, djs and dreamy party worshippers since its inception in 2017.

“We would never have thought that this collective story would bring us this far, that it would take such a place in our lives and that it would bring us so many beautiful encounters. It was only possible to celebrate our 5th anniversary with the unreasonable idea of making something out of the ordinary.

So we thought big, a digger’s dream: a double vinyl in limited edition with 20 artists from 17 countries gathered around exceptional collaborations: producers who have marked the history of the label these last 5 years, friends, but also peers, people who inspired us and gave us the desire to create Hard Fist.

In this Unidentified Noisy Object (U.N.O), you can expect borderless music flirting with Nu-Rave and No Wave, Cosmic Dub and Post-Punk, a slice of Psychedelic Electronica, a lot of Acid and a bit of Slow Goa Trance. As well as some beats of Krautrock played with an Afrobeat groove and a few Darkwave’s synths. But not only that. It’s never only that. But what is it then? Just a label without label, to dance and to explore.