Moonshine Recordings teamed up with the legendary Zion Train to deliver a brand new EP with four remixes of tracks from their recent album 'Illuminate'. On the remix duties you can find such talents as Baodub, Bukkha, DUBBING SUN SOUNDSYSTEM and last but not least the mighty Radikal Guru. Out November the 5th on limited edition 12" coloured / black vinyl and digital.
This is the follow up to Kero Hero Bonito’s 7” ‘Flamingo’ release from November last year.
Kero Kero Bonito are a London-based experimental pop trio, comprised of bilingual Anglo-Japanese singer Sarah and producers Gus and Jamie. Having previously made college radio indie (Time 'n' Place, #1 NACC 2018) and viral Casio megahits ("Flamingo", "I'd Rather Sleep"), the six track Civilisation mini-album compiles the "lost world junk pop" of the band's Civilisation I and Civilisation II EPs.
Civilisation was inspired by the art pop lineage of artists like Kate Bush, David Sylvian and Peter Gabriel, with a sonic palette informed by Warp's Artificial Intelligence series, homemade New Age music and early digital synth experiments. It was created entirely with dusty old musical hardware and uses both ancient musical tropes (pentatonic scales, minimalist repetition) and contemporary songwriting techniques to summon an out-of-time atmosphere that spans the past, present and future simultaneously. The songs tackle widescreen themes like psychological warfare (on the mystical polyrhythmic funk of "Battle Lines"), ancient mythology (on the energetic, melancholy synth-pop of "The Princess and the Clock") and the resurrection of the dead (on "Well Rested", the record's 7-minute psychedelic house closer).
’Angelo lost his shit over it. Aaliyah’s 3rd favourite track of all time is on it. David Bowie rocked up with it to a TV interview, declaring it “the most exciting sound of contemporary soul music”.
In 1996, Lewis Taylor released his self-titled masterpiece. A true modern classic, it’s an album that was years ahead of its time. Forget 25 years ago, it could easily have been made in 2021. An effortless blend of neo-soul, sophisticated pop, smart grooves and laid-back white funk, it enjoyed rapturous reviews from critics and music legends alike. But the album never managed to make an impact and given what was likely a token vinyl release at the time, the original records have long since been near-impossible to find. Lewis Taylor’s Lewis Taylor remains a holy relic for some and criminally unknown to most.
Lewis Taylor’s impeccable influences created a dazzling sonic palette: the LP as a whole suggests the visionary brilliance of Prince; the vocal stylings evoke the yearning power of Marvin Gaye; the effortless guitar playing shares the virtuosity of Jimi Hendrix; the haunting tones conjure Tricky; the innovative production and engineering invite comparisons to studio mavericks like Todd Rundgren and Brian Eno; the multi-layered, complex harmonies flash on Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson; the dark, drama is reminiscent of both Scott Walker and Stevie Wonder; the complex arrangements create textures and moods with the feel of Shuggie Otis on Inspiration Information; the bold experimentation is akin to progressive artists like Faust and Tangerine Dream; the atmosphere is in conversation with Jeff Buckley’s Grace… and we could go on. That might all sound like marketing hyperbole, but not as far as Be With is concerned. It is a genuine wonder how an album this good could’ve passed so many people by.
But despite all the reference points, the similarities are really only skin-deep because the album sounds truly original. It occupies its own distinct, strange universe that feels dark and brooding one moment, bright and joyous the next. Ultimately, Taylor sounds like Taylor.
Although you wouldn’t know it from the credits, the album wasn’t the work of Lewis alone. Sabina Smyth gets an executive producer credit on the original sleeve, but in fact she worked with Lewis on the production and arrangements, did a lot of the backing vocals and she co-wrote Track, Song, Lucky and Damn with Lewis.
Lewis clarified all this in a Soul Jones interview with Dan Dodds in 2016. He explains how not giving Sabina the credit she was due at the time was an unfortunate consequence of where his head was at and he’s now trying to set the record straight.
Together they created an exquisite and sensually-charged record, with a freshness to the writing that makes the songs catchy, melodic-yet-deep and sometimes even funky. The music is predominantly guitar-led and a mixture of organs and synths, live drum loops and electronic percussion make for a sort of modern soul backing orchestra.
On the surface the album is gorgeously laidback, but beneath the lush, sometimes slick, production there’s a murkiness in the seriously gritty funk/hip-hop instrumentation. Lewis Taylor can be a claustrophobic listen. Even its one-word, often seemingly throw-away track titles add to the sense of unease. In its most positive moments, there’s still a sense that things aren’t quite right. The magic comes from this compelling tension.
The languid, strutting “Lucky” is a sensational opening statement. Sinuous electric guitar winds around the shaking percussion with a killer bass line rattling your bones, and Lewis’s voice is sublime. Its six-and-a-half unhurried minutes manage to distill the work of Marvin, Al Green and Bobby Womack because yes, it’s *that* good. Up next is the tough, dusty drum and jazzy, unsettling psych-guitar workout of “Bittersweet”. Aaliyah described it the “perfect song”, which says it all. By turns loping and soaring, tightly coiled and blasting free, 25 years on its discordant, swaggering majesty still sounds like future R&B.
The swinging, blue-eyed funk of “Whoever” oozes sophisticated sunshine soul for hazy days before “Track” sweeps in. The music tries to lift us up, beyond the reach of the vocals trying to drag us back down as Taylor sings “my mood is black as the darkest cloud”. The spare, dubby electro-soul of “Song” closes out the first half of the album with barely contained dread as it creeps towards the lush, synth-heavy coda.
The smouldering “Betterlove” eases us into the second half, coming on like a languorous response to the call of “Brown Sugar”, before sliding into the shuffling, softly-rocking “How”. Somehow the remarkable “Right” manages to both warm things up and smooth things out even more. Taut yet luxurious, it’s definitely not wrong.
“Damn” was to have been the album’s title track and you might also be able to hear its influence on D’Angelo’s Voodoo, maybe most obviously in the chaotic closing moments of “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”. Building to a screeching wall of noise that suddenly cuts dead, “Damn” sounds like the natural end to the album, with the celestial a cappella “Spirit” serving as a heavenly reprise.
When it came to the sleeve, art director Cally Callomon heard Taylor’s music as “sideways off-camera glances at a plethora of influences he had” and wanted to interpret that visually: “I went off into night-time London to see if I could find his song titles in off-beam low-fidelity photographs. I even found a shop called Lewis Taylor”. With a slide for each of the album’s ten tracks, nine of them are on the inner sleeve and the slide for “Damn” makes the front cover. It should’ve been the album’s title, but concerns over distribution in the US scuppered this.
One of UK soul’s most fascinating artists, Andrew Lewis Taylor is an enigmatic figure and a hugely under-appreciated talent. A prodigious multi-instrumentalist who got his start touring with heavy blues/psych outfit the Edgar Broughton Band, he released two albums of psychedelic-rock as Sheriff Jack before Island signed him on the strength of a demo alone. But Taylor was destined to be one of those artists unable (or unwilling) to be pigeonholed and despite the best efforts of Island’s publicity department the music never sold in the quantities it needed to or deserved to. Island eventually let him go in the early 2000s and in June 2006, Lewis Taylor retired from music.
Typical for the mid-90s, this CD-length album was squeezed onto a single LP for its original vinyl release. Simon Francis’s fresh vinyl mastering now spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. The original artwork has been restored at Be With HQ and subtly re-worked to work as a double.
This sprawling psychedelic soul opus really is a forgotten should-be-classic. We know that there are those of you who know, and as for the rest of you, we’re a bit jealous that you’re getting to hear Lewis Taylor for the first time.
Susanna is now releasing a live album of covers with a unique history. Recorded in Oslo and Asker (Norway) in 2019 and 2020
right before the pandemic hit, Live by Susanna and David Wallumrød is a collaboration by the Norwegian and her cousin David, also a prolific musician, whose seeds were unknowingly sown over 20 years ago.“We played a lot together in our childhood and youth, being cousins, growing up in the same small town Kongsberg,” says Susanna. After being highly active musicians for many years, they decided to do a concert together in 2017, at a tiny cocktail-bar concert series in Oslo. It was so much fun they decided to do some more shows. They did, and out of this came Live. The songs on Live are the same covers Susanna and David played together 20 years ago, with a few new additions. They are instantly recognisable classics by Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris and Tom
Waits, played in the way Susanna and David know best - voice and keys. Pure, simple, and stunning. David Wallumrød is one of Norway’s most used piano/keyboard-players, he has participated on over 150 albums and been a regular member in the bands of artists like Knut Reiersrud, Odd Nordstoga, Jonas Alaska, Band of Gold and Torun Eriksen. He has his own band called Spirit in the Dark. Susanna is the woman behind Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, a creator of bold, original and enrapturing music, capable of
building worlds to lose yourself in and collaborator with artists such as Jenny Hval and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy. Alongside this Susanna has also long been an interpreter of other people’s works, from AC/DC to Dolly Parton, Joy Division to Henry Purcell. Susanna has an ability to transform these works into music that sits comfortably next to her own work while never losing what made the original - and the original composer of the song - so special.
‘Anomie & Bonhomie’: Originally released in 1999 and only on CD, never released on
vinyl. Includes sleeve notes written by Green Gartside and David Gamson.
11 years after the release of previous album ‘Provision’, Scritti Politti erupted back into life
with 1999’s ‘Anomie & Bonhomie’. Recalibrated, re-evaluated, re-imagined and,
eventually, rewarded, ‘Anomie & Bonhomie’ is the heady results of this artistic rebirth.
Illuminated by the band’s stylish pure pop spotlight, collaborations with Mos Def, Lee
Majors and Wendy Melvoin give the record a neon-lit, nocturnal shimmer. Hip-hop
flourishes sit side-by-side with heart-hitting balladry, as truly touching melodies match
moments of uncompromising musical grit with their emotional impact.
LIMITED UCKE YELLOW VINYL.
Xardinal Coffee is a debut album that is a strikingly contemporary record of slick hip hop, rich textures, idiosyncratic grooves and electronic-tinged wonky R&B. It’s an album that feels intricate and busy but also manages to retain a sense of space and looseness, allowing hypnotic rhythms to unfurl with grace. EXUM, aka Antone Chavez Exum Jr. credits the 'genius' of his two producers, Erik Samkopf and Dex Barstad, who he works closely with.
Samkopf being the producer responsible for Xardinal Coffee respectively. 'Sam and I don’t really like doing anything that doesn’t have an ückean effect. We’re not from here you know, we’re just getting adjusted’, says EXUM of the album’s eclectic sonic palate. 'We love to push the envelope on what is considered quirky, but try not to think about it too much. If me and another are walking down a street, who's going to be first to try something spectacular? Them. My walk will speak.’
However, any sense of weirdness is also married with an infectious and accessible quality. Tracks such as Arrest the Dancer - 'a David Bowie/Lady Gaga-type beat we got from YouTube by a producer named Raixsa' - comes alive with an irresistible funk strut, almost recalling Prince in the swaggering bounce of it. On top of this, EXUM’s vocals offer versatility and flexibility, moving from caramel smooth croons to tight rap flows and to enthusiastic bursts of singing.
A sense of texture is palpable throughout too. Portabella Mushroom was recorded on a rare magic mushrooms trip and retains a lysergic and psychedelic quality, sucking the listener up into its swirling atmospheres. Whereas the sparse, minimal and slightly eerie beats of Wolves Eat Wolves was recorded in pitch black and the song takes on that kind of crepuscular vibe, which interspersed with the song’s dark lyrical content - touching upon sex trafficking - further cements this. ‘I take no form’, the artist says, and his formless nature speaks to his willingness to constantly recreate himself as an artist.
A love of words is also clear in EXUM’s delivery, with them being carefully placed and sequenced amidst the ambitious soundscapes of the record. 'Writing is precious to me', he says. 'The vulnerability to bleed on paper. While playing with words, styling the same outfit for the 7th day in a row.'
Initially EXUM looked up producer Erik Samkopf to work with when he’d had a temporary falling out with his previous producer Barstad. In love with Samkopf’s work with Pen Gutt, EXUM took a punt and flew from his hometown of Richmond, Virginia to Oslo, Norway to work with him. As EXUM and Barstad patched things up, EXUM and Samkopf were building chemistry, creating something truly unique. 'Dex and Sam never cease to amaze me', he says. 'They’re versed and creative beyond measure, they both have an immense amount of musicality, and most of all, their love for music is sweaty.’
However adding to the legend, EXUM took a little detour on his musical journey, spending years as a professional footballer in the NFL, for teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and the Minnesota Vikings. Now leaving that chapter of his life behind, EXUM has returned to the true love held dear to him ever since he can remember: music.
EXUM is not simply trying his hand at music though; he is crafting every part of his artistic journey, from carefully selected contributors (such as string composer Christian Balvig) and overseas producers, to shaping his own brilliant music videos with directors such as Allison Bunce and Rosabel Ferber. Both of whom occupy creative space in his art world, which goes by the name of ücke. He has effectively created his own musical ecosystem. 'You’ve got to create your own world and live highly in that first', he says. 'Making it inevitable for other worlds to not be touched by what’s vibrating through you. In my world I’m already a massively iconic artist.'
With A Little Help From My Friends captures one special night on November 21, 2020 when Steve Lukather, Joseph Wil-liams and David Paich appeared with the new line-up of Toto for a global event originating from Los Angeles, CA. Join-ing Lukather, Williams and Paich for this next chapter in their indelible history are new band members bassist John Pierce (Huey Lewis and The News), drummer Robert "Sput" Searight (Ghost-Note / Snarky Puppy), and keyboardist / back-ground vocalist Steve Maggiora (Robert Jon & The Wreck). Keyboardist Dominique "Xavier" Taplin (Prince, Ghost-Note) and multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Warren Ham (Ringo Starr) segued over continuing their tenure in the ensemble. This marks the fifteenth incarnation of the Toto line-up in consideration of band members or sidemen who joined or exited.
The track listing features “Till The End,” “Hold The Line,” “Pamela,” “Kingdom of Desire,” “White Sister,” “You Are The Flower,” “I Won’t Hold You Back,” “Stop Loving You,” “Home Of The Brave,” “Rosanna,” and “With A Little Help From My Friends.” In the DVD and Blu-ray releases, a documentary is featured alongside the performance, featuring thoughts from all members of the band that appeared that evening.
Steve Lukather a.k.a. Luke shares, “When the music is performed by great musicians it honors TOTO. The documentary featured on the DVD and Blu-ray offers great insights in to our thoughts looking forward. David, who stands with us, alongside Joe and myself, desire to keep this music alive. And Paich could pop in any time for a show as a special surprise. When it came to plan this specific set list, we picked an eclectic group of songs for this one night only show.
The album will be released on June 25, 2021 on transparent 180 grams vinyl, CD+DVD and CD+Blu-ray.
The DVD is region-free, and playable worldwide. DVD audio track: PCM 2.0
The award-winning storytellers at DONTNOD invite you on another twisting adventure with Twin Mirror.
In this psychological thriller, Sam Higgs is coming back to Basswood, his childhood town, to attend his best friend’s funeral. It quickly becomes obvious that this little West Virginian city holds numerous dark secrets. The former investigative journalist will employ his deductive skills to uncover the mysteries surrounding the city and its inhabitants. Confronted with his past, Sam will be torn between his quest for truth and his desire to reconnect with loved ones. Who can he really trust?
Twin Mirror™ is available on PlayStation®4 (PlayStation®Store), Xbox One™ (Microsoft®Store), PC (on Epic Games Store) and compatible with PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
David Wingo got his start composing music for films on David Gordon Green's debut 2000 feature GEORGE WASHINGTON and since that time he has worked with Green on a majority of his films, including collaborations with the band Explosions In The Sky on PRINCE AVALANCHE and MANGLEHORN. In 2010 he scored Jeff Nichols' TAKE SHELTER and has since scored all of Nichols' films, including MUD, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, and the Academy Award-nominated LOVING. 2018 saw Wingo moving into television, providing the score for both Showtime's KIDDING and HBO's Emmy Award-winning BARRY, for which he received an Emmy Nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.
After releasing their outstanding 17th album 'Abolition of The Royal Familia' earlier this year, The Orb are back with further guest appearances on their remix album 'Abolition Of The Royal Familia - Guillotine Mixes' (April 2021). Including mixes from David Harrow, Moody Boyz, Youth, Violeta Vicci, Andy Falconer and more.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 30 years since Candy Dulfer rose to fame with her high-profile collaborations with Dave Stewart (the worldwide number 1 smash “Lily was here”) and of course the legendary Prince, whose tongue-in-cheek recommendation (“When I want sax, I call Candy”) in the “Partyman” video made the world sit up and notice the young, glamorous and talented sax player at his side. Candy has been fortunate to work - both in the studio and on stage - with some of the biggest names in music, including Van Morrison, Maceo Parker, Sheila E., Mavis Staples, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Pink Floyd, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, and many others. Despite these high-profile collaborations, Candy mainly focused on her solo career, starting her own band at age 13 and touring the world ever since.
Intruder is the first new music from the iconic and influential Gary Numan since 2017’s album Savage: Songs From a Broken World, which charted at #2 in the UK.
The forthcoming album, also titled Intruder, will be released in May 2021 - his 21st solo album. Intruder sees Gary reunite with producer Ade Fenton, who previously produced four critically acclaimed albums for Numan: Jagged, Dead Son Rising, Splinter and Savage.
With a career that has spanned nearly four decades, his approach to electronic music remains an inspiration to artists across genres and eras, from stadium goliaths such as Depeche Mode, Prince and Nine Inch Nails to alternative heroes such as Beck, Damon Albarn and Marilyn Manson. Even Kanye West owes him a debt, and David Bowie once credited him with “writing two of the finest songs” in British music.
Gary has had 23 top 40 singles and 15 top 40 albums in the UK. The British electro pioneer was also awarded the Inspiration Award for songwriting and composition at the Ivor Novellos in 2017.
2020 saw Gary release his critically acclaimed rollercoaster of an autobiography, (R)evolution.
Award-Winning Welsh Multi-Instrumentalist The Anchoress Returns With Her New
Studio Album ‘The Art Of Losing’
Featuring Guest Appearances From James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers)
And Sterling Campbell (David Bowie, Duran Duran)
“A devastatingly powerful voice.” MOJO “Hounds Of Love, updated for the 21st century.” PROG “Davies is making music like nobody else at the moment.” NME
‘The Art of Losing’ is the second album from Welsh multi-instrumentalist The Anchoress (aka Catherine Anne Davies), following up on her critically acclaimed debut album,
‘Confessions of A Romance Novelist’, which was named amongst the Guardian critics’
Albums of the Year, won HMV’s Welsh Album of the Year, Best Newcomer at the PROG
awards, and a nomination for the Welsh Music Prize.
Written and produced by Davies, the new album features guest performances from
James Dean Bradfield (Manic Street Preachers) and drums from Sterling Campbell (David Bowie, Duran Duran) along with the mixing talents of Dave Eringa (Manics, Wilko
Johnson) and grammy-award winner Mario McNulty (David Bowie, Prince, Laurie Anderson).
‘The Art Of Losing’ ambitiously navigates the topic of loss in all its forms and was written
and recorded during an unfeasibly busy few years as Davies found solace and purpose in
a range of projects whilst navigating her griefs. Most recently this came via the release
of her collaborative album ‘In Memory of My Feelings’ with Bernard Butler (on Pete
Paphides’ label Needle Mythology), duetting with the Manic Street Preachers on ‘Resistance Is Futile’, and being personally invited by The Cure’s Robert Smith to perform at his
Meltdown Festival. She also brought a new generation of ears to legendary Scottish rock
band Simple Minds, where she spent much of the last five years appearing on the ‘Big
Music’ (2015) and ‘Walk Between Worlds’ (2018) albums.
The Anchoress will launch the album with a special show at London’s Queen Elizabeth
Hall in July 2021.
*2 LP 140gm Black Gatefold Vinyl Edition with lyric printed inner bags.
Dark Entries is pleased to announce a deluxe reissue of Sexual Harrassment’s 1983 opus I Need A Freak. Lynn Tolliver, DJ/Program Director at Cleveland’s WZAK, adopted the pseudonym David Payton in order to keep his musical endeavors separate from his public persona. Sexual Harrassment (misspelled deliberately) was formed as a concept band, with members selected based on appearance and choreographic skill rather than musical ability. Tolliver’s explicit lyrics focused on the central themes of desire and sexual relations. Working at a studio in Akron, he recorded an album of quirky-yet-lurid electro funk, which was released on Heat Records. Tolliver remarks, “I learned as a youngster, sex sells! The things that are rated the worst – violence, horror and sex – are the things people want to see or hear about.” I Need a Freak was a surprise hit, selling over 100,000 copies.
I Need A Freak is presented here for the first time on double LP, pressed at 45 rpm for maximum DJ-friendliness. While the album’s naughtier moments seem quaint by contemporary standards, the fusion of lo-fi funk and disaffected vocals still stuns today. On the eternal electro-raunch anthem “I Need a Freak”, minimalism serves to highlight the lasciviousness of the deadpan lyrics, which were inspired by Lourdes Figueroa, Tolliver’s girlfriend at the time. Tolliver’s whimsy shines on tracks like “If I Gave You a Party” and “K.I.S.S.I.N.G.”, which contrast nursery rhyme structures with decidedly R-rated lyrics. “Exercise Your Ass Off” lampoons the home exercise craze, but with a more-than-suggestive sexual bent. Also included are two bonus cuts, “We Want Prince” and “These Are The Things That I Like”, previously released as singles in 1984 and 1986, respectively. “We Want Prince” is both a homage to the Purple one and a gentle satire of obsessive fandom.
I Need A Freak has been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. The album comes in a gatefold sleeve featuring the original artwork. Included are lyrics, photos, and liner notes by Lynn Tolliver and drummer Dale Jackson. Tolliver’s sly provacateurship is best captured by the quote: “It’s funny – without sex, mankind is dead, yet we hide the very thing we need.”
Tappa Zukie (David Sinclair) born 1955 Kingston,Jamaica actually cut his first record in England,after being sent there aged 17.
He was breaking from his troublesome past that found him running with the rough crowd on the streets of Kingston. On his arrival in sunny Ladbroke Grove London, producer Bunny Lee called him up on stage at a local dance to sing a tune. Impressed with the results fellow producer Larry Lawrence got the young Tappa in the studio the very next day and cyt 'Jump and Twist'.
This led to cutting his 'Man I Warrior' album,but somewhat disillusioned and homesick he returned to Jmaica shortly afterwards.
But this venture in the Uk was to pay dividends,seeing his 'I Man Warrior' album receive great reviews on its release.
We have collected together some great lost treasures and some alternative cuts to some of Tappa'sbetter known releases.
Mr Zukie, DJ/Toaster/Producer Roll the tape one more time if you please.......
“Not The Nine O'Clock News gave the world alternative comedy and made the media scene we have today.” – Mark Lewisohn, Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy Celebrating over 40 years since the ground-breaking comedy series arrived on BBC TV, Demon Records proudly presents all three original LPs - Not The Nine O’Clock News, Hedgehog Sandwich and the double LP The Memory Kinda Lingers - lovingly mastered on heavyweight themed coloured vinyl.
Let the famous signature tune take you back to the heady days of 1979, when Labour gave way to the Conservatives, striking workers created the Winter of Discontent, and Not The Nine O’Clock News inherited the BBC2 time slot vacated by Fawlty Towers. It quickly became a trailblazing smash hit, running for four series and making stars of Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Pamela Stephenson and Griff Rhys-Jones.
Among the many famous, and much-loved, sketches included on the LPs are David Bloody Attenborough (aka Gerald the Gorilla), Points of View, General Synod’s “Life of Python”, Constable Savage, University Challenge, Hi-Fi Shop, That’s Lies, Not The Parrot Sketch, Open
Marriage, Question Time, Game For A Laugh, Two Ninnies, McEnroe’s Breakfast, What A Load of Willies, The Pope’s Visit, Simon and Garfunkel and – yes – The Return of Constable Savage. Produced and devised by John Lloyd and Sean Hardie, Not The Nine O’Clock News won a Silver Rose at the Montreux Festival and a BAFTA for Best Light Entertainment Programme. Its large writing team included such future luminaries of TV comedy as Richard Curtis, David Renwick,
Andrew Marshall, Guy Jenkin, Laurie Rowley, John Lloyd and Andy Hamilton. Presented as a faithfully reproduced facsimile gatefolds, and remastered from the original tapes.
This special limited edition DAVID BOWIE 7" picture disc, is a double A-side of the radio edits of 2018 versions of ZEROES and BEAT OF YOUR DRUM. Both tracks are from NEVER LET ME DOWN (2018), a new version of the 1987 album featured in the forthcoming boxset LOVING THE ALIEN (1983-1988) which is released on 12th October.
NEVER LET ME DOWN (2018), is a new production of Bowie's final 'solo' album of the '80s. Producer Mario McNulty worked on the tracks at Electric Lady Studios in New York with longtime Bowie musicians Sterling Campbell (Black Tie White Noise, Outside, 'hours...', Heathen, Reality and The Next Day) on drums, Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine, Black Tie White Noise, Outside, Earthling and 'hours...') & David Torn (Heathen, Reality and The Next Day) on guitars and Tim Lefebvre (Blackstar) on bass.
ZEROES, the lyrics of which reference Prince's Little Red Corvette was Bowie's salute to the '60s. He described it as 'The ultimate happy-go-lucky rock tune, based in the nonsensical period of psychedelia'. Mario McNulty commented, "Stripping this song down to its core revealed a track that could have been right at home on Hunky Dory, I kept Peter Frampton's sitar (which was originally owned by Jimi Hendrix) as it still fits against the new guitars from Reeves Gabrels'.
Of BEAT OF YOUR DRUM Mario McNulty says, 'David Torn's ambient guitars start the song that now lead into a much darker world than its shiny predecessor. David sang all the backing vocals on this which I have kept.'
Y
Tony Clarke is from Waterhouse, St. Andrew Jamaica. At the tender age of 10 he started following sound systems like Sir Mike The Musical Dragon with the great toaster Prince Ruff at the controls, and King Tubby's with the legendary U-Roy. Tony Clarke did his first recording in New York in 1971 at Hugh Hendricks recording studio called "Righteous Man" of which he played both bass and lead guitar. The band was later managed by the legendary band leader/trombonist Carlos Malcolm.
Tony Clarke decided to write the song 'Going Home' to reference the roots of his music. In those days and even now good reggae music that was being recorded in the United States was not receiving the approbation from home because, in Jamaica they felt that the best reggae music could only come from and be created in Jamaica to substantiate the true feeling of the genre. So he decided to go back to Jamaica and record 'Going Home' at Harry J Studio with Sylvan Morris as engineer. The rhythm track was played by Lloyd Parks (Bass), Devon Richardson (Drum), Andy Bassford (Lead Guitar), Winston "Bo-Pee" Bowen (Rhythm Guitar), Franklyn "Bubbler" Waul (Keyboard), David Madden & Junior "Chico" Chin (Horns). He also recorded the cover version to 'Hey Little Girl' originally done by Dee Clark. For this 12'' vinyl edition, the artwork was done with a vintage photo of Tony Clarke in front of his house at Waterhouse and extended liner notes on the back cover.
Here We Are Releasing The Second Album Of Cologne Born Producer Thyladomid Who Is Familiar To Many Through His Work On Hamburg Label Diynamic Which Has Lead Him To Perform Around The World, Together With Artists Such As: Adriatique, Solomun, Kollektiv Turmstraße, Hosh, David August, Stimming, And Many More. More Then 30 Minutes Playing Time, 6 Tracks And Artwork By Florian Kramer Offer A Lot To Discover. Thyladomid Is Famous For His Forward Thinking Deep Melodic Dance Music Which Earned Him Respect And Support From Many People Of The Scene And Evolved Also In Cooperations With Adriatique And The Singer Mahfoud. You Can Find Two Tracks Featuring Mahfoud On The Album. With His First Album "interstellar Destiny" In 2015 Thyladomid Has Already Changed Towards More Introspective Music And You Will Hear He Has Taken That A Step Further Here. In Comparison To His First Album, "places" Refers To Different Places Which Inspired Him To Write The Album And Offers A Higher Level Of Complexity In The Making Of Music Which Has Helped Thyladomid To Enhance The Moody Quality In A Dazzling Way Sometimes Even Spine Tingling When You Let Yourself Go To Explore The Abundance Of The Trax. As He Said In His Own Words: - the Albums Intention Was That Of An Organic Produced Album With Different Moods. Instruments Such As Piano And And Violin As Well As Field Recording Bring Alive A Special Quality. The Bouncing Of Stones On A Frozen Pond Recorded With Multiple Microphones Suggest For Example An Authentic Spacious Quality. The Self Recorded Percussion, Sometimes Quite Exotic Were Included In All Of The Tracks. The Combination Of Synthetic Sounds With Traditionally Instruments Was One Of The Big Challenges For Me. The Piano And Prophet 6 Und The Moog Sub37 Were The Main Instruments Used For The Album'. Thyladomid Started Working On The Album 2 1/2 Years Ago. His Classical Training On The Piano Helped To Quickly Come Up With A Musical Theme Which Is Based On Different Tonalities Which Were Then Linked To Each Other And Which Actually Helped To Structure The Whole Release. The Good Weather In Summer Was A Good Inspiration And Finally Led To The Idea To Dedicate Tracks To A Certain Place, A Place Which Means A Lot For Him. From That Idea The Title Of The Whole Album Derived: "places ". "a Little Church In Amsterdam" As He Says "is Such A Track Encouraged By The City Of Amsterdam I Love And Respects So Much And Actually Have Spend So Much Time In. It Is A Track I Played Outside In My Garden To Friends And Which Works Perfectly For Me.' "a Little Church In Amsterdam" Is A Track Where Melodies Bloom And Flourish. It Feels Like Zooming In On Nature Grasping A Time Lapse Symphony. "blossoming Limburg Ft Mahfoud" Was Born In The Capital Of Limburg Which Is Located In The South Of The Netherlands And Reflects The Summer Of 2017 And Was Recorded In A Warehouse. It Reflects The Intimacy And Synergetic Level Between Mahfoud And Thyladomid. The Fantastic Deep Vocal Track Is Spiced Up With Lots Of Acoustic Details Which All Happen In The Background But Effectively Surface To Pull The Listener Into His World. "night Owl" Is A Lyrical Dreamy Piano Piece With A Melancholic Note And An Ear For Details. Acoustic Finesse Presented On An Episodic Scale. We Guess The Track Was Influenced By The Works Of Four Tet Or Pantha Du Prince. "kollwitzplatz" Is A Small Park In Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg Which Was Thyladomid's Home For 2 Years . - the Cafes And Restaurants Laced By The Alleys Of The Kollwitz District Resemble A Piece Of Home For Me And Represents The Time Of My Stay In Berlin'. Musically "kollwitzplatz" Is Full Of Life. You Can Hear Children Talking While The Piano Attracts Sounds Like Moths Are Attracted To Light. The Track Offers This Richness Of Percussive Elements And Sound Sources Creating A Stunning Complexity Which Does Not Limiting Itself But Rather Creates This Free Flow Of Acoustic Signals. You Instantly Will Feel: There Is A Lot To Discover At "kollwitzplatz". "underwater Rhapsody", The Title Says It All: It Has That Episodic, Free-flowing Structure, Featuring A Range Of Highly Contrasted Moods, Color And Tonality. What It Actually Means To The Listener Is That Grande Chords Meet Dissonances Of Sound That Fly In Like Drones Cross The Big Time Melodies That Gain A Centrifugal Force At Times... And All This Leaves You Dizzy And Creates Another Big Listening Experience As The Whole Album Is Directed To Entertain You In A Smart And Distinguished Way.
[E b2 | Places Ft. Mahfoud
Two unreleased recordings dug up by the team at Numero Group for their Purple Snow comp (GET IT), these were begging to be put on 45. Recorded at Audiotek Studios Inc in 1975. David Z, who engineered Lipps Inc's "Funkytown" and several Prince productions, piloted both these recordings. 'Get It On' is the perfect end up night stone groove track, i can't recommend this record enough, buy it. Another completely selfish venture, i just wanted this on 45.
Underground Jazz, Street Funk & The Roots Of Rap 1968-79. Soul Jazz Records' new release 'Soul of a Nation: Afro-Centric Visions in the Age of Black Power' is released in conjunction with a major worldwide art exhibition, Soul of A Nation: Art in the The Age of Black Power which takes place at the Tate Modern, London, UK (July-Oct 2017) and The Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA.
The album shows how the ideals of the civil rights movement, black power and black nationalism influenced the evolvement of radical African-American music in the United States of America in the intensely political and revolutionary period at the end of the 1960s following the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and the rise of the Black Panther party.
Featuring groundbreaking artists such as Gil Scott-Heron, Roy Ayers, Don Cherry, Oneness of Juju, Sarah Webster Fabio, Horace Tapscott, Phil Ranelin and many others, Soul of A Nation shows how political themes led to the rise of 'conscious' black music as new afro-centric styles combined the musical radicalism and spirituality of John Coltrane and radical avant-garde jazz music alongside the intense funk and soul of James Brown and Aretha Franklin and the urban poetry and proto-rap of the streets.
The Soul of a Nation exhibition draws on the links between Black art forms - art, music, poetry - and how they came together during the civil rights and black power era as part of the wider black arts movement across the United States.
Iconic African-Amercian revolutionary figures such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Angela Davis, John Coltrane, Muhammad Ali all appear in the radical artworks of Barkley L. Hendricks, Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Lorraine O'Grady and Betye Saar.
A selection of original radical jazz record sleeves artworks which appear in Soul Jazz Records' earlier groundbreaking Freedom, Rhythm and Sound - Revolutionary Jazz Original Cover Art book will also be on show at the Tate, London throughout the exhibition. The Freedom, Rhythm and Sound book is also newly back-in-print in conjunction with this major exhibition and the release of the Soul of a Nation album.
Stuart Baker (founder of Soul Jazz Records) will appear on the panel of Jazz for Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power discussion at the gallery as part of the show. Soul of a Nation comes with extensive sleeve-notes and exclusive photography in a large 36-page outsize booklet and slipcase. Double gatefold vinyl album edition comes with full colour inners + bonus download code and includes full sleeve-notes/photography.
