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We are proud to present the Mr Bongo pressing of Guilherme Coutinho E O Grupo Stalo's self-titled mythical album. Blending lo-fi, Brazilian tropicalia, jazz, funk and MPB with a unique aroma, this record is pure perfection.

It was originally released in 1978 on Erla - Estudio Rauland, an obscure record label from Belém in Brazil, that only released 7” singles, with this album being one of two exceptions. During the 1970s, Belém had a thriving nightclub scene, but it is thousands of miles away from the music industry hubs of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, making this record insanely difficult to find, even in Brazil. Added to the scarcity factor is the magical nature of the recording, which has naturally resulted in a hefty price tag to match. Original copies have become a prized, collector’s item.

The elusive Brazilian band leader and keyboard player, Guilherme Coutinho is a true cult artist. He passed away in 1983, at the age of just 41, and during his career he only seems to have appeared on a handful of marvellous records, which makes them all the more special. This album feels individualistic and distinctive from other albums of the day. Listening back to vocalist Elinho’s (aka Hélio Rubens de Oliveira) delivery, it sounds not too dissimilar to some of Belle & Sebastian’s songs. ‘Guilherme Coutinho E O Grupo Stalo’ is rich in charm, quirky and playful. It feels cinematic, soothing and benefits from being heard in its entirety. A proper album experience.

Repress!

New material from the enegmatic Mr Langestraat. TIP!

"One afternoon a couple of years ago, an excited Ronald Langestraat could barely contain himself. “I’ve started dancing!” he exclaimed. “I never did it before - I’d always admired it in the past, but just wasn’t able to move like that!” But then, at the ripe old age of 81, Ronald was gripped by the urge to respond to the rhythm and express himself in this physical way.

For a man who’s dedicated his life to music, in particular Jazz with a funky Latin inflection, it feels like an especially sage realization - like the treasure at the end of a long quest, or the princess after the end-game boss. The prize is freedom, and the shapes we make on the dance floor are mirrored in that piano solo over the stanzas - a caravan that trips from smokey basement clubs all the way to Shiva’s Tandava on the edge of the universe.

The music on this album is inspired by this revelation. Although these songs were written many moons ago, their interpretation is modern, full of renewed energy, with young, yet well-worn players. While it slots neatly into the daily music practice that Ronald adheres to, it’s a new chapter in a story that is still being written - and an invitation to get in touch with your dancing self and try out some new moves."

Awesome Latin jazz-funk self-titled LP from Venezuelan band La Retreta Mayor —founded and led by guitarist Alex Rodríguez— originally released in 1976 on Discomoda. The short-lived 10-piece band and numerous guest musicians created a jazz-funk & fusion gem considered a reference in Venezuelan music history. The group unfortunately disbanded right after the recording and did not play live or record any more music together. The album contains quite a few heaters for the dance floor like ‘Zambo’ and ‘Líquido Elemento’, blazing with the rich brass section and percussion. First time reissue. 180g vinyl.

To need, to be needed, in four corners. Sleep and privacy, gases come and gases go, and now you are the only one in the room you sit in, you are one with the room you sit in, as if there are no negatives and no positives--did you know that you are an extension of your apartment? Did you know that you are in a codependent relationship with your apartment? Did you know that your apartment knows and appreciates all of your secrets?--I feel safe, which is not a new need for human beings, but a very ancient one, almost the first one. It is enacted by the possibility of sound, humming or strumming something mostly. But the quiet apartment makes its own sounds: a single longing note of birdsong told to the beat of restful breathing, the angelic insistence of tinnitus, the neighbours. Sometimes I wonder if silence means nobody's home. How still I sit. Sometimes I return to silence and feel hugged by the cool lightness of its touch, like sleeping with just a sheet in summertime. Like turning the key. Like a visit from the cat next door. Like a somnambulant ray reaching across the room, asking if you'd like to step outside. Reste Envie is a desirous message to oneself, made from a place of lived solitude: the parameters of home. Roger 3000 is a painter and a musician from Brussels, Belgium. Rest En Vie follows his 2020 release on his own imprint Tundra Records, Fiftine. His first solo EP, UFO Love Letters, was released by JJ Funhouse in 2014, followed by a contribution to Ekster's 2017 compilation album EXO3. Roger 3000 frequently collaborates with other musicians and artists, most recently with Lawrence le Doux (with whom he released the EP Chou Chou on Lexi Disques in 2021); with Carole Louis as Ondine & Turbotin for the EP Club Solitude, as well as with Bitsy Knox, with whom he released the LP OM COLD BLOOD in 2018 on Tanuki Records. Text by Bitsy Knox

Recently created Guatemalan label Identidata is extremely proud to present Sacratávica, the very first collected survey of Joaquín Orellana’s compositions. With a career spanning over 50 years of activity across contemporary art, performance, theater and sound art, Orellana is a highly singular figure in Guatamalan culture. Often considered to be the sole avant-garde composer in the country, his work has a deeply interdisciplinary quality. Most of his music was created using an orchestra of his self-built instruments, also known as Útiles Sonoros. Sitting at the border of sculpture, sound installation and musical instrument, these Útiles Sonoros, which he’s been building and developing since the late ‘60s, are at the center of his artistic activity.

Aside the obvious formal aspect, his compositions also have a strong political message, while being deeply rooted in Guatemalan history, folklore and various identities, both indigenous and modern. Playful opener “Híbrido a presión” was one of the first of his compositions to be performed entirely using the Útiles Sonoros. However, due to its technical complexity the piece was seldom reproduced, except for a later staging that Orellana directed in Louisville, Kentucky. “Ramajes”(1984), initially titled “Evocación profunda y ramajes de una marimba” , tracks the many incarnations of the marimba across history, before reaching its final form as one of Orellana’s instruments by combining vibrational percussion with melody and poetry fragments.

The title track, ‘’Sacratávica’’, represents one of the most ambitious and emotionally charged pieces from the album. An expansive 22 minute composition mixing textures that mimick field recordings and multi-layered vocal melodies culminating in choral catharsis, ‘’Sacratávica’’ deals in baroque maximalism without ever feeling cluttered. For the casual listener, the track immediately stands out, not only because of the moving vocal layered harmonies, but also through its epic scale and strong sonic narrative. Dubbed “Las voces del Rio Negro”, the piece references the massacres that took place in Coban during a period where the army massacred numerous towns, throwing the bodies in the nearby Rio Negro (the Black River).

Final track, “Fantoidea”, a glistening, metallic ambient improvisation, was a reimagining of Disney’s Fantasia using Paul Dukas’s “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” as inspiration.

Despite his work being presented in numerous exhibitions and concerts in various prestigious museums and theaters across the world, very few quality recordings exist to date. The only previously available recordings so far or either of very poor quality or did not receive enough attention. This is why, although The compositions presented not being previously unheard, having them all together in a high quality audio object represents a key moment In Guatemalan and Latin American culture.

Recorded on August 31st 2016 during a historical concert attended by over 1000 people at the Centro Cultural Miguel Angel Asturias, designed by Efrain Recinos, one of Guatemala’s leading contemporary artist from the last century, the four pieces were performed by a selection of over 90 musicians (including 60 vocalists) who were already familiar with Orellana’s instruments, cherry-picked from the Guatemalan Conservatory.

For the people behind Identidata, it has been a long and arduous process to put together these pieces. Trying to offer a panoramic view of Orellana’s work, the curators have selected pieces ranging from different decades and artistic periods. Sacratávica is a portrait of a singular artist whose work speaks not only to his culture, but carries strong aesthetic sensibilities that resonate universally.

Finally back on tape, officially reissued. Must have! 3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by hip hop trio De La Soul and was released on March 3, 1989 It marked the first of three full- length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know". The album title came from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising". It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked #1. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a 'hippie' group, based on their declaration of the 'D.A.I.S.Y. Age' (Da. Inner. Soul. Yall). Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).

*MILKY CLEAR VINYL - 300 COPIES ONLY FOR WORLD!!* Technology + Teamwork’s fizzling synths, interweaving textures and punchy rhythms are beguiling on their long-awaited debut album We Used To Be Friends. However, at the heart of it all it’s the connection between the group’s two members, Anthony Silvester and Sarah Jones, the friendship the much-travelled duo have managed to maintain for nearly 15 years and a showcase of the slow-burning construction of the electronic world that they’ve surrounded themselves with. We Used To Be Friends is ultimately the tale of two storied artists in their own right, holding onto each other through personal and career twists and turns, relocations and broader movements through respective phases of their lives. Silvester and Jones first met and then collaborated as part of biting post-punk five-piece XX Teens in 2008, eventually breaking off to forge their own path together even as the latter’s demand as a drummer grew. Performing with everyone from Hot Chip, Harry Styles and Bloc Party among many others, Jones has been a constant percussive presence across the sphere of alternative UK pop music – she’s also found time for her own solo project Pillow Person and played on records by the likes of Puscifer and Kurt Vile. Silvester meanwhile has performed in art galleries across Europe including: Fridericianum in Kassel, Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, and Vleeshal in Middelburg, as well as providing sound design and composing work for several art films. Technology + Teamwork is the constant throughout all of that though. “Technology + Teamwork's name perfectly describes how we work” Silvester explains. “Sometimes the teamwork is between each other and sometimes it’s between us and the technology.” Although going by the name Technology + Teamwork as far back as 2014, two events conspired that pulled the project into focus for the pair of them: firstly, Silvester spent a year constructing a soundproof studio shed on the border of London and Essex where he lives. Secondly, inevitably, the pandemic brought the globe-trotting Jones back home to just seven miles away from her long-time collaborator and friend. “We probably hung out more than we had for a few years” says Silvester. “Also, after all her Pillow Person releases Sarah had gotten really good with recording vocals and knowing what did and didn’t work and had a really good home studio set up. We still worked separately though, exchanging ideas via email and WhatsApp.” As with many artists through 2020 and early 2021, working separately was a new necessity that they were forced to adapt to. However, it became clear that there were creative benefits to it. “It really changed our sound and our sounds became a lot more focused as a result” Jones says. “I wanted to use the same ideas of improvisation that I might use while playing the drums for myself and apply that to melodies and lyrics.” The album bristles with hyperpop modernity. You can hear it in the manipulated vocals most prominently on Big Blue’s disco strut and on Moving Too’s heady mix of pitched up voice and burrowing sub bass. However, the pair also looked to San Francisco and the West Coast synthesis movement of the 60s, Silvester inspired by the likes of Suzanne Ciani and Don Buchla. The plaintive lo-fi and melancholy of Amsterdam incorporates Mutable Instrument’s Marbles by Émilie Gillet which – inspired by Buchla’s own synthesis work – outputs random voltages to give the track an air of unpredictability. It’s something that occurs throughout the album, the duo revelling in the happy accidents that disrupt the flow of their hook-laden pop. “The ‘Buchlian’ ideas of music having randomness and uncertainty, completely freed us up” Silvester explains. “It felt a bit like having more members in the band, machines that didn't do what you expected or intended.” Perhaps more subtly, is the influence of 17th and 18th century Baroque music, with Silvester drawing a line between it and the 90’s R’n’B he and Jones both love – exemplified perhaps best on K+B’s percussive claps and sultry grooves. The portentous juddering synthpop of the title track, meanwhile, alludes specifically to Handel’s Sarabande. It’s typical of an album that only needs a scratch of its seemingly glossy surface to unearth a myriad of contorted touchstones and reference points that’ve fermented beneath it. Thematically there’s an anxious sense to the record, with tracks often balancing above a quiet sense of unerring tension even at their most bombastic. Moving Too is the result of an existential doubt that hit Silvester while out cycling, with the outro refrain "it's not enough to die you also have to be forgotten" a take on something Samuel Beckett once said. These worries are echoed on the album’s closing track What A Year, which borrows a lot of lines from the late drag performer and fashion designer Dorian Corey including the grimly defiant "you're gonna leave your mark somewhere in this world just by getting through it”. Those clouds offer a counter point to We Used To Be Friends, but then isn’t that what great pop albums do? Technology + Teamwork undoubtedly love the craft of the hook and the song, but they always position themselves left of centre, prepared to scuff things up, pull something out of shape or manipulate something to leave it sounding warped. Much like their friendship, nothing here is particularly linear – and it’s all the better for it. Bio: Anthony Silvester & Sarah Jones first collaborated as part of biting post-punk five piece XX Teens in 2008, eventually breaking off to forge their own path together even as the latter's demand as a drummer grew. Performing with everyone from Hot Chip, Bat for Lashes, Harry Styles and Bloc Party (among many others), Jones has been a constant percussive presence across the sphere of alternative UK pop music - she's also found time for her own solo project Pillow Person and played on records by the likes of Puscifer and Kurt Vile. Silvester meanwhile has performed in art galleries across Europe including Fridericianum in Kassel, Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne, and Wleeshal in Middelburg, as well as providing sound design and composing work for several art films. Technology & Teamwork is the constant throughout all of that though. "We Used To Be Friends" proves that Technology & Teamwork undoubtedly love the craft of the hook and the song, but they always position themselves left of centre, prepared to scuff things up, pull something out of shape or manipulate something to leave it sounding warped. Much like their friendship, nothing hear is particularly linear - and it's all the better for it.

Brandee Younger will release her second album on Impulse! Records, ‘Brand New Life’. Younger is quite often noted for standing on the shoulders of the very women who ushered in the harp as a clear and distinct voice in jazz: Dorothy Ashby. This record is an amalgamation of original pieces from Brandee and select reinterpretations of Ashby’s work. Brandee Younger represents a generation of contemporary improvisational musicians who came of age in an era when hip hop commanded a strong presence in American popular culture and emerged as leaders of a new school. In ‘Brand New Life’, she brings progressive explorations of harmony, rhythm, and melody infused with styles from hip hop, rock and pop music.

Degiheugi presents his new project “Remixed Treasures”. A project that bears its name well. Like seabed adventurers, the remixers have been asked to rework in their own way some of the most significant tracks of a career spanning more than 20 years.

Starring L’Orange, Moderator, Souleance, iZem, The Architect, Senbei, Al Tarba, Mounika, DJ Vadim, La Fine Equipe, Kognitif, ProleteR and Scratch Bandits Crew, the XXL cast of this impressive crossover melts genres (hip-hop, electro, ambient, drum & bass, jazz…) and brings together no less than 13 beatmakers from different scenes and generations.

In a booming Swiss rocksteady and ska scene, COSMIC SHUFFLING is once again affirming itself as a rising star of the genre on a intergalactic scale. The band's first album, MAGIC ROCKET
SHIP, released in the midst of the pandemic, was a huge hit with fans of the Jamaican sound of the 1960s. Three years later, the Geneva-based septet is back in force with a new album, COSMIC QUEST, featuring eleven vocal tracks ranging from fiery ska worthy of the best years of the Skatalites and Soul Brothers ('Eclipse', 'Walk On By'), to exquisitely melancholy rocksteady ballads ('Birds of Spring', 'Dusk Till Dawn'), to bright early reggae with a touch of 1950s mento ('By The
Rivers').


Fans of vintage sound will be delighted by the sound of this new album elaborated in the raw and warm aesthetics of analog saturation that made the beauty of the golden age of Jamaican music.
Under the guidance of Swiss producer Mathias Liengme, the renowned Spanish sound engineer Roberto Sánchez has mixed this superb opus with class and character. The sound is just like the
cover of the album: against a lunar backdrop, in the glowing light of the setting sun, Cosmic Shuffling’s magnificent seven delight the hearts of the convinced as well as the undecided with the
exhilarating sound of their irresistibly danceable Cosmic Quest. Let yourself be carried away!

Nachdem er in den späten Sechzigern als Frontmann des beliebten jamaikanischen Gesangstrios The Paragons eine Reihe von erfolgreichen Rocksteady-Singles aufgenommen hatte, wurde John Holt zu einem der beliebtesten jamaikanischen Solokünstler, der eine Reihe von Reggae-Hits für viele der führenden Plattenproduzenten der Insel produzierte.

Der internationale Durchbruch gelang ihm 1974 mit dem äußerst populären Album "1000 Volts of Holt", das raue Reggae-Rhythmen mit raffinierten Orchesterarrangements verband.

Der Höhepunkt des Albums war die Bearbeitung von Kris Kristofferssons Country-Hit "Help Me Make It Through The Night", der im darauf folgenden Jahr zu einem weltweiten Hit wurde und als Single Platz 6 der britischen Charts erreichte.
In den folgenden Jahren blieb Holt ein Gigant der Reggae-Szene mit weiteren Bestsellern und zahlreichen ausverkauften Shows auf der ganzen Welt.

Das Beste aus seinem Solowerk wurde auf dieser "Essential Artist"-Compilation zusammengestellt, der neuesten Veröffentlichung in der neu eingeführten Reihe von Trojan Records, die die Arbeit von Jamaikas beliebtesten Foundation-Künstlern vorstellt. Erhältlich als
28-Track-Doppel-Vinyl-LP und als umfassende 2CD-Compilation, veranschaulicht die Sammlung auf hervorragende Weise das Talent, das John Holt zu einem der beliebtesten und beständigsten Sänger der Reggae-Musik gemacht hat.

Bog Bodies - the band consisting of Robert Stillman, Anders Holst and Seán Carpio delve into deep time to carve sonic abstractions across their self-titled new album on MIC.

Navigating the “liminal territory between noise and signal, chaos and control, form and abstraction,” the trio recorded and mixed the album on an

8-track cassette machine. Bog Bodies is a searching inquiry into the mythologies and magical undercurrents that knit together our existence in the information age.

Bog Bodies opens with a leftfield homage to Superman III, exploring the mythical qualities of technology through a series of angular horn lines that dissolve into the mire of feedback noise on the album’s raking, anthemic title track. Reverberating in tectonic sheets of sound on ‘One That Is Reflected In The Image Becomes All’ and Bog Bodies reaches its climax on the 11-minute ‘Cave Painting 2019’ - a subterranean epic of mystic force, drawn up from the earth in sweeping drones.

Bringing together their combined experiences playing with the likes of Manuel Göttsching, Luke Temple, The Smile and more recently Coby Sey.

Through Crooked Aim has the feel of a record to accompany the listener on epic journeys through strange and daunting territories. Adjust the rear-view mirror and press play as the landscape rolls behind you. Filmic. Atmospheric. Classic, Americana and Folk influences peppered throughout, It's a journey that rolls through valleys, painting its own rich, vivid pictures inhabited by troubled, nuanced characters looking for ways to keep going. Recording it at Old Jet in Suffolk, an old US Airforce base turned creative arts community developed and run by Quin added its own majesty to proceedings. Waking up to see herds of deer walking through the moors and mist whilst surrounded by these aircraft hangers. You can't help but find some of that magic seeping into the recordings.

Full Dose is back! Once again exporting their distinctive brand of mutated dub directly from Glasgow's Southside. The label's 13th release is the work of a new name: Brollachan - "a shapeless darkness that craves bodily form".

As the name would suggest, the music itself evokes a certain eeriness. Brollachan fuses this with the metallic textures and airy rhythms commonly heard on Full Dose records. Tracks like "Hall" could well be written by a smoked-out mythical being, with deep subs and spring reverb-laden tones throughout. Quality stuff.

This juxtaposition of influences continues throughout the release. "Graze" has a particular aquatic feel. Sonar-esque synths punch through the haze and sustained synth sounds keeps the track in midwest territory.

Despite the obvious variety on show here, Brollachan of course keeps fans of the Full Dose sound on-side. "Mad Dawg" is a grimey take on this. General MIDI style sounds appear throughout the intro. This is complimented by intricate drum programming and a growling bassline, to give us a track straight from the 22nd century.

13 releases in and the tight-knit crew behind Full Dose continue to promote a sound that is both unique and reliable - Brollachan is no exception!

Flautist Johanna Orellana teams up with Carmen Villain for a collection of horizontal, pastoral field recordings and close mic-ed flute sounds that zero in on the instrument’s unstable resonance and levitational magic. There’s no cringe virtuoso business or fourth world firewalking here - just sonic purity, sublime minimalism and the precise capture of time, place and poetry.

You might have come across Johanna Orellana before if you’ve listened to Carmen Villain’s music (or seen her perform live), and Villain appears here in a producer’s role, using her engineering expertise to impart a level of restraint and sonic fidelity that’s quite startling. There are only really two central elements to the album: environmental recordings and flute. There’s no psychedelic delay, no cavernous reverb; no audible treatments at all - Orellana and Villain instead force us to consider the flute and its musical lineage.

‘El Jardín I’ introduces the instrument as a physical conduit; Orellana allows her breath to distort the sound - the padded pat pat of the keys forms a kind of rhythm, closely recorded so it’s amplified and jarring, linking to primal wind instruments like conch shells, bamboo flutes and wooden whistles. Recalling the way in which Debit interfaced with the ancient world using AI- assisted tech on last year’s ‘The Long Count’, Orellana uses a comparatively modern contemporary transverse flute, an instrument with roots that stretch back through the baroque era, into Medieval Europe, back to the Byzantine era and into Asia. The component that connects the instruments and eras is breath, and its amplification and modification through differently shaped pipes and vessels.

Orellana lets the environment sing: insects, rushing water and zephyr-like winds form a stage that presents her mortal energy, suggesting a harmony between our use of breath and its environmental ubiquitousness. Her technique is steeped in folk history and decouples itself from expectation by rooting itself in nature. It allows her to bridge the gap between equal temperament and less ordered (less commercially-focused) microtonality without overstating the concept. Other sounds waft in from the sidelines; what might be an Indian bansuri, stray notes, a gust of air.

There’s a link to the foundational new age recordings that Joanna Brouk made with Maggi Payne back in 1980, but Orelanna also absorbs the outdoor folk magic of Fonal or Stroom, and the improvisational grist of Bendik Giske or legendary US horn duo Nmperign.

Far Out Recordings proudly presents the self-titled debut album by Rio de Janeiro born multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Tunico. Honing Brazilian roots rhythms like maracatu, xanadu, and samba, to combine with a global contemporary jazz outlook, the newcomer adds a modern classic to the ever rich vein of Brazilian instrumental music.

Consider it a natural evolution from the legacies of greats like Quarteto Novo, Hermeto Pascoal, Banda Black Rio, Tamba Trio, and Dom Um Romão, Tunico’s debut brings together an eye catching ensemble of talents from the Rio jazz community, with whom he performs on a weekly basis at celebrated live sessions and jam’s at venues like Macuna and Comuna Lapa, which often go on all night.

Released in 2022, the album’s rip-roaring lead single “Galope” features the effervescent vocals of Katerina Assef, as well as consummate solos from all over the band, as Sounds & Colours put it “…it exudes distinction and promise”. “Sambola” calls on the signature swagger of Far Out favourite Antonio Neves, indulging us in irresistible swinging samba-funk, undeniably reminiscent of the aforementioned Banda Black Rio in their late 70s heyday.

Born and raised in an artistic Rio household, Antonio Secchin aka Tunico’s father was the painter Guilherme Secchin, whose original work is lovingly repurposed to create the album’s cover. Antonio learned his trade on guitar from a young age, which remains his primary method for composition, but at the age of eighteen he started to gravitate towards the saxophone, and in particular the soprano sax, from which he now leads bands despite being entirely self taught. He would develop his skills busking on curbsides and metro stations before becoming a mainstay player in venues and clubs around the city.

When the pandemic struck, Antonio retreated to his family home in the Rio countryside. With time and space to breathe and reflect in a natural environment, he set to work at fleshing out the compositions he’d written throughout his musical life into full bodied works. His affinity with his rural surroundings is reflected in the luscious, blossoming feel of this groovy, mystical and poignant instrumental debut album.

Tunico will be released on vinyl, CD and digital platf

Dishwasher_ are the latest disciples of yet another new wave of talent in the fertile Belgian groove and jazz scene. It would, however, be a shame to limit them to the constraints of any given musical style. Ever since their formation in 2019, the Ghent-based trio have been experimenting with all possible genres to create a contemporary sound they can now rightfully call their own. With their self-titled debut album, to be released in April 2023 via Sdban Ultra, they are closing off an impressive first chapter, delivering a unique and diverse yet coherent collection of groove-driven cuts.



While labeling Diswasher_ as a jazz band wouldn’t do them enough justice, it is a fact that improvisation and a certain free approach turn out to be key in the creation and performance process of the album’s tracks. Werend, Louise and Arno specifically aim to capture their live energy and synergy on the album by experimenting with structures and textures, playing with song lengths and implementing influences from various other styles — electronic music in the first place, but as well traces from (Middle-)Eastern and Balkan music, next to dance, hip-hop and even metal.



As a result, the record tends to be a pure and honest representation of Diswasher_’s musical identity and artistic quest over the past years — both as individual musicians and as a band. Saxophones drenched in effects, diverse layers of synthesizers, a bass guitar hopping from fingerpicking licks to deep and drone-like bass tones, drums can sometimes sound like drum computers, and sometimes as subtle rhythmic chords: it’s pretty clear how deep this trio have dived to search and find something totally fresh and new.



Members of the band are Arno Grootaers, Werend Van Den Bossche and Louise van den Heuvel. Their debut album is coming out on Sdban Ultra, the innovative label of Black Flower, ECHT! and Compro Oro (among others). In 2023 they will fully focus on new talent, by signing Dishwasher_, but also KAU (formerly KAU trio) and Schroothoop. Apart from that, you can expect debut albums or EPs by LũpḁGangGang, Bandler Ching, KVR trio and Adja coming out this year. Stay tuned.

Angelo is an LP, named after a car, featuring nine songs Brijean have crafted and carried with them through a period of profound change, loss, and relocation. It finds percussionist/singer Brijean Murphy and multi-instrumentalist/producer Doug Stuart processing the impossible the only way they know how: through rhythm and movement. The months surrounding the acclaimed release of Feelings, their full-length Ghostly International debut in 2021 which celebrated tender self-reflection and new possibilities, rang bittersweet with the absence of touring and the sudden passing of Murphy’s father and both of Stuart’s parents. In a haze of heartache, the duo left the

Bay Area to be near family, resetting in four cities in under two years. Their to-go rig became their traveling studio and these tracks, along with Angelo, became their few constants. Whereas Feelings formed over collaborative jams with friends, Angelo’s sessions presented Murphy and Stuart a chance to record at their most intimate, “to get us out of our grief and into our bodies,” says Murphy. They explored new moods and styles, reaching for effervescent dance tempos and technicolor backdrops, vibrant hues in contrast to their more somber human experiences. Angelo beams with positivity and creative renewal — a resourceful, collective answer to “what happens now?”

Angelo the car is a 1981 Toyota Celica they got off Craigslist during their first stint in Los Angeles, where Murphy and Stuart have since settled. “Such a bro-y, ‘80s dude car, it’s been super fun to drive around in a new town,” Murphy says. “He’s older than us, he’s a classic, he’s got a story.” It is a spiritual vehicle with a cinematic appeal, first dropping them off in an alleyway for the scene-setting intro, “Which Way To The Club.” The question is quickly resolved by “Take A Trip” as a cruising bassline mingles with crowd sounds, hand-claps, cuíca hiccups, whip-cracks, even a horse neigh. Brijean have found some club on this cross-dimensional trip — the kind of

imagined space or chamber within one’s self capable of “shifting a fraction of who you are,” says Murphy. They wrote the track with the simple intention to be “as free as we could be,” adds Stuart, likening the flip on the B section to a realm unlocked: ”What if the world changed completely? You open the door to a new room.”

Next is “Shy Guy,” a motivational anthem for the wallflowers among us. Murphy sets up the daydream: “We are in junior high, we’re on the dance floor, what’s going down, who is dancing, who is not, how are we gonna make them dance?” The narrator, the MC, hypes up the room as conga-driven rhythms bounce between languid synth and guitar lines. “Show me how to move...I feel something...I know you feel it too,” Murphy sings sweetly, calling back to the opening lines of Feelings, and this time the audience chants it back. It is easy to picture Brijean performing this one — something they only got to do a handful of times until more recently, opening shows for Khruangbin and Washed Out, an experience they found informative. Murphy explains, “It was inspiring to be out there and let loose more. To see how people can expand their expression on stage gave me more liberty with how I viewed my musicianship. My role for so long was to be a backup percussionist, so why would I ever leave the drums, you know? But then after playing all these runs, you see these artists and realize you can, you have permission.”

“Angelo” and “Ooo La La” deliver the danciest stretch in Brijean’s catalog to date. The title track adopts a deep house pulse replete with strings, hi-hats, and kicks. The latter opts for a funkier groove that foregoes verses in favor of warbled hums and extended breakdowns. What follows is perhaps the duo’s dreamiest run, a comedown initiated with the honey-hued interlude “Colors” drifting into “Where Do We Go?”, a tropicália reverie where Murphy contemplates the passage of time and space.

It all culminates in “Caldwell’s Way,” a fond farewell to their Bay Area community — “a part of my life that I knew couldn’t come back,” says Murphy. Above shimmering organ sounds, lush strings, and the birdcall of their former neighborhood, she wistfully articulates the uncertainty of moving on by remembering the characters dear to them. There’s the wisdom of their neighbor, Santos, who refused payment when helping them move out: “I’d rather have 100 friends than 100 dollars.” And the song’s namesake, Benjamin Caldwell Brown, a friend and club night cohort for many years. “I’m only miles away, maybe I’m just feeling lonely,” the line resigns to warm nostalgia, and “Nostalgia” runs the closing credits to this healing and transportive collection.

George Palmer is a young artist from the DUB and sound system scene where he quickly stood out thanks to these stage appearances. It was with the international label Irie Ites Records that he wanted to collaborate in order to produce his first album.

Entitled "Working Man" this opus is composed of 10 titles including 2 combinations with LION D, famous international singer based in Italy and SOLO BANTON, famous English singer and toaster who needs no introduction.

The instrumentals are composed by big names of the genre: Sly & Robbie (Jamaica), Jammy's (Jamaica), Naram (New Zealand), Med Tone (Israel), Irie Ites (France) giving this project a great scope.

After the release of 6 music videos from the album and the physical (CD) and digital release at the end of June 2022, the project will soon be released on LP due to strong demand from its fans. In addition, this summer you were able to find George Palmer alongside Irie Ites Sound for fiery stage performances at various European festivals.

To accompany the release of the LP, several clips will be released and a new tour is in preparation.