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Shifted offers the latest distillation of his trademark sound.

Following on from the recent release of “The Dirt On Our Hands” – Guy Brewer’s fourth studio album and the first to arrive on his own Avian imprint, “Constant Blue Light” – another full length, explores new avenues in caustic minimalism.

Eschewing the booming effervescence of his own more plosive dance floor material – Shifted takes a no less nuanced, but decidedly more introspective angle on this new LP. At the centre of Brewer’s practice as an artist, there has always been a sense of dedication to the refinement of a singular idea. In some ways “Constant Blue Light” represents a move closer to the apex of this approach.

Opener “Slowly Counting Backwards” creates the framework for the record – reduced and meditative, owing somewhat to previous work, but still crisper and more precise. “Natural Elevation” riffs on airy patches that hiss and bend while “The Weight of It” transmits an unsettling hysteria with flanging leads and untethered rhythmic components. On the B side, the ominous dirge of “Soft Palate” brings a kind of uncanny energy to proceedings before “Into Your Ocean” utilises exquisite FM tones to create a captivating sonic montage. “Several Instances” hinges on dense low end and scattering white noise, before giving way to the machinations of “Clotting Time”. Closing piece “This I Know” offers a stunning, crystalline finish to the LP – upping the ante in its final minutes before giving way to a hiss of delay trails.

A continued exploration from a focused and diligent artist that provides yet another fully formed and beautifully articulated component to his own discography and that of the Avian label.

Something wicked this way comes. Following singles 'Know The Future' b/w 'Digital Warfare' in 2019 and 'Hypersocial' b/w 'Safety Test' in 2020, ESP’s own Patrick Conway has now teamed up with the illustrious Appleblim (of Skull Disco and Apple Pips fame) for a meaty self-titled debut 2xLP under the new collaborative moniker, Trinity Carbon. There is something to be said for art created in the face of global unraveling, while mass transgression and the friction of culture shifting produce poignant commentary, but more often than not, it’s the personal coping mechanisms within our work that have the power to speak directly to the receiver. After a number of sessions resulting in wild imaginative beginnings, it was the untimely passing of Andrew Weatherall and a coming to terms with that loss that moved the two Brits-via-Berlin to herd their roaming sketches into a more narrative statement. In the uphill struggle to retain some sense of individualism, it’s always outsiders like Weatherall whose risks illuminate the roads of creativity less traveled, and when those beacons go dark there is a disorientation felt far and wide. Conway and Blim concede to the internal inquiry, “What would Weatherall do?” bringing to mind the man’s pervading morale, always soldiering onward through mediocrity, as it was undoubtedly an impetus for the duo growing steadfast and chiseling 'Trinity Carbon' into completion. While employing trusted machines in the bass department, they established a warm euphonic home base from which they could stray in a variety of tonal and rhythmic directions without straining a tether to the album’s core. However, as soon as any hint of familiarity may arise, or listeners begin to mentally assign stylistic epithets, the duo boldly change course to remind us that while the banal stay safely defined, it’s the iconoclasts, the outsiders who make us feel.

Rico started his career in the late 1950’s playing with the likes of Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken and Max Romeo as a session musician in addition to creating his own recordings. He moved to the UK in the early 60’s and continued performing live and playing as a session musician. He signed to Island Records in the 70’s, releasing his first solo albums.
In 1979 Rico met Jerry Dammers and began playing with The Specials. He became an honorary member of the band and featured prominently on some of their most famous tracks, along with Dick Cuthell, which produced a distinctive sound. In 1980 he released his first album for the 2 Tone label, That Man is Forward.
Jama Rico was the second album released on 2 Tone Records in 1982. This album felt like a celebration of Jamaican musicians - Jama Rico was an altogether different beast. This was a more resolute statement, more African in its rhythms and a hidden treasure within the 2 Tone label.
This time the recording sessions were split between Joe Gibbs studio in Jamaica and sessions at London’s Town House Studios. The Jamaican sessions again were produced by Dick Cuthell and comprised of musician friends Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Headley Bennett, and Ansel Collins. The London sessions, produced by Dick and Jerry Dammers, featured Specials John Bradbury and Horace Panter, along with Tony Utah and Satch Dixon.
This new remaster, originally released in May 1982, is a part of the ongoing 2 Tone ‘40th Anniversary’ releases.
The package is a 3mm Spined Sleeve, 180gm Heavyweight Black Vinyl, printed inner and bellyband.

Rico started his career in the late 1950’s playing with the likes of Prince Buster, Laurel Aitken and Max Romeo as a session musician in addition to creating his own recordings. He moved to the UK in the early 60’s and continued performing live and playing as a session musician. He signed to Island Records in the 70’s, releasing his first solo albums.

In 1979 Rico met Jerry Dammers and began playing with The Specials. He became an honorary member of the band and featured prominently on some of their most famous tracks, along with Dick Cuthell, which produced a distinctive sound.

In 1980 he released his first album for the 2 Tone label, That Man is Forward. Produced by Dick Cuthell and recorded in Jamaica over two sessions in Joe Gibbs studio. The album is a celebration of Jamaican musicians playing together, with the likes of Jah Jerry, ‘Deadley’ Headley Bennet, Robbie Lyn, Sly & Robbie, Ansel Collins -the list goes on.

This new remaster celebrates its 40th Anniversary, originally released in March 1980, as part of the ongoing 2 Tone ‘40th Anniversary’ releases.

The package is a 3mm Spined Sleeve, 180gm Heavyweight Black Vinyl, printed inner and bellyband

Over the past decade, Egyptian-born, Barcelona-based DJ and techno producer Raxon, known to friends and family as Ahmed Raxon, has popped out a steady stream of twelve-inch singles, precision-tooled, for labels like Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul, and Ellum Audio. An alumni of Kompakt’s Speicher series – check the insistent, vibrating pulses of “The Ancient” and “Dark Light” on 2019’s Speicher 107 – with Sound Of Mind, Raxon has produced a long-awaited debut album that’s ready and aching both for the dancefloor and the boudoir, traversing the heat of the club and the warmth of the home.

“The idea of an album has always floated around in my head for the past few years,” Raxon confirms, “but it was never the right moment in my mind.” Instead, he’s been insistently pursuing his vision of deep, elegant techno, taking him from early DJ gigs in Dubai, including the legendary audio tonic night, then relocating to Europe on the recommendation of Herman Cattaneo, all the while allowing his experiences to inform and transmute his producer’s thumbprint. He’s an architect by training (though he gave architecture up for electronic music), which might explain why Raxon productions are so sturdy and well-designed; but remember also that architecture is a field filled with brave experimentation, something Raxon definitely draws on throughout Sound Of Mind.

Like many albums from the past twelve months, Raxon’s debut developed partly thanks to the unique social situation the planet has found itself caught within. “In the beginning of 2020 I started working on a few tracks with the album in mind,” he recalls, “with no idea of what’s to come in the next few months. As catastrophic as the situation was/is, I found myself in the studio; in a way the lockdown gave me that creative freedom in the studio, to try to tell my story through sound.” And indeed, there is something in the way of ‘life writing’ about Sound Of Mind, particularly in the way Raxon’s productions pay subtle homage, perhaps, to his formative listening experiences in the late nineties.

It’s no retro trip, but there’s plenty of variety here, and a few moments that’ll tickle the collective memory – see the prowling pulsations of the opening “Majestic”, the alien breakbeat action of “Vice” and “Journey Mode”, where the interstellar tones feel like Foul Play or Steve Gurley, the leaking gas and woozy keys that make “Droid Solo” so subtly destabilising, or the strobelight drones that sputter and flare throughout “El Multiverse”, where dappled organ tones fight it out with interdimensional transmissions, all sucked into the vortex of a late-night techno mantra. Beautifully sculpted, Sound Of Mind feels consummate, an elegant set that pulls Raxon’s vision into its sharpest focus. Alive with possibilities, it’s a fever dream of creativity.

In den letzten zehn Jahren hat der in Ägypten geborene und in Barcelona lebende DJ und Techno-Produzent Raxon, der Freunden und Familie auch als Ahmed Raxon bekannt ist, eine ganze Reihe von 12inch-Singles auf Labels wie Cocoon, Drumcode, Diynamic, Truesoul und Ellum Audio veröffentlicht. Wir kennen Raxon außerdem durch seinen Beitrag zur Kompakt Extra/Speicher-Reihe – man höre sich nur mal "The Ancient" und "Dark Light" auf dem 2019 erschienenen Speicher 107 an. Nun hat Raxon mit “Sound Of Mind“ sein lang erwartetes Debütalbum produziert, das sowohl für den Dancefloor als auch für die eigenen vier Wände geeignet ist und dabei sowohl die Hitze des Clubs als auch die Wärme des eigenen Zuhauses durchmisst.

"Die Idee eines Albums schwebte in den letzten Jahren immer in meinem Kopf herum", bestätigt Raxon, "aber es gab nie den richtige Moment." Stattdessen verfolgte er leidenschaftlich seine Vision von tiefem, elegantem Techno, die ihn von frühen DJ-Gigs in Dubai, einschließlich der legendären Audio-Tonic-Nacht, dann auf Empfehlung von Hernan Cattaneo nach Europa führte. Im Laufe dieser Zeit sammelte er unzählige Erfahrungen, die es ihm erlaubten, seinen Stil als Produzent mehr und mehr zu transformieren. Raxon ist gelernter Architekt (obwohl er die Architektur für die elektronische Musik aufgegeben hat), was vielleicht erklärt, warum seine Produktionen so robust und gut durchdacht sind; aber man sollte auch nicht vergessen, dass Architektur bestenfalls immer ein Feld mutiger Experimente ist, etwas, worauf Raxon in “Sound Of Mind“ definitiv zurückgreift.

Wie viele andere Alben der letzten zwölf Monate auch wurde Raxon’s Debüt von der einzigartigen gesellschaftlichen Situation, in der sich der Planet momentan befindet, beeinflusst. "Anfang 2020 habe ich angefangen, an ein paar Tracks für das Album zu arbeiten", erinnert er sich, "ohne zu wissen, was in den nächsten Monaten auf uns zukommen würde. So katastrophal die Situation auch war/ist, ich fand mich im Studio wieder; in gewisser Weise gab mir der Lockdown auch eine kreative Freiheit im Studio, um zu versuchen, eine Geschichte durch meinen Sound zu erzählen." Und in der Tat gibt es auf “Sound Of Mind“ so etwas wie eine "Lebensgeschichte", besonders in der Art und Weise, wie Raxon’s Produktionen eine subtile Hommage an seine prägenden musikalischen Erfahrungen in den späten Neunzigern darstellen.

Es ist fürwahr kein Retro-Trip, aber es gibt hier viel Abwechslung und ein paar Momente, die das kollektive Gedächtnis kitzeln werden - zum Beispiel der sich langsam heran pirschende Pulsschlag im Eröffnungstrack "Majestic", oder die außerirdischen Breakbeats von "Vice" und "Journey Mode", in denen sich die interstellaren Sounds ein wenig wie Foul Play oder Steve Gurley anfühlen. Dann das ausströmende Gas und die wummernden Tasten, die "Droid Solo" subtil destabilisieren, oder die Strobo-Drones, die in "El Multiverse" herum sprudeln und flackern, wo einzelne Töne einer Orgel mit interdimensionalen Transmittern um die Wette strahlen und schließlich in den Strudel eines nächtlichen Techno-Mantras gesogen werden. “Sound Of Mind“ fühlt sich formvollendet an, wie ein elegantes Set, das Raxon’s Vision verstärkt in den Fokus rückt. Ein Fiebertraum voller Kreativität und Möglichkeiten.

Recorded during the thick of the Covid lockdown, Kevin, Tony, & Eric hunkered down in their studio and turned their energy inward. With all live shows and future tours canceled, Brainstory had no other outlet besides their rehearsal space which had been converted into a makeshift studio. Stepping up to the obstacles of the moment, they recorded and produced an EP of brand new music. They were already highly skilled musicians two years ago, but time in the studio with Leon Michels producing Buck and playing alongside bands like Holy Hive and Chicano Batman had a profound effect on them. Their ears have developed, their ethos and their drive has matured, their musicianship is full-blown; hence the name of the EP, Ripe. Ripe is a seven song journey into who Brainstory are as people and as a band. They are lighthearted and fun but never anything less than dead serious about their artistry. In choosing to record a mostly instrumental record, they have departed from their 2019 debut Buck and are showing more of their Jazz roots. Ripe pulls from Jazz, Hip Hop, 70s Funk, 60s Soul, and life in Southern California in the year 2021. Kev's intro to the EP is a testament to their thing, his goofy and charming "let's go baby_.less go baby" is welcoming and fun and then "Scissors" drops - serious as can be. The first vocal number we hear is "Seasons", a song about maintaining through the challenges of 2020 that would make Roy Ayers proud. "Long Day" and "Rogers" are drenched in reefer and psychedelia and promise a moment away from reality if listened to in headphones. "Bye Bye" is another stone cold ballad from the group that is destined to be a staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. Ripe is a welcome ray of sunshine as we all shake off the darkness of 2020 and will hold fans over while they finish recording their full length sophomore album due out in 2022.

COLORED VINYL IS TRANSPARENT WITH ORANGE & GREEN SPLATTER. Recorded during the thick of the Covid lockdown, Kevin, Tony, & Eric hunkered down in their studio and turned their energy inward. With all live shows and future tours canceled, Brainstory had no other outlet besides their rehearsal space which had been converted into a makeshift studio. Stepping up to the obstacles of the moment, they recorded and produced an EP of brand new music. They were already highly skilled musicians two years ago, but time in the studio with Leon Michels producing Buck and playing alongside bands like Holy Hive and Chicano Batman had a profound effect on them. Their ears have developed, their ethos and their drive has matured, their musicianship is full-blown; hence the name of the EP, Ripe. Ripe is a seven song journey into who Brainstory are as people and as a band. They are lighthearted and fun but never anything less than dead serious about their artistry. In choosing to record a mostly instrumental record, they have departed from their 2019 debut Buck and are showing more of their Jazz roots. Ripe pulls from Jazz, Hip Hop, 70s Funk, 60s Soul, and life in Southern California in the year 2021. Kev's intro to the EP is a testament to their thing, his goofy and charming "let's go baby_.less go baby" is welcoming and fun and then "Scissors" drops--serious as can be. The first vocal number we hear is "Seasons", a song about maintaining through the challenges of 2020 that would make Roy Ayers proud. "Long Day" and "Rogers" are drenched in reefer and psychedelia and promise a moment away from reality if listened to in headphones. "Bye Bye" is another stone cold ballad from the group that is destined to be a staple in sweet soul sets around the globe. Ripe is a welcome ray of sunshine as we all shake off the darkness of 2020 and will hold fans over while they finish recording their full length sophomore album due out in 2022.

Faye Webster liebt das Gefühl des sogenannten First Takes und die Direktheit, wenn sie einen Song schreibt, um dann gleich am nächsten Tag ins Tonstudio zu fahren und das Stück gemeinsam mit ihrer Band live einzuspielen. Beim genauen Hören der selbstsicheren und geradeaus kreierten Alben der 23-jährigen Songwriterin aus Atlanta wird klar, warum: Hier werden Emotionen gebündelt und verarbeitet, die so schmerzlich sind, dass sie jeden Moment nahezu lebendig werden. Webster fängt den Funken ein, bevor dieser die Möglichkeit hat zu schwinden; Textzeilen werden zu Papier gebracht, bevor diese eine Chance haben zu entfliehen. Ihr ganz eigener charakteristischer Sound bringt dabei einen flüsternd ruhigen und zuhause aufgenommen Gesang mit dem Klang der Band in einem Raum zusammen. "I Know I'm Funny haha" ist Websters vollkommenster Ausdruck dieser besonderen emotionalen und musikalischen Alchemie. Auf ihren Durchbruch mit der Veröffentlichung des Albums "Atlanta Millionaires Club" im Jahr 2019 bei Secretly Canadian folgend, blüht Websters Werdegang weiter. Ihr Klang bedient sich dabei sowohl dem von der Steel-Guitar beeinflussten Singer Songwriter-Pop und Country der 1970er-Jahre, als auch den Einflüssen und Persönlichkeiten Atlantas Rap - und R&B-Community aus der Zeit, als Webster ihr erstes Zuhause bei Awful Records fand. In den vergangenen zwei Jahren nach "Atlanta Millionaires Club" hat sich Websters Profil stetig weiterentwickelt, nachdem sie auf Festivals wie Austin City Limits und Bonnaroo spielte, einer ihrer Songs in Barack Obamas 2020-Lieblingssongs-Playlist einen Platz fand und die Musikerin sich auch verliebte. "This record is coming from a less lonely place," erklärt Webster über das Album "I Know I'm Funny haha", das sie vollkommener, aufgeweckter und selbstbewusster erscheinen lässt. Websters Musik ist vor allem geprägt von ihrer starken Persönlichkeit - dies wird auch in ihren Arbeiten als anerkannte Fotografin von Porträts und Stillleben deutlich. Viele ihrer Stücke enthalten Girl Group-artige Gesangs- bzw. Sprech-Passagen, die ihre untypischen Song-Geschichten weiter farbenfroh ausmalen.

Faye Webster liebt das Gefühl des sogenannten First Takes und die Direktheit, wenn sie einen Song schreibt, um dann gleich am nächsten Tag ins Tonstudio zu fahren und das Stück gemeinsam mit ihrer Band live einzuspielen. Beim genauen Hören der selbstsicheren und geradeaus kreierten Alben der 23-jährigen Songwriterin aus Atlanta wird klar, warum: Hier werden Emotionen gebündelt und verarbeitet, die so schmerzlich sind, dass sie jeden Moment nahezu lebendig werden. Webster fängt den Funken ein, bevor dieser die Möglichkeit hat zu schwinden; Textzeilen werden zu Papier gebracht, bevor diese eine Chance haben zu entfliehen. Ihr ganz eigener charakteristischer Sound bringt dabei einen flüsternd ruhigen und zuhause aufgenommen Gesang mit dem Klang der Band in einem Raum zusammen. "I Know I'm Funny haha" ist Websters vollkommenster Ausdruck dieser besonderen emotionalen und musikalischen Alchemie. Auf ihren Durchbruch mit der Veröffentlichung des Albums "Atlanta Millionaires Club" im Jahr 2019 bei Secretly Canadian folgend, blüht Websters Werdegang weiter. Ihr Klang bedient sich dabei sowohl dem von der Steel-Guitar beeinflussten Singer Songwriter-Pop und Country der 1970er-Jahre, als auch den Einflüssen und Persönlichkeiten Atlantas Rap - und R&B-Community aus der Zeit, als Webster ihr erstes Zuhause bei Awful Records fand. In den vergangenen zwei Jahren nach "Atlanta Millionaires Club" hat sich Websters Profil stetig weiterentwickelt, nachdem sie auf Festivals wie Austin City Limits und Bonnaroo spielte, einer ihrer Songs in Barack Obamas 2020-Lieblingssongs-Playlist einen Platz fand und die Musikerin sich auch verliebte. "This record is coming from a less lonely place," erklärt Webster über das Album "I Know I'm Funny haha", das sie vollkommener, aufgeweckter und selbstbewusster erscheinen lässt. Websters Musik ist vor allem geprägt von ihrer starken Persönlichkeit - dies wird auch in ihren Arbeiten als anerkannte Fotografin von Porträts und Stillleben deutlich. Viele ihrer Stücke enthalten Girl Group-artige Gesangs- bzw. Sprech-Passagen, die ihre untypischen Song-Geschichten weiter farbenfroh ausmalen.

JP Harris has a secret: his name is actually “Squash.” Long before Harris
became a well regarded honky-tonker, he used his childhood nickname
while playing archaic “old-time” American tunes at underground fiddlers’
gatherings, engrossed in this punkish folk music world.
‘Don’t You Marry No Railroad Man’, his debut recording of traditional music
under the moniker JP Harris’ Dreadful Wind and Rain, features ten tracks spanning the breadth of American old-time repertoire. Harris wades between ancient ballads that traveled from the British Isles to Appalachia like “Barbry Ellen,” to droning banjo ditties such as Hobart Smith’s entrancing “Last Chance,”
here played on one of Harris’ coveted homemade banjos. Harris also works as a
serious carpenter which adds a unique authenticity to his versions of the classic
“House Carpenter” and lesser known “The Little Carpenter.”
Alongside Harris’ haunting vocals, the album prominently features the lowtuned fiddle and harmony singing of his longtime friend and Old Crow Medicine Show member Chance McCoy, who produced the record at his West Virginia studio in an old barn. On this sparse and arresting recording, Harris isn’t
mining his roots as a marketing pitch, he has the chops to back it up. In fact,
this collection of songs made him who he is today. Welcome home “Squash.”

The frontwoman of Sugarland, responsible for 30 million records sold, Jennifer has been a country radio staple for over 20 years. She is also an actress having been cast in HBO's The Righteous Gemstones and the 2019 Focus Features film release of the Harriet Tubman Biopic. Jennifer also debuted on Broadway in 2015 as Roxy Hart in the Tony Award winning and record-breaking musical Chicago and she is currently a judge on the TBS reality talent competition Go Big. With multiple Grammys to her credit as well as ACM and CMA awards, she is a music industry institution but what this particular release will prove is her musical proclivities and skills are far wider and more diverse then perhaps previously thought. Jennifer is in fact a brilliant interpreter of songs.

Factory Benelux presents an expanded double vinyl edition of Sex and Death, the 11th studio album by lauded Factory Records ensemble The Durutti Column.

Originally released in 1994 on CD only, the album has now been re-mastered with 5 bonus tracks and appears on vinyl for the VERY FIRST TIME in a coloured vinyl edition limited to 1500 copies.

The vinyl edition is housed in a gatefold sleeve . Disc 1 is pressed in blue vinyl, and disc 2 in silver. A 2xCD edition is also available (FBN 201 CD).

The writing and recording of Sex and Death closed an uncertain period for Vini Reilly and the group following the collapse of Factory Records in 1992. Factory founder Tony Wilson remained in post as manager of the band, but Sex and Death would be their last album with producer Stephen Street, famed for his work with Morrissey, The Smiths and Blur.

Writer and master guitarist Vini Reilly remained philosophical. “People say the Durutti Column is this or that. I don’t care, so long as we make good music. There’s screaming feedback on some tracks, heavy metal guitar, Spanish picking. It’s not just this ethereal trip. Don’t listen to the form, never listen to the form. Listen to the content.”

Stand-out tracks include Anthony (dedicated to Wilson), The Rest of My Life, and Believe In Me. Guest musicians include viola player John Metcalfe, vocalist Ruth-Ann Boyle (later to form hitmakers Olive with Tim Kellett), programmer Martin Jackson (Magazine, Swing Out Sister) and bassist Peter Hook, then on furlough from New Order post-Republic.

All 5 bonus tracks are previously unreleased, having been retrieved from a long-lost DAT tape located in Tony Wilson’s personal archive. All tracks on the album have been newly re-mastered in 2020 by Peter Beckmann and Technology Works.

Includes Download Code and Special Insert Drawing !
Quindi Records continues to yield intriguing prospects as we reach the third edition, moving from Woo's astral ruminations via Cabaret Du Ciel's sonorous meditations on to the dusty, dusky mantras of Dead Bandit. Maintaining the ambiguous creative practices of the label's previous releases, From The Basement r eaches to the earth for the malleable grit of post-rock while making the most of the broader sonic outlooks afforded by kosmische and electronic effects processes.
Dead Bandit are Chicagoan songwriter Ellis Swan and Canadian multi-instrumentalist James Schimpl. Swan has previously released solo works including the stunning, inward-looking album I'll Be Around, a lo-fi Southern gothic dragging the husk of country ballads through battered signal chains. In Dead Bandit, Swan and Schimpl's artistic vision casts its gaze outwards on a vast expanse, where the distortion has space to stretch its legs and the drums pound out into open space. There's a common tonality at work here, the duos guitars telling a thousand hard-bitten tales where Swan's voice falls silent. It's no surprise to learn Swan and Schimpl's reference points include Neil Young's Dead Man soundtrack, SF noise rockers Chrome and the imperial work of the late, great Mark Sandman of Morphine.
You can sense Jim Jarmusch's America just lingering behind the road-weary thrum of 'These Clouds' and detect the shadow of Tom Waits lurking in the raunchy lurch of 'FF M'. The pointedly titled 'Sedated' calls to mind the slowcore movement and its rejection of rock n' roll's fixation on speed. Instead, tonality and atmosphere are key across From The Basement , although the ambient lull of 'I See Her There' is the exception rather than the rule. Dead Bandit's desert sound has vibrancy and immediacy to match its moodiness, from the sultry swagger of opening track 'Mud' to the bold and borderline bombastic 'When I Looked Around'.
Like the previous Quindi releases, this record is inherently experimental in nature, but not at the expense of its warmth and instant appeal. From the basement, an inquisitive pair with primitive tools look out and imagine a colossal plain as the canvas on which to paint their picture

Lucky Brown is the alias and stage persona of American composer Joel Ricci, who conducts myriad combinations of musicians drawn from his Seattle Washington based Westsound Recording Collective in dynamic and spiritual public and private happenings. Via his dozens of self-produced experimental deep funk vinyl singles released by Tramp Records over the past 13 years, he has been hailed by music mavens worldwide as a deep funk pioneer.

Deep Blues EP Some Kinda Blues by the Mosquito Hawks is the fruit of a one-off early morning session in a practice room at the Seattle Drum School in 2010 featuring luminaries from the Seattle funk community including fiery guitar phenom Jabrille "Jimmy James" Williams of Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio renown, versatile drummer Jens Gunnoe and dynamic bass player Bob Lovelace. Rounding out the horn section is longtime friend and collaborator Thomas Deakin, who's singular tenor tone will be familiar to owners of the Space Dream and Mystery Road records. A tantalizing glimpse of the session was released by Tramp as a single under the name T.D. & The Jimmy James 3 on the extremely limited edition Mosquitohawk imprint, but this EP offers us time to appreciate the transformative alchemy of the session in its entirety. The new EP makes room for highlights that just couldn't have been contained on one 45, such as the remaining 7 minutes of brutal jamming of Mosquito Eater, the New Orleans street party shout of Hydrangea and the exalted kind of blues of Some Kinda Blues.

On this album, Ricci proves once again that he has developed his own trademark production and sound whose depth and honesty form a basis from which his work will ever remain timeless. Although this is just a 5-track EP we truly hope that the Mosquito Hawks gets at least as much attention as all of Ricci's other marvelous projects he did for Tramp during the past 15 years.

Those who pay close attention to DJ Harvey’s sets should already be familiar with NuNorthern Soul’s next single, a fully licensed reissue of a sought-after 1980 promotional seven-inch from legendary Spanish Flamenco singer Manuel Mancheño Peña, better known as El Turronero (‘The Nougat’).

Both ‘Las Penas’ and ‘Si Yo Volviera A Nacer’ have long been secret weapons in the sets of dusty-fingered Balearic DJs, with Harvey regularly dropping the tracks during his sessions at Pikes Hotel on the White Isle.

Both tracks first appeared on Pena’s 1980 album New Hondo, a set that updated the then veteran Flamenco artist’s sound for the disco era. Whereas most of his previous albums were more traditional Flamenco affairs, New Hondo combined his throaty, effervescent Flamenco singing style with the driving grooves, swooping orchestration and spacey synthesizer sounds of European disco.

To promote the album, Spanish label DB Belter pressed up a promotional “45” featuring two of the most club-friendly cuts on the album. It’s this release that is being reissued for the very first time by NuNorthern Soul.

A-side ‘Las Penas’ is undoubtedly an off-kilter, late-night disco classic. Built around a flanged, action-packed disco-funk bassline, metronomic beats. soaring and layered female backing vocals, intergalactic synth sounds and stirring strings, the track steps up a level when ‘El Turronero’ takes to the microphone to belt out an infectious, energetic vocal in his trademark Flamenco style. It’s the kind of cut that’s as haunting and intoxicating as it is funky and floor friendly.

Flipside ‘Si You Volviera A Nacer’, another of New Hendo’s most sought-after tracks, is another unique and righteous concoction. Looser, groovier and warmer in tone, it sees another sublime, Flamenco style lead vocal from Pena accompanied by even funkier bass, spiralling ’70s synthesizer sounds, sweaty drums and some seriously exotic instrumental flourishes (think sitar and kalimba). It’s every bit as alluring as the more driving A-side, and equally as playable.

Both tracks may be unusual in comparison to the artist’s other releases, but they expertly capture a moment in time, when disco dominated dancefloors all over the world and inspired even the most traditional and historic of European musical styles. Quite a number of flamenco-disco records were made in Spain during the late ’70s and early ’80s, but very few are quite as magical as these.

Lisa Milberg and Jon Bergström started their band Miljon over a pitcher of margarita in Mexico City and have since kept busy writing gorgeous little pop-songs in makeshift studios in and around their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden – mostly in their bedrooms and various cabins in various woods surrounding the city, never staying too far from the pine trees.
Having assembled a collection of 13 pieces of proper flaskpost-disko, these demos were passed on to Studio Barnhus’ in-house mixmaster Matt Karmil, who worked his studio magic on the recordings, turning them into a seductively warm and spacious debut album. “Until then, our only expenditures for the album were wine bottles and taxis”, says the band.
This isn’t the first time Miljon has teamed up with Studio Barnhus, the ever-explorative Stockholm dance label. The band collaborated with Barnhus co-founder Axel Boman on the wistful piano-house ballad “Forgot About You” in 2018 (“a summer anthem … a marvel of simplicity” - Pitchfork) and the label’s core personnel are all regulars at Arranging Things, the design store (“Stockholm’s coolest” - Vogue) that Lisa runs with another friend.
Going further back, Miljon isn’t the first musical project of neither Lisa’s nor Jon’s – the former enjoyed her fair share of 00's indie rock success as drummer and eventually lead singer of The Concretes, while Jon has earned a reputation as the hardest working man in several Swedish music scenes, bringing energy and expertise to punk stages around the country as well as Stockholm’s electronic underground.
With Miljon, the two friends make sure to keep it short and sweet, happily celebrating imperfections. “We believe in ‘first thought, best thought’ and try to work on the songs as little as possible, instead trusting a good melody and a nice vibe, not overthinking it. We dare you to find a bridge on this album!”
With “Don’t They Know”, the duo presents not only 13 beautiful songs (perfect for shower-humming, living roomshuffling and warm summer night boombox-blasting alike) but also an album that turns into something grander than the sum of its parts.
“We made it because it’s the kind of album we’ve been wanting to hear ourselves. It’s all quite song-centric these days and it feels rare to find a whole album to step into and stay inside, you know? We hear great songs all the time, but we wanted an album that was its own little universe, with its own mayor, own happy hour, its own yard sales and extramarital affairs.”
“Don’t They Know” is released through Studio Barnhus as a vinyl LP June 18.

Good things come to those who wait! A commonplace that is also true in the case of Perel’s Running Back debut. Ever since „Die Dimension“ appeared on DFA, our own CEO couldn’t wait for a call from the lady herself. Star is the consequence of said call and not only that.
Picturing Perel’s development as a recording artist on the one hand and the hardships everyone had to experience since the world has been changed by a pandemic on the other, making it - in her word words - „an EP about crossing the „physical distance between the people I miss and love“. Opening with the riveting vocals of Star („This song is literally a love song for my people“), the three pieces also show Perel's growing versatility as a producer. The tried and tested neon disco lights interchange with darker tones, uplifting and affirmative moments (Tour De Perel) rotate with contemplative and pondering intervals (Internal Monologue). Yet, by no means Perel is whistling a sad tune. Her melodies are as always deep, distinguishable and delightful to dance to. Wherever that may be.

BUILDINGS was born out of a creative merger between Detroit’s 313 Acid Queen (Rebecca Goldberg) and Italian maestro Sickboy (Stefano Piseddu), their 4th and 2nd releases on Detroit Underground respectively. The duo have thoughtfully arranged a half dozen tracks inspired figuratively and literally by the landscape of Detroit. Working 7,000km and multiple time zones apart, having never met in person, their individual expressions intertwine in soundscapes reminiscent of techno’s origin and exist in a way only capable in our present time. Devoted as ever to the roots of Detroit techno, Goldberg and Piseddu have built a magnificent album around the Detroit Map Series theme conceptualized by DU label founder Kero and designed by Neubau Berlin.

Opener GUARDIAN pays homage to Detroit’s Art Deco landmark skyscraper exploring rigid textures and a mosaic of tones reflective of the building’s diverse composition.

STRUCTURE escalates through synth leads and drum breaks ascending into a powerful high-rise track.

MCS carves through an array of percussion and crooning acid as you might imagine the sounds of Detroit’s former train depot, at one time used by thousands of passengers per day traveling to and from Detroit.

FOUNDATION’s original mix and rework get down to the literal with vocal samples calling out the project’s muse. Sickboy’s dynamic hits and 313 Acid Queen’s bubbling acid lines are truly reflective of both producers’ individuality within the collaboration.

RENAISSANCE represents a continued era of rebirth and is more literally named for the group of connected skyscrapers whose central tower stands as Detroit’s tallest building.

JANA IRMERT – THE SOFT BIT

"The compositions for this album were shaped over the course of one year, at first without a concept or storyline as a starting point. Yet what I became increasingly interested in was a kind of sensory aspect of sounds. I felt I wanted to get closer so the sounds, feel their structure and surface and how they contrast each other."

stick your hands into the sand and feel the grains against your skin.

"Throughout the musical process, I used materials like metal, water, sand and air in a very direct and maybe more raw way to create and record sounds than I did in previous works, where I had often manipulated field recordings that had a more ambient character and thus strongly carried the location of origin in them.So in a sense, for the compositions of this album, I used sounds without a place, or just an expression of the sound of the particular material itself."

submerge yourself in water and listen to the sounds you hear.

"It turned out the processed sounds resulting from hard materials would often have soft and tonal qualities whereas those made from "soft" materials like water or air would ultimately be of percussive or harsh and noisy character. Finishing the compositions was like feeling along the surfaces of the single pieces with closed eyes, making out their shape and outline inch by inch. Maybe this is why to me, some of the compositions feel solidified like pieces of rock, while others seem to be ready to evaporate into air."

stand as still as you can and feel the air moving against your face.

The Scientists’ powerful brand of deranged swamp-rock returns with
a vengeance as In the Red Records unleashes Negativity, an allnew
magnum opus featuring the first new full length album by the
Australian band’s penultimate line-up in thirty-five years.
The bruising eleven-track collection features a Scientists
configuration much beloved by connoisseurs of the band’s work:
singer-guitarist Kim Salmon, lead guitarist Tony Thewlis, and bassist
Boris Sujdovic, all veterans of the group’s defining 1981-85 outfit,
and drummer Leanne Cowie, who replaced drummer Brett Rixon on
the storming 1986 release Weird Love.
A solid crop of fresh originals is highlighted by the opening
statement of purpose “Outside”; the offbeat, yowling waltz “Naysayer”;
the hilarious, self-mocking “Suave,” which Salmon says was inspired
by the work of his countrymen the Moodists; and the utterly surprising
“Moth-Eaten Velvet,” a Velvet Underground homage in ballad form
that features a three-piece string section. Instrumental guests on the
album include producer Mumford, who contributes trombone on
“Make It Go Away,” and Salmon’s daughter Emma, who essays piano
and background vocals.
Negativity is the third Scientists release and the first fulllength
album for In the Red. The current quartet cut the single
“Braindead”/“SurvivalsKills” in 2018 and the five-song 2019 EP
9H2O SiO2, the title of which translates (in a hat tip to the lyrics of
the group’s classic “Swampland”) as Nine Parts Water, One Part Sand.
Those recordings were issued in conjunction with the group’s first two
U.S. tours during that period.
Raw, freewheeling, and spattered with the high-voltage sound, the
Scientists have drawn from such influences as the Stooges, Suicide,
the Gun Club, and the Cramps, Negativity is jubilant, unpredictable
listening.

Wenn eine Band sich von ihrem langjährigen Klangbild löst und - wieder einmal - häutet, kann sie heute alles Mögliche sein. Großes Orchester oder Laptop-Projekt. Das Skizzenhafte kann neben dem Ausgefeilten stehen. Das Beeindruckende neben dem Unscheinbaren. Das Aufwändige neben dem Simplen. Die Frage ist nur: Will man das überhaupt? Und wenn ja: Zieht man das durch? Auf ihrem neunten Album "Talks Of Paradise" präsentieren Slut sich in einem ungewohnten und neuen Soundgewand. Die Gitarrenwände haben sie ersetzt, das Klanggewitter neu gedacht. Stattdessen gibt es analoge elektronische Töne, eine tiefe Transparenz und einige beinahe minimalistische Skizzen. Den hymnischen Indie-Sound ihrer früheren Alben gibt es immer noch. Das hört man unter anderem auf der Vorab-Single "For The Soul There Is No Hospital". Es geht aber nicht darum, zwanghaft etwas Neues zu versuchen. Oder um den Zweikampf Synthie vs. Gitarre. Vielmehr um das Abschalten von Automatismen. Um eine Suche nach dem Momentum. Auch wenn dabei anfangs ein Mosaik aus vermeintlich widersprüchlichen Eindrücken entsteht. Slut ist etwas bemerkenswertes gelungen: Eine etablierte Band aus Leuten und Freunden, die sich schon sehr lange kennen, hat sich entschieden etwas wirklich Neues zu wagen. Und das auf der gesamten Strecke. Tell your friends!

180g schwarzes Vinyl, Cover auf 300g GC1 INSIDE/OUT, gefütterte Innenhülle, 2seitiges Insert, Downloadcode. Tony Conrads Konzept von Minimal Music als Maximalismus des Ausdrucks ist eine der Inspirationen für TRIALOGOS. Die Musik entsteht aus der Spannung zwischen den Beiträgen der drei Akteure Conny Ochs, Sicker Man und Kiki Bohemia, die aus unterschiedlichen musikalischen Subszenen stammen. Im Zusammenspiel ergeben sich so musikalische 'Trialoge'. Das Ergebnis sind kinematografische Klangflächen, die sowohl helle Interferenzen schaffen, als auch düstere, verzerrte Wirklichkeiten verbergen. Dabei wirken die Stücke des Debüt-Albums "Stroh zu Gold" hoch emotional. Sie sind das Ergebnis einer kollektiven Improvisation und Instant Composition, und eben keine Konstruktion. TRIALOGOS sind: Conny Ochs, Sicker Man and Kiki Bohemia. Conny Ochs ist längst fester Bestandteil der Exile-On-Mainstream-Familie. Zeugen sind seine Solo-Alben und natürlich die Kollaborationen mit Doom-Legende Scott "Wino" Weinrich. Tobias Vethake ist Multiinstrumentalist und Komponist. Als Komponist von Schauspiel- und Filmmusiken arbeitete er u.a. am Volkstheater Wien und dem Imperial War Museum London und schrieb Soundtracks u.a. für Muxmäuschenstill (D), Bye Bye Berlusconi (I) und Seance (US). Er ist auch Produzent und Co-Autor diverser internationaler Vero?ffentlichungen (z.B. Serengeti (US / Anticon), SchneiderTM (D / Editions Mego), Gregor Schwellenbach (D / Kompakt). Die Berliner Musikerin und Sängerin Kiki Bohemia produziert und veröffentlicht eigenes Material und kollaboriert mit internationalen Künstlern unterschiedlichster musikalischer Genres (z.B. Yann Tiersen, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Blainbieter, The Crack-Up Collective). Echtzeitkompositionen, Live- Filmvertonungen, Musik fu?r Kunstinstallationen, Performances und Live-Ho?rspiele sind Zeugnisse ihrer Affinität zu experimentellen und aleatorischen Auffu?hrungsansa?tzen und Improvisation (u.a. Documenta Kassel 2012, Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Sophiensaele Berlin, Kater Holzig, Deutschlandradio Kultur).

Here’s a monster of its own. Not to be confused with Trevor Jackson early 2000 project (even if the british producer has obviously been informed by post-punk, dub, post-industrial and the likes) Playgroup was more than anything a collective, based somewhere around Bristol and London. Drummer Bruce Smith was the key figure behind the project. Neneh Cherry husband and fabulous motorik force for The Pop Group, The Slits, New Age Steppers, African Head Charge and – more recently - Public Image Limited, Bruce brought the post-punk aura into the realm of controlled chaos with several partners in crime.

Playgroup is the so-called English version of Jamaican dub, informed by the industrial revolution and the studio wizardy of On U Sound acolytes. Crucial Tony (Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, Singers & Players) on bass and guitars, Sean Oliver (New Age Steppers, Rip Rig & Panic) on guitar, the almighty Style Scott (Creation Rebel, Dub Syndicate, New Age Steppers) on drums and percussionists Eskimo (African Head Charge, Creation Rebel, Mark Stewart And The Maffia) and Bonjo I (African Head Charge) are among the main conspirators here. Produced by none else tham Adrian Sherwwod Epic Sound Battles Chaper One still resonates with its original dark humor and guerrilla warfare tactics.

Suburban Bases favourite duo Krome & Time rare DAT studio masters saved!
Krome & Time provided the very first Suburban Base release that launched the now legendary label, under the alias Kromozone catalogue number SUBBASE 001 set the tone for the label that became and integral part of the development of Rave and Breakbeat Hardcore into Jungle and Drum & Bass!

So who better to kick off the relaunch of such a revered brand than the legendary duo that started it all KROME & TIME! With brand new sleeve design from original SubBase illustrator Dave Nodz!

Having accessed a long forgotten storge facility and discovered a treasure trove of Suburban Base master tapes, we struck gold when we found box after box of unreleased and exclusive master recordings from some of the biggest artists within the SubBase family.

The two exclusive tracks that make up this release were huge dubplate only specials and have never been released as vinyl singles or digitally. Finding the master copy of the once thought lost 'Original Juggling' was incredible, the song is much asked after and as an album exclusive on the 1995 Telepathy Dub Plate Special was never given a full release only appearing on that project.

‘Non-Stop Rocking’ was a 1995 dubplate recorded specifically as an album exclusive for the legendary Drum & Bass selection album project and stayed exclusively on dubplate receiving extensive club and radio play whilst remaining only available within D&B selection.

These sought-after tracks remained stuff of legend never having had a digital release or full vinyl release… until now! From the original master tapes of Suburban Base we present this slamming 12inch from Krome & Time

Shall Not Fade's Time Is Now series continues to showcase the cutting edge of breaks and bass oriented club music. This time they introduce Groovy D; this new solo project of one third of Sheffield-based trio Denham Audio curates a totally fresh take on garage which is soulful, unique and genre-defying.

Afterworld Groove EP features female vocalists and a collaboration with Time Is Now regular Interplanetary Criminal; vocal heavy tracks are a highlight of the record, taking the garage sound away from the confines of the club. "Outta Control" is one of these tracks; Emma Cannon's vocals walk the edge between soulful and mournful, contrasting the wild breakbeats and deep, dirty bass. The title track uses housey intoned keys; this is daytime garage, made for summer parties. Taking influence from his Sheffield home, "Keep Movin' On" has a classic bassline sound palette, cheeky stabbing synths and hyperactive breaks.

"Project Zeus" opens the B-side: stutters of snare and punching bass are broken through with a classic, uncontrollable bassline; the tongue-in-cheek sample that forms the drop will undoubtedly bring a smile to British fans. More minimalist B2 "Timeless" is a chorus of bubbling ear candy until the rolling sub bass looms into a deep, headsy climax. Manchester's Interplanetary Criminal joins to close the EP; with vocals from Anna Straker, "Higher" takes a genre-spanning approach in hazey garage percs and soaring pads. The tempo is down, and misty, romantic sax forms the backbone.

‘Sleek, impassioned and thoroughly modern’ - Prog Magazine
French atmospheric rockers Klone have built their name on making music that
is as deeply introspective as it is sonically powerful. Known for their trademark
dark guitar tones and epic brooding soundscapes, the band signed with Kscope
in 2019 before releasing their first album with the label, ‘Le Grand Voyage’, that
same year to critical praise.
Now, for the first time in the band’s career, Klone are releasing a live album.
Recorded between two different shows at Sjiwa in Baarlo, The Netherlands in
October 2016 and at Moloco in Audincourt, France in November 2019 respectively, Alive captures the true essence of Klone and includes stunning performances of the singles ‘Yonder’ and ‘Breach’.
Engineered by the band’s live sound engineer Chris Edrich and Mastered by
Pierrick Noel, the band describe the moment as “a way to pay tribute to our
audience and the people who support us.”
As we await live music to return on a large scale, this is a timely reminder of
what a superb live band Klone are. Featuring recordings which represent the
band’s most popular material whilst giving testimony to the shows recorded
during the period between 2015’s ‘Here Comes The Sun’ and 2020’s ‘Le Grand
Voyage’.
This LP edition of ‘Alive’ features a bonus track “The Last Experience” and is
available as a gatefold double black vinyl on 11th June 2021.

More a family than a band, BANDA MAJE formed in a home studio in the historic district of Salerno, in Southern Italy, on the initiative of Peppe Maiellano (composer and keyboards) and Tonico Settanta (producer, rapper and DJ). The collective has an ever-changing number of members, all of whom – a bit like the lively port city they are from – exist at the crossroads between Italian melodies and imported genres like funk, soul and disco.

Released by Four Flies Records, a label specializing in vintage Italian soundtracks and brand new productions with a strong cinematic feel, Banda Maje's debut album "Ufo Bar" transports you to an imagined version of Salerno that combines local tradition and 70s pop and film culture.

Listening to the album's eight funk- and soul- infused tracks also means seeing stories unfold in the streets of this re-imagined city: from the jubilant uprising organised by the women from the Rione Fornelle neighborhood in "Fornellesse", to the cigarette smuggling story in "P' ciel, p' mar, p' terr"; from the distinctly southern Italian pucundria (bittersweet melancholy) in "Sunday Embarcadero", to the saga of provincial nightlife in "Living Disco Club".

While the LP's Side A is sunny and cheerful, its Side B is more nostalgic, almost nocturnal, with bittersweet vibes in "2010" and new wave-influenced synths in "Ago". This variety of moods reflects the emotional depth behind the music of Banda Maje: "We want to leave a trace of what we experience: the narrow little streets brimming with life; our love for Neapolitan music, for Italian soundtracks from the 70s, for B-movies and the saga of cigarette smugglers; our passion for vinyls and cassette mixtapes, not to mention second-hand love affairs and dusty afternoons spent watching third-division football."

Athlete Whippet join the Toy Tonics family! The London/Berlin-based duo make a sound that is based on futuristic breakbeats combined with deep, jazz chord progressions and a kind of funk that sounds more like it was made in 2100 then in a year behind us. Definitely not a retro record the Vesta EP is further proof that the connection between London and Berlin that has been build by several Toy Tonics artists (Cody Currie the latest in the gang) is becoming a strong one. The combination of the Berlin dancefloor sound and the UK jazz fusion soul is changing the scene and creating new moods. Neo soul and house, broken beats and disco.. there are lot of things happening in that new world and Athlete Whippet could be a strong player in that new sound.

The 2 guys already achieved great support by UK radio DJs such as Annie Mac and Jamz Supernova for their their first collaborative EP Touch (with Metronomy’s Olugbenga), followed by their 2020 solo EP 'Your Love Is Lifting Me', an ode to compassion and solidarity, and remixes for labels including Rhythm Section.

‘Vesta’ is not just the title track of the EP but also the name of the South London Road where they shared an apartment, built a studio in their living room, and put together the first ideas for this EP.

Both Robin and Avi come from a live performance background, played in bands since their early teenage years before they met studying music at Goldsmiths in London. You can hear a playful live quality throughout the EP. It’s not your average house productions with the usual formalistic patterns, but a very original, very fresh style - hard to copy (but easy to dance to).

Now based between Berlin and London, they collaborate with their friend, Athens-born, Berlin-based artist Aphty Khéa on Yesterday and Can’t Make My Mind Up.

Avi and Robin their label squareglass and a London-residency inviting guests such as Seb Wildblood, Will Saul, Asquith, Anu and also have a monthly show on Rinse FM.

Everything has its right moment in space and time. And Rhode & Brown’s debut album “Everything in Motion” is no exception to this rule.

But first things first:
Hailing from Munich, Germany, Friedrich Trede and Stephan Braun are the DJ and producer duo Rhode & Brown. Growing up in two neighbouring villages near Munich both of them had been music enthusiasts since their early childhood. Friedrich played drums in punk bands at school and recorded rap songs in his bedroom, while Stephan, as childhood friend of Harold Faltermeyer's son, had the chance to experiment in the impressive studio of the legendary Donna Summer producer in his early teens.

By the late 2000s older friends started supplying them with DJ mixtapes and helped them sneak into clubs they weren’t allowed to visit, yet – cultivating their love for electronic music and club culture. And, of course, the Internet was their go-to source for finding the latest blog house tunes back then, too.

It wasn’t until October 2009 that their paths would cross for the very first (but almost last) time when introduced by a mutual friend: Back then Stephan was selling his old CDJ-player and Friedrich, who wanted to hone his DJ skills, ended up buying it: „When I got home and unpacked the player I realized that it was the wrong model. I thought Stephan was trying to rip me off - so I called him in a rage and demanded my money back.“ Friedrich laughs. To cut a long story short, the two met again the same evening, money and CD-players were exchanged, but luckily so was their passion for house and disco music. It was at that very moment that Rhode & Brown was born.

A lot has happened since the two played their first gigs together and made baby steps in music production. In the past 10 years they established themselves as one of the most reliable house producers around with rock solid releases on Toy Tonics, Shall Not Fade, Public Possession or their own Slam City Jams imprint. As well as becoming a household name in the DJ world, sharing the booth with the likes of Palms Trax, Dam Swindle, Jamie Tiller or Octo Octa - spreading their infectious "Dancing Deejays" vibes around the globe.

Following the great reception of last years „Aku Aku“ EP, June 2021 will see the release of Rhode & Brown’s debut album on Permanent Vacation. A record that showcases their open minded approach to making music and a passion for the nuances between genres - „We found inspiration for this album in all corners of our record collection. That means we are as much influenced by disco or 80s synth-pop as by house and techno of the last decades or the latest viral trap hit on Spotify“, the guys say.

On "Everything In Motion" you'll hear piano house / Italo disco hybrids alongside dreamy Balearic soundscapes and '90s-infused acid breakbeats flawlessly accompanying '80s synth pop anthems. Always infused with that signature Rhode & Brown magic. The album also finds them collaborating with some of the finest vocalists of the moment: Peaking Lights' own Indra Dunis is lending her voice to the title track for this special laid back California vibe, while Berlin's hottest export DJ City evokes a neon light romance affair on "Memory Palace", with a longing poem that makes you wander the rainy streets at night with your walkman on.

At a time when suddenly everything seems to be standing still, Rhode & Brown undeterred moving forward... true to their LP’s title.

Sir Rod Stewart was on his way to becoming one of the most successful recording artists in history in 1974 when he moved to America and signed with Warner Bros. Records (now Warner Records). Over his next 27 years with the label, Stewart released some of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of his extraordinary career. This 5LP boxed set features Stewart's first four Warner albums on vinyl, plus a bonus LP of rare and unreleased studio outtakes from those albums: Atlantic Crossing (1975), A Night on the Town (1976), Footloose & Fancy Free (1977), and Blondes Have More Fun (1978).

After being out of print for decades, the studio albums look and sound better than ever as they return to vinyl, complete with replica sleeves and newly remastered sound. The albums and the bonus LP are all organised in an iridescent box with Stewart foil-stamped on the cover, his blonde shag haircut glistening in gold, and his leopard-print suit shimmering in silver.

After brilliant stints with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces and several outstanding solo albums, Stewart moved to Los Angeles in 1974. ROD STEWART: 1975-1978 reflects the burst of creativity that followed, starting in 1975 with his label debut, Atlantic Crossing. The album was produced by the legendary Tom Dowd, who produced Stewart's next three albums. After Atlantic Crossing was certified gold, A Night On the Town went double-platinum, and Foot Loose & Fancy Free went triple-platinum, as did its follow-up Blondes Have More Fun, which became Stewart's first #1 album. That era introduced many of the singer's best-known tracks: "Sailing," "I Don't Want to Talk About It," "I Was Only Joking," "The First Cut Is the Deepest," "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)," "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and "Hot Legs."

The bonus LP, titled Encores 1975-1978, is a collection of 10 outtakes selected from the recording sessions for all four albums. The first side highlights five songs from the recent deluxe editions released for Atlantic Crossing and A Night on the Town. Songs include an alternate version of the B-side "Rosie" and a cover of the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody" recorded with the influential Stax Records house band, Booker T. & The MG's. The flip side features five previously unreleased session outtakes from Foot Loose & Fancy Free and Blondes Have More Fun. Highlights include a cover of the Motown classic, "You Really Got A Hold On Me," and the unreleased tracks "Silver Tongue" and "Don't Hang Up".

Recorded in 1961, but not released until 1967, The Witch Doctor features one of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ all-time great line-ups: Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass. Shorter and Morgan each contribute two tunes, with Timmons penning one. Highlights include Morgan’s spectacular 6/8 modal piece “Afrique” and Shorter’s minor masterpiece “Those Who Sit And Wait.” Bobby Timmons brings the deep soul goods on his composition “A Little Busy,” and the album closes with a fleet-footed romp through Clifford Jordan’s tune “Lost and Found.” Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

Leo Ceccanti should be a familiar name to all followers of the Claremont 56 label. Alongside sometime studio partner Gianluca Salvadori, he was responsible for two delightfully distinctive Almunia albums released on the label, 2011’s New Moon and 2013’s Pulsar. Both sets were filled with golden, sun-kissed sounds, psychedelic grooves and immersive, life-affirming soundscapes.

Now he’s decided to go it alone as Leo Almunia, delivering a debut album for Claremont 56 that’s every bit as alluring, wide-eyed and evocative as those he made with Salvadori. In keeping with his previous work, the album blends layered acoustic and electric guitars with toasty bass, dreamy synthesizers and grooves that variously touch on hypnotic house, chugging mid-tempo disco, sunset-ready Balearic beats and, on the glistening, life-affirming album highlight ‘Wishing Star’, loose-limbed jazz breaks.

What’s most significant about Ceccanti’s personal musical style is not the blend of stylistic influences he draws on – think psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz-rock, new age ambient and slow-motion disco – but rather the way he uses it to paint vivid aural images that genuinely linger long in the memory.

After opening with the duelling guitars and chunky dub disco grooves of ‘Sinking Fields’, Ceccanti sashays between magical moments of rush-inducing positivity, heart-tugging poignance and heady nostalgia.

Along the way, you’ll find numerous sonic highlights. On the intoxicating 21st century psychedelia of ‘Panerea’, jangling chords and eyes-closed psych-rock guitar solos ride a chugging, thickset electronic bassline, while ‘Il Cormorano’ is a metronomic, flash-fried workout rich in fuzz-tone guitar motifs, bluesy riffs and echoing instrumental touches.

He cannily joins the dots between Mid-West Americana and throbbing, psychedelic disco-chug on ‘Loveblind’, while ‘Minor Circle’ sits somewhere between Santana, the Pat Metheny Band and sunrise-ready Balearic blues. Arguably even better is the saucer-eyed brilliance of ‘Brillo De Luna’, where a dubbed-out electronic beat becomes enveloped in life-affirming acoustic guitar chords, exotic slide guitar motifs and string-bending solos. If John Lennon had ingested MDMA rather than LSD before writing ‘Across The Universe’, it would probably sound like this.

Then there’s the album’s crowning moment, closer ‘Can’t Hold a Lover’. A heart-aching, largely ambient instrumental that channels the loneliness and anguish felt by many of those separated from their nearest and dearest during the pandemic, it sees Ceccanti brilliantly wrap a variety of sun-bright guitar textures and solos around some of the loveliest synthesizer chords you’re every likely to hear. On an album packed with effervescent, mood-enhancing musical highs, it’s a rare moment of bittersweet bliss.

The rich sounds of Maloya and Séga music, originating from the Réunion island (as well as Mauritius and Seychelles for Séga), have recently been brought to the ears of the Northern hemisphere's music lovers. Hailing from the French Alps, where Réunion-natives and young "metropolitan" French youngsters have been sharing parties, food and music for years, Les Pythons De La Fournaise are a flavoursome electric "Séga" band and they have already put out a couple of albums over the last decade.

This time, they are interpreting Séga and Maloya songs under the form of a - nearly – all-acoustic orchestra : "L'Orchestre Du Piton" !

This Long-Player has got a particular sound and character, starting with a powerful four-woman choir (often sung in unison, in accordance with the Maloya tradition). The "lead" is a different singer on almost every song, which brings a variety of tone and vocal texture to the album.

Instead of keys, organ or synth, Les Pythons went for accordion ; they also brought into the studio an array of percussion, ranging from classic bongos and bells to typical instruments of the Indian Ocean : theKayamb, the Pikeur, the Sati and most notably the Roulèr– the king of them all, majestic barrel-shelled bass drum.

On songs like "Anon Manz Demiel" (Let's go and eat honey), two crazy electric guitars with intertwined riffs add a fresh element to the sound – somewhat echoeing with Esquivel's exotica and Congolese rumba at the same time !

And the most unusual fact on this record : there is no bass guitar. Perhaps the band had a statement to make; in our modern music culture where bass plays a central role, they prove that one can move to other sounds – and appreciate the more organic deepness of percussion.

Whether or not you look into the meaning of the songs (mostly from the Réunion repertoire with a couple of Mauritian exceptions and one original "Pythons" composition), you will feel the mood of the Creole lyrics – a deep love story in "Maloya Tantine", an hymn to slowness and indolence in "Tou Dou", a clumsy chat-up scene in "Malbaraise"...

And overall, a joyful, fresh and sparkly energy emanates from this "Orchestre" sound, from this exceptionally talented crew. Oté !

Brand new Barcelona imprint Balearic Ensemble hit the ground running with their premier plastic disc drop, BE001. We’re over (and under, and around) the moon to present the Painting Of The Day EP, the first i n a series of extended plays l ined up from the baddest crew of balearic samurais for your aural i ndulgence. Leading the charge i s the one and only Max Essa, a man some may know as botanist-in-chief at the sublime Jardin Jansen l abel, others as the shadow behind a string of l ush productions sounded out by the l ikes of the Guv’nor Andrew Weatherall or a one David Mancuso. Painting Of The Day i s the l atest i n Max’s deeply inventive output, with Joe Morris, Lukkas and Ibicenco duo Reisdentes Balearicos serving up three wondrously lush revamps for the heads . First up i s ‘ Matinee’, which takes that l aid-back 80s sound and washes i t through reverb racks and cascading arpeggiatic tones. Soft, subtle and brilliant, the result i s an emotional Essa performance, akin to a soft caress of the waves, or a brush stroke on a canvas i n the afternoon sun. ‘Tempo Babadoh’ i s another massive balearic number, promenading and pirouetting i ts way across a vista of club congas, wah guitar and deluxe synth sounds. Sliding nylon strings evoke memories of a l ate-night Mandy Smith anthem as agogo bells i nterweave among the flora and fauna of Max Essa’s balearic vision. A l ofty, virtuosic affair that’s sure to be a staple when the good times come. On the flip we have Joe Morris’s ‘ Paraiso’ version of Tempo Badaboh. It’s a(n) NY hymn, a dusty psalm, a stellar reimagining of the original which brings an 80s Chicago feel with all the savoir faire and finesse that the Clandestino man has come to be revered for. Sizzling b l ines, crickets at dusk and time-tested balearic motifs presented i n a new, slightly angular l ight. Over on B2 (?) we get Lukkas’ Club Mix of Matinee, a dangerous dance weapon with a dose of l ow frequencies bubbling through the sp

Heist welcomes rising star of the French House scene Marina Trench to the roster with a stunning release full of classic house cues across 4 warm & deeply grooving house cuts.
With only a handful of releases on DJ Deep’s Deeply Rooted (2019) and Wolf Music (2020), the young Parisian producer is only just getting started. And as far as starts go: This release on Heist will definitely open some eyes & ears across the house scene.
With her elegant and soulful sound both firmly rooted in classic deep house as it is contemporary, Marina showcases a mature sound that’s rarely seen with emerging producers. With a smart choice of samples, beautiful original vocals and smooth pads,
Marina layers her tracks effortlessly into warm compositions that work just as well in your living room as in any sweaty club.
The aptly titled opening track “Sunrise” is a smooth affair with pads oozing in and out and a faintly recognizable and definitely catchy choice of samples. An open electronic bass gives the track a serious tone, but it’s the melancholic chords that make you doze off reminiscing the days of endless festivals in the sun.
“Carry on” is built around classic house stabs with cleverly layered arpeggios and textures giving the track it’s depth. The main attraction here is the trumpet solo by German wunderkind Christian Altehülshorst. As far as chance meetings go, this is a nice one. Christian (who we met through our mutual friend Lorenz Rhode) was our impromptu trumpet player during a show at La Machine back in 2019, where Marina played alongside us. They got talking and before we knew it, we had this track in our inbox. It’s jazzy deephouse at its finest.
On the B-side, we’ve got “Over there”, where Marina layers here own vocals on an infectious house groove and the closing track “Wake up” featuring the emotive vocals of French Algerian artist Sabrina Bellaouel. The latter track evolves around a LFO’d pad and a minimalist groove, giving the vocals all the space to shine in a track that could easily be the one in your set that sets the room on fire.
As far as label debuts go, we could not have hoped for a better one. We’re sure we’ll get to see a lot more of Marina in the near future and hope she serves as a shining example for other emerging producers.
Enjoy the music,
Maarten & Lars

Produced by Shane Fontayne and originally released in 2016 and is now available via Proper on Vinyl and CD, this is Nash’s first solo record of new music since 2002s Songs For Survivors.
The first single This Path Tonight is one of reflection and transition of a singersongwriter whose career (The Hollies, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash & Young) has spanned more than five decades and counting.
Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductee, GRAMMY Award winner, and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)
”What a pleasure it was recording this album,” says Nash. ”Shane and I had written 20 songs in a month and recorded them in eight days. The music has a different feel to my earlier albums although I hear echoes of each one. This journey of mine was one of self-discovery, of intense creation, of absolute passion.”

Comet Records presents the Tony Allen & Afrika 70 reissue series with the classic late seventies first four solo albums of Tony Allen remastered and restored: Jealousy, Progress, No Accomodation for Lagos & No Discrimination, all coming in an heavy Deluxe Tip-On Jacket.
1978's No Accommodation for Lagos, Tony Allen's third solo album, is an effortless Afrobeat masterpiece. The Afrika 70 band floats through two of Tony's heaviest and most churning compositions.
With this album, we start to hear Tony Allen's unique style of Afro-Funk that he would explore for decades to come as a solo artist - it is groove-focused, a rolling meditation on rhythm.
The first track, "No Accommodation for Lagos" is one of Tony's most pointed and churning songs, recorded in a chaotic period following the army raid of Fela's compound. There is a seriousness to the funk, a real burning purpose in the performance of every instrument, from the horns to the shekere. Tony's performance is supercharged - he clearly showed up to the studio that day with a fire in his heart. The followup track, "African Message," is an Afrobeat compositional staple. Tony sits back in the cut through most of the supremely funky track until about seven minutes in, when he steps into the spotlight to express himself fully - his emotions, his frustrations, his convictions - in a fiery duet between his drumkit and his voice. The percussionists coalesce around him in support, lifting Tony up as he gives it his all.
Tony Allen was a musical and compositional visionary, and this album finds him beginning to explore that vision outside of Fela's immense gravitational pull. They are the start of a new era in Tony's fruitful career as a solo artist, opening the floodgates for his distinctive Afro-Funk sound and laying the foundation for the next generation of Afrobeat musicians to come.

The wisdom of Tony Allen's words was as deep as his grooves, and these two sentences, which announce the dozen songs that follow, truly capture the spirit of There is No End. Tony’s motivating concept and desire was to work with younger artists, and especially the new generation of rappers, and give them voice in a time of global turmoil when music has never been more important – not necessarily as a "weapon" for the future in the manner of Fela's violently political songs, but also as medicine to heal a fractured world today.



For all those who knew him, he was a deeply spiritual man whose life's mission was not just to create a new musical language, but to pass it on to subsequent generations. In thinking back on the incredible process of creating this album without Tony physically present to guide him, producer Vincent Taeger remarked that his friend and mentor "was a teacher without speaking... a drummer and a guardian, with a great artistic vision and that vision filled the songs even after he had left us." Ben Okri, like everyone else involved in this valedictory album, had a very similar experience, declaring in awe that "this man could have lived another 150 years and kept creating new worlds. He had become the master shaman of his art. He knew himself and his mind. He wanted the album to be open to the energies of a new generation... but like a great mathematician or scientist who found a code of for a new world, with just a few beats, he created this extraordinary canvas." Featured artists include Skepta, Sampa The Great, Lava La Rue, Danny Brown, Damon Albarn and many others

It all starts with a great song and “You Baby” has it all! Penned by husband and wife team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil with the magic touch of Phil Spector – what an awesome trio – and the bedrock of a future classic.
The song was originally produced by Spector for the Ronettes, signed to his Philles label, and appeared on their 1964 breakthrough album ‘Presenting The Fabulous Ronettes’ featuring, of course, his wife to be Veronica Bennett. The song was also recorded in the U.S. by pop/rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful for their 1965 debut album ‘Do You Believe In Magic’.
However, in January 1966 Pye Records unleashed JACKIE TRENT’s epic Northern Soul version produced by her husband Tony Hatch. Heralded by a pounding drum beat and trumpet blast it is no wonder that Jackie’s definitive cover shook the walls at Wigan Casino a decade later. And its popularity has never gone away, hence its current price tag of £300-400! Check out Jackie’s performance on the Morecambe and Wise Show on YouTube, what an intro!
“You Baby” was also recorded in May ’66 by Cameo Parkway’s Lovenotes in a very similar vein and in November ’66 by the legendary Len Barry. Other notable cover’s include Sonny & Cher, the Bubblegum pop group Salt Water Taffy and, in 1975, John Holt’s reggae version.
“Lost Summer Love” was originally recorded in 1964 by U.S. actress Shelley Fabares known for her long-running role as Mary Stone in the sitcom ‘The Donna Reed Show’ and as Elvis Presley’s leading lady in ‘Girl Happy’, ‘Spinout’ and ‘Clambake’. She also scored a No.1 pop hit in 1962 with the teen anthem “Johnny Angel”. But, as with our ‘A-side’, it was reborn as a Northern Soul classic when Pye Records picked the song up in 1965 and recorded it on their latest signing, teenager LORRIANE SILVER. Once again the stomping drum track, percussion and handclaps propel you to the dancefloor where you’re greated with an unforgettably catchy tune, a bevvy of backing vocals and Lorraine’s effervescent vocal.
Two fabulous reasons to make this one of the top reissue 45s of 2020!

Chicago soul girl group the Opals released three exquisite singles on the Okeh label between January 1964 and February 1965, all of them produced by Carl Davis, in addition to which they also recorded background vocals for other artists. When Tony Rounce compiled Kent’s CD of Billy Butler’s Okeh recordings in 2007, unexpectedly found on the master tape transfer of Billy’s ‘Right Track’ were two unidentified female tracks we eventually ascertained were by the Opals.

The uptempo ‘Can’t Give It Up’ is taken at a perfect dance beat for Northern Soul discos. It was written by Billy Butler and Gerald Sims, and likely recorded around the time of the ‘Right Track’ session in 1966. On the flip is the beautiful, mid-tempo ‘End My Suffering’, which bears a resemblance to Marvin Smith’s ‘Time Stopped’, also from 1966 and produced by Carl Davis. This is the first release for both tracks and will appeal to fans of many genres of vintage soul music.